General Carl Von Clausewitz

On War General Carl Von Clausewitz

COLONEL J. J. GRAHAMThis title On War is one of the great works of strategy and military theory in history, and is among works as important as The Art of War. On War was written by the Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz after the Napoleonic wars. Clausewitz had been stunned by how completely Napoleon had dominated Europe and how he had seemed to change the nature of modern warfare, creating a war on a larger scale than possibly Europe had ever seen. Therefore, one of the purposes of On War is to divide war into its constituent elements in order to develop a comprehensive theory of war. Clausewitz wrote during the era of the great imperial nation-states in the West, before widespread democratic rule and after the medieval period. Thus, On War refers to military conflicts between states. It does not speak of the conflicts of civil wars, rebellion, secession or terrorism. Clausewitz focuses on the classic problems of field combat, army formation, the relationship between battles and wars, the character of military leaders and troops, etc.