combatants in the Napoleonic Wars survived the conflict, including France, which suffered unequivocal defeat. Moreover, the absolute defeat of a nation does not mean the destruction of its population or even its political identity, as has been witnessed since the Second World War. However, total war, or the "pure concept" of war, seeks to overcome an enemy and disarm him. Clausewitz describes this as "Absolute War" (Clausewitz, 1984, pp. 90-91).
According to Clausewitz, Absolute War is that in which the combatants seek the absolute overthrow of their enemies. In view of such aims, the combatants must necessarily seek the final defeat of their enemies and hostilities must not be aborted until such aims are achieved. Under this theory, warfare involves the use of all means available to defeat an enemy and the repeated use of such means until defeat of this enemy is achieved (Clausewitz, 1984, pp. 75-89, 579).
There are three objectives in absolute war: destruction of the enemy's armed forces, occupation of the enemy's territory, and breaking the enemy's will. Destruction of the enemy's armed forces means that they must be put in such a condition that they are no longer able to fight. Occupation of the enemy's territory is necessary so that it cannot raise any new armed forces. Most important of these three objectives is breaking the enemy's will. The enemy government and its population must driven to ask for peace and submit to one's will; otherwise, hostilities may arise in the interior regions of the enemy country. A peace treaty sought by the enemy will ensure that elements within the enemy population seeking to continue the struggle will be overwhelmed by the elements desiring peace (Clausewitz, 1984, pp. 90-91).
Real War, on the other hand, reflects the realities under which most combatants engage in warfare. Few combatants undertake military operations with the intent of absolutely destroying their enemies. Ins...