Jomini vs. Clausewitz American Military

Jomini vs. Clausewitz

American military strategy has been influenced most heavily by the theories of two men who wrote their individual thoughts in the years following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. Although often considered to have differing views, these two men, Antoine-Henri Jomini and Carl von Clausewitz, are generally considered together.

In considering the views of these two men it is essential to keep in mind when they organized their ideas. Both men were influenced greatly by studying the military campaigns of Prussia's Frederick the Great. Clausewitz was actually an officer in the Prussian army and, as a result, would be expected to be influenced by Frederick the Great

. Jomini, on the other hand, served in both Napoleon's army and the Russian army. Clausewitz and Jomini both saw considerable action in the Napoleonic Wars and were thus influenced those events. Finally, during the course of their respective lives, Jomini and Clausewitz maintained a professional relationship with each other and read each other's books.

Despite sharing a common source of military experience, Jomini and Clausewitz have substantially differing viewpoints on the nature and role of military theory. Clausewitz viewed war as inevitable and an "integral part of the world order

." Because of its inevitability, Clausewitz believed it imperative that it was a subject that required careful analysis and study. The essential element of Clausewitz's approach was that war was like a duel on a large scale and the goal of all warfare was to bring overwhelm your enemy. According to Clausewitz, anything less than a complete victory was a failure and not an acceptable option. Clausewitz saw war as a tragic, complex enterprise, which was always on the verge of developing outside of human control. Jomini, on the other hand, viewed war as a simple affair involving individuals who sometimes did heroic acts but which were always under the control of a masterful commander.

Clausewitz was overly concerned with policy and his belief that war must be waged with an eye on what the political objective of the country might be. He felt that it was the responsibility of the military generals to execute the war in accordance with the policies set by the political leaders. "War is nothing but the continuation of policy with other means," said Clausewitz

. Jomini, however, took a contrary view. Jomini had little concern with political implications. Jomini's suggestion was that a government should choose its ablest commander and then leave him alone to wage the war according to scientific principles.

Clausewitz and Jomini developed their theories of war in a world that was much different than today's world. Their world was dominated by monarchial style governments that participated in warfare for reasons different from the reasons that modern democratic governments choose to pursue military options. Policies in the dynastic period were formulated by monarchs and had more to do with familial relationships and the acquisition of territory than for pure political considerations. In modern times, politics are the basis of wars and the policies are determined by national interests and not the interests of the monarchy. One of the major criticisms of both Clausewitz and Jomini is that their theories were formulated in a time when the nuances of democracy and nationalism were still in their infancy and that neither man contemplated the world as it exists today