Carl von Clausewitz was a 19th century military theorist who drew many of his ideas from his own experience as a Prussian soldier. Clausewitz's conception of war is strikingly unique: characterizing it as a Hegelian dialectic of opposing factors which interact and build upon each other, Clausewitz's theories are surprisingly romantic. Nevertheless, the author stresses war as a political action that must be ruthless and uncompromising in its annihilation of the enemy.