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In the whole range of human activities, war most closely resembles a game of cards.

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
Game
Games
War
Resembles
Human
Closely
Humans
Activities
Whole
Cards
Range
Activity

More quotes by Carl von Clausewitz

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The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.
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There are times when the utmost daring is the height of wisdom.
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Whenever armed forces . . . are used, the idea of combat must be present. . . . The end for which a soldier is recruited, clothed, armed, and trained, the whole object of his sleeping, eating, drinking, and marching is simply that he should fight at the right place and the right time.
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War is a conflict of great interests which is settled by bloodshed, and only in that is it different from others.
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In war everything is simple, but it's the simple things that are difficult.
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There are very few men-and they are the exceptions-who are able to think and feel beyond the present moment
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No campaign plan survives first contact with the enemy
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In war the will is directed at an animate object that reacts.
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Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.
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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.
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A certain grasp of military affairs is vital for those in charge of general policy.
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The difficulty of accurate recognition constitutes one of the most serious sources of friction in war, by making things appear entirely different from what one had expected.
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The best strategy is always to be very strong.
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Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult.
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Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.
Carl von Clausewitz
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War is only caused through the political intercourse of governments and nations - war is nothing but a continuation of political intercourse with an admixture of other means.
Carl von Clausewitz
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Self-reliance is the best defence against the pressures of the moment.
Carl von Clausewitz
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Close combat, man to man, is plainly to be regarded as the real basis of combat.
Carl von Clausewitz
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Four elements make up the climate of war: danger, exertion, uncertainty and chance.
Carl von Clausewitz
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War is an act of force, and to the application of that force there is no limit. Each of the adversaries forces the hand of the other, and a reciprocal action results which in theory can have no limit.
Carl von Clausewitz