Q&A · 2:48:39-2:48:51

Clausewitz died before revising all of On War

A brief military-theory answer explains why On War preserves an incomplete revision rather than its author's final arrangement.

Question

Did Clausewitz die before completing On War, and was the missing revision only a matter of adding detail?

Short answer

He died before he could rewrite the whole work. Greater depth was part of the plan, but he also intended to add other ideas.

Notes

Carl von Clausewitz died before he could rewrite the whole of On War. Greater depth was part of the intended revision, but the unfinished work also left other ideas he meant to add or develop. Reading the book therefore requires attention to its incomplete editorial state as well as to the arguments that survive.