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The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.

Carl von Clausewitz

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Carl von Clausewitz
Age: 51 †
Born: 1780
Born: June 1
Died: 1831
Died: November 16
Historian
Military Historian
Military Officer
Military Personnel
Military Theorist
Philosopher
Writer
Burg bei Magdeburg
Dream
Good
Plan
Plans
Enemy
Perfect

More quotes by Carl von Clausewitz

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Only the element of chance is needed to make war a gamble, and that element is never absent.
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War is nothing but a continuation of politics with the admixture of other means.
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It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.
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No campaign plan survives first contact with the enemy
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Action in war is like movement in a resistant element. Just as the simplest and most natural of movements, walking, cannot easily be performed in water, so in war, it is difficult for normal efforts to achieve even moderate results.
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Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.
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War is the province of danger.
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In 1793 such a force as no one had any conception of made its appearance. War had again suddenly become an affair of the people, and that of a people numbering thirty millions, every one of whom regarded himself as a citizen of the State... By this participation of the people in the war... a whole Nation with its natural weight came into the scale.
Carl von Clausewitz
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There is only one decisive victory: the last.
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What we should admire is the acute fulfillment of the unspoken assumptions, the smooth harmony of the whole activity, which only become evident in the final success.
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Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.
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In war the will is directed at an animate object that reacts.
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The more a general is accustomed to place heavy demands on his soldiers, the more he can depend on their response.
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Der Krieg ist nichts als eine Fortsetzung des politischen Verkehrs mit Einmischung anderer Mittel. War is merely the continuation of policy with the admixture of other means.
Carl von Clausewitz
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The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy.
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Blood is the price of victory
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The heart of France lies between Brussels and Paris.
Carl von Clausewitz
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To be practical, any plan must take account of the enemy's power to frustrate it.
Carl von Clausewitz
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A certain grasp of military affairs is vital for those in charge of general policy.
Carl von Clausewitz
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Tactics is the art of using troops in battle strategy is the art of using battles to win the war
Carl von Clausewitz