What Clausewitz Knew

Clausewitz … experienced years of intense and bitter conflict, first in the crushing defeat in 1806, then in the grueling retreat into the Russian interior, and finally fighting to Napoleon’s defeat in the Hundred Days. He therefore spent his years of active service grappling with the problem of facing a superior enemy, and sought to study war in a way that was useful both for someone with the talent of Napoleon, and for someone who had the unenviable task of facing him. Clausewitz’s experiences with real war served as a reminder of how much of one’s exertions were required to merely avert disaster, and of how infrequently opportunities for great victories were granted. The defeat of 1806 and the role it played in Clausewitz’s thought is something that separates him from (American produced of Powerpoint slides John) Boyd. The challenge Boyd sought to address was how the US had failed in Vietnam, despite vastly superior means. Clausewitz grappled with the question of what Prussia ought…