The Function of History in Clausewitz’s Understanding of War

Drawing on statements by Clausewitz long known but ignored, the article traces his early and soon dominant interest in the past as it develops out of his experiences as a child and young man to become a major element in his thinking about the present. The article points to his easy shifting back and forth between an exclusively military approach to the history of war and a more encompassing political, social, and cultural interpretation that emphasizes the psychological forces of leaders and followers, and comments as well on the relationship between his historical and his theoretical work. In noting some general issues that turn people into historians, while following the unique conditions that led to Clausewitz’s massive historical writings, the article opens new perspectives on his thought and his times that may be worth pursuing further.