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Carl von Clausewitz Quotes

We maintain, on the contrary, that war is simply a continuation of political intercourse, with the a...

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A conqueror is always a lover of peace.

Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fa...

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War is the continuation of politics by other means.

Two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some gl...

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The political object is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and the means can never be consid...

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We propose to consider first the single elements of our subject, then each branch of part, and, last...

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Everything in war is very simple. But the simplest thing is difficult.

If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of ...

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Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.

War is the province of danger.

If the mind is to emerge unscathed from this relentless struggle with the unforeseen, two qualities ...

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Politics is the womb in which war develops.

War is regarded as nothing but the continuation of state policy with other means.

War is not merely a political act but a real political instrument, a continuation of political inter...

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Many intelligence reports in war are contradictory; even more are false, and most are uncertain.

War is merely the continuation of politics by other means

To secure peace is to prepare for war.

I shall proceed from the simple to the complex. But in war more than in any other subject we must be...

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Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.

Pursue one great decisive aim with force and determination.

Our knowledge of circumstances has increased, but our uncertainty, instead of having diminished, has...

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War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.

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Carl von Clausewitz

Military Historian

Born: 1780-07-01

Died: 1831-11-16

Carl von Clausewitz (1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and influential military theorist. He is most famous for his military treatise Vom Kriege, translated into English as On War.More