In April 1812, Clausewitz wrote a letter to his pupil, the Crown Prince, listing eight sources of friction: 1 Insufficient knowledge of the enemy. 2 Rumors (information gained by remote observation or spies). 3 Uncertainty about one’s own strength and position. 4 The uncertainties that cause friendly troops to exaggerate their own difficulties. 5 Differences between expectations and reality. 6 The fact that one’s own army is never as strong as it appears on paper. 7 The difficulties in keeping an army supplied. 8 The tendency to change or abandon well-thought-out plans when confronted with the
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