Carl von Clausewitz: Enemy

Carl von Clausewitz was German-Prussian soldier and military theorist. Explore interesting quotes on enemy.

Carl von Clausewitz: 136 quotes 21 likes

“To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power and movement. The enemy’s "center of gravity”

Carl von Clausewitz

Victory

“Kind-hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat the enemy without too much bloodshed, and might imagine this is the true goal of the art of war.”

Carl von Clausewitz book On War

Source: On War (1832), Book 1, Chapter 1, Section 3, Paragraph 1.
Context: Kind-hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat the enemy without too much bloodshed, and might imagine this is the true goal of the art of war. Pleasant as it sounds, it is a fallacy that must be exposed: War is such a dangerous business that mistakes that come from kindness are the very worst.

War , People , Art , Way

“The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.”

Carl von Clausewitz

Dreams , Perfection

“If a segment of one's force is located where it is not sufficiently busy with the enemy, or if the troops are on the march - that is, idle - while the enemy is fighting, then these forces are being managed uneconomically. In this sense they are being wasted, which is even worse than using them inappropriately.”

Carl von Clausewitz book On War

On War (1832), Book 3

Business , Sense , Fight

“The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing practical to alter or deflect the impulse to destroy the enemy, which is central to the very idea of war.”

Carl von Clausewitz book On War

On War (1832), Book 1

War , Idea