Hannah Parry is a Newsweek Live Blog Editor based in New York tech and crime extensively.Hannah joined Newsweek in 2024 and previously worked as an assistant editor at The U.S Sun and as a senior reporter and assistant news editor at The Daily Mail She is a graduate of the University of Nottingham You can get in touch with Hannah by emailing h.parry@newsweek.com Continuous updates; facts and sources are still being cross-checked Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Witnesses who arrived to the scene of the Christmas market attack has described the "chaotic situation." "We saw blood on the floor, we saw people sitting beside each other and having golden and silver foils around them," Lars Frohmüller, a reporter for German public broadcaster MDR, told the BBC "And we saw many doctors trying to keep people warm and help them with their injuries." he added German chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Magdeburg on Saturday after the shocking attack on the Christmas market Scholz said his thoughts were with the victims and their families "We are at their side and at the side of the people of Magdeburg My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours," Scholz said on X Die Meldungen aus Magdeburg lassen Schlimmes erahnen.Meine Gedanken sind bei den Opfern und ihren Angehörigen Wir stehen an ihrer Seite und an der Seite der Magdeburgerinnen und Magdeburger Mein Dank gilt den engagierten Rettungskräften in diesen bangen Stunden A Saudi Arabian national was reportedly arrested on Friday after allegedly driving a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg killing at least two people and injuring over 50 others German newspaper Die Welt reported that a rental car was used to injure or kill between 60 and 80 people at the market while police had not "ruled out" that an explosive device might have also been used in the apparent attack The suspect was reportedly born in Saudi Arabia in 1974 "Officials are saying now that the driver is Saudi," CNN's Jake Tapper said during a broadcast on Friday night "He is a doctor and has been in Germany since 2006." Read in full from Alia Slisco on Newsweek. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called the German market attack "deeply shocking" as she said authorities are working to clarify details "The news from #Magdeburg is deeply shocking," Faeser said in a post on X "The emergency services are doing everything they can to care for the injured and save lives Our thoughts are with the victims and their families The security authorities will clarify the background." Die Nachrichten aus #Magdeburg sind zutiefst erschütternd um die Verletzten zu versorgen und Menschenleben zu retten All unsere Gedanken sind bei den Opfern und ihren Angehörigen Die Sicherheitsbehörden werden die Hintergründe aufklären The suspect who allegedly deliberately drove his car into crowds at a Christmas market was acting alone Saxony-Anhalt PM Reiner Haseloff told reporters The suspect has been identified as a Saudi Arabian doctor who has lived in the Germany for almost two decades The two people killed in the attack are reported to be a toddler and an adult At least 68 were injured when a black car plowed into busy crowds at the Christmas market in Germany on Friday Today's horror attack comes eight years the deadly Berlin Christmas market attack left 13 dead and dozens more injured had used a truck to plow into the crowded Christmas market on December 19 He was killed four days later during a shootout in Italy The suspected driver is a doctor from Saudi Arabia the regional prime minister of Saxony-Anhalt who was arrested at the scene but has not yet been named has been living in Germany since 2006 and works in Saxony-Anhalt A total of 68 people were injured in the Magdeburg Christmas market attack - with 15 of those seriously hurt At least 37 people were moderately injured and another 16 were slightly injured according to a post on the city's Facebook page Around 150 emergency personnel have been sent to the scene At least two people have been killed in the Magdeburg Christmas market attack Dozens more were injured in what authorities believe was a targeted attack and firefighters have responded to the suspected targeted attack at the Madgeburg Christmas market The emergency services have closed off the streets around the market as they respond to the dozens of injured shoppers German police fear that there may be an explosive in the car that plowed into crowds of shoppers at the Christmas market Magdeburg police have cordoned off the area and are telling the public to stay back Vice President-elect JD Vance has responded to the attack on the German Christmas market Vance shared an Associated Press report on the attack which left at least one dead and dozens injured The identity of the driver has not yet been released but police report he has been arrested Who was driving the car? https://t.co/A6Bq8WuswL Local authorities have reported between 60 and 80 people were injured in the attack Authorities are investigating the incident as a suspected targeted attack Regional government spokesperson Matthias Schuppe and city spokesperson Michael Reif warned that the driver appears to have targeted shoppers at the Christmas market A horrifying video, circling on social media and verified by CNN shows the moment that a black car drives directly into a crowd of people at the Magdeburg Christmas market Scores of shoppers who were crowded into the stalls when the car plowed into them Others tried to outrun the vehicle or dive out the way as it crashed into shoppers Magdeburg spokesperson Michael Reif described seeing "terrible" pictures of the "targeted" attack "The pictures are terrible," he told reporters in Germany "My information is that a car drove into the Christmas market visitors but I can't yet say from what direction and how far." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said the Christmas market attack "raises the worst fears." particularly now in the days before Christmas," added Saxony-Anhalt Gov Between sixty and eighty people were injured in the German market attack At least one person was killed when the car plowed into shoppers at the market Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsweek is committed to journalism that's factual and fair Hold us accountable and submit your rating of this article on the meter. Hold us accountable and submit your rating of this article on the meter. To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here. Newsletters in your inbox See all Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker If you\u2019re interested in writing for us email us at submissions@thestrategybridge.org Join The Bridge by supporting our community!  Click here to donate to our tax-deductible fundraising campaign this was when Carl von Clausewitz wrote most of his treatise On War despite the period's undoubted significance for the military theorist’s legacy For modern national security professionals this knowledge gap is particularly unfortunate reinforce the mistaken impression that Clausewitz's efforts to write a theory of war were an exoteric process separated from his experience in war or his performance as a senior officer it is also easier to brush aside the need for reflection and the continuous study of war and society Clausewitz thought central for the business of war The reasons for this decade-long knowledge gap are manifold First and foremost is the lack of correspondence between Clausewitz and his wife Marie as they lived together; although other letters are preserved their number is not as great nor their content as candid and detailed as their correspondence as a couple the military theorist spent most of this period drafting On War and the prolonged and secluded nature of that writing process offers a less compelling narrative to scholars and audiences Following the riveting accounts of the Napoleonic Wars the realities of peace and the Restoration Era's stifling climate additionally constrain interest in the period biographies tend to describe the 1820s in broad strokes often squeezing the decade Clausewitz dedicated to writing On War into a single chapter now in the collection of the German History Museum in Berlin promises to shed new light on Clausewitz's life its connection to real-life events provides a better understanding of the decade’s influence over Clausewitz's thought and the realities surrounding the creation of On War The find highlights an overlooked memorandum Clausewitz wrote in 1825 that reveals Clausewitz as a thoughtful and consummate military professional the ideas expressed in this memorandum matured on the pages of his general theory reinforcing the notion of his theory as a product of complex reflection on the realities military professionals encounter (Copyright: German Historical Museum/Deutsches Historisches Museum/I The newly discovered drawing comes from the collection of the German Historical Museum in Berlin the institution acquired the partial estate of the artist Johann Jakob Kirchhoff (1796-1848) Among the sketches and studies found was an aquarelle representing Carl von Clausewitz The drawing was part of a series of portraits of Prussian officers and statesmen who played a significant role in the 1813-1815 campaigns against Napoleon (or the Wars of German Liberation as the period is also known in German historiography) The portraits were bundled together with Kirchhoff's work Royal Parade on the Tempelhof Field (Königsparade auf dem Tempelhofer Feld) the Royal Parade represented a gathering of the elite of the Prussian army with the famous cast iron monument dedicated to the Prussian victories in 1813-1815 as a background Although the intention and immediate purpose of this work and the additional portraits remain unclear the iconography evoking the Wars of German Liberation suggests Kirchhoff probably envisioned the sequence as a jubilee celebration of the Allied victories against Napoleon As the faces on the Royal Parade are hard to distinguish while the individual sketches are rich in detail it is also possible the artist might have had another the sequence may have constituted a preliminary study for it Kirchhoff's illustrator work could also suggest he intended the Royal Parade and the drawings for a book or a luxury album.[1] Kirchhoff's portrait of Clausewitz unmistakably reminds us of the military theorist's popular image by Wilhelm Wach There is a possible explanation for that—after Clausewitz's death Marie wished to commission a portrait of her beloved husband that could be turned into lithograph and then printed and gifted to close friends was dissatisfied with a recent official portrait done by the famous German artist Franz Krüger Marie intended to commission another painting an amalgam of Krüger's work and a drawing she possessed that truly captured her beloved Carl's facial expression.[2] The similarity between Kirchhoff's image and Wach's famous portrait of Clausewitz suggest the former might have been that drawing This also implies Wach's work was created posthumously by combining Clausewitz's figure from Krüger's portrait with the facial expression from Kirchhoff's “Carl von Clausewitz” by Wilhelm Wach (Wikimedia) Kirchhoff's image emphasizes Clausewitz's penetrating blue eyes a feature the work shares with another recently discovered drawing of the military theorist the so-called “young Clausewitz.”[3] Yet compared to that work's confident and energetic look Not only the fifteen-year difference and the burdens of several wars separate the two images His letters from that time describe prolonged and severe pain in the throat that made it impossible for him to swallow and enjoy food and drink.[4] Hence the unhealthy complexion and weariness evident in his face Kirchhoff's drawing provides one additional insight The larger aquarelle was called Royal Parade on the Tempelhof Field but no known source mentions a prodigious parade in 1825 the Prussian army conducted military exercises in Potsdam and Berlin with the additional purpose of creating a modern field manual The indications in Kirchhoff's papers that the series was made both in Berlin and Potsdam also suggest the maneuvers may have served as the real-life basis for the artist's work.[5] In his position as a director of the Prussian Military Academy Clausewitz also performed duties as associate to the General Staff (aggregirtier Officer des General Stabes) occasionally called to support the evaluation of maneuvers and training.[6] However his particular involvement in the 1825 maneuvers remains unclear A memorandum he wrote ahead of the event suggests Clausewitz was not included in the committee working on the field manual indicates that even if the military theorist did not belong to the Prussian General Staff's leading figures he still enjoyed recognition for his role in the Napoleonic Wars and the artist would have not included him in the series author unknown.(Forschungsgemeinschaft Clausewitz-Burg Even if the committee working on a new field manual omitted Clausewitz the short memorandum captured his thoughts on the ways to create guidelines for conduct in the field Although published in the 1990 volume containing Clausewitz’s manuscripts and correspondence the document has never been extensively studied This article offers its first English translation Clausewitz's memorandum was sent to his close friend and former commander Field Marshall August Neidhardt von Gneisenau.[7] Serving as the chief of staff for Blücher Gneisenau was largely responsible for the planning of the Allied campaigns against Napoleon in 1813-1815 when Prussian politics took a reactionary turn He and Clausewitz continuously exchanged ideas and Gneisenau encouraged Clausewitz's work on a general theory of war It remains unclear whether Clausewitz expected that his friend would pass along the 1825 memorandum to other leading features in the Prussian military or used the occasion to simply clarify his thoughts on the subject A booklet capturing the conduct of armies in the field was called to close a gap in Prussia's military documentation As part of the efforts to restructure and modernize the Prussian army after its disastrous defeat at the hands of Napoleon in the Jena-Auerstedt Campaign (1806) the reform circle led by Gerhard von Scharnhorst created an exercise manual in 1812.[8] The document aimed at introducing contemporary tactics and rebuilding it as a force able to face Napoleon's troops Following his mentor Scharnhorst's instructions Clausewitz served on the committee that compiled the infantry exercise manual The booklet was considered a comprehensive guide for training troops that Yet the realities of prolonged campaigning and mass warfare in the 1813-1815 period also revealed its limits The exercise manual required extensive periods of training and long and systematic development of officers and non-commissioned officers able to lead troops Prussia increasingly relied on newly drafted soldiers and the Landwehr (territorial reserve) and prominent members of the society; although enthusiastic the drafted Prussian troops and their leadership arrived at the war theater with four months of service on average newly commissioned and non-commissioned officers often lacked knowledge and experience leading to poor performance in the field.[10] They needed practical guidance for their conduct in combat As a reaction to this experience in the Wars of German Liberation Clausewitz considered writing a field manual in 1816 His request for institutional support for the project was met with little enthusiasm from the war ministry; instead Clausewitz devoted his energy to writing war theory.[11] Nonetheless the need for a new manual guiding and unifying the army's conduct on the field became hard to overlook leading the Prussian military to plan the maneuvers of 1825 as the basis for the creation of such document Clausewitz's memorandum displays his disdain for habitual committee work the emphasis on consensus from early on and attempts to please every expectation tended to steer the process in the wrong direction: "From the very first moment everything is taken into account and agreement is sought too early." Instead Clausewitz suggested a group of experienced and knowledgeable officers with diverse expertise should reflect and write their proposals separately; only after these rough drafts were prepared should the committee meet and discuss which requirements and ideas should be captured in the manual would "safeguard against one-sidedness" and could produce a valuable product This careful reflection on military instructions promised to also bridge the gap between theory and practice Clausewitz criticized the notion that a field manual should be based on the experience from such a limited event as a fourteen-day exercise: “It seems to me implausible that we will learn in a fourteen-day-long exercise what has not been learned while experiencing a four-year-long war.” Instead the creation of a manual had to be a deliberate and thoughtful process: "It is more a question of capturing what needs to be prescribed and can be prescribed." should be written in clear language and aim to capture the majority of cases Arguing that no guide could offer instructions for every occasion—nor should it attempt to do it—Clausewitz emphasized the need for reliance on "common sense." He also took a jab at the military profession and its love for elaborate paperwork "which some find the service's particular dignity." Clausewitz argued further that practical guidance for combat and war theory ought to be in constant dialog To describe this theoretical and normative unification of conduct Clausewitz used the term Methodismus or mode of procedure the eminent German scholar Werner Hahlweg briefly commented on the similarities between the 1825 Memorandum and the chapter in Book II Chapter 4 (translated by Peter Paret and Michael Howard as "Method and Routine").[12] Contrary to the popular perception that the entirety of Clausewitz's manuscripts had been lost in World War II some of the early drafts are preserved in the German archives and provide clues on the development of his thought The early version of Methodismus is one of those preserved.[13] Famously as captured in the Note of 1827 published as the preface of On War Clausewitz envisioned comprehensive revisions in the drafts a plan never to be fulfilled due to his unexpected death in 1831.[14] The preservation of the earlier manuscripts allow us to study the development of Clausewitz's thought and particularly the influence of the 1825 events and the memorandum on his revisions of On War the chapter offered a rather short discussion on the place of guidance in the study of war and the role routine and patterns could play in military conduct with its complex enactment and ever-changing conditions war may appear as a human activity the least amendable to rules when considering that commanders usually worked with imperfect information and without the ability to oversee and control the execution of every order basing disposition “on the general and probable” was often the case (The paragraph was partially preserved in the mature version of On War).[15] Thus the question Clausewitz raised in the early draft—but failed to answer—was how this methodical procedure should be devised to facilitate military performance on the field without becoming a stiff routine that shackled conduct and blinded commanders to the singular challenges they faced in combat The 1825 Memorandum helped Clausewitz to refine his thinking on the matter The chapter in On War we read today is an extended meditation on the role guidance and routine should and could play in the conduct of war Clausewitz argued that a "method" or "mode of procedure" is a constantly recurring procedure "that has been selected from several possibilities." Despite its seeming uniformity it could not describe all eventualities but "should be designed to meet the most probable cases Routine is not based on definite individual premises but rather on the average probability of analogous cases will soon acquire some of the nature of a mechanical skill."[16] Clausewitz also found an answer to the question he posed in the early draft how to create practical but undogmatic guidance for conduct on the field: "As such [routines] may well have a place in the theory of the conduct of war provided they are not falsely represented as absolute binding frameworks for action (systems); rather they are the best of the general forms and options that may be substituted for individual decisions."[17] In other words they had to be understood for what they are—general guidelines and heuristics; thus if they were seen as rules to be continuously followed the guidelines would become counterproductive and even dangerous Clausewitz saw procedures and routines in perpetual discourse with war theory; the latter was the "intelligent analysis of conduct of war."[18] While unified methods and routines are typical and acceptable on a tactical level some imitation of previously successful approaches or preferences dictated by the fashion of the day was also unavoidable when people failed to recognize these routines on an operational and strategic level for what they were developed out of a single case." As an antidote are called to provide context and reveal when a method had outlived its time while simultaneously empowering leaders to seek and develop new approaches.[19] The discovery of the 1825 portrait and an understanding of its larger context reveals how little we still know about the military theorist's life and writing process Although his war experience is extensively studied Clausewitz's tangible achievements as a military reformer on the eve of the Wars of German Liberation and afterwards are not yet fully appreciated.[20] The process of creation of On War remains a circumstance particularly vexing given the treatise's unfinished nature the chapter on Methodismus discussed in this article is seldom read or debated in professional military seminars despite its valuable insight into the business of war By studying the roots of Clausewitz's ideas and their gradual development we can better understand their meaning while broadening our modern interpretation of his thought.  for today's national security practitioners exploring Clausewitz's thought process brings reassurance and encouragement The Prussian general continuously reflected on practical challenges he encountered in war and peace—and strove to capture these reflections in a general theory transcending the constraints of early nineteenth-century warfare his treatise is an homage and empowerment of those enlightened professionals who constantly study the business of war and strive to conduct it in an informed and effective manner Royal Parade on the Tempelhof Field" (Königsparade auf dem Tempelhofer Feld)” by Johann Jakob Kirchhoff These days here and in Potsdam small-scale field exercises are starting Their purpose is to produce practical suggestions for field-duty regulations Colonel {August Wilhelm von} Neumann is going to be the commander and Colonels {Eugen Maximilian von} Roeder and {Karl Friedrich Adolph von} Malachowski will be the observers and arbitrators Lieutenant Colonel {Ulrich Friedrich Johann Gottlieb von} Barner will command and General {Adolf Eduard von} Thiele will be the second observer and arbitrator I know too little about the matter to be able to judge the practicability of this measure it seems to me implausible that we will learn in a fourteen-day-long exercise what has not been learned while experiencing a four-year-long war what needs to be prescribed and can be prescribed When such a task is done tenfold in the office it surely would be more practical than these meditations and observations made with reins in the hand What I have in mind are five to six individuals with different backgrounds: a couple of capable drill instructors from the infantry and the cavalry a couple of capable soldiers from the frontline of both branches meaning such who are already acquainted and understand the existing {body of knowledge} and know what a professional handbook should say.[22] They are tasked to create the first draft of a field manual and independently explore in detail their specific areas These differing and in their biases surely very varying works would then provide the materials This process would safeguard against one-sidedness and raise all concerns and complexities then from the onset we will attain an artificial half-baked product {Halbding} divorced from any originality because in such a commission no member has an opportunity to express themself completely Capture only the most essential and useful matters subsequently leaving out all immaterial or impractical forms; for the useful and needed is so much that it is even more unwarranted to clutter military service with paperwork in which some find the service’s particular dignity To capture only what covers a majority of cases for an instruction that includes points that cannot be applied in hundreds of cases loses influence and gravitas; and on the other ceases to be among the required readings to which a practitioner adheres and to belong among what amounts to everything a practitioner needs then the regulations would also not be overshadowed by one component (for the whole text must be divided in such) As the main requirement for field regulations I believe that the provisions concerning the engagement of the enemy amount to an elementary war study {Kriegslehre} which covers topics from the whole so-called small war up to the positioning and application of a brigade a specific mode of procedure {Methodismus} in command of troops is created which safeguards against too much ignorance and going astray while following some false ingenuity when keeping up with military theory’s {Kriegskunst} development and not too outdated The provisions captured in the military regulations should represent it {this methodological procedure} and these provisions should serve at professional and advanced schools as the base for the curriculum from which the art of fighting wars will be further developed; thereby I beg Your Excellency all the more for forgiveness for having diverted your attention with it for so long Vanya Eftimova Bellinger is the author of Marie von Clausewitz: The Woman Behind the Making of On War The views expressed are her own and do not reflect the official position of the U.S and referenced across the worldwide national security community—in conversation Thank you for being a part of The Strategy Bridge community Header Image: “Royal Parade on the Tempelhof Field" (Königsparade auf dem Tempelhofer Feld)” by Johann Jakob Kirchhoff [1] See Kirchhoff’s biography in Neuer Nekrolog der Deutschen 1848 (Weimar: Voigt Verlag, 1850), 799-803. https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=LEzuCFYkFjsC&pg=GBS.PA536&hl=en Marie von Clausewitz to Karl von der Gröben [3] Vanya Eftimova Bellinger, “A Portrait of Clausewitz as a Young Officer,” War on the Rocks, 23 October 2015. https://warontherocks.com/2015/10/a-portrait-of-clausewitz-as-a-young-officer/ Scharnhorst- und Gneisenau-Nachlaß sowie aus öffentlichen und privaten Sammlungen by Werner Hahlweg (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht [5] See the provenance on https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/YUNMXRUJPUJWRN5DACFC4FJ5HPZLEPSH [8] On Scharnhorst and the reform circle, see Vanya Eftimova Bellinger, “Introducing #Scharnhorst: The Vision of an Enlightened Soldier ‘On Experience and Theory’,” The Strategy Bridge, 1 April 2019.  https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2019/4/1/introducing-scharnhorst-the-vision-of-an-enlightened-soldier-on-experience-and-theory Von Wien nach Königgrätz: Die Sicherheitspolitik des Deutschen Bundes im europäischen Gleichgewicht 1815–1866 (München: R [11] August Neidhardt von Gneisenau to War Minister Boyen Das Leben des Feldmarschalls Grafen Neithardt von Gneisenau by Peter Paret and Michael Howard (Princeton [20] On Clausewitz's experiences as a soldier Clausewitz: His Life and Work (New York: Oxford University Press Christopher Bassford provided initial comments and corrections Clausewitz frequently underlined sentences and key words he thought important later editions and English translations do not always reflect Clausewitz’s preferences This translation reproduces the emphases as published in Clausewitz Carl von Clausewitz is considered by many the west’s preeminent military theorist and within professional military education his seminal treatise On War is extensively cited and studied it might be supposed that we know all there is to know about his life and work On War is a constant fixture in the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Reading List our knowledge about the books Clausewitz read and considered relevant for his work is rather opaque Scholars usually study the letters to his wife Marie as the main source for insight into his cerebral path.[1] In this regard the discovery of the complete correspondence between the couple in 2012 enhanced enormously our knowledge about Clausewitz’s intellectual environment.[2] exactly the time when Clausewitz was wrestling with the ideas behind and the composition of On War the couple spent most of their time together Clausewitz’s correspondence with his close friend Field Marshal August Neidhardt von Gneisenau from the same period is also rather sporadic The military thinker occasionally wrote to his brothers but these letters concerned mostly family matters and we are left with far fewer primary sources than we might like.[3] The collection’s titles demonstrate Washington’s broad intellectual interests and enormous drive for self-improvement Students of Clausewitz now have a new and exciting source of information. Scholars from his home town of Burg bei Magdeburg (Forschungsgemeinschaft Clausewitz-Burg e.V.) recently discovered Marie von Clausewitz’s last will and testament in the Brandenburg State Archive in Potsdam The document bears the stamp of 16 May 1814 This means she drafted it shortly before leaving Berlin to rejoin Clausewitz in the Rhine camp where he as chief-of-staff for the Russo-German Legion was staying after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.[4] In 1831 when Clausewitz served as chief-of-staff for Prussia’s Army of Observation on the eastern border and fearing the approaching cholera epidemic but she never did.[5] Neither did she change the document when Clausewitz suddenly died in November 1831 so when Marie passed away unexpectedly in January 1836 Meticulous Prussian bureaucrats wrote long lists of household items and assets the couple owned and composed extensive procedural discussions regarding which relatives should receive which elements of the estate The folders consist of over 400 well-preserved pages of text individual titles and volumes are numbered according to their position on this list for easy reference The catalog created by the Prussian bureaucrats does not appear to be in any particular order and we have retained the sequence from the original catalog in the edited list As the testament is transcribed and analyzed and as more information and more translations become available Pages from the booklist found in the Testament of Marie von Clausewitz (Courtesy of Brandenburgisches Landesarchive/Brandenburg State Archive) Pages from the booklist found in the Testament of Marie von Clausewitz (Courtesy of Brandenburgisches Landesarchive/Brandenburg State Archive) and some context concerning the Clausewitz’s library The first and most noticeable observation is how short the list is—only 380 volumes the illustrious Prime Minister of Saxony Heinrich von Brül once owned a legendary collection of 62,000 books.[6] George Washington’s library contained some 1,200 titles something Clausewitz most certainly was not Yet even the reliance only on his government pay could hardly explain the the small size of the recorded library that Marie gifted some of Clausewitz’s books to friends and relatives after his death in 1831 a common way to remember a beloved person in this period bestowed on close friends and family some of her belongings in 1836 Among the gifts were books from her library (although we don’t know the titles).[7] literally lived down the hall from one of the greatest military libraries in Europe.[8] So perhaps he had no need to purchase every book he wished to read or needed for his scholarly work Portrait of Antoine-Henri Jomini by George Dawe (Hermitage Museum/Wikimedia) Also of interest, the personal library does not contain any title written by Clausewitz’s contemporary, Baron de Jomini. Considered the former’s great rival in the realm of strategic studies, Jomini was a prolific and bestselling author. His Traité de grande tactique (1803) was widely studied and underwent various editions Clausewitz extensively studied this work and later on the pages of On War criticized Jomini.[12] The absence of these works in the private library is a fascinating fact yet to find its explanation It is important to emphasize that the book collection could be considered equally curated by Marie von Clausewitz tell us as much about her as it does about Carl While the library contains a number of professional military works titles corresponding to her interests make up a significant part of it as well (more on this later) A politically active woman and an intellectual in her own right Marie often encouraged and sometimes openly pushed her husband to explore Romanticist literature She was a popular member of Berlin’s literary salons and a friend of many famed artists of the day valued the chance to broaden and challenged his perspective.[13] General Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst Not surprising for an officer of the Prussian Army military publications constitute a significant number among the volumes Some of the more interesting titles include Vauban’s classical treatises on fortifications and sieges (43 and 112); Johan von Ewald’s book on light infantry tactics (25); Henry Lloyd’s history of the Seven Years’ War (last volume written by G.F 280-285); Montecucili’s memoirs (44); a study of Maurice de Saxe (59-60); Lazare Carnot’s textbook for engineers (288); George de Chambray’s account of Napoleon’s Russian Campaign in 1812 (107-108); several of Georg Wilhelm von Valentini’s military works (4 and 9); Phillippe Henri de Grimoard’s treatise on general staff (247); and of course the field manual written by his mentor Just as one would expect from a graduate of the Prussian Kriegsakademie—in which science and math made up a significant part of the school’s curriculum—the personal library contains many titles on math and astronomy.[14] As the cataloged titles reveal science remained one of Clausewitz’s lasting interests he read about geography (most noticeable are Alexander von Humboldt’s works Paul Erman’s treatise on electromagnetism from 1821 (5) might even have been one of the inspirations for Clausewitz’s famous metaphor about how passion and reason act as three magnets constantly reshaping the character of a war This raises a fascinating point regarding Clausewitz and his view of the sciences just before assuming the position of director of his old school Clausewitz criticized the overemphasis of math in military education from 1819 he wrote that mathematics remains the cornerstone of officer education there should be balance with humanities and broader knowledge Only in this way would the Kriegsakademie create logical and comprehensive thinkers able to cope with uncertainty on battlefield and the challenges of dealing with real people.[15] It was a stance as the further analysis of the personal library suggests published by Clausewitz’s old acquaintance from Koblenz The book on the art of correspondence (69) most certainly belonged to Clausewitz Marie did not need it—from an early age she was trained how to write elegant letters a skill considered crucial for an aristocratic woman.[16] As a young officer was painfully aware of his lack of social pedigree.[17] The year the book on correspondence was published as a recent graduate of the Kriegskademie and aide-de-camp of Prince August (a cousin of King Friedrich Wilhelm III) was stationed in Berlin Clausewitz entered the capital’s cultural and political scene the brevet captain did his best to fit within the refined social circles among other things by improving his letter writing skills After the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 Clausewitz increasingly read books on statecraft (19 international and domestic law (289 and 312) The 1820s were also a time when he worked intently on the development of his military theory in On War The volume and breadth of these titles suggest Clausewitz’s groundbreaking idea about war’s political character and the interaction between politics and war was not a sudden hunch inspired by genius as the product of a long process of research and reflection In the note from 1818 about the genesis of On War Clausewitz revealed that he initially modeled his writing after Montesquieu’s “short compact statements.”[18] The library actually contains a copy of the French philosopher’s complete oeuvre Clausewitz’s interest in Johann Gottlieb Fichte’s ideas is also well documented (185 and 250) And the catalog also contains a philosophical work on Erasmus (191).[19] painted by Joseph Karl Stieler (Neue Pinakothek/Wikimedia) hence the personal interest in his published lectures on literary theory from 1809-1811 (367-368).[21] Some of the books, of course, are far from masterpieces but examples of the literature that caught the spirit of the time and the interest of the masses. Today, authors like Susanne von Bandemer (114), and  Frederic Reynolds (133), and the poetry of the medievalist and politician Ludwig Uhland (268) are known mostly to experts Yet the presence of these works in the personal collection confirms the impression that the couple read widely and were deeply immersed in the cultural debates of the time An observant reader of the cataloged titles will notice many of them are in English most of these books were acquired by Marie and Marie was fluent in English and close to many English-speaking expats and diplomats living in Berlin and his wife Louisa.[22] Clausewitz once harbored ambitions to become Prussia’s ambassador in London but whether he had learned to speak English well Marie was the passionate fan of Lord Byron’s poetry she was also a supporter of Greek independence movement.[24] Based on the publication dates, Marie almost certainly acquired some of the books after her husband’s death (27, 179, 202-207, 186-190, 268,369). These are mostly literary works—Schiller, Rahel von Varnhagen’s published letters Marie also kept one copy of Clausewitz’s published Posthumous Works (371-377) she prepared the unfinished manuscript of On War for public release the seminal treatise appeared as the first three volumes of Posthumous Works followed by a number of his campaign studies The private library contains a copy of parts 1-4 (On War and The Campaign of 1796) and 6-8 (Part II of The Campaign of 1799 containing various campaign studies and edited by the couple’s close friend Carl von der Gröben the Prussian bureaucrats cataloging the titles noted that this copy in the personal library bore markings It is a fascinating detail to ponder: What did Marie think about or wish to change in her husband’s lifework after it was published? Just as with the rest of the library unfortunately we do not know the fate of this copy of Posthumous Works This is a question Marie’s testament has yet to answer The library also contains a significant number of religious titles. This is something of a surprise, as neither Marie, nor Carl appeared particularly pious in their writings. Clausewitz, of course, was the grandson of a well-respected Lutheran theologian, Benedikt Gottlieb Clauswitz Therefore it should perhaps not be quite so surprising that spirituality and theology belonged to his intellectual interests The 1820s were also a time of pietistic revival in Germany and many of the couple’s friends and acquaintances were prominent members of this circle (e.g Princess Marianne of Prussia).[25] The Clausewitz couple intellectually curious and part of Berlin’s vibrant social scene might have read the famed works of the time Another possible explanation is that Marie after Carl’s sudden and tragic death in 1831 sought comfort and hope in religious literature.[26] In any case and Paul Cornish).[27] The newly discovered library suggests there is much more to explore on the topic Perhaps the most curious find in the Clausewitz catalog is a cookbook Carl Friedrich von Rumohr’s The Essence of Cookery (published under the pseudonym Joseph Koenig nor Marie displayed a particular interest in gourmet cuisine Madam von Clausewitz certainly had never touched a griddle in her life did not write a typical cookbook with recipes for various dishes no recipes for making pudding or instructions for grilling a steak The Essence of Cookery is rather a meditation on the nature of food and the character of various cuisines The book explores food preparation and consumption within their broader cultural and historic context It provides its readers with basic knowledge while encouraging them to explore the world around them to attribute the inspiration for On War to one book read Rumohr’s work; The Essence of Cookery might have been gifted to the couple only to gather dust in their library or purchased after his death The comparison rather points to the spirit of the time the Enlightenment propagated reason and education The Reign of Terror and the Napoleonic Wars challenged this vision and many who lived through them came to distrust prescriptions and dogmatic rhetoric bold mind could seize and navigate a complex world Perhaps this is the lesson—or at least a lesson—to take from the library of Carl and Marie von Clausewitz their library might do something to shape our own views of reading lists Editor's Note: The full list of books discovered in the testament of Marie von Clausewitz is available for free viewing and download at this link. We will update this list with new information as it becomes available. Carl von Clausewitz (Encyclopedia Britannica) Vanya Eftimova Bellinger is the author of Marie von Clausewitz: The Woman Behind the Making of On War She currently teaches at Air University’s Graduate School of Professional Military Education and Air Command and Staff College and is working on her second book a study of Carl von Clausewitz’s Last Campaign (1830-1831) Have a response or an idea for your own article Please help spread the word to new readers by sharing it on social media Header Image: The first page of Marie von Clausewitz's testament and last will It states: "Testament of Madam Colonel von Clausewitz 1814 and accepted on the 19th." (Courtesy of Brandenburgisches Landesarchiv/Brandenburg State Archive) Clausewitz and the State (Princeton: Princeton University Press [2] My book Marie von Clausewitz: The Woman Behind the Making of On War is the first attempt to study the complete correspondence descendants of Marie’s brother Fritz von Brühl were in possession of the letters between Carl and Marie The family decided to deposit the papers in the Prussian Privy State Archives in Berlin and now they are held there Marie von Clausewitz: The Woman Behind the Making of On War (New York: Oxford University Press Ein Lebensbild in Briefen und Tagebuchblaettern by Karl Linnebach (Berlin: Wegweiser Verlag [10] Clausewitz wrote an essay based on this book it is published in English as “Some Comments on the War of the Spanish Succession after Reading the Letters of Madame de Maintenon to the Princess des Ursins” in Carl von Clausewitz by Peter Paret and Daniel Moran (Princeton: Princeton University Press [11] See for instance the partial English translation of “The Campaign of 1812 in Russia,” in Clausewitz “Jomini and Clausewitz: Their Interaction,” Paper presented to the 23rd Meeting of the Consortium on Revolutionary Europe at Georgia State University https://www.clausewitz.com/readings/Bassford/Jomini/JOMINIX.htm and trans.by Michael Howard and Peter Paret (Princeton: Princeton University Press The Politics of German Protestantism: The Rise of the Protestant Church Elite in Prussia 1815-1848 (Berkeley: University of California Press [26] Even if Marie did seek solace in religious literature this did not last long and cannot explain the significant number of such books commented that the latter’s religiousness was “too worldly.” Bellinger “Clausewitz and the Ethics of Armed Force: Five Propositions,” Journal of Military Ethics (2003) Mit Günter Hirschmann ist eine der großen Spielerpersönlichkeiten des FCM und seiner Vorgängervereine verstorben Ehemaliger Spieler und Trainer im Alter von 88 Jahren verstorben Die blau-weiße Familie trauert um Günter Hirschmann der am vergangenen Donnerstag im Alter von 88 Jahren verstorben ist.Er war einer der großen Spielerpersönlichkeiten unserer beiden Vorgängervereine BSG Motor Mitte und SC Aufbau In seiner Heimatstadt begann er 1947 unter Trainer Otto Kirsch bei der SG Sportfreunde Burg mit dem Fußballspielen 1955 wechselte er mit seinem Burger Kumpel Hans Strübing nach Magdeburg Seinen ersten Pflichtspieleinsatz für die BSG Motor Mitte hatte er am 31 Juli 1955 bei einem Auswärtsspiel der Totorunde gegen die BSG Chemie Zeitz (1:1) In seiner ersten regulären Saison 1956 avancierte er auf Anhieb zum Stammspieler und absolvierte alle Punktspiele Zusammen mit Werner Hilbert erzielte er mit 15 Treffern auch die meisten Tore Auf Grund seiner begnadeten Technik wurde er in relativ kurzer Zeit der Dreh- und Angelpunkt des Magdeburger Spiels Er war ein sehr guter Standardspezialist und zuverlässiger Elfmeterschütze Seinen ersten großen Erfolg mit den Magdeburgern konnte er 1959 mit dem Aufstieg in die DDR-Oberliga feiern FC Magdeburg dreimal FDGB-Pokalsieger (1964 Beim zweiten Pokalsieg 1965 wurde er im Finale gegen den SC Motor Jena zum Matchwinner indem er kurz vor dem Abpfiff einen Foulelfmeter zum 2:1-Endstand verwandelte Insgesamt bestritt er 338 Pflichtspiele für Motor Mitte Das bedeutet aktuell Platz 4 in der ewigen Torjägerliste des FCM und seiner Vorgängervereine Für den SC Aufbau war er mit 91 Treffern der Rekordtorjäger Von 1960 bis 1965 war er zudem Mannschaftskapitän des SC Aufbau April 1961 wurde er vom damaligen Trainer der DDR-Nationalmannschaft Heinz Krügel in den Kader für das Länderspiel gegen Ungarn berufen und kam als erster Spieler unseres Vereins zu Länderspielehren Weitere mögliche Einsätze verhinderte eine Meniskusverletzung die er sich kurz nach seinem Länderspieleinsatz zuzog Weitere internationale Einsätze hatte er für die B-Nationalmannschaft der DDR (1) und die U-23-Nationalmannschaft (3) Sein letztes Pflichtspiel für unseren Verein bestritt er am 2 April 1969 bei einem 2:1-Heimsieg in der DDR-Oberliga über den 1 Danach war er noch für zwei weitere Jahre für die zweite Mannschaft des FCM aktiv Nach seiner sportlichen Laufbahn gab der gelernte Schlosser über 25 Jahre als Nachwuchstrainer seine Erfahrung an jüngere Generationen von FCM-Fußballern weiter Günter Hirschmann war insgesamt über 40 Jahre als Spieler und Trainer für unseren Club tätig FC Magdeburg spricht seinen Angehörigen sein aufrichtiges Beileid aus und wird das Andenken an Günter „Mücke“ Hirschmann für immer in Ehren behalten.Fotos: 1 Ihr habt wieder die Wahl: Stimmt jetzt für Euren FCM-Spieler des Monats April 2025 ab Wir haben die Spiele unserer U17 und U19 vom vergangenen Wochenende zusammengefasst Ab sofort könnt ihr Eure Dauerkarte für die kommende Saison auf eine andere Person übertragen In der neuen Ausgabe von „Ganz oder gar nicht“ ist Pierre Nadjombe zu Gast gewesen.