A sovereign of high character and intelligence must be able to know the right man, should place the responsibility on him, and expect results.
When one treats people with benevolence, justice and righteousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders.
Thus the skilful general conducts his army just as though he were leading a single man, willy-nilly, by the hand.
He who is not sage and wise, humane and just, cannot use secret agent.s. And he who is not delicate and subtle cannot get the truth out of them.
In warfare, first lay plans which will ensure victory, and then lead your army to battle; if you will not begin with stratagem but rely on brute strength alone, victory will no longer be assured.
For the wise man delights in establishing his merit, the brave man likes to show his courage in action, the covetous man is quick at seizing advantages, and the stupid man has no fear of death.
He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.
The successful person has unusual skill at dealing with conflict and ensuring the best outcome for all.
We may distinguish six kinds of terrain, to wit: (1) Accessible ground; (2) entangling ground; (3) temporising ground; (4) narrow passes; (5) precipitous heights; (6) positions at a great distance from the enemy.
However desperate the situation and circumstances, don't despair. When there is everything to fear, be unafraid. When surrounded by dangers, fear none of them. When without resources, depend on resourcefulness. When surprised, take the enemy by surprise.
If we know that our own men are in a condition to attack, but are unaware that the enemy is not open to attack, we have gone only halfway towards victory.
Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all.
In conflict, straightforward actions generally lead to engagement, surprising actions generally lead to victory.
Unless you enter the tiger's lair, you cannot get hold of the tiger's cub's.
If you fight with all your might, there is a chance of life; where as death is certain if you cling to your corner.
When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.
Longer Version:
When the enemy is at ease, be able to weary him; when well fed, to starve him; when at rest, to make him move. Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.
He who wishes to fight must first count the cost.
Longer Version:
He who wishes to fight must first count the cost. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be dampened. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.
Know yourself and you will win all battles.
If you are situated at a great distance from the enemy, and the strength of the two armies is equal, it is not easy to provoke a battle, and fighting will be to your disadvantage.
Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.
Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.
The dance of battle is always played to the same impatient rhythm. What begins in a surge of violent motion is always reduced to the perfectly still.
A warrior who is prepared to fight must also be prepared to die.
You can prevent your opponent from defeating you through defense, but you cannot defeat him without taking the offensive.
Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price.
The skilful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man.
The art of giving orders is not to try to rectify the minor blunders and not be swayed by petty doubts.
He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot , will be victorious .
Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.
In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.
Longer Version:
In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhaustible as Heaven and Earth, unending as the flow of rivers and streams; like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.
Fierce language and pretentious advances are signs that the enemy is about to retreat.
One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.
The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.
In the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune.
If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.
Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve.
If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely traced out on the ground. All we need to do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way.
Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources.
What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge.
Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.
And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.
If the enemy has occupied them before you, do not follow him, but retreat and try to entice him away.
Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him.
Now an army is exposed to six several calamities, not arising from natural causes, 1 but from faults for which the general is responsible. These are: (1) Flight; (2) insubordination; (3) collapse; (4) ruin; (5) disorganisation; (6) rout.
Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.
O divine art of subtlety and secrecy!
Longer Version:
O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.
Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.
From a position of this sort, if the enemy is unprepared, you may sally forth and defeat him. But if the enemy is prepared for your coming, and you fail to defeat him, then, return being impossible, disaster will ensue.
Hence the experienced soldier, once in motion, is never bewildered; once he has broken camp, he is never at a loss.
Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy... use the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.
Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans, the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces, the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field, and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.
Ground which can be abandoned but is hard to re-occupy is called entangling.
One defends when his strength is inadequate, he attacks when it is abundant.
In peace prepare for war, in war prepare for peace. The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence under no circumstances can it be neglected.
The skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting.
Longer Version:
The skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.
When a general, unable to estimate the enemy's strength, allows an inferior force to engage a larger one, or hurls a weak detachment against a powerful one, and neglects to place picked soldiers in the front rank, the result must be rout.
When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.
In war, practice dissimulation and you will succeed.
They spies cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness.
The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success.
These are the six ways of courting defeat -- neglect to estimate the enemy's strength; want of authority; defective training; unjustifiable anger; nonobservance of discipline; failure to use picked men.
If the enemy leaves a door open, you must rush in.
It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, defend against them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.
If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands.
Longer Version:
The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.
Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men.
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night.
Longer Version:
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
Be subtle! be subtle! and use your spies for every kind of business.
When I have won a victory I do not repeat my tactics but respond to circumstances in an infinite variety of ways.
If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.
So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.
Longer Version:
So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.
Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.
He who knows things, and in fighting puts his knowledge into practice, will win his battles. He who knows them not, nor practices them, will surely be defeated.
If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are.
There are not more than five primary colours, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.
Management of many is the same as management of few. It is a matter of organization.
Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.
As water has no constant form, there are in war no constant conditions.
Until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared.
In warfare, there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent will succeed and win.
Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.
A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.
Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength.
The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.
Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.
Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems.
To triumph in battle and be universally acclaimed 'Expert' is not the acme of skill, for to lift an autumn down requires no great strength; to distinguish between the sun and moon is no test of vision; to hear the thunderclap is no indication of acute hearing.
What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations. And therefore the general who understands war is the Minister of the people's fate and arbiter of the nation's destiny.
A victorious army wins its victories before seeking battle; an army destined to defeat fights in the hope of winning.
The supreme excellence is not to win a hundred victories in a hundred battles. The supreme excellence is to subdue the armies of your enemies without having to fight them.
The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities...It is best to win without fighting.