War Classics: On War (Vom Kriege)

This article is from Military History Matters issue 128

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Carl von Clausewitz’s seminal work of applied military philosophy is still regarded as one of the most important books of its kind. The author was Prussian, although he also served in the Russian army and saw a wealth of fighting. Following the early years of the French Revolution (when Prussia invaded France), Jena (at which Clausewitz was taken prisoner), and Borodino, his battle experience peaked as chief of staff to the Prussian III Korps at Ligny and Wavre – the crucial engagements fought in parallel to Quatre Bras and Waterloo – which led to the downfall of Napoleon. In short, Clausewitz saw more than his share of flying lead and clashing steel.

Largely written after the Napoleonic Wars, between 1816 and 1830, and published posthumously by his wife Marie von Brühl in 1832, On War (Vom Kriege) is an unfinished work. Clausewitz started to revise his accumulated manuscripts in 1827, but died before he finished, leaving his wife to edit his collected works and publish them between 1832 and 1835.

The final version is organised into eight books, which range from the nature of war, its theory and strategy, to combat and plans. Revealingly, Clausewitz deals only with attack and defence as the two major ‘operations of war’, but under those general headings he covers a plethora of settings – including attack and defence in mountains, swamps, cities, and so on. The unwary student might think that this sounds like a tactical handbook, a blueprint for every sort of encounter with the enemy: it isn’t. It’s a carefully crafted philosophy based on experience, not theory, which has allowed it to be of continued use as technology, statesmanship, and communications have evolved in the wars that have followed its publication.

Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz

Born: 1 July 1780
Died: 16 November 1831
Nationality: Prussian

Carl von Clausewitz enlisted in the Prussian army in 1792, taking part in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Rising to the rank of major general, he played a key role in the reform of the army and state that followed Prussia’s defeat at Jena in 1806, and later took part (including for a period in the service of the Russian empire) in the campaigns that brought down Napoleon. He worked on the text of On War during his tenure as head of Berlin’s Military Academy (1818-1830). It was published after his death from cholera in 1831.

The author has enjoyed periods of fashion and endured criticism from thinkers and soldiers alike as warfare has changed. Since 1945, most fighting has been of ‘low intensity’ – in broad terms, uniformed armies against guerrillas – and this has led many to question his relevance.