19th century · Military Theory/Philosophy
Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) was a Prussian general, military theorist, and philosopher of war. He served in the Napoleonic Wars and spent his later years as director of the Prussian War College, where he wrote his seminal, unfinished work 'On War.' His theories, emphasizing war as a political instrument and the role of friction, chance, and passion, have profoundly influenced military and strategic thought to this day.