War therefore is an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.
Attribution disputed; shown as originally published.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- War is violence used to make the opponent do what you want.
- In plain terms
- War is violence to force your will.
- What can you take from it?
- War is a tool to impose will on others.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What is the purpose of war?
- How does violence serve will?
Another view
War often achieves goals beyond just fulfilling will.
More from Karl von Clausewitz
Intelligence alone is not courage, we often see that the most intelligent people are irresolute. Since in the rush of events a man is governed by feelings rath…
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Permalink to quote #3 Action in war is like movement in a resistant element. Just as the simplest and most natural of movements, walking, cannot easily be performed in water, so in …
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