April 20, 2026 Editor, The News-Gazette: “No one starts a war – or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so – without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by the war and how he intends to conduct it.”
Carl von Clausewitz, “On War,” Book 8, Chapter 2
I have noticed the term “fog of war” used, and misused, many times over the years. The term has been especially popular in the last few months. Clausewitz did not use that term. He spoke of friction more often, particularly when referring to uncertainty and chance in warfare.
In Book 1, Chapter 3 of “On War,” Clausewitz wrote that war lies not only in the realm of danger, physical exertion/suffering and chance, but also in the realm of uncertainty. Here the word fog appears in his text. “… three quarters of the factors on which action in war is based are wrapped in a fog of greater or less uncertainty. A sensitive and discriminating judgment is called for; a skilled intelligence to scent out the truth.” The “fog of war” should not originate in the mind of the commander.
Uncertainty and chance exist at all levels of war. They require not only military leaders, but also civilian leadership, to control the emotions that naturally surface when contemplating plans for war and for coping with the ambiguity inherent in executing those plans. At the highest level, it is imperative those leaders appreciate the fact that war is a twosided affair, from the first battle to the last battle. Until the enemy’s will is broken, he will have a vote in determining the course of the war. The wise commander will understand that and plan for it before the first battle is joined. JOEL SNOW Rockbridge County
(Quotations and references to Clausewitz’s text are all attributed to “Carl von Clausewitz – On War,” edited and translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret, Princeton University Press, 1976)
