Carl von Clausewitz fue un soldado, historiador militar y teórico prusiano cuya obra fundamental moldeó la comprensión de la guerra. Sus escritos profundizan en la naturaleza del conflicto, enfatizando su conexión intrínseca con los objetivos políticos y su imprevisibilidad inherente. Clausewitz analizó meticulosamente la interacción entre la estrategia militar y los fines políticos, estableciendo conceptos fundamentales que siguen siendo influyentes. Sus profundas ideas continúan informando el pensamiento estratégico y el estudio del conflicto armado.
La Campaña de 1812 en Rusia, hasta ahora inédito en España, es un libro central en la bibliografía de Clausewitz y constituye el documento contemporáneo a los acontecimientos más serios sobre la guerra que significó el cambio de tendencia en la historia del Imperio napoleónico.
Corresponde al general prusiano Carl von Clausewitz el mérito de haber sido el primero en advertir el carácter de instrumento político de la guerra. «La guerra no es más que la continuación de la política del Estado por otros medios», afirmaba. Y de ahí su claro postulado: el ejército tiene que someterse siempre a la política y a las directrices de ella emanadas.Esta obra, cuya última y completa versión se traduce por primera vez al español directamente desde su lengua original, el alemán, constituye un relevante trabajo de la literatura militar que aspira a acercarse intelectualmente al fenómeno bélico, a identificar los factores determinantes del conflicto y a analizar su funcionamiento interno.De la guerra ocupó doce años de la vida de su autor. Su mujer, la condesa de Brühl, se encargó de la edición póstuma de este breviario estratégico que está considerado una imprescindible referencia bibliográfica y que, como señala Gabriel Cardona en el estudio preliminar, ejerció una extraordinaria influencia en todos los tiempos, desde Napoleón a Lenin.
First translation into English of Clausewitz's most important campaign history, which offers key insights into his theoretical classic On War.
The Battle of Waterloo has been studied and dissected so extensively that one might assume little more on the subject could be discovered. Now historian Peter Hofschröer brings forward a long-repressed commentary written by Carl von Clausewitz, the author of On War. Clausewitz, the Western world’s most renowned military theorist, participated in the Waterloo campaign as a senior staff officer in the Prussian army. His appraisal, offered here in an up-to-date and readable translation, criticized the Duke of Wellington’s actions. Lord Liverpool sent his translation of the manuscript to Wellington, who pronounced it a “lying work.” The translated commentary was quickly buried in Wellington’s private papers, where it languished for a century and a half. Now published for the first time in English, Hofschröer brings Clausewitz’s critique back into view with thorough annotation and contextual explanation. Peter Hofschröer, long recognized as a leading scholar of the Napoleonic Wars, shows how the Duke prevented the account’s publication during his lifetime—a manipulation of history so successful that almost two centuries passed before Clausewitz’s work reemerged, finally permitting a reappraisal of key events in the campaign. In addition to translating and annotating Clausewitz’s critique, Hofschröer also includes an order of battle and an extensive bibliography.
A sharply-observed study of one of the major turning points in history. A superb first-hand account from an officer on the Russian Imperial Staff. Includes a detailed examination of the Battle of Borodino.
"Not simply the greatest but the only truly great book on war," declared historian Bernard Brodie of Principles of War. Written two centuries ago by a Prussian military thinker, this is the most frequently cited, the most controversial, and in many ways, the most modern book on warfare. Author Carl von Clausewitz fought against the armies of the French Revolution and Napoleon, served as a high-ranking staff officer, and became a prominent military educator. By his day, war had become a contest of mass armies, with results decided by swift, concentrated action and superior effort. "Victory is purchased by blood," Clausewitz proclaims, stating that total victory is assured only through annihilation of the enemy's forces. Based on the author's "thought and observation, philosophy and experience," Principles of War examines the moral and psychological aspects of warfare, stressing the necessity of such qualities as courage, audacity, and self-sacrifice and the importance of morale and public opinion. Clausewitz emphasizes the notion of strategy as an evolving plan, rather than a formula, a concept that makes this work adaptable to modern strategists in fields beyond military science. Translated into virtually every major language, Principles of War is required reading in intermediate-level and senior military schools, as well as in many civilian strategic studies programs and business schools.
Ardant du Picq's Battle Studies, Clausewitz's Principles of War, and Jomini's Art of War.
For the strategist - whether he's in business, the military, or any other competitive field of endeavor - here is the essence of the greatest military thinker in the world.
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