Carl Von Clausewitz: The Battles That Influence The World
Throughout our time, we have either heard or read about the prodigious people that have shaped or influence the world we live in today. Carl von Clausewitz is a pronounced military theorists who lived during the Napoleon era and saw war as a socio-political activity that skillfully influenced his success. The battles that took place within his time period were heavily influenced by this theory and various revolutionary events that are still adequate for explaining warfare in the modern era.
II. Topic Sentence: The government has an obligation to support the military and to protect its people, but the extent of political involvement varies. A. Clausewitz recognized that the government has important role when a nation is at war.
B. Clausewitz explained a division of labor between political leaders and the military, in which the military influences the political leaders by explaining what type of action is feasible and at what cost.
III. Topic Sentence: Having a competent military with a unified purpose is a critical in war.
A. Clausewitz believed that a military leader should be intelligent and is able to adjust to conditions manifested on the battlefield.
B. Military planning and conducting simple operations were important.
IV. Topic Sentence: Clausewitz believed in making warfare simple but effective. A. Part of Clausewitz’s strategy was to identify the enemy’s center of gravity. This approach indicated that the center of gravity is the decisive point of the enemy. B. Concentration of forces on the enemy’s decisive point was a dominant factor in his success. C. Clausewitz focused on strategy by exploring the nature of war, purpose and means in war, military genius, danger in war, physical effort in war, intelligence in war, and friction in war.
V. The proliferation of technology and easy access to information brings about a new paradigm shift to the non- state actor influence in war.
VI. Conclusion: Carl von Clausewitz was a theorist who undoubtedly saw war as abstract but his perspectives regarding politics, the military, and warfare made the abstract thought of war ________________real. Some people may argue that Clausewitz’ theories although relevant may be outdated and seem ineffective in some aspects due to the emergence of non-state actors. Clausewitz’ methods and theories on war has indeed shaped our military over the years. To this day, Clausewitz’ theories continue to be studied and analyzed as part of professional military education and they are still appreciated and relevant in the world we live today.
II. Topic Sentence: The government has an obligation to support the military and to protect its people, but the extent of political involvement varies. A. Clausewitz recognized that the government has important role when a nation is at war.
B. Clausewitz explained a division of labor between political leaders and the military, in which the military influences the political leaders by explaining what type of action is feasible and at what cost.
III. Topic Sentence: Having a competent military with a unified purpose is a critical in war.
A. Clausewitz believed that a military leader should be intelligent and is able to adjust to conditions manifested on the battlefield.
B. Military planning and conducting simple operations were important.
IV. Topic Sentence: Clausewitz believed in making warfare simple but effective. A. Part of Clausewitz’s strategy was to identify the enemy’s center of gravity. This approach indicated that the center of gravity is the decisive point of the enemy. B. Concentration of forces on the enemy’s decisive point was a dominant factor in his success. C. Clausewitz focused on strategy by exploring the nature of war, purpose and means in war, military genius, danger in war, physical effort in war, intelligence in war, and friction in war.
V. The proliferation of technology and easy access to information brings about a new paradigm shift to the non- state actor influence in war.
VI. Conclusion: Carl von Clausewitz was a theorist who undoubtedly saw war as abstract but his perspectives regarding politics, the military, and warfare made the abstract thought of war ________________real. Some people may argue that Clausewitz’ theories although relevant may be outdated and seem ineffective in some aspects due to the emergence of non-state actors. Clausewitz’ methods and theories on war has indeed shaped our military over the years. To this day, Clausewitz’ theories continue to be studied and analyzed as part of professional military education and they are still appreciated and relevant in the world we live today.