Contribution of Clausewitz to the Development of Military Strategy Essay

Carl von Clausewitz or kn deliver as General Carl Phillip Gottfried von Clausewitz was born in Magdenburg in July 1, 1780 and died of cholera at the mature of 51 in Breslau, Ger umpteen in November 16, 1831. He left over(p) a legacy that until this day his writings argon salvage compulsory for reading in host academies both in the US and Europe.He famous rule deem Von Kriege or translated in English as On War discusses many of his optimisms in considering fight as an extension of insurance-making thoughts rather than perfect(a) readings for multitude strategies. Analysts say Clausewitzs theories of fight were considerations during warfare and non provocations on how to stage war against the enemies.In fact, he is not the total war strategist of the absolute war as different people brand him solely even though his thoughts does not provoke the art of fashioning war our armed forces until today consider them as big contri exceptions to the growing of array strategies because of his concepts in advising technical discussion in the event of war.Although Clausewitz wrote near different battle conditions, he goes further in relating battles to psychological and semi governmental considerations. He became popular in connecting his rulers of war to be regarded as penury for military strategies because his theories inspire military leaders to act on legitimate situations according to the demand of the situation. thitherfore his theories indispensable never be employ as models of committing war but to serve as aids to sagacity during wars.However, through the passing of time almost of his tactical sop ups were altered or replaced by other policy-making and strategic thoughts but what he left about military systems and semipolitical strategies are regarded as pure received for military strategic commitments (Teijebakker, 2008).Clausewitz served as a Prussian soldier, military historiographer and military theoretician whose influence was mo st famous for military treatise. Although participated in military campaigns, his sole procedure was to be a military theorist and do examinations of war. During his time, other soldiers also examined the war during the Napoleonic era but not any of them has undertook the massiveest philosophical examination of war other than Clausewitz and Tolstoy did.Another big(p) writer, Jomini also took the same observation as Clausewitz but while Jomini based his theories on the system of war, Clausewitz writes on the philosophical view of it. If we are going to asses Clausewitzs philosophical view that militaries based the training of their strategies, we can see that Clausewitz has been able to introduced systematic philosophical inspection into western and European military thinking. His strategic rules claim powerful implications that are utilize for historical and analytical writing but also for logical form _or_ system of government, military education and planning on operations .Clausewitz believes that war is sound a immanent event that is part of social organisms much(prenominal) as man and evermore part of practical experience. He underlined that warfare is just as shot as our societies that is why there is the need for the distinction in manipulating strategies and tactics. He also asserted that there are no fixed principles that are adapted for tactical calculations and no laws for strategies either because wars are not alone the same.This kind of philosophy motivates military leaders to assume that because of the changeable bearing and conditions of war, Clausewitz provokes on the idea that defense is a stronger form of strategic principle than evil. This is because as Clausewitz warned, once offensive utility has an imbalance of momentum much(prenominal) as a weakened or divided forces, the offensive stance can transform into a defensive orientation. So the general principle, as he stresses, is that defense is a prerequisite for good offe nse (Abegglen, 2003).Moreover, Clausewitz great emphasis on military strategies is that he wants to emphasize that wars are the subsequence of government policies or in other words an extension of governing. There is warfare because war is motivated by political objectives and the only kernel to execute these political objectives is the commitment of war.Therefore he argues that what determines the character and activities of military operations are what the military leaders do in followers the delegacy given to them by the state driven by political aims. In this manner, since the military are under the ruling governing proboscis of the state, the states which compose of the public sector can also exercise their authority over military activities.But what was the most important message Clausewitz wants to amaze is that although war is not extraordinary, the waging of war essential be dependent on the political situation of those who wages it and with their anyies and enemi es. The strength of the military is not an assurance for victory but a defensive war seems to be the contributory factor in achieving victory.The machines that man made for human end and the skill those soldiers learned were each(prenominal) part of human endeavor to achieve victory. But these machines are useless unless use in the battlefield and maneuvered with exact substantialistic approach to warfare which include the art of defense and offense and military skills (Jolley, 2003).As a Prussian staff officer with political and military responsibility and with combat experience against armies of Revolutionary France, Clausewitz is prominently a military educator. Having to rise to the rank of a Major-General at the age of 38, his restrain On War which was written in Germanic language became the most important work that is written that deals on the theory of warfare and strategy. The book tells of theories on the area of interest of military strategists, historians, political t hinkers and political scientists.Clausewitz has met so many oppositions with his theories contain in his books but his influence is so great that even the Marxists-Leninists, the great navalists Sir Julian Stafford Corbett and the American nuclear strategists apply his principles to their own theoretical application. Although they have different culture, background and military orientation they all share the same belief that Clausewitzs writings are of innate importance not because only of their content but because of the influential his great mind has perceived.The book On War itself is al managements very large(p) to read and comprehend because it was still in its unfinished state and so the subjects seem too hard to follow. So many nations and great minds have failed to master it because of its unfamiliar style. But because Clausewitzs statements define great political thinking, precise military planning with principles of strategic calculations that are used by organizations i n developing different strategies, Clausewitzs ideas evoke superiority in leadership and management in war and of societies.His continuation of defining policy with politics by other means happens to be misunderstood because credibly his perception provokes alarm and opposition. According to him he objects on the role of policy makers because these so-called policy makers always tend to create war just to achieve their goals when they cannot achieve it through peaceful means. On the other hand, go through politicians and soldiers are against it because they k forthwith that war becomes really dangerous, chaotic and unpredictable when it is created for political goals.Another great significance of Clausewitzs theory to the advantage on the development of military strategy is that his ideas integrates a vast range of military concerns which include political, strategic, operational, analytical, tactical, pedagogical and historical concern that are in coincidence with the fundamental socio-political framework of the military.The good things about his theories is that they also successfully interrelates to a wide range of consideration and can adapt to any political and historical changes that is why until today, Clausewitzs concept of strategies on war and politics are still being utilized as fundamental in military statesmanship (Bassford, 1996).But what are the main didacticss of Clausewitz that they are still utilized in the management of military strategies today? In teaching Clausewitzs concept of strategies, military officials try to imbue to their soldiers how to analyze Clausewitzs theory of war so that they can check on its pertinence on the military power on any given time.The soldiers must be able to assess the learning concepts with thorough examination such as learning the genius of warfare as compared during the French regeneration against todays practical application of military concept. As Clausewitz advised, electric charge analysis is esse ntial to provide the learners or soldiers the sophisticated understanding of war, the nature of war, the purpose of war and the conduct of war. Assessing these activities help the soldiers develop in internalizing their way of thinking so that they may be critical in all areas of war and discover the characteristic of the opponent.Understanding the adversary makes the soldiers be critical on what analytical approach they can do to gain advantage during war. Then the essential points of engagement and following policies must be conveyed to the soldiers.These essential points include how to interact with war and its policy, understanding absolute war vs. the real war, perception on the moral and physical dimensions of war, strategic effects for the prospective leaders of war, understanding the sources of power and the dialectics of offense and defense. By assessing the principles of Clausewitz, we can now measure success according to the management of war (Bassford, 1985).As a concl usion, as Clausewitz always say that as wars are conceived, the generals of war must have clear idea on what are the goal of this wars. The militaries are learning from Clausewitzs admonition that no one push throughs a war or rather nobody in his right mind ought to start a war without prioritizing what the objectives are. The objectives of war can be of political purpose which the military must be aware while the conduct of war is the operational part wherein the military must operate accordingly. This governing principle of Clausewitz will set every war on its course and thusly contributory to the development of military strategy.ReferencesABEGGLEN, C. M. V. (2003) The Influence of Clausewitz on Jominis Prcis de lArt de la Guerre Erlenstrasse 3 4414 Fllinsdorf, Kings College London. easy from URL http//www.homepage.bluewin.ch/abegglen/papers/clausewitz_influence_on_jomini.pdfBASSFORD, C. (1985) An Instructors Guide To didactics Clausewitz. Available from URL http//www.clausew itz.com/CWZHOME/KassNWC/KassNotes3.htmlBASSFORD, C. (1996) Review Essay Carl von Clausewitz, On War (Berlin, 1832). Available from URL http//www.clausewitz.com/CWZHOME/CREV/CWZREV.htm