What we should admire is the acute fulfillment of the unspoken assumptions, the smooth harmony of the whole activity, which only become evident in the final success.
Carl von ClausewitzFriction is the only concept that more or less corresponds to the factors that distinguish real war from war on paper.
Carl von ClausewitzIf the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles.
Carl von ClausewitzWar is nothing but a continuation of politics with the admixture of other means.
Carl von ClausewitzTo discover how much of our resources must be mobilized for war, we must first examine our political aim and that of the enemy. We must gauge the strength and situation of the opposite state. We must gauge the character and abilities of its government and people and do the same in regard to our own. Finally, we must evaluate the political sympathies of other states and the effect the war may have on them.
Carl von Clausewitz