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Carl von Clausewitz

Carl von Clausewitz Quotes

Military Historian

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Famous Carl von Clausewitz Quotes

“The general unreliability of all information presents a special problem in war: all action takes place, so to speak, in the twilight, which, like fog or moonlight, often tends to make things seem grotesque and larger than they really are. Whatever is hidden from full view in this feeble light has to be guessed at by talent, or simply left to chance. So once again for the lack of objective knowledge, one has to trust to talent or to luck.”

WarProblemLightSeemsActionLeftSpeakChanceViewsSpecialTalentInformationLuckObjectivesTwilightFogMoonlightGrotesqueUnreliability
Book:On War
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“War is the realm of uncertainty; three-quarters of the factors on which action in war is based are wrapped in a fog of greater or lesser uncertainty. ... war is the realm of chance. No other human activity gives it greater scope; no other has such incessant and varied dealings with this intruder. Chance makes everything more uncertain and interferes with the whole course of events.”

GivingHumansWarWholeActionThreeCoursesChanceGreaterEventsActivityFactorsUncertaintyRealmsQuartersUncertainInterfereFogScopeHuman ActivityDealingsIncessantIntruders
Book:On War
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“But the main point is that soldiers, after fighting for some time, are apt to be like burned-out cinders. They have shot off their ammunition, their numbers have been diminished, their strength and their morale are drained, and possibly their courage has vanished as well. As an organic whole, quite apart from their loss in numbers, they are far from being what they were before the action; and thus the amount of reserves spent is an accurate measure on the loss of morale.”

WellsHas BeensWholeActionFightingLossNumbersAmountShotsSoldierAccurateBurnedReservesMoraleDrainedAmmunitionBurned Out
Book:On War
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