This is coolbert: When De Puy lists one of the verities of combat as being the friction of war he is paraphrasing or quoting Clausewitz. By friction is meant the inability or difficulty to achieve what is planned during actual hostilities. It was observed that soldiers in combat cannot achieve the results they obtain in training. No amount of preparation or training can prepare the soldier for the actual experience of war. De Puy attributes this to the element of fear being present in actual war, an element that cannot be simulated in training.

coolbert.