Christopher Bassford (born 1953) is an American

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians norma ...

, best known for his works on the Prussian military philosopher

Carl von Clausewitz Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral", in modern terms meaning psychological, and political aspects of waging war. His mos ...

Life

He was Professor of Strategy at the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, from 1999 until 2012, when he joined the faculty of the College of International Security Affairs as part of the JSOMA program] supporting U.S. Army Special Operations Command. He is the webeditor of The Clausewitz Homepage, a large educational website that has been on-line since 1995.

Works

Bassford has written scholarly studies, military doctrine, and articles for the popular press. He is the author of several books, including
Clausewitz in English: The Reception of Clausewitz in Britain and America, 1815-1945
' an

He is one of the editors of the

Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three largest management consulting firms by rev ...

's business-oriented
Clausewitz On Strategy: Inspiration and Insight from a Master Strategist
'New York: Wiley, 2001 and Carl von Clausewitz and Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
''On Waterloo: Clausewitz, Wellington, and the Campaign of 1815''
ed./trans. Christopher Bassford, Daniel Moran, and Gregory W. Pedlow (Clausewitz.com, 2010). From 1995 to 1999 he was involved in the writing of USMC doctrine, authoring ''MCDP 1-1, Strategy''; ''MCDP 1-2, Campaigning''; "MCWP 5-1, Marine Corps Planning" (Draft); ''MCWP 2-15.3, Ground Reconnaissance Operations''; and ''MCWP 3-2, Aviation Operations'', as well as participating in the writing of several other USMC and Joint concepts and doctrinal publications. His academic articles include:
Clausewitz’s Categories of War and the Supersession of ‘Absolute War’
" (working paper) ''ClausewitzStudies.org'', v.5 FEB 2022.

" ''War in History'', November 1994.
Reclaiming the Clausewitzian Trinity
" ''Parameters'', Autumn 1995 (with Edward Villacres).

in F.G. Hoffman and Gary Horne, eds., ''Maneuver Warfare Science,'' United States Marine Corps Combat Development Command, 1998.
Bringing Real Life to American Strategy in Afghanistan
" ''Small Wars Journal'', 3 March 2012.

" working paper, 2005–2015. His on-line books include: *

' (New York & London: Oxford University Press, 1994), . © C. Bassford. Full text on-line in HTML.

" working text, 1997–2015. This is derived from Bassford's original Draft of
MCDP 1-1: Strategy
' (1997), the US Marine Corps' Strategy manual. Full text on-line in HTML. *Carl von Clausewitz and Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington,

'' ed./trans. Christopher Bassford, Daniel Moran, and Gregory W. Pedlow (Clausewitz.com, 2010/2015). . Full text on-line in HTML.

The Clausewitz Homepage

Bassford is the editor of The Clausewitz Homepage, an educational

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

that focuses on the German military philosopher

. Bassford's own work on Clausewitz concentrates on the evolution of Clausewitz's reception, reputation, and impact in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-speaking world. He is interested in the relationship between Clausewitzian theory, concepts from the field of nonlinear science, and modern evolutionary theory.

Notes

External links

Biography
at Clausewitz.com.
Faculty bio page at National Defense University JSOMA program

30 October 2015, speaking on how the notions of "limited war" and "total war" actually relate to Clausewitz's own strategic-analytical scheme. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bassford, Christopher Living people 1953 births United States Army officers 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers