Clausewitz partying

CLAUSEWITZ DRINKING WITH STEIN AND GNEISENAU IN 1815

Detail of Painting "Die Tafelrunde" by Josef Schneider
Displayed on The Clausewitz Homepage by courtesy of the
Headquarters of the German Army Forces Command,
Koblenz (HQ GARFCOM)

CLAUSEWITZ IN UNUSUAL CONTEXTS

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War involves in its progress such a train of unforeseen and unsupposed circumstances that no human wisdom can calculate the end. It has but one thing certain, and that is to increase taxes.

—Thomas Paine

The well-known is such because it is well-known, not because it is known.

—G.W.F. Hegel

We sometimes find Clausewitz referred to or used in contexts that are not primarily military-political, military-historical, or military-theoretical. Sometimes these contexts are artistic, literary, business-related, or ideological. Here are some links to websites which refer to Clausewitz in these or other contexts. Some of the older links' targets have disappeared, but we retain the links for historical purposes.

Clausewitz on Facebook

Clausewitz on Twitter

Clausewitz Tourism

War and wildlife: the Clausewitz connection

Asper Humphreys and M.L.R. Smith, "War and Wildlife: The Clausewitz Connection," International Affairs, Volume 87, Issue 1 (January 2011), pages 121–142. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2346.2011.00963.x

Carl von Clausewitz might seem an unusual thinker to invoke in the name of wildlife protection but his insights into the nature of war provide a unique perspective into an arena that arguably poses more complex moral questions of responsibility to protect than with humans. The increasingly dangerous world of wildlife conservation offers a prism for examining many issues linked to sovereignty, especially in developing countries. This study highlights how the commercial rewards of the wildlife trade have fed into problems surrounding national security such as corruption, sub-state insurgency and state legality. These factors have led to the growing militarization of wildlife protection and, in turn, raise a fundamental question: is it ever right for an outside actor to ignore international convention to save a species from extinction?

WIKIPEDIA'S list of cultural references to Clausewitz

(as of 17 FEB 2011)

(Also see our Clausewitz Videos page)

1945: In the Horatio Hornblower novel The Commodore, by C. S. Forester, the protagonist meets von Clausewitz during the events surrounding the defence of Riga.
1945: In That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis, Lord Feverstone (Dick Devine) defends rudely cutting off another professor by saying "[...] but then I take the Clauswitz view. Total war is the most humane in the long run."
1955: In Ian Fleming's novel Moonraker, James Bond reflects that he has achieved Clausewitz's first principle in securing his base, though this base is a relationship for intelligence purposes and not a military installation.
1977: In The Wars by Timothy Findley, a novel about a nineteen-year-old Canadian officer who serves in World War I, one of his fellow soldiers reads Clauswitz's On War, and occasionally quotes some of its passages.
2000: In the Ethan Stark military science fiction book series by John G. Hemry, Clausewitz is often quoted by Private Mendoza and his father Lieutenant Mendoza to explain events that unfold during the series.
2004: Bob Dylan mentions Clausewitz on pages 41 and 45 of his Chronicles: Volume One, saying he had "a morbid fascination with this stuff," that "Clausewitz in some ways is a prophet," and that reading Clausewitz can make you "take your own thoughts a little less seriously." Dylan says that Vom Kriege was one of the books he looked through among those he found in his friend's personal library as a young man playing at The Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village
1962: In the film Lawrence of Arabia, General Allenby (Jack Hawkins) contends to T. E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) that "I fight like Clausewitz, you fight likeSaxe." To which Lawrence replies, "We should do very well indeed, shouldn't we?"
1977: In Sam Peckinpah's film Cross of Iron, Feldwebel Steiner (James Coburn) has an ironic conversation in the trenches between hostilities with the advancing Red Army with his comrade, Cpl. Schnurrbart, in which they refer to German philosophers and their views on war. Cpl. Schnurrbart: " ...and von Clausewitz said, 'war is a continuation of state policy by other means.'" "Yes," Steiner says, overlooking the trenches, " ...by other means."
1995: In the film Crimson Tide, the naval officers of the nuclear submarine have a discussion about the meaning of the quote "War is a continuation of politics by other means." The executive officer (Denzel Washington) contends that the interpretation of Clausewitz's ideas by the captain (Gene Hackman) is too simplistic.
2007: In the film Lions for Lambs, during a military briefing in Afghanistan Lt. Col. Falco (Peter Berg) says: "Remember your von Clausewitz: 'Never engage the same enemy for too long or he will ...'", "adapt to your tactics", completes another soldier.
2009: In the film Law Abiding Citizen, Clausewitz is frequently quoted by Clyde Shelton, the main character played by Gerard Butler.
2012: In The Gatekeepers (film), Ayalon quotes Carl von Clausewitz — getting one of the film’s very rare laughs by wryly describing the great military theorist as being smart even though he doesn’t seem to have been Jewish — who defined “victory” as constituting an improvement of one’s political situation

The Children's Illustrated Clausewitz

http://clausewitzforkids.wordpress.com/

This actually looks pretty good. It really is a book on Clausewitz designed for kids (and possibly young political science professors). Sometime when you have time to kill, try to plow through it. See the completed Book I and Caitlin Fitzgerald, "The Children's Illustrated Clausewitz." The Kickstarter orders have all been delivered or at least are en route and the publisher is selling the book directly.

Caitlin Fitz Gerald, The Children's Illustrated Clausewitz, Volume I (London/Perth/Nairobi/Oaxaca: Helios House Press, 2021). ISBN: 978-1-911683-00-1

See also Spencer Ackerman, "The Bible of Western War, Now Featuring Cartoon Animals." Wired, 18 July 2011. Military History Quarterly review . Kickstarter Campaign (2020).

BURG: Clausewitz's Home Town

Search the Burg website for other references to Clausewitz.

Also see Clausewitz Tourism

The Clausewitz Family Tree.

Click image for a 1300x900-pixel version

This is a contribution from Olaf Thiel und Bernd Domsgen of The Clausewitz Society
in Clausewitz's hometown of Burg, Germany.
E-Mail Adressen für Fragen, Hinweise und Anregungen.
Contact [This address is provided as an un-linked image, for security.]

Willkommen im Hotel Carl von Clausewitz

Hotel Carl von Clausewitz In der Alten Kaserne 35 39288 Burg / bei MagdeburgTel.: 0 3921 - 9080 — Fax: 0 3921 - 908108. Find more info on our Tourism page.

Sekundarschule II Carl von Clausewitz
Straße der Einheit 35a
39288 Burg
Tel.: +49 (0) 3921 2473
Schulleiter: Herr Scholz
Stellvertreter: Herr Steinhauer

CLAUSEWITZ'S TOMB (BURG)
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Clausewitz as Art

Ansichten der Gegend um Clausewitz 2002
https://www.galerieimtaxispalais.at/fileadmin/archiv_1999-2008/ausstellungen/gostner/gostner_raum4.htm

In "Ansichten der Gegend um Clausewitz" (exemplarischer Aufzug "Konflikt-strategien") wird die Bühne der Konflikte auf die abstrakte Ebene der strategischen Planung verschoben. Alle vier Wände des Raumes bedecken Wandzeichnungen, die Gostner mit Kohle aufgetragen hat. Es sind Planskizzen von historischen Schlachten von der Antike bis heute. Die formal bestechenden Schlachtenpläne fungieren für Gostner als ästhetische Manifestationen und zugleich als spezielle Modelle, die für den Krieg, eine spezifische Form der Organisation von politischen Interessens-gegensätzen und Gewalt, entwickelt wurden. Die Diagramme könnten jedoch ebenso auf andere, alltägliche Konfliktformen verweisen.