Clauswitz, The General

The following is a short memoir of the Prussian General Carl von Clauswitz taken from the forward of a non-copyrighted translation of his magnus opus On War. On War continues to be the basis for western military thought and strategy.

General Carl Von Clausewitz, was born at Burg, near Magdeburg, in 1780, and entered the Prussian Army as Fahnenjunker (i.e., ensign) in 1792. He served in the campaigns of 1793-94 on the Rhine, after which he seems to have devoted some time to the study of the scientific branches of his profession. In 1801 he entered the Military School at Berlin, and remained there till 1803. During his residence there he attracted the notice of General Scharnhorst, then at the head of the establishment; and the patronage of this distinguished officer had immense influence on his future career, and we may gather from his writings that he ever afterwards continued to entertain a high esteem for Scharnhorst. In the campaign of 1806 he served as Aide-de-camp to Prince Augustus of Prussia; and being wounded and taken prisoner, he was sent into France until the close of that war. On his return, he was placed on General Scharnhorst’s Staff, and employed in the work then going on for the reorganisation of the Army. He was also at this time selected as military instructor to the late King of Prussia, then Crown Prince. In 1812 Clausewitz, with several other Prussian officers, having entered the Russian service, his first appointment was as Aide-de-camp to General Phul. Afterwards, while serving with Wittgenstein’s army, he assisted in negotiating the famous convention of Tauroggen with York. Of the part he took in that affair he has left an interesting account in his work on the “Russian Campaign.” It is there stated that, in order to bring the correspondence which had been carried on with York to a termination in one way or another, the Author was despatched to York’s headquarters with two letters, one was from General d'Auvray, the Chief of the Staff of Wittgenstein’s army, to General Diebitsch, showing the arrangements made to cut off York’s corps from Macdonald (this was necessary in order to give York a plausible excuse for seceding from the French); the other was an intercepted letter from Macdonald to the Duke of Bassano. With regard to the former of these, the Author says, “it would not have had weight with a man like York, but for a military justification, if the Prussian Court should require one as against the French, it was important.”

The second letter was calculated at the least to call up in General York’s mind all the feelings of bitterness which perhaps for some days past bad been diminished by the consciousness of his own behaviour towards the writer.

As the Author entered General York’s chamber, the latter called out to him, “Keep off from me; I will have nothing more to do with you; your d----d Cossacks have let a letter of Macdonald’s pass through them, which brings me an order to march on Piktrepohnen, in order there to effect our junction. All doubt is now at an end; your troops do not come up; you are too weak; march I must, and I must excuse myself from further negotiation, which may cost me my head.” The Author said that be would make no opposition to all this, but begged for a candle, as he had letters to show the General, and, as the latter seemed still to hesitate, the Author added, “Your Excellency will not surely place me in the embarrassment of departing without having executed my commission.” The General ordered candles, and called in Colonel von Roeder, the chief of his staff, from the ante-chamber. The letters were read. After a pause of an instant, the General said, “Clausewitz, you are a Prussian, do you believe that the letter of General d'Auvray is sincere, and that Wittgenstein’s troops will really be at the points he mentioned on the 31st?” The Author replied, “I pledge myself for the sincerity of this letter upon the knowledge I have of General d'Auvray and the other men of Wittgenstein’s headquarters; whether the dispositions he announces can be accomplished as he lays down I certainly cannot pledge myself; for your Excellency knows that in war we must often fall short of the line we have drawn for ourselves.” The General was silent for a few minutes of earnest reflection; then he held out his hand to the Author, and said, “You have me. Tell General Diebitsch that we must confer early to-morrow at the mill of Poschenen, and that I am now firmly determined to separate myself from the French and their cause.” The hour was fixed for 8 A.M. After this was settled, the General added, “But I will not do the thing by halves, I will get you Massenbach also.” He called in an officer who was of Massenbach’s cavalry, and who had just left them. Much like Schiller’s Wallenstein, he asked, walking up and down the room the while, “What say your regiments?” The officer broke out with enthusiasm at the idea of a riddance from the French alliance, and said that every man of the troops in question felt the same.

“You young ones may talk; but my older head is shaking on my shoulders,” replied the General. ["Campaign in Russia in 1812”; translated from the German of General Von Clausewitz – by Lord Ellesmere].

After the close of the Russian campaign Clausewitz remained in the service of that country, but was attached as a Russian staff officer to Blucher’s headquarters till the Armistice in 1813.

In 1814, he became Chief of the Staff of General Walmoden’s Russo-German Corps, which formed part of the Army of the North under Bernadotte. His name is frequently mentioned with distinction in that campaign, particularly in connection with the affair of Goehrde.

Clausewitz re-entered the Prussian service in 1815, and served as Chief of the Staff to Thielman’s corps, which was engaged with Grouchy at Wavre, on the 18th of June.

After the Peace, he was employed in a command on the Rhine. In 1818, he became Major-General, and Director of the Military School at which he had been previously educated.

In 1830, he was appointed Inspector of Artillery at Breslau, but soon after nominated Chief of the Staff to the Army of Observation, under Marshal Gneisenau on the Polish frontier.

The latest notices of his life and services are probably to be found in the memoirs of General Brandt, who, from being on the staff of Gneisenau’s army, was brought into daily intercourse with Clausewitz in matters of duty, and also frequently met him at the table of Marshal Gneisenau, at Posen.

Amongst other anecdotes, General Brandt relates that, upon one occasion, the conversation at the Marshal’s table turned upon a sermon preached by a priest, in which some great absurdities were introduced, and a discussion arose as to whether the Bishop should not be made responsible for what the priest had said. This led to the topic of theology in general, when General Brandt, speaking of himself, says, “I expressed an opinion that theology is only to be regarded as an historical process, as a MOMENT in the gradual development of the human race. This brought upon me an attack from all quarters, but more especially from Clausewitz, who ought to have been on my side, he having been an adherent and pupil of Kiesewetter’s, who had indoctrinated him in the philosophy of Kant, certainly diluted--I might even say in homoeopathic doses.” This anecdote is only interesting as the mention of Kiesewetter points to a circumstance in the life of Clausewitz that may have had an influence in forming those habits of thought which distinguish his writings.

“The way,” says General Brandt, “in which General Clausewitz judged of things, drew conclusions from movements and marches, calculated the times of the marches, and the points where decisions would take place, was extremely interesting. Fate has unfortunately denied him an opportunity of showing his talents in high command, but I have a firm persuasion that as a strategist he would have greatly distinguished himself. As a leader on the field of battle, on the other hand, he would not have been so much in his right place, from a manque d'habitude du commandement, he wanted the art d'enlever les troupes.”

After the Prussian Army of Observation was dissolved, Clausewitz returned to Breslau, and a few days after his arrival was seized with cholera, the seeds of which he must have brought with him from the army on the Polish frontier. His death took place in November 1831.

His writings are contained in nine volumes, published after his death, but his fame rests most upon the three volumes forming his treatise on War. In the present attempt to render into English this portion of the works of Clausewitz, the translator is sensible of many deficiencies, but he hopes at all events to succeed in making this celebrated treatise better known in England, believing, as he does, that so far as the work concerns the interests of this country, it has lost none of the importance it possessed at the time of its first publication.

The Role of Decision in the Enterprise, Part 1

“Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader.”
—General George S. Patton

What separates a rank-and-file member of an organization from a leader in the same? While most of the production and support staff have duties that fall within the category of drills—sequences of discrete actions which comprise a larger task. While these are typically things that can be learned and easily repeated instinctually, they differ from the decisions that leaders make by their very nature of not being what drills are: Something that can be repeated on a mechanical basis.

Not surprisingly, the power of the decision has historically been important in combat, just as it is in the enterprise. Think about the great decisions throughout the history of business:

· The decision of John D. Rockefeller to combine the multitude of Standard Oil companies into one “trust.” Not only did this revolutionize the oil industry in that day and age, it produced the world’s first billionaire, one of the world’s first multi-national corporations, caused the United States government to form “anti-trust” laws, and re-define the ways of philanthropy by a single man and his family. According to Wikipedia: “Standard paid out in dividends during 1882 to 1906 in the amount of $548,436,000, at 65.4% payout ratio. A large part of the profits was not distributed to stockholders, but was put back into the business. The total net earnings from 1882-1906 amounted to $838,783,800, exceeding the dividends by $290,347,800. The latter amount was used for plant expansion.”

· The decision of AT&T on January 8, 1982 to settle a lawsuit and agree to divest its local exchange service operating companies in return for an opportunity to enter the burgeoning Internet services business: “Effective January 1, 1984, AT&T's local operations were split into seven independent Regional Bell Operating Companies known as "Baby Bells." RBOCs were originally known as Regional Holding Companies, or RHCs.” The ramifications? The telecommunications giant additionally became an Internet Service Provider and most of the companies that were divested eventually merged back into a couple companies—in fact, one of the divested companies acquired the parent company AT&T to become, once again, AT&T. The current AT&T has a market capitalization of $1.18 Billion USD.

· The decision of a small Seattle company to start selling cappuccino and espresso drinks instead of just purchasing coffee beans from growers and selling them as a premium product revolutionized the coffee house industry. The name “Starbucks” is synonymous with the word “coffee” and its variations (i.e. very high Top of Mind Awareness, what marketers like to call TOMA). In addition, the cash flows of Starbucks are so high that they can open a store in Great Britain once every two weeks!

· The decision of Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos to expand from such business ventures as a hamburger stand, air charter service, and a sailing business into a company simply called “Ja-Ri” in 1959 that would later change its name to a concoction of the two words “American Way.” Millions of people would become “downline” distributors, and thus their own bosses, and work towards being part of the “American dream.” The company was Amway and has thoroughly become seated in the American culture as something with a good and bad image.

· The decision of individuals working for energy trading giant Enron towards impropriety, especially of the financial variety would revolutionize the United States business environment by wiping out one of the five major accounting firms of the country and influencing Congress to enact laws on corporate governance.

And, lastly:

· In September of 1995 a computer programmer with a personal website put his broken laser pointer up for sale. When he astonishingly sold it for $14.83, Pierre Omidyar contacted the winning bidder and reminded him of the state of disrepair of the laser pointer. To his amazement, the buyer stated that he collected the unique item. eBay is now the holding company for eBay.com, online banking company Paypal.com and Voip service Skype and had 2006 revenues of $5.969 Billion USD.

The importance of the decision is truly an astounding one; one that we will certainly pursue further. To close, a quote from Napoleon on the nature of decisions in warfare:

“There are times when a battle decides everything, and there are times when the most insignificant thing can decide the outcome of a battle.”
—Napoleon Bonaparte

…With the Blood of Patriots

The day was quickly ending that evening when ships outside Baltimore Harbor started bombarding the American Fort McHenry. It was sundown on September 13, 1814 when the British started bombarding the fort and the lights in Baltimore went out. Shells burst over the Fort for 25 solid hours: It was the only illumination in the entire area, allowing the flag to be seen by all—and that it was still standing through the night.

An American attorney and poet could be found on one of the British ships in the harbor along with a military officer, Colonel John Stuart Skinner. The two were meeting for a prisoner exchange with two British Flag Officers and a British General for the release of one Dr. William Beanes. Because they had knowledge of British military unit locations and strengths, they were not allowed to return to Baltimore that evening. Instead, the aforementioned attorney found himself without anything else to do but watch the bombardment of the beloved Fort at the mouth of Baltimore Harbor. Inspired, he penned the poem “The Defense of Fort McHenry,” using the rhythm of the piece “To Anacreon in Heaven.”

The man was Francis Scott Key and the song that resulted from his words would become the American National Anthem in the early 20^TH century: “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Years earlier, at the conception of the American Union, the thought of revolting against the British Empire was only supported by less than 1 in 3 people, even though the colonists were being taxed without proper representation within the British Parliament. The beginning of the Revolutionary Era is recognized as being 1763, with a declaration of the independence of the 13 colonies being posed 13 years later. It wasn’t until 1783, however, that Britain recognized the independence of the United States of America and hostilities between the two nations—at least until the War of 1812—ceased.

The right thing is rarely the easiest, or even the quickest in coming. Change brings destruction, often obliterating one paradigm to be replaced with another. This paradigm change may be brought about by the sweat and tears of a few or the blood of many patriots. On this day, the birthday of the United States of America, reflect on the values of your freedom, regardless of where in the world you find yourself or under whichever flag you choose to fly—for the ideals that formed our nation are also those that make many other nations and peoples great. It has been said that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. On this day, remember the ideals that bind us all together and the blood that has been shed by the patriots that have been willing to fight for those ideals.

With Self-Discipline Most Anything Is Possible

He’s been called “The American Lion;” a man that stands apart from others in his era as being someone who transformed himself and the time in which he lived. In the late 17^TH century he saw the need to modernize the American Navy. While mourning his first wife he learned to rope and ride in the badlands of what is now North Dakota. During the Spanish-American War he dropped everything and went out west to recruit a ragtag group of cavalrymen from myriad walks of life to fight in Cuba under General Leonard Wood, becoming nothing short of a war hero. This man who had started as a frail boy with physical ailments grew to be some of the finest stock this country has offered. Becoming President of the United States at 43 years old, Theodore Roosevelt is in the elite club of Presidents to win the Nobel Prize.

Years ago I recall watching television; there were a series of commercials discussing virtues that people should have and selling them on the “why.” One featured a judge that said that discipline is the everyday price we pay in place of paying the price of regret. We bathe each day instead of regretting being ridiculed by those around us for smelling and/or looking like we have just woken up; we exercise and eat right so that we won’t become overweight and will feel better; we respect others so that they will, in turn, respect us; we follow the law because we would regret being punished for not obeying it (or, a person is just of virtuous character and believes that the rule of law is there for a reason). Discipline is not just important, it is essential for the leader to practice.

Imagine that you are a member of a military unit in a leadership role: Be that as an officer or a non-commissioned officer. With subordinate troops in your charge, in the face of imminent danger do you confide in your troops your fears, thus validating their own and possibly fomenting more, or do you practice proper discipline and do your duty as their leader and an officer of the public and the commander-in-chief that you serve? The answer is obvious in the context of discipline.

In today’s “instant gratification” society the practice of self-discipline is instead often traded for impulsive behaviors that, instead of leading to success, lead to feeling good now. Proper self-discipline can be what separates a slob from a person that looks and plays the part of the successful individual.

“The one quality which sets one man apart from another—the key which lifts one to every aspiration while others are caught up in the mire of mediocrity—is not talent, formal education, nor intellectual brightness—it is self-discipline…With self-discipline, all things are possible. Without it, even the simplest goal can seem like the impossible dream.”

I couldn’t have articulated it better myself.

Cynical

“Today don't look so bad, compared to tomorrow
if time is all we have, then we're living on borrowed”
—Extreme “Cynical”

Once upon a time there was a group of philosophers that clung to the belief that virtue was the only necessity and was entirely sufficient to be happy. They believed in this philosophy to a fault: Neglecting everything else that would further their perfection of a virtuous existence. They neglected everything from their own personal hygiene and their family obligations to society. Nearly naked and devoid of provisions, a Greek by the name of Diogenes traveled the land and frivolously enjoyed the sun and the beaches, gathering thousands of people to listen to him sarcastically talk about society. Alexander the Great curiously sought him out, Diogenes suggesting that he renounce his conquests. Alexander, however, was apt to decline because he firmly believed that his destiny had already been written. Diogenes belonged to a group that history would recall as the cynics. In fact, Diogenes had the symbol of the cynic placed onto his tombstone.

Alexander the Great, mind you, conquered most of the known world by the time he turned 30.

Would you rather be a cynic or a conqueror? Are you satisfied with the habits of Diogenes and the cynics or molding and shaping your own world?

I once recall reading a piece on reducing the amount of cynicism in your life by reducing one’s hostility. It started by asking oneself the question “My philosophy in life is based on:” The follow-up question was then “Are these beliefs irrational? If they are, which rational beliefs could replace them?” You would then make a table whereas alongside the left-hand side there would be a list of those beliefs and along the right-hand side would be the replacement beliefs: Left side irrational, right side rational (this would also be a great exercise for individuals exhibiting maladaptive behaviors). Of course, the entire point of this exercise is to see the logical substitution of the rational version of irrational “cynical” beliefs then integrate the new belief system into one’s emotional responses. Changing your emotional responses, in turn, changes your behaviors and thus how you fundamentally interact with the world. The key to this sort of behavioral modification, as I’m sure it is with others, is internal motivation and/or finding some method of reinforcing behaviors when one begins to “slip.”

Of course, if you continue to feel the effects of this cynicism and hostility via tried and true warning signs:

· People seeking your companionship or advice infrequently

· Feeling of lacking motivation or desire for personal growth, wellness, and success

· You hurt other people’s feelings and don’t understand why they’re hurt

These are just an indicative few, but if they begin to manifest themselves again, the results of the technique need to be re-applied. I’ve often heard that habit is what you call something after you’ve done it 21 times: An average to be certain, but the underlying thought is that each person will develop a pattern after doing something so many times: Force of habit begotten by the momentum of having done the routine so many times…inertia makes it more difficult to stop a pattern of behavior unless sufficient energy is applied and there is enough self awareness to guide a person along.

Overcoming cynicism is not easy, but success is the manifestation of sacrifice and perseverance. If you can become truly motivated enough to be the person that you want to be then you needn’t let anyone stand in your way.

13 April 2007: Here I Go Again

Though I keep searching for an answer, I never seem to find what I’m looking for
Oh lord, I pray: You give me strength to carry on,
‘Cause I know what it means to walk along the lonely street of dreams.”

--Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again”

Each of my passions are merely an outgrowth from my first which came to me at a very young age; probably since the third grade, if not younger. The search for wisdom: Answers and truth.

In physics, the “holy grail” has been listed as the search for a grand unified theory, leading to a theory of everything. See, in physics there are four fundamental forces of nature: Electromagnetism, gravity, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. It is often said that this grand unification theory will be easy to recognize because it will, maybe, be about an inch long and mathematically elegant: Simplicity, elegance, boldness. These are the tenets of what wisdom truly is.

And so, I find myself along the path to seek answers and meaningfully relay them to the world while supporting my own needs. Along this journey of discovery, I’ve done much to discover myself and the ways the world works around me. Life is rarely a simple organism happening in small bubbles: Rather it is a large and complex system with multiple forces interacting on one another. We can, however, apply Galilean methods and only analyze discrete systems with little entropy involved. We can pick apart these systems and boil it down to a simple set of causal forces to determine how each element—and we—interact with the rest of the system.

However, I digress.

Business is the organization of resources to do commerce. Through commerce and open markets, great things can be had: Innovation, social change, and moving civilization forward. Necessity begets invention, which often leads to it being developed and marketed, especially in a free enterprise system. Take electricity, for example: Candles had their limitations. Two scientists, Edison and Tesla, vied for the top spot of whether to supply the civilized world with alternating or direct current. In the end, Edison won with his AC power, but DC power can still be found in many applications. They found a simple and elegant solution, applied the economic principle of economies of scale, and made it so that only the rich burned candles.

I write this on the eve of embarking fully on another adventure to seek wisdom, better society, and do commerce, going down the only road that I’ve ever known: Here I go again.