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PMM 297 - THE PHILOSOPHY OF WAR. First edition, very rare complete set of all 10 volumes, of this classic work, including Vom Kriege (vols. 1-3), "the most profound exposition of the philosophy of war" (PMM). "On War is one of the most important books ever written on the subject of war. Clausewitz, a Prussian officer who fought against the French during the Napoleonic Wars, sought to understand and analyse the phenomenon of war so that future leaders could conduct and win conflicts more effectively. He studied the human and social factors that affect outcomes, as well as the tactical and technological ones. He understood that war was a weapon of government, and that political purpose, chance, and enmity combine to shape its dynamics. On War continues to be read by military strategists, politicians, and others for its timeless insights" (Introduction to abridged English translation, Oxford University Press, 2008). "The book is less a manual of strategy and tactics, although it incorporates the lessons learned from the French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, than a general inquiry into the interdependence of politics and warfare and the principles governing either or both. War, Clausewitz maintained, must always be regarded as 'a political instrument'; for war, his most famous aphorism runs, 'is nothing but politics continued by different means'. Consequently, he scorns the notion of 'the harmful influence of politics upon the conduct of war', since blame, or praise, must be attached to politics itself. If the course of politics is sound, political influence on the conduct of war can only be advantageous. 'The French revolutionary victories over twenty years resulted mainly from the faulty politics of the opposing governments.' His basic conception, that military decisions must always be subordinate to political considerations, is buttressed by the emphasis laid on morals and morale as the decisive factors in war. He therefore condemns all rigid blue-prints for campaigns and battles, defines strategy as 'a perpetual alternation and combination of attack and defence,' and implies the then startling proposition that there no bad soldiers but only bad officers" (PMM). "Clausewitz (1780-1831) enlisted in the Prussian army in 1792, and in 1793-95 he took part (and was commissioned) in the campaigns of the First Coalition against Revolutionary France. In 1801 he gained admission into the Institute for Young Officers in Berlin, an event that proved to be a turning point in his life. "During his three years at the institute, Clausewitz became the closest protégé of Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst, the institute's head. The broad curriculum, coupled with Clausewitz's extensive reading, expanded his horizons dramatically. His basic ideas regarding war and its theory were shaped at that time. After finishing first in his class, Clausewitz was on the road leading to the centre of the political and military events during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, the reform of the Prussian army that followed Prussia's defeat, and the restoration of European monarchies following the defeat of Napoleon. "In 1804 Clausewitz was appointed adjutant to Prince August Ferdinand of Prussia. In this capacity, he took part in the Battle of Jena-Auerstädt (1806). In the wake of Prussia's catastrophic defeat by Napoleon, he and the prince fell into French captivity. With the Prussian army demolished and the prince captured, Prussia was forced to give up half of its territory in the concluding peace treaty. After their release at the end of 1807, Clausewitz joined the group of young and middle-rank officers around Scharnhorst, who struggled to reform the Prussian army. The reformers believed that Prussia's only hope of survival in the age of mass enlistment, as introduced by Revolutionary France, was in adopting similar institutions. However, such a modernization of society, state, and army was widely resisted among the aristocratic elite, which. Seller Inventory # 3777
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