Posted on 02/19/2004 12:06:33 PM PST by The Shrew
Leaders & Success
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Military Strategist Clausewitz
BY MICHAEL MINK
FOR INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
When it came to war, Karl von Clausewitz said the only thing certain was unceratinty.
A professional soldier who first saw combat at 13, Clausewitz (1780-1831) went on to achieve the rank of general in the Prussian army and the status of legend for his 10 volumes on warfare. The most notable of these were his three volumes titled "On War," considered by many experts to be the most important and influential work ever written on the subject. Studied in military colleges the world over, his writings have influenced many, including U.S. generals Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton.
In war, Clausewitz wrote, a battle plan must be by necessity ever-changing, for good reason.
"Earlier theorists aimed to equip the conduct of war with principles, rules or even systems, and thus considered only factors that could be mathematically calculated (e.g., numerical superiority, supply, the base, interior lines). All these attempts are objectionable, however, because they aim at fixed values. In war everything is uncertain and variable, intertwined with psychological forces and effects, and the product of a continuous interaction of opposites," wrote Clausewitz in "On War."
"Clausewitz's fundamental basic point is that warfare isn't simple. It is an inherently complex, dynamic, changing environment, and you have to be conscious of that. You're not a craftsman out there doing the same thing over and over again," said Christopher Bassford, a Clausewitz expert who teaches at the National War College in Washington, D.C.
Many of the strategic, philosophical and leadership principles of "On War" have been embraced and adapted by the business community.
"Clausewitz summed up what it had all been about in his classic 'On War,' " wrote former General Electric Chairman and Chief Executive Jack Welch. "Men could not reduce strategy to a formula. Instead, the human elements were paramount: leadership, morale and the almost instinctive savvy of the best generals."
Clausewitz and the Prussian general staff, Welch wrote, "did not expect a plan of operations to survive beyond the first contact with the enemy. They set only the broadest of objectives and emphasized seizing unforeseen opportunities as they arose. Strategy was not a lengthy action plan. It was the evolution of a central idea through continually changing circumstances."
Clausewitz the soldier demonstrated his bravery in many instances on the battlefield. "Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior," he said, adding that if not present naturally, it could emerge as a result of proper training.
Clausewitz was known for his sterling reputation, personal integrity and honesty. Because his works — in his time and now — were considered to be difficult reads, many of his famous quotes have been taken out of context and have created "the popular misconception of Clausewitz as a cold and callous prophet of total, unconditional war. . . . Yet it is precisely Clausewitz's train of logic that merits the full attention of those interested in strategic thinking and practice," wrote Tiha von Ghyczy, Bolko von Oetinger and Christopher Bassford in "Clausewitz on Strategy: Inspiration and Insight from a Master Strategist."
Eye On Tomorrow
Clausewitz thoroughly studied his own ideas and those of others. He wasn't writing for fame, recognition or money, but only to help future officers. He insisted that his wife, Marie, publish his major works — including "On War" — only after his death so they would be free of speculation about his agenda.
"Clausewitz has a tremendous amount of intellectual integrity. He's interested in the truth and doesn't care where it goes. Clausewitz is honest," Bassford said.
That honesty struck a chord with Clausewitz's contemporary, the Duke of Wellington, Bassford said. Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo with the help of England's German allies, wrote a 25-page memo about only one analysis of the battle — Clausewitz's.
Clausewitz played an important role at Waterloo as chief of staff to Gen. J.A. von Thielmann, head of Prussia's 3rd Army Corps.
Decisiveness in battle was necessary for victory, Clausewitz wrote: "It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past." He said great leaders have audacity and should take calculated risks.
"In what field of human activity is boldness more at home than in war?" he wrote. "It must be granted a certain power over and above successful calculations involving space, time and magnitude of forces."
Flexibility, Clausewitz believed, was key in the chaos of battle. "Presence of mind . . . is nothing but an increased capacity of dealing with the unexpected," he wrote. Military genius wasn't a God-given gift, but could be developed: "It is the inquiring rather than the creative mind, the comprehensive rather than the specialized approach, the calm rather than the excitable head" that won battles.
While Clausewitz was a professional soldier, he didn't limit his thinking to military matters. His interest in and studies of art, science, education, history and political theory gave depth to his writings on war. "It was his refusal, above everything else, to let his mind be constrained to a narrow point of view that must strike the modern professional as exemplary," wrote Ghyczy, Oetinger and Bassford.
Man Of Principle
His ability to look at the big picture helped him solve immediate problems, too. After France and Napoleon defeated Prussia in 1806, Prussian King Federick Wilhelm III conscripted troops to fight for France against Russia in order to avoid his country's destruction. Clausewitz, along with other officers, stuck to their principles and resigned their commissions rather than fight with Napoleon.
Clausewitz believed that if the Russians beat Napoleon, he could liberate his fellow Prussians. So he and other officers joined the Russian army to help that happen.
Once the Russian army repelled Napoleon's attack on Moscow, Clausewitz took action in 1812. He crossed lines in disguise, and encouraged the Prussian commander and others to join him with the Russians. They did, which led to a treaty with Russia and forced the Prussian king to break with Napoleon.
"Clausewitz as a man is as worthy . . . as the work ('On War') itself," wrote Ghyczy, Oetinger and Bassford. "His values and intrinsic beliefs, more than his specific ideas, have given his work an inner coherence and a power of persuasion that have endured until modern days. . . . He may rightly be seen as an inspiration to all those whose ambition is to excel professionally in any field."
Regards,
TS
Regards,
TS
Regards,
TS
SHOT OUT
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