This paper discusses the most important elements of Carl von Clausewitz' seminal work, On War. The paper will focus upon his ideas concerning the proper relationship between policy and military strategy, as well as on his ideas concerning "real war," the "paradoxical trinity" of war, friction, and the "fog of war." The paper will then discuss the similarities between Clausewitz, Helmuth von Moltke, and Sun Tzu. The paper will conclude by briefly discussing the influence of Clausewitz on modern American military thought.
Clausewitz' most famous pronouncements was that war is the "continuation of policy by other means" (Clausewitz, 1984, p. 87). By this, he meant that war is inextricably tied to policy, although military aims are distinct from political objects. The political aims are the original motives for any war. Warfare is undertaken in order to achieve these political aims, such as the conquest of a territory intended to be kept or to be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations. Thus, the conduct of any war must be in harmony with the political aims which created it (Clausewitz, 1984, pp. 78-88).
Clausewitz recognized that the generals entrusted with conducting a particular war may feel that the political objectives interfere with the military aims: the defeat of the enemy. Wars which are general in nature, in which the motives are powerful and inspiring, do not usually involve much conflict between the political and military aims. Limited wars, on the other hand, often include conflict between the political and military aims. Such wars are fought for policy reasons that do not include the complete subjugation of the enemy (Clausewitz, 1984, pp. 80-90).
Although many have believed that Clausewitz advocated total war as the only kind of war worth considering, a careful reading of his works reveals the falsity of this notion. He noted that even wars which are total in nature are not final in result. All of the...