Clausewitz: theory should educate judgment

Clausewitz argues that theory turns historical experience into trained judgment rather than dictating a mechanical answer. Theory orders accumulated experience so each new commander does not have to clear the same intellectual ground alone. It should educate judgment before action, not accompany an officer into battle as an algebraic formula. Theory must fit the strategic culture and circumstances of the user, so an army suited to Prussia cannot simply be transplanted to France or Spain. Mahan and Corbett emerge as later thinkers who extend this conversation rather than as mutually exclusive schools.