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In war, while everything is simple, even the simplest thing is difficult. Difficulties accumulate and produce frictions which no one can comprehend who has not seen war.

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
Everything
Difficulties
Even
Difficulty
Thing
Produce
Military
Frictions
Seen
Accumulate
Simple
Friction
War
Comprehend
Difficult
Simplest

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I shall proceed from the simple to the complex. But in war more than in any other subject we must begin by looking at the nature of the whole for here more than elsewhere the part and the whole must always be thought of together.
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The art of war in its highest point of view is policy.
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...as man under pressure tends to give in to physical and intellectual weakness, only great strength of will can lead to the objective.
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The heart of France lies between Brussels and Paris.
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Everything in strategy is very simple, but that does not mean everything is very easy.
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A conqueror is always a lover of peace.
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A general who allows himself to be decisively defeated in an extended mountain position deserves to be court-martialled.
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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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No campaign plan survives first contact with the enemy
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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.
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Tactics is the art of using troops in battle strategy is the art of using battles to win the war
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A certain grasp of military affairs is vital for those in charge of general policy.
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Blood is the price of victory
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The very nature of interactions is bound to make it unpredictable.
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It should be noted that the seeds of wisdom that are to bear fruit in the intellect are sown less by critical studies and learned monographs than by insights, broad impressions, and flashes of intuition.
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Politics is the womb in which war develops.
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The best strategy is always to be very strong.
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Two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the inner light which leads to truth and second, the courage to follow this faint light wherever it may lead.
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Surprise becomes effective when we suddenly face the enemy at one point with far more troops than he expected. This type of numerical superiority is quite distinct from numerical superiority in general: it is the most powerful medium in the art of war.
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Boldness becomes rarer, the higher the rank.
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