Carl von Clausewitz Quotes and Sayings - Page 1

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“Pursue one great decisive aim with force and determination.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Determination #Military #Persistence
“No one starts a war--or rather, no one in his sense ought to do so--without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by the war and how he intends to conduct it.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#War #Mind #Firsts
“The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Dream #Perfect #Enemy
“Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Inspirational #Strength #Courage
“Two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the inner light which leads to truth; and second, the courage to follow this faint light wherever it may lead.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Inspirational #Courage #Light
“After we have thought out everything carefully in advance and have sought and found without prejudice the most plausible plan, we must not be ready to abandon it at the slightest provocation. should this certainty be lacking, we must tell ourselves that nothing is accomplished in warfare without daring; that the nature of war certainly does not let us see at all times where we are going; that what is probable will always be probable though at the moment it may not seem so; and finally, that we cannot be readily ruined by a single error, if we have made reasonable preparations.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Military #War #Errors
“War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#War #Mean #Independent
“To secure peace is to prepare for war.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#War #Preparation
“If the enemy is to be coerced, you must put him in a situation that is even more unpleasant than the sacrifice you call on him to make. The hardships of the situation must not be merely transient - at least not in appearance. Otherwise, the enemy would not give in, but would wait for things to improve.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Military #Sacrifice #Giving
“With uncertainty in one scale, courage and self-confidence should be thrown into the other to correct the balance. The greater they are, the greater the margin that can be left for accidents.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Self Confidence #Balance #Should
“The great uncertainty of all data in war is because all action, to a certain extent, planned in a mere twilight - like the effect of a fog - gives things exaggerated dimensions and unnatural appearance.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#War #Twilight #Fog
“We repeat again: strength of character does not consist solely in having powerful feelings, but in maintaining oneâ€™s balance in spite of them. Even with the violence of emotion, judgment and principle must still function like a shipâ€™s compass, which records the slightest variations however rough the sea.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Powerful #Character #Sea
“It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Inspirational #Past #Achievement
“Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Clarity #Certainty #Intellect
“The best form of defense is attack.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Military #Defense #Form
“War is nothing but a duel on a larger scale.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#War #Scales
“If you entrench yourself behind strong fortifications, you compel the enemy seek a solution elsewhere.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Strong #Military #Enemy
“The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Witty #Powerful #Humorous
“Everything in war is very simple. But the simplest thing is difficult.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#War #Simple #Difficult
“Close combat, man to man, is plainly to be regarded as the real basis of combat.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Real #War #Men
“Any complex activity, if it is to be carried on with any degree of virtuosity, calls for appropriate gifts of intellect and temperament. If they are outstanding and reveal themselves in exceptional achievements, their possessor is called a 'genius'.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Achievement #Degrees #Genius
“In war everything is simple, but it's the simple things that are difficult.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Art #War #Simple
“The world has a way of undermining complex plans. This is particularly true in fast moving environments. A fast moving environment can evolve more quickly than a complex plan can be adapted to it. By the time you have adapted, the target has changed.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Art #War #Moving
“War is the province of chance. in no other sphere of human activity must such a margin be left for this intruder. it increases the uncertainty of every circumstance and deranges the course of events.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Military #War #Events
“Tactics is the art of using troops in battle; strategy is the art of using battles to win the war”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Art #War #Winning
“There is only one decisive victory: the last.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Military #Victory #Lasts
“The first, the supreme, the most far-reaching act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish ... the kind of war on which they are embarking.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Military #War #Firsts
“A conqueror is always a lover of peace.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Lovers #Conqueror
“Be audacious and cunning in your plans, firm and persevering in their execution, determined to find a glorious end.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Perseverance #Execution #Determined
“The majority of people are timid by nature, and that is why they constantly exaggerate danger. all influences on the military leader, therefore, combine to give him a false impression of his opponent's strength, and from this arises a new source of indecision.”
-- Carl von Clausewitz

#Military #People #Giving

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