On War

Character Guide

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Carl von Clausewitz (The Author)

A Prussian general and military theorist who writes as the analytical voice of the work, developing a systematic theory of war from first principles.

Napoleon Bonaparte (Buonaparte)

Referenced repeatedly as the preeminent modern practitioner of war, whose campaigns (e.g., the invasion of Russia) serve as key illustrative examples of decisive, 'absolute' warfare.

Frederick the Great

The Prussian king whose Seven Years' War campaigns are cited early as examples of strategic manoeuvring, economy of force, and the use of artillery by a weaker state.

The Defender

A recurring theoretical figure (not a historical person) representing the army or commander conducting a defensive campaign, whose choices and dilemmas structure much of the book's analysis.

The Assailant (The Aggressor)

The theoretical counterpart to the Defender, representing the offensive side in battle and strategy, whose advantages and risks are analyzed throughout.

Glossary

Absolute war

Clausewitz's concept of war pursued to its theoretical extreme, with maximum force and decision-seeking, unmoderated by political restraint.

Centre of gravity

The idea that an enemy's power should be concentrated conceptually into as few 'points' as possible so a decisive blow can be aimed at it.

Economy of force

The principle that no more strength than necessary should be dedicated to secondary objects, so as to preserve force for the decisive point.

Friction

Clausewitz's term for the countless small, unpredictable difficulties (fatigue, error, chance) that make even simple military plans hard to execute in practice.

Culminating point

The moment at which an attacking force's superiority is exhausted and it risks tipping into weakness relative to the defender.

Landsturm

A general levy or mass militia of the population called up for national defense, as opposed to a professional standing army.

Theatre of war

The overall geographic and strategic area in which a campaign's armies, fortresses, and lines of communication operate.

Successive resistance

A (criticized) method of defense that relies on a gradual, staggered application of force over time rather than concentrating it all at once.

Strategic reserve

Forces held back from initial combat to be committed later, used to secure or exploit the final decision of a campaign.

Tension and rest (dynamic law of war)

Clausewitz's model describing war as alternating between periods of active striving toward a decision ('tension') and pauses of equilibrium ('rest').

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