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Quote by Carl von Clausewitz

Work

On War

This seminal work delves into the principles of warfare, offering insights on the nature of conflict and the conduct of military campaigns. more

Author

Carl von Clausewitz
Carl von Clausewitz

Carl von Clausewitz, born on July 1, 1780, and died on November 16, 1831, was a Prussian military theorist and historian. He is considered one of the founders of modern military theory. Clausewitz's most famous work, 'On War,' has had a profound impact on military strategy and warfare theory to this day. more

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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.”

“Well, at first the band were simply called Horsepower, but a lot of people thought that was something to do with heroin. That really pissed me off, so I decided to put something in front of it to distract them. “I got '16' from a traditional American folk song, where a man is singing about his dead wife and 16 black horses are pulling her casket up to the cemetery. I liked the image of 16 working horses.”

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