VI

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Arc VI Chapter 7

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22.06.1934 Anno Imperii

Her body opened the book, her eyes scanning the contents of the pages, littered with indecypherable letters and glyphs whose meaning eluded little Aurora. Entire pages filled with incomprehensible walls of text. It was a language completely alien to her. It was not Arcadian, nor another one that she was versed in. And yet the letters were somehow familiar. And yet words and sentences somehow made sense. For inexplicable reasons, she found herself able to discern their true meaning. It must have been Aurora's memories resonating with her once more. It wouldn't be the first time.

Aurora's lips started reading, her untrained voice, her tongue unskilled in the way of human speech betraying betraying the paucity of her years. She was young. The words came difficult to her, yet she persisted, undeterred.

“What Is War?

Definition

I shall not begin by expounding pedantic, literary definitions, but go straight to the heart of the matter, to the duel. War is nothing but a duel on a larger scale. Countless duels go to make up war. Each side tries through physical force to compel the other to do its will by rendering their opponent incapable of further resistance.

War is therefore an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to conform to our will.

This violence arms itself with the inventions of art and science in order to contend against other violence. Certain self imposed restrictions, almost imperceptible and hardly worth mentioning, commonly termed usages of international law and customs of war, might try to limit this violence without, however, impairing its power.

Violence, that is to say, physical force, is therefore the means, whereas the compulsory submission of the enemy to our will is the ultimate purpose. In order to attain this purpose, the enemy must be disarmed, and disarming the enemy must be therefore the immediate aim once hostilities commence.”

Her father approved. “Good, what did you learn, Aurora? What is the nature of war?”

Aurora recited, to the best of her abilities. After all, copying a master was the sincerest form of flattery. “War is act of violence to submit our enemy to our will. Violence is not its essence, but a mere means to an end. The ultimate purpose is the submission of the enemy.”

“Well summarised. Maybe a bit too literally, for my taste, but who cares. The foundations are there.” Her father waved his hand, signalling her to continue.

Aurora did so.

“Utmost Use of Force

Now, philanthropists might imagine there is an ingenuous method of disarming and overcoming an enemy without great bloodshed, and one might imagine such is the true aim of the art of war. However plausible such may appear, this thought is an error which must be extirpated. For in the matter of war, the errors which derive from a spirit of benevolence are the worst.

As the use of force to the utmost by no means excludes the use of intellect, it follows that he who uses his force without restraints and with the necessary brutality will prove superior to the adversary who does not.

This is how war must be seen. It would be futile, even harmful, to shut one's eyes to the true nature of war and its inherent brutality.”

“...” Her father smiled, yet his eyes spoke different story. They were observing her carefully. This was obviously a test, and she would not disappoint him. Even when left unspoken, it was clear what was expected of her.

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Aurora mustered her voice, her lips moving. “Unconditioned benevolence is a grave error in the field of war. War is an act of violence, and by extension necessarily an act of brutality. War is not benevolent. War is not kind hearted. War begets bloodshed. It would be foolish to assume otherwise. You must therefore steel your heart.”

Her father nodded, approving of her choice of words. “Easier said than done ... Easier said than done ... And I speak from experience. War is a cruel teacher, Aurora, but you might already know so.” A certain sadness, a certain monotony, a certain sense of resignation clouded his voice. “Anyway, enough of old times ... Continue, Aurora.”

“...” Aurora nodded, her fingers flipping to the next page.

“Passion and Interests

If the wars of civilised people are less cruel and destructive than those fought by savages, such difference arises from the organisation of our society and the institutions of the state. Because war is the product of both society and the state, and is thus subjected to them.

Two reasons lead men to war, passion and interests, yet it is the latter to dominate the sphere of war. It is impossible to conceive even the wildest feelings of hatred or hostility without interests. On the other hand, interests may often exist without being accompanied by any, or at least any extreme degree of hostility. Nevertheless, even the most civilised nations may at times burn with the passion of hatred. It would be thus a fallacy to assume that the wars of civilised nations are solely acts of intellect directed by interests, free from all feelings of passion.

War is an act of passion. It always reacts to passion of the people, and the extent of this reaction depends upon the importance of the interests involved.”

Aurora glanced at her father. “War is an act of passion. Although primarily guided by reason, war will never be able to forsake its irrational character. As much as war is the ambiance of rationality, it is also the ambiance of irrationality, the ambiance of passion, the ambiance of emotions. To underestimate the power of passion would be unwise.”

“Very true”, her father agreed wholeheartedly, satisfied with her conclusions. “One should never underestimate the power passion holds. Certainly not when the hearts of entire people, of entire nations are set ablaze, engulfed. The passion of the human heart is a force beyond the constraints of mortal logic, Aurora.”

“I understand.” Aurora returned to her book.

“Interaction

War, however, is not the action of a living force upon a lifeless mass, but always the interaction of two living forces. As long as I have not defeated my enemy, I am also exposed to the possibility of being defeated.

In War the Result is Never Final

Even the ultimate outcome of a war should not be regarded as final. The defeated should consider the outcome merely as a transitory evil, for which a remedy exists in the future.”

“...” Aurora pondered her words. “War is inherently reciprocal. Every action causes a reaction. It is the contest of two living, two thinking forces in opposition. War is never final. Even the worst defeat is merely transitory in nature, because what cannot be today, can be tomorrow.”

Her father nodded, listening. “War is not final. The last outcome is always open to ... alteration, to ... renegotiation should the conditions be sufficiently favourable. ”

“Attack and Defence are Unequal in Strength

War consists of two distinct forms of action, attack and defence.The differences between attack and defence lay in the fact that attack has a positive aim whereas defence has a negative. The attack aims to gain, where as the defence aims to preserve the present conditions. The defence can never gain, only maintain. They are thus fundamentally opposed in character. The one acting under favourable conditions must thus strive to attack, whereas the one acting under unfavourable conditions must strive to defend.

As we shall see, however, the defence is the stronger form of combat and the superiority of the defence, if rightly understood, is very great, far greater than apparent at first sight.The attack and defence are thus different and unequal in strength, but regard.”

“The attack is positive. The defence is negative. The attack is active. The defence is passive. The attack seeks the decision. The defence avoids the decision. The initiative belongs to the attacker and only the attack can gain, whereas the defence, albeit stronger, merely maintains the status quo.”

Her father chuckled. “Well, personally, I would argue that the attack is the stronger form of combat, but such is arguably mostly a matter of personal preference rather than orthodoxy.”

“War is Always a Serious Means with a Serious Purpose

War is no pastime, no mere exercise of a passion for venturing and winning. War is a serious means with a serious purpose. The wars of societies, of whole nations in particular, always stem from political motives. War is, therefore, inevitably a political act.

War is Merely the Continuation of Policy by Other Means

We see, therefore, that war is not merely an act of policy; but a true political instrument, a continuation of the political intercourse, carried on with other means. What remains peculiar to war is solely the peculiar nature of its means.”

And the last lesson for today. Aurora raised her voice, “War is a serious affair. It is the domain of states, societies, and nations. War is thus an intrinsically political act, an act of policy. It is the continuation of policy by others means.”

Her father applauded her, overjoyed. “Spoken like a true Clausewitzian. I am proud of you, Aurora. You studied hard. You know your foundations. I only hope that you will keep most of them. These are lessons ... usually easily forgotten. Ven by the most fervent students. Anyway, as for the rest of the day, enjoy your free time. You have earned it. Have some fun. Play a bit with your magic, although you should be perhaps a tiny bit more careful with your fire spells. They are quite ... potent, it seems. The gardeners weren't exactly happy with all the ‘wanton destruction’ inflicted on their poor garden. They complained bitterly about your ‘barbarous and vandal ways, unbecoming of a noble lady’, about ‘apocalyptic scenes not seen since the last war’. They honestly thought a super heavy mortar had struck.”

“...” Aurora lowered her gaze in guilt, fidgeting wit her fingers. That might have been indeed her. “...”

“Not that it matters ... We can spare a few crisped hedges here and there.” Her father, however, dismissed their concerns. As usual, he was on her side. “You are still young, Aurora. So, of course, your magic is still raw and unrestrained, but promise me please to be more careful in the future, Aurora. We don't want anyone to get hurt, right?”

Aurora beamed, her lips forming a smile. “Yes, Father~. I will.” And off she went, her tiny feet carrying her with her books in her arms.

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