Principles of War

"These principles, though the result of long thought and continuous study of the history of war... will not so much give complete instruction to Your Royal Highness, as they will stimulate and serve as a guide for your own reflections." -Carl von Clausewitz, Principles of War, 1812

Written over two hundred years ago, many consider Principles of War (1812) one of the great books on war. Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz, while being the military tutor of sixteen-year-old Prussian Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, wrote this essay for the prince's education on war, its tactics, and strategy. The current edition was translated by German American historian Hans W. Gatzke and originally released in 1942.

CARL VON CLAUSEWITZ (1780-1831) was a Prussian general and military thinker. He fought with the Prussian army in France during the French Revolution and with Russia in the Napoleonic Wars (1806-1815), but became famous as a theorist interested in the examination of war. He wrote an extensive philosophical study of war, which resulted in his principal book On War (1832). Clausewitz died of cholera while commanding Prussian army's efforts to contain a pan-European cholera outbreak.