Prussian Socialism Episode 3: Clausewitz's Philosophy of War and Politics

Prussian Socialism Podcast on Odysee

Carl von Clausewitz 1780-1831 was a Prussian Army officer and theorist. In his book Vom Kriege (On War) he develops his philosophy of conflict, according to which war is "an act of violence to compel the enemy to accomplish our will". He is perhaps best known for the formulation that "war is a mere continuation of politics by other means".
In this episode Gregory Conte and William explore the implications of Vom Kriege. What are the proper roles of theory, training and planning in war? How do Clausewitz's precepts apply outside of armed conflict?
We begin our discussion with the chapters on the importance of boldness and genius and work our way back to Clausewitz's ground assumptions. Along the way we apply his thought to the actions of Napoleon, Hannibal, Hitler and current day Russia.
On War (trans. Graham)
https://archive.org/details/onwartrbyjjgrah00claugoog/page/n30/mode/2up
Vom Kriege (German)
https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_hjjbntg0_UgC/page/1/mode/2up
Other books mentioned:
Viktor Suvorov's Spetsnaz, Inside the Soviet Army, and Icebreaker
For Napoleon's campaigns, see also
Epic History TV (on YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRUx61plsz4&list=PLUOc2qodFHp-mOphKW9RzQLsFTt-IV9RY&ab_channel=EpicHistoryTV