Chapter

Theory

January 2004

DOI:10.1057/9780230513679_14

In book: On Clausewitz (pp.171-184)

Authors:

Many have sought the holy grail of strategy — a set of rules or principles to deliver success to the general. The quest goes back to Ancient Greece and Rome and was revived in the Renaissance with the emergence of the Italian city-states. Machiavelli aspired to discover rational, universal principles such as the need for unified command and for a decisive battle. The Art of War thus offers a number of ‘precautions’ for the general as well as twenty seven ‘general rules of military discipline’ consisting of maxims and precepts dealing with strategy, tactics, administration and discipline.1

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Last Updated: 21 Nov 2024