On War (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature)

Product Description

On War by Clausewitz is perhaps the greatest book ever written about war. Carl von Clausewitz, a Prussian soldier, had witnessed at first hand the immense destructive power of the French Revolutionary armies which swept across Europe between 1792 and 1815. His response was to write a comprehensive text covering every aspect of warfare. On War is both a philosophical and practical work in which Clausewitz defines the essential nature of war, debates the qualities of the great commander, assesses the relative strengths of defensive and offensive warfare, and – in highly controversial passages – considers the relationship between war and politics. His arguments are illustrated with vivid examples drawn from the campaigns of Frederick the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte. For the student of society as well as the military historian, On War remains a compelling and indispensable source.

About the Author

Although Clausewitz participated in numerous military campaigns, he was primarily a military theorist interested in the examination of war. He wrote a careful, systematic, philosophical examination of war in all its aspects as he saw and taught it. The result was his principal work, On War, premier work on the philosophy of war in the West. His examination of warfare was so carefully considered that it was only partially completed by the time of his death. Clausewitz sought to revise the text in 1827, just before his death, to include more material on counter-insurgency and forms of war other than between states, but these revisions were never included in the published document.
He died on 16th November 1831 after a cholera outbreak at the Polish border.