On War: Strategic Principles for Modern Conflict

By Fouad Sabry

What is On War

Vom Kriege is a book on war and military strategy by Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831), written mostly after the Napoleonic wars, between 1816 and 1830, and published posthumously by his wife Marie von Brühl in 1832. It is one of the most important treatises on political-military analysis and strategy ever written, and remains both controversial and influential on strategic thinking.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: On War

Chapter 2: Archduke Charles

Chapter 3: Carl von Clausewitz

Chapter 4: Conventional warfare

Chapter 5: Military strategy

Chapter 6: Martin van Creveld

Chapter 7: Fog of war

Chapter 8: Vernichtungsgedanke

Chapter 9: John Keegan

Chapter 10: Antoine-Henri Jomini

(II) Answering the public top questions about on war.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of On War.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: May 27, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: On War

Vom Kriege (German pronunciation: [fɔm ˈkʁiːɡə]) is a book on war and military strategy by Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831), after the Napoleonic wars, primarily, from 1816 to 1830, and published posthumously by his wife Marie von Brühl in 1832.

Vom Kriege has been rendered as On War numerous times in English. A work in progress, On War. Clausewitz began reviewing his collection of writings in 1827, but he passed away before he could complete it. Between 1832 and 1835, his wife compiled his collected works and published them.

The majority of his bigger historical and theoretical writings are included in his ten-volume collected works, but not his shorter articles and papers or his considerable communication with significant political, military, intellectual, and cultural figures in the Prussian state. The first three volumes of On War comprise his theoretical investigations.

Clausewitz was among those who were fascinated by how the leaders of the French Revolution, especially Napoleon, altered how war was fought by inspiring the populace and gaining access to all of the state's resources, causing war to break out on a larger scale than had previously been seen in Europe. Clausewitz thought that moral factors in battle had a big impact on how it turned out. Clausewitz had a good education and was very interested in science, history, education, and the arts. He was a trained soldier who fought Napoleon for a sizable portion of his life. He had witnessed the fervor of the French Revolutionary Army (1792–1802) as well as the conscripted troops used by the French crown during his lifetime. His writing was founded on the perceptions he obtained from his political and military experiences, as well as a firm knowledge of European history.

Many historical examples are provided to illustrate the book's numerous points. Napoleon and Frederick the Great stand out for having used the terrain, movement, and armies at their disposal incredibly effectively.

Clausewitz maintained that strict practical guidance for generals cannot be drawn from military theory.

Clausewitz used the categories of Purpose, Goal, and Means to evaluate the conflicts of his day. He said that the goal of war is to enforce one's will, and politics determines what that will is. In order to carry out the purpose, the opponent must be defeated as the conflict's Goal. The Goal is pursued with the aid of a strategy, which may be accomplished through a variety of Means, such as the destruction or defeat of adversarial armed forces or through peaceful means (such as propaganda, economic sanctions and political isolation). Therefore, every human body or mental resource as well as all the moral and physical forces of a state could be used as means to accomplish the desired result. These fundamental findings are crucial to Clausewitz's theory:

War is not only a political act, but a real political instrument, a continuation of the political process, and an application by other means. It must never be understood as having any aim in and of itself.

The two main categories of military goals in war that serve political goals are war to achieve limited ends and war to disarm the opponent (i.e., to render [him] politically incapable or militarily impotent).

If all else is equal, the party with the greater emotional and political motivations—especially the defender—will typically be favored throughout the course of the battle. (in no particular importance order):

the military analysis method using dialectics

the techniques used in critical analysis

the benefits and drawbacks of historical research

what the balance is like the mechanism-of-power

the connection between political and military goals in conflict

the uneven interaction of offense and defense

what constitutes military brilliance

the exciting trinity of war (wunderliche Dreifaltigkeit)

conceptual contrasts between actual war and absolute or ideal war

The two defining poles of true war are limited war and war to make the enemy impotent.

The concept of war is inherently social, not artistic or scientific.

Strategy is largely an artistic concept.

Tactics is essentially a scientific concept.

the inherent unpredictable nature of conflict

everything in war is relatively straightforward, but even the most straightforward thing may be challenging. These challenges add up.

the war fog

friction

operational and strategic centers of gravity

the high point of the assault

the final measure of victory

Clausewitz constructed his argument using a dialectical approach, which frequently results in current misinterpretations since he considers a variety of frequently opposing concepts before drawing conclusions.

The ideas Clausewitz outlined in On War serve as the foundation for contemporary conceptions of conflict, but they have been interpreted differently by different leaders (including Moltke, Vladimir Lenin, Dwight Eisenhower, and Mao Zedong), thinkers, armies, and populations. Despite the fact that modern military doctrine, organization, and standards are still based on Napoleonic precepts, it is questionable whether those precepts are inevitably also Clausewitzian..

1873. Translator: J.J. Graham. Victorian imperialist F.N. Maude republished the work in 1908 and included a lengthy discussion and comments.

1943; translator: O. J. Matthijs Jolles (New York: Random House, 1943). Some contemporary academics believe that this is the most accurate English translation currently available.

1968. edited; Anatol Rapoport provided the introduction. ISBN number: 0-14-044427-0. Viking Penguin. This is extremely out-of-date (based on the 1873 Graham translation), severely condensed (leaving out, for example, Book Six on defense, which Clausewitz thought to be the stronger form of warfare), and incredibly biased (due to its Vietnam War era and the editor's animosity toward neo-Clausewitzian Henry Kissinger).

1976/1984. editors and translators Peter Paret and Michael Howard. 0-691-05657-9 Princeton University Press.

1989. editors and translators Peter Paret and Michael Howard. ISBN 978-0-691-01854-6 from Princeton University Press.

{End Chapter 1}

Chapter 2: Brain–computer interface

A brain–computer interface (BCI), which is often referred to as a brain–machine interface (BMI), is a direct communication link between the electrical activity of the brain and an external device, most frequently a computer or a robotic limb. BCIs are often used for the purposes of exploring, mapping, helping, enhancing, or healing human cognitive or sensory-motor capabilities. The term brain–computer interface made its debut in the canon of scholarly works devoted to scientific research for the first time in Vidal's study in 1973.

Because of the brain's capacity for cortical plasticity, signals coming from implanted prostheses may, after a period of adaptation, be processed by the brain in the same way as they would be through natural sensor or effector channels. After many years of testing on animals, the first neuroprosthetic devices to be implanted in people did not become available until the middle of the 1990s.

Recent research in human-computer interaction has seen a lot of progress in identifying mental states thanks to the use of machine learning to statistical temporal patterns derived from the frontal lobe (EEG brainwave data) (Relaxed, Neutral, Concentrating), Beginning with Hans Berger's discovery of the electrical activity of the human brain and the subsequent development of electroencephalography, the history of brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) may be broken down as follows: (EEG). Berger was the first person to measure the activity of the human brain using EEG in the year 1924. By studying EEG traces, Berger was able to recognize oscillatory activity, such as Berger's wave or the alpha wave, which has a frequency range of 8–13 Hz.

The very first recording apparatus that Berger used was rather simple. He worked on his patients by inserting silver wires under their scalps. After some time, they were changed out with silver foils that were wrapped around the patient's head using rubber bandages. Unfortunately, Berger found that when he linked these sensors to a Lippmann capillary electrometer, the readings were inaccurate. However, the use of more advanced measurement tools, such as the Siemens double-coil recording galvanometer, which could show electric voltages as low as one ten thousandth of a volt, was essential to the achievement of the desired results.

Berger investigated the connections between the alterations in his EEG wave diagrams and a variety of brain conditions. EEGs made whole new avenues of inquiry into the workings of the human brain possible.

Music for Solo Performer (1965), written by American composer Alvin Lucier, is considered one of the first instances of a brain-machine interface in operation. However, at the time, the phrase brain-machine interface had not yet been invented. In order to activate acoustic percussion instruments, the work takes use of electroencephalography (EEG) as well as analog signal processing gear (filters, amplifiers, and a mixing board). In order to execute the piece, one must generate alpha waves and play the different percussion instruments using loudspeakers that are either located nearby or directly on the instruments themselves. This is done by acoustic means.

After his first contributions, Vidal did not participate in BCI research for a number of years, and he also did not participate in BCI activities such as conferences. However, in 2011, he presented the first BCI during a lecture that was financed by the Future BNCI initiative and held in Graz, Austria. The presentation drew a standing ovation from the audience. Alongside Vidal was