We now begin Book II. If you thought it took Carl forever to get around to simply defining war, then you're really not going to enjoy him trying to tease apart different aspects of warfare. Here we really start to see his reputation for rambling. After reintroducing us to the basic concept of war = … Continue reading Branches of the Art of War
Concluding Remarks on Book 1
Here we are, at long last, after almost a year, and we have passed a major milestone: we've reached the end of Book 1! While not even 100 pages (in paperback) this laid a lot of important ground work. We've already been introduced to some of the concepts that Clausewitz is best known for. Carl … Continue reading Concluding Remarks on Book 1
Friction in War
Aside from "war is a mere continuation of policy by other means", one of the concepts most associated with Clausewitz is probably his idea of "friction". So, if you hadn't already filled in that space on your Buzzword Bingo card, here you go! That being said, the word "friction" doesn't actually show up very much … Continue reading Friction in War
Information in War
Given my profession, I am particularly interested with information. The delineation between "information operations" and "cyber operations" is fairly blurry, as long as you're not looking at it from a US authorities perspective. Is convincing the US populace to fight amongst themselves via Twitter and Facebook a cyber operation because it probably used some custom … Continue reading Information in War
On Physical Effort in War
When I first saw this chapter's title, I figured this was going to be an extremely comical read because, really, I'm talking about a bunch of computer geeks in what is likely a completely secure environment. However, Carl actually has some good takeaways for us. The first is that physical effort doesn't really have a … Continue reading On Physical Effort in War
Danger in War
The next few are short chapters (Thank. Heavens.). Today we talk about danger in war. Which, let's be honest, generally speaking Cyber forces aren't exactly in the most physical danger. In fact, you're probably picturing something like this when someone mentions "cyber war". (image credit Cam Cardow) Well, it turns out that there's more this. This … Continue reading Danger in War
Genius for War (pt 2)
When last we met, Carl took a dig at all the people who have quick comebacks, but crumple under real pressure. So what makes for a person that actually does well under the sort of pressure of a leader in combat? Please turn to page 302 of the Modern Library edition... When things are going … Continue reading Genius for War (pt 2)
Genius for War (pt 1)
This isn't actually a very long chapter (~15 pages) but I have lots of opinions on this topic, so this will be getting broken up. Carl opens the chapter with this absolutely beautiful paragraph: Every special activity, if it is to be pursued with a certain perfection, demands special qualifications of intellect and temperament. When … Continue reading Genius for War (pt 1)
Ends and Means in War
We finally get to move on from Chapter 1!! Fortunately, the chapters are much more manageable in size. In Book 1, Chapter 2, we move on from the nature of war and shift to what influence this has on the means and end in war. Or, why are we doing this war thing anyway? For … Continue reading Ends and Means in War
What is War? Pt 3
At long last, the much-awaited conclusion to Book 1, Chapter 1 of On War. When last we spoke Carl had just hit on the importance of feelings. But now we need to talk about the end. Specifically, how wars end. If you're following along in the Modern Library War Series edition, we're on page 273. … Continue reading What is War? Pt 3