Clausewitz in English: The Reception of Clausewitz in Britain and America, 1815-1945

304 Pages·1994·18.439 MB·English

by  Christopher Bassford

CLAUSEWITZ IN ENGLISH
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CLAUSEWITZ
IN ENGLISH
The Reception of Clausewitz
In Britain and America
1815-1945
CHRISTOPHER BASSFORD
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1994
Oxford University Press
Oxford New York Toronto
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and associated companies in
Berlin Ibadan
Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.,
200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bassford, Christopher,
Clausewitz in English : the reception of Clausewitz in
Britain and America, 1815-1945 /
Christopher Bassford.
p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-19-508383-0
1. Military art and science—United States—History.
2. Military art and science Great Britain—History.
3. Clausewitz, Carl von,
1780-1831—Influence. I. Tide.
U43.U4B37 1994 355.02'0941—dc20 93-19001
246897531
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To my parents,
Philip James Bassford,
and Marynelle H. Bassford,
who deserve so much more.
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Acknowledgments
Owing to the broad time-span covered in this book and its inclusion of
both British and American sources, I have been more than usually depen-
dent on the assistance of a great many specialists. It is one of the great
pleasures of working in the historical profession that its practitioners are
generally happy to share their knowledge without reservation, and my
correspondents have, with very rare exceptions, been enthusiastically help-
ful. Such errors as this book still no doubt contains are, of course, my
own.
I am particularly indebted to John B. Hattendorf, Ernest J. King
Professor of Maritime History at the United States Naval War College,
and to Professor Michael Howard, now at the Institute for Advanced
Study at Princeton. Professors Hattendorf and Howard both have great
reputations for charm and for being helpful to younger scholars, virtues
amply demonstrated in their assistance to myself. Both plowed through
the great bulk of my early manuscript in draft form, and their comments,
encouragement, suggestions, and leads to new sources have been critical
to whatever progress I have made.
I owe special thanks as well to Professor Alan D. Beyerchen of Ohio
State University; Dr. Evelyn Cherpak, head of the Naval Historical Col-
lection at the Naval War College; Major Alan Harfield of the Army
Museum's Ogilby Trust; Douglas Hendry, Public Record Office at Kew;
Virginia Murray, of the John Murray Company, London; Professor Peter
Paret, Institute for Advanced Study; Professor Barry Steiner, California
State University at Long Beach; Professor Hew Strachan, Corpus Christi
College, Cambridge; Richard Taylor and Patricia Methven of the Liddell
Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London; Dr. C.M.
Woolgar, University of Southampton; and RC. Snelling, British Library.
The faculty and staff of Purdue University have also been most sup-
portive. Professors Robert E. May, Gordon R Mork, and Randy Roberts,
of the Department of History, have all lent a willing ear and often a helping
hand. The staff of the Interlibrary Loan Office, Ruth Rothenberg, Mary
Sego, Roger Strater, and Kathy Garner, have assisted me in a manner far
beyond the call of duty. The chief bibliographer of Purdue's HSSE Library,
E. Stewart Saunders, has also given me great support.
viii Acknowledgments
For more specific assistance I must thank Louise Arnold, U.S. Military
History Institute; Professor Martin Blumenson; Professor Brian Bond;
Fred Baumann, Library of Congress Manuscripts Division; Professor
Henry S. Bausum, Journal of Military History, L. James Binder, ARMY
magazine; Michael Bott, Archivist, University of Reading; Thomas W.
Branigar, Eisenhower Library; Major Mark Clodfelter, USAF; Professor
Gordon A. Craig; Professor Martin van Creveld; Professor Daniel Cross-
well; Professor Lorenzo Crowell; Captain Antulio J. Echevarria II, USAR;
Keith Eiler, Hoover Institution; Professor Robert M. Epstein; Professor
Norman Gash; Professor Felix Gilbert; Major-General John David Carew
Graham, Royal Parachute Regiment; Professor Arthur Groos; Eric Grove;
Joanna Hitchcock, Princeton University Press; Professor I.B. Holley;
Hermione Jolles; Claire L'Enfant, Routledge publishing; D.J. Lyon, Na-
tional Maritime Museum (U.K.); M.G. Little, Royal Marines Museum;
Professor Jay Luvaas; Lars Mahinske of the Encyclopaedia Britannica's
research department; Major Michael Matheny, USA; Colonel Lloyd Mat-
thews, USA; Dr. Joachim Niemeyer, the Milit rgeschichtliches Forschungs-
amt; Professor Peter Novick; Sumiko Otsubo of Ohio State University;
Professor Mark Peattie; Joan Phillips, Air University Library at Maxwell
Field; Professor William B. Pickett; Richard L. Popp, University of Chi-
cago archives; Carlos Rivera of Ohio State University; J.R. Russell, Na-
tional Library of Scotland; Elizabeth Sage, University of Chicago Library;
Professor Donald M. Schurman; Judith A. Sibley, West Point Library;
John Slonaker, U.S. Army Military History Institute; Dr. Richard P.
Stebbins; Professor Jon T. Sumida; Dr. Detlev F. Vagts; Gore Vidal; and
Professor Harold Winton.
Most of all, of course, I must thank my friend and advisor Professor
Gunther Rothenberg of Purdue University, without whose encourage-
ment I would long ago have abandoned this project and whose rigorous
demands have given it whatever quality it possesses.
As with every major project I have undertaken for a long time now,
my deepest appreciation goes to my wife, Sunyong Bassford, who has
been unfailingly supportive while nonetheless insisting that I remain in
touch with the rest of the planet.
Financial support for this project was provided by David Ross grants
from Purdue University and by an Olin Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mili-
tary History and National Security Studies from the Ohio State University.
I am also thankful for the practical support of my friends, colleagues, and
superiors here at the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff
College in Quantico, Virginia, and for their tolerance for the more-than-
occasional distraction from daily business that this project entailed. Thanks
are due as well to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military
Archives, King's College London, for permission to quote from materials
in their possession, and to the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery
Office for permission to quote from documents held by the Public Re-
cords Office.
Contents
1. Introduction 3
2. Clausewitz and His Works 9
Part I
Clausewitz in English to 1873:
Present but Not Accounted For 35
3. Clausewitz in Great Britain Before 1873 37
4. Clausewitz in America 50
5. The English Translation of On War 56
6. Assessment, 1815-1873 60
Part II
To the First Golden Age of Clausewitz
Studies in English: 1874--1914 67
7. Prelude: The Study of Clausewitz Before the South
African War 69
8. In the Wake of the South African War 73
9. Major British Military Writers 79
10. German, French, and British Interpretations 87
11. The Sea Power Theorists 94
12. Assessment, 1873-1914 104
Part III
The Apostle of Total War: 1914--1945 113
13. Clausewitz During World War I 116