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

Adolf Hitler's strategic decisions have often been criticized, and even ridiculed, as tactical mistakes or even acts of insanity. But most of this criticism is unsound. Hitler had a far-seeing and clear-eyed picture of world-politics. He understood Germany's place in history and what realistic options it had to secure its future--and the future of Europe. With this in mind, we can fairly assess many of his most controversial decisions.

Gregory Conte and Warren Balogh discuss the Third Reich's foreign policy and the book Hitler: A Global Biography by Brendan Simms.

Other books mentioned:

Hitler's Second Book (German Foreign Policy)
https://archive.org/details/HitlerZweitesBuchENGLISH

Adam Tooze. The Wages of Destruction.

Stephen Fritz. The First Soldier: Hitler as Military Leader.

Who started World War I? Was it the Serbs? The Austrians? The French? According to German war-hero Otto Ernst Remer, it was the Jews and their stooges in the international elite who instigated the bloody, civilization-wrecking conflict. Greg and William review and discuss Remer's book Kriegshetze gegen Deutschland.