War in the real world, as we have already seen, is not an extreme thing which expends itself at one single discharge. Its coherence and ambition are unmatched by other military literature. War features unpredictability, incompleteness and instability. What darwin accomplished for biology generally clausewitz did for the. First, it examines how each of the command approaches defined in the typology set out in my earlier article interacts with.
He was able to explicate the nature of warfare precisely because his own experience of war was so intense but also traumatic. Pdf clausewitzian friction and future war semantic scholar. Jan 21, 2012 clausewitz described war as two kinds 1 ideal war or total war, in its purest form it is unchecked violence and self serving, in other words war for the sake of war, 2 limited war, which is the pursuit of an objective and once accomplished the war must cease. Handel has prepared the first detailed comparative study of sun tzus the art of war and clausewitz s on war, which remain the most insightful statements on. Where clausewitz s work becomes relevant is in its capacity to acknowledge that despite military transformations, war is and always will be the subject of uncertainty and the unexpected, namely of the fog and friction of war.
On war is the most significant attempt in western history to understand war, both in its internal dynamics and as an instrument of policy. Where clausewitzs work becomes relevant is in its capacity to acknowledge that despite military transformations, war is and always will be the subject of uncertainty and the unexpected, namely of the fog and friction of war. Smith is particularly good at outlining the intellectual influences on clausewitz. The essential point clausewitz makes concerning interaction is not that the enemys responses are bound to disrupt our plans, but that our plans must aim to predict and incorporate his responses. It has been translated into english several times as on war. Clausewitz in nazi germany i a study of clausewitz s influence on the thoughts and minds of those who made nazi germany is an exercise in the futility of tradi tional intellectual history, at least in so far as it applies to the events of recent times. In clausewitz s view the idea of total war was an impossibility, although in. It is composed of a complex web of interconnected constituents in which friction poses a serious challenge.
Thus in theory the friction cannot be simulated as individuals within the war contribute their own unique friction, each making constant contact with the element of chance. Modern observers, however, have speculated that technological advances will reduce, if not eliminate, friction. Clausewitz theory of war, background and trinity youtube. Clausewitzs fog and friction and the military transformation. In the last analysis it is at moral, not physical strength that all military action is directed moral factors, then, are the ultimate determinants in war. Mar 29, 2016 it is, however, clausewitzs great intellectual triumph, on war, that permeates the book, as well it should.
Barry watts addresses three questions about friction in the. How fog came to insinuate itself into the standard military interpretation of the text is worth some reflection. Clausewitzian friction and future war revised edition. Based on a detailed reading of clausewitz book on war, this paper proposes that clausewitz reflections on strategy unfold along two parallel arguments. Centers of gravity the idea of clausewitz clausewitz explains center of gravity as being the. War is a trial of moral and physical forces by means of the latter. The nature of war the idea of clausewitz one of the most improtant and lasting contributions of clausewitz is his insistence that before any conflict begins, civilianand military leaders and.
The second lays out his theories regarding the nature of war, his ideas concerning the relationship between war and policy, and the complementary balance between friction and military genius. He was well aware of the conduct of war in his own era. The 197684 howardparet version is the standard translation today. Nov 28, 2002 furthermore clausewitz describes friction in war as the only concept that distinguishes war in theoretical terms from the experience of real war. The relevance of clausewitzs fog and friction in a digital. Soviet cold war, there has been growing discussion of the possibility that technological advances in the means of combat will produce fundamental changes in how future wars will be fought. War of course involves a contest of physical force. Translation of vom kriege prepared under the auspices of the center of international studies, princeton university. Gatzke stressed clausewitz s unlimited war of annihilation, his absolute. Clausewitzs development of the unified concept of a general friction.
On clausewitz is a thorough survey of all of clausewitz s most important insights, drawn not only from on war but also from his voluminous writings on military history and international politics. This article seeks to take two further steps towards establishing a conceptual foundation for discussion of command approaches. Duarte group for strategic studies, pepcoppeufrj, the university of brazil abstract this article assesses the existing literature on logistics in war. These factors collectively have been called friction, which clausewitz described as the force that makes the apparently easy so difficult. For clausewitz, war is not simply a chameleon that can change its outward appearance, rather commanders must recognize that war changes its. The effects of climate, disease, and morale at the battle of labadieville stephen s. Far from being the bloodyminded apostle of total war portrayed. The original version of this paper was instigated by andreas herbergrothe, who invited me to speak on this subject at oxford universitys conference on clausewitz in the 21st century in march 2005. In 1991, martin van revelds on future war aka the transformation of war was published, eliciting critical responses on a variety of levels.
The revived popularity of his great treatise, on war, has generated healthy debates within the us military over the utility of such clausewitzian concepts as centers of gravity, culminat ing points, and fog and friction. Revised edition clausewitzian friction an dfuture war. Jan 12, 2020 nevertheless, clausewitzs theory stands the test of time, in an age where a new enemy exists in addition to a complex asymmetrical warfare packed with fog and friction. Graham translation of clausewitz s vom kriege 1832 published in london in 1873. Consider the more modern versions and other relevant books shown below. This textbased pdf or ebook was created from the html version of this book and is part of the portable library of liberty. Thus, the allied strategy designed to induce friction into the iraqi military machine was successful. Clausewitz acknowledges that friction creates enormous dif. It is an extraordinary attempt to construct an allembracing theory of how war works. Since the works first appearance in 1832, it has been read throughout the world, and has stimulated generations of soldiers, statesmen, and intellectuals. While some of the more important theoretical concepts of on war are fairly welldeveloped friction, for example, many are embryonic and others entirely absent.
On the subject of friction, in on war, clausewitz notes that, those who. Friction and future war revised edition friction is an inevitable impediment to effective action and was a significant factor in war long before clausewitz popularized the term. Clausewitz is often quoted but more often misunderstood. Clausewitzian friction and future war revised edition open pdf 1 mb since the end of the u. Clausewitz, jomini, and the birth of modern strategy fog. As war becomes even more complex, the need to explore its fundamental nature is no less important than in the past. The origins of clausewitzs concept of friction clausewitz did not make theories of war without understanding what he was studying. For a period of 175 years, clausewitzs theory on the fog and friction of war has been applicable. On clausewitz presents his central ideas about war and politics such as war as an instrument of policy, the concept of absolute war, friction and the fog of war in a clear and systematic fashion. On clausewitz a study of military and political ideas h.
463 833 967 559 1109 222 1448 1464 697 405 470 500 812 282 39 1399 93 206 605 247 1162 1370 860 1226 1207 970 73 480 110 723 731 192 1273 693 1018 1144 107 592 1353 656 976 1070 1295