Center of gravity: what Clausewitz really meant

Joint Force Quarterly, Summer, 2003 by Joseph L. Strange, Richard Iron

Fourth, even the term dominant characteristics has often been applied devoid of the context. The next sentence in the Howard and Paret version reads: "Out of these [dominant] characteristics a certain center of gravity develops, the hub of all power and movement." Note the use of the terms out of and develops; the sentence does not read "One of these characteristics will emerge as a center of gravity." Moreover, Clausewitz elaborates on one such characteristic--cohesion. There is a decided difference between the cohesion of a single army, led into battle under the personal command of a single general, and that of an allied force extending over 250 or 500 miles, or even operating against different fronts. In the one, cohesion is at its strongest and unity [another characteristic] at its closest. In the other, unity is remote, frequently found only in mutual political interests [another characteristic], and even then rather precarious and imperfect; cohesion between the parts will usually be very loose, and often completely fictitious. (4)

In this context, cohesion, unity, and political interests are clearly not viewed as candidate centers of gravity. They are variables that determine which armies or their components function as centers. Moreover, Clausewitz described these three characteristics in stark terms: unity of effort is remote because precarious and imperfect coalition political interests cause weak or fictitious cohesion--so much so that, like Napoleon, more often than not they would be weaknesses akin to the concept of critical vulnerabilities today, not powerful centers of gravity.

Fifth, at the end of the chapter, Clausewitz indicates that "[book eight] will describe how this idea of a center of gravity in the enemy's force operates throughout the plan of war." Note that it is not contributing to the strength of an enemy nor associated indirectly with an enemy. Even in the Howard and Parer translation, the "hub of all power and movement" can be seen in the proper light as the center of power or mass of a force, not a secondary element or characteristic from which power emanates or around which it revolves. Moreover, this interpretation is reinforced by the first reason for misinterpreting the concept of center of gravity.

Alternative Translations

The description of center of gravity as "the hub of all power and movement" has appeared several times in this analysis. Actually, these words belong to Howard and Paret, not Clausewitz. He meant something rather different in the phrase ein Zentrum der Kraft und Bewegung, which is translated as "a center of power and movement." The actual difference is small but significant. The analogy of a center of gravity as a hub of a wheel came from the translation, and the current concept has been shaped by its words.

While one should not adhere dogmatically to 180-year-old definitions, the original concept of center of gravity was simpler than those found today in references such as the NATO Glossary of Terms and Definitions: "Those characteristics, capabilities, or localities from which a nation, an alliance, a military force, or other grouping derives its freedom of action, physical strength or will to fight." Students of history may consider panzer groups and the Army of Northern Virginia or Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln as centers. It takes considerable imagination to regard any of those military formations or leaders as "characteristics, capabilities, or localities," while they are undoubtedly centers of gravity.