Sun Tzu and Carl von Clausewitz
Sun Tzu and Carl von Clausewitz both theorized on the strategies, influences, and effects of war. Sun Tzu sees it with an idealistic outlook, believing that war has requirements and predictable outcomes. Clausewitz, on the other hand, thinks that war is more enigmatic and susceptible to chance and happenstance. Both realize that war is a political action of the state with a political purpose. Clausewitz states that “war is an extension of politics by other means.” As in politics, the outcome is not always certain; there is a sort of enshrouding “fog” that always conceals the exact characteristics of a situation. This element of uncertainty is key in Clausewitz’s philosophy; he believes strongly that war is in large part determined by chance and possibility, that the individual nature of war makes it inherently unpredictable. Clausewitz feels that war is at its most basic level, an individual activity. The commander is obviously the lead individual in an army, and it is often a question of his moral, physical, and psychological capacities as to whether an army can be victorious. These qualities must also trickle down through the ranks to the corpsman, for they are the ones who fight.
He says when an army outnumbers the enemy ten to one, they should surround the victims; when it is five to one, they should attack from all sides; when they are twice the enemy’s numbers, they should divide the enemy. These steps can yield a victory without a battle, if properly employed. Clausewitz believes in total war: a victory must be absolute; the enemy must be completely beaten to the point that retaliation is not possible. While Clausewitz stresses the individual, the most important element of war is chance. Terrain dictates what kind of force must be used, whether it be a siege or a surprise attack, two thousand men on horses or fifty thousand foot soldiers. He declares a general must be able to understand a battle before he gets there. Sun Tzu advises that a commander should “shape” his enemy to the form he wants, rather than be shaped by the enemy. Clausewitz, on the other hand, sees war as an uncertain, foggy event. Sun Tzu says an army will be successful if it knows when it can and cannot fight, when it should use large or small forces, how to lie in wait for an approaching enemy. Sun Tzu advocates the use of deception, while Clausewitz warns to be suspicious of the enemy in all respects. He believes most fundamentally that war, at its highest level, is policy; it is an instrument through which a nation achieves it political goals. As Clausewitz believes that war is a means to a political end, he knows that an alliance is really an agreement between nations for the protection of self-interests. Clausewitz says that there is a fog in war which covers the predictable situation and conceals some influencing elements. An army should use spies to disrupt an enemy’s plans and create subversion within the ranks. Sun Tzu has a very idealistic, rational outlook of war, where the victor can be predicted based on a set of met requirements.
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