On War

What is war, and how should it be understood? The Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz begins by defining it as an act of force to compel the enemy to do our will, and then famously as 'a continuation of policy by other means'. He explains why real war never matches its theory: chance, danger, uncertainty and what he calls 'friction', the thousand small difficulties that make the simplest thing hard. He discusses genius in command, the moral forces of courage and morale, the relationship between attack and defence, and why defence is the stronger form of war.

Clausewitz (1780–1831) fought against Napoleon, including at Borodino in the Russian army, and left the book unfinished at his death; his widow Marie published it in 1832. It is still studied in military academies around the world. This translation is by J. J. Graham. Compare the much older The Art of War of Sun Tzu, and see Borodino in War and Peace.