Art of War

Sun Tzu – Art of War

Estimates:

1.      War is a matter of vital importance to the State; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin.  It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied.

2.     Therefore, appraise it in terms of the five fundamental factors and make comparisons of the seven elements later named.  So you may assess its essentials.

3.     The factors are:

a.     Moral Influence

b.     Weather

c.     Terrain

d.     Command

e.     Doctrine

4.     By moral influence I mean that which causes the people to be in harmony with their leaders, so that they will accompany them in life and unto death without fear of mortal peril.

5.     By weather I mean the interaction of natural forces; the effects of winter’s cold and summer’s heat and the conduct of military operations in accordance with the seasons.

6.     By terrain I mean distances, whether the ground is traversed with ease or difficulty, whether it is open or constricted, and the chances of life and death.

7.     By command I mean the general’s qualities of wisdom, sincerity, humanity, courage, and strictness.

8.     By doctrine I mean organization, control, assignment of appropriate ranks to officers, regulation of supply routes, and the provision of principal items used by the army.

9.     There is no general who has not heard of these five matters.  Those who master them win; those who do not are defeated.

10.  Therefore in laying plans compare the following elements, appraising them with the utmost care.

11.  If you say which ruler possesses moral influence, which commander is the more able, which army obtains the advantages of nature and the terrain, in which regulations in instructions are better carried out, which troops are stronger;

12.  Which has the better trained officers and men;

13.  An which administers rewards and punishments in a more enlightened manner;

14.  I will be able to forecast which side will be victorious and which defeated.

15.  If a general who heeds my strategy is employed he is certain to win.  Retain him.  When one who refuses to listen to my strategy is employed, he is certain to be defeated. Dismiss him.

16.  Having paid heed to the advantages of my plans, the general must create situations which will contribute to their accomplishment.  By ‘situations’ I mean that he should act expediently in accordance with what advantageous and so control the balance.

17.  All warfare is based on deception.

18.  Therefore, when capable, feign incapacity; when active, inactivity.

19.  When near, make it appear that you are far away; when far away, that your are near

20.  Offer the enemy a bait to lure him; feign disorder and strike him.

21.  When he concentrates, prepare against him; where is strong, avoid him.

22.  Anger his general and confuse him.

23.  Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.

24.  Keep him under a strain and wear him down.

25.  When he is united, divide him.

26.  Attack where he is unprepared; sally out when he does not expect you.

27.  These are strategist’s keys to victory.  It is not possible to discuss them beforehand.

Waging War

1.      Generally, operations of war require one thousand fast four-horse chariots, one thousand four-horse wagons covered in leather, and one hundred thousand mailed troops.

2.     When provisions are transported for a thousand li expenditures at home and in the field, stipends for the entertainment of advisers and visitors, the cost of materials such as glue and lacquer, and of chariots and armor, will amount to one thousand pieces of gold a day.  After this money is in hand, one hundred thousand troops may be raised.

3.     Victory is the main object in war.  If this is long delayed, weapons are blunted and morale depressed.  When troops attack cities, their strength will be exhausted.

4.     When the army engages in protracted campaigns the resources of the state will not suffice.

5.     When you weapons are dulled and ardor damped, you strength exhausted and treasure spend, neighboring rulers will take advantage of your distress to act.  And ever though you have wise counselors, none will be able to lay good plans for the future.

6.     Thus, while we have heard of blundering swiftness in war, we have not yet seen a clever operation that was prolonged.

7.     For there has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited.

8.     Thus those unable to understand the dangers inherent in employing troops are equally unable to understand the advantageous ways do doing so.

9.     Those adept in waging war do not require a second levy of conscripts nor more than on provisioning.

10.  They carry equipment from the homeland; they rely for provisions on the enemy.  Thus the army is plentifully provided with food.

11.  When a country is impoverished by military operations it is due to distant transportation; carriage of supplies for great distances renders the people destitute.

12.  Where the army is, prices are high; when prices rise the wealth of the people is exhausted.  When wealth is exhausted the peasantry will be afflicted with urgent exactions.

13.  With strength thus depleted and wealth consumed the households in the central plains will be utterly impoverished and seven-tenths of their wealth dissipated.

14.  As to government expenditures, those due to broken-down chariots, worn-out horses, armor and helmets, arrows and crossbows, lances, hand and body shields, draft animals and supply wagons will amount to sixty percent of the total.

15.  Hence the wise general sees to it that his troops feed on the enemy, for one bushel of the enemy’s provisions is equivalent to twenty of his; one hundredweight of the enemy fodder to twenty hundredweight of his.

16.  The reason troops slay the enemy is because they are enraged.

17.  They take booty from the enemy because they desire wealth.

18.  Therefore, when in chariot fighting more than ten chariots are captured, reward those who take the first.  Replace the enemy’s flags and banners with your own, mix the captured chariots with yours and mount them.

19.  Treat the captives well, and care for them.

20.  This is called ‘winning a battle and becoming stronger.’

21.  Hence 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.

Offensive Strategy

1.      Generally in war the best policy is to take a state intact; to ruin it is inferior to this.

2.     To capture the enemy’s army is better than to destroy it; to take intact a battalion, a company of five-man squad is better than to destroy them.

3.     For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill.  To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.

4.     This, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy.

5.     Next best is to disrupt his alliances.

6.     The next best is to attack his army.

7.     The worst policy is to attack cities.  Attack cities only when there is no alternative.

8.     To prepare the shielded wagons and make ready the necessary arms and equipment requires at least three months; to pile up earthen ramps against the walls an additional three months will be needed.

9.     If the general is unable to control his impatience and orders his troops to swarm up the wall like ants, one-third of them will be killed without taking the city.  Such is the calamity of these attacks.

10.  Thus, those skilled in war subdue the enemy’s army without battle.  They capture his cities without assaulting them and overthrow his state without protracted operations.

11.  Your aim must be to tale all-under-heaven intact.  Thus your troops are not worn out and your gains will be complete.  This is the art of offensive strategy.

12.  Consequently, they are of using troops is this:  When ten to enemy’s one, surround him.

13.  When five times his strength, attack him.

14.  If double his strength, divide him.

15.  If equally matched you may engage him.

16.  If weaker numerically, be capable of withdrawing.

17.  And if in all respects unequal, be capable of eluding him, for a small force is but booty for one more powerful.

18.  Now the general is the protector of the state.  If this protection is all-embracing, the state will surely be strong; if defective, the state will certainly be weak.

19.  Now there are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army.

20.  When ignorant that the army should not advance, to order an advance or ignorant that it should not retire, to order a retirement.  This is described as ‘hobbling the army’.

21.  When ignorant of military affairs, to participate in their administration.  This causes the officers to be perplexed.

22.  When ignorant of command problems to share in the exercise of responsibilities.  This engenders doubts in the minds of the officers.

23.  If the army is confused and suspicious, neighboring rulers will cause trouble.  This is what is meant by saying: ‘A confused army leads to another’s victory’.

24.  Now there are five circumstances in which victory may be predicted.

25.  He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.

26.  He who understands how to use both large and small forces will be victorious.

27.  He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious.

28.  He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.

29.  He whose generals are able and not interfered with by the sovereign will be victorious.

30.  It is in these five matters that the way to victory is known.

31.  Therefore I say: ‘Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.

Dispositions

1.      Anciently the skilful warriors first make themselves invincible and awaited the enemy’s moment of vulnerability.

2.     Invincibility depends on one’s self; the enemy’s vulnerability on him.

3.     It follows that those skilled in war can make themselves invincible but cannot cause an enemy to be certainly vulnerable.

4.     Therefore it is said that one may know how to win, but cannot necessarily do so.

5.     Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack.

6.     One defends when his strength is inadequate; he attacks when it is abundant.

7.     The experts in defense conceal themselves as under the nine fold earth; those skilled in attack move as from above the nine fold heavens.  Thus they are capable both protecting themselves and of gaining a complete victory.

8.     To foresee a victory which the ordinary man can foresee is not the acme of skill.

9.     To triumph in battle and be universally acclaimed ‘Expert’ is not the acme of skill, for the 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.

10.  Anciently those called skilled in war conquered an enemy easily conquered.

11.  And therefore the victories won by a master of war gain him neither reputation for wisdom nor merit for valor.

12.  For he wins his victories without erring.  ‘Without erring’ means that whatever he does insures his victory; he conquers an enemy already defeated.

13.  Therefore the skilful commander takes up a position in which he cannot be defeated and misses no opportunity to master his enemy.

14.  Thus a victorious army wins it victories before seeking battle; an army destined to defeat fights in the hope of winning.

15.  Those skilled in war cultivate the Tao and preserve the laws and are therefore able to formulate victorious policies.

16.  Not the elements of the art of war are:

a.     Measurement of space

b.     Estimation of quantities

c.     Calculations

d.     Comparisons

e.     Chances of victory

17.   Measurements of space are derived from the ground.

18.  Quantities derive from measurement, figures from quantities, comparisons from figures, and victory from comparisons.

19.  Thus a victorious army is a hundredweight balanced against a grain; a defeated army as grain balanced against a hundredweight.

20.  It is because of disposition that a victorious general is able to make his people fight with the effect of pent-up waters which, suddenly released, plunge into a bottomless abyss.

Energy

1.      Generally, management of many is the same as management of few.  It is a matter of organization.

2.     And to control many is the same as to control few.  This is a matter of formations and signals.

3.     That the army is certain to sustain the enemy’s attack without suffering defeat is due to operations of the extraordinary and the normal forces.

4.     Troops thrown against the enemy as a grindstone against eggs is an example of solid acting upon a void.

5.     Generally, in battle, use the normal force to engage; use the extraordinary to win.

6.     Now the resources of those skilled in the use of extraordinary forces are as infinite as the heavens and earth; as inexhaustible as the flow of the great rivers.

7.     For they end and recommence; cyclical, as are the movements of the sun and moon.   They die in away and are reborn; recurrent, as are the passing seasons.

8.     The musical notes are only five in number but their melodies are so numerous that one cannot hear them all.

9.     The primary colors are only five in number their combinations are so infinite that one cannot visualize them all.

10.  The flavors are only five in number but their blends are so various that one cannot taste them all

11.  In battle there are only the normal and extraordinary forces, but their combinations are limitless; none can comprehend them all.

12.  For these two forces are mutually reproductive; their interaction as endless as that of interlocked rings.  Who can determine where one ends and the other begins.

13.  When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum

14.  When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing.

15.  Thus the momentum of one skilled in war is overwhelming, and his attack precisely regulated.

16.  His potential is that of a fully drawn crossbow; his timing, the release of the trigger.

17.  In the tumult and uproar the battle seems chaotic, but there is no disorder; the troops appear to be milling about in circles but cannot be defeated.

18.  Apparent confusion is a product of good order; apparent cowardice, of courage; apparent weakness, of strength.

19.  Order or disorder depends on organization; courage or cowardice on circumstances; strength or weakness on dispositions.

20.  Thus, those skilled at making the enemy move do so by creating a situation to which he must conform; they entice him with something he is certain to take, and with lures of ostensible profit they await him in strength.

21.  Therefore a skill commander seeks victory from the situation and does not demand it of his subordinates.

22.  He selects his men and they exploit the situation.

23.  He who relies on the situation uses his men in fighting as one rolls logs or stones.  Now the nature of logs and stones is that on stable ground they are static; on unstable ground, they move.  If square, they stop; if round, they roll.

24.  Thus, the potential of troops skillfully commanded in battle may be compared to that of round boulders which roll down from mountain heights.

Weaknesses and Strengths

1.      Generally, he who occupies the field of battle first and awaits his enemy is at ease; he who comes later to the scene and rushes into the fight is weary.

2.     And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.

3.     One able to make the enemy come of his own accord does so by offering him some advantage.  And one able to prevent him from coming does so by hurting him.

4.     When the enemy is at ease, be able to weary him, when well fed, to starve him; when at rest, to make him move.

5.     Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where de does not expect you.

6.     That you may march a thousand li without wearying yourself is because you travel where there is no enemy.

7.     To be certain to take what you attack is attack a place the enemy does not protect.  To be certain to hold what you defend is to defend a place the enemy does not attack.

8.     Therefore, against those skilled in attack, an enemy does not know where to defend; against the experts in defense, the enemy does not know where to attack.

9.     Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible.  Thus he is master of his enemy’s fate.

10.  He whose advance is irresistible plunges into his enemy’s weak positions; he who in withdrawal cannot be pursued moves so swiftly that he cannot be overtaken.

11.  When I wish to give battle, my enemy, even though protected by high walls and deep moats, cannot help but engage me, for I attack a position he must succor.

12.  When I wish to avoid battle I may defend myself simply be drawing a line on the ground; the enemy will be unable to attack me because I divert him from going where he wishes.

13.  If I am able to determine the enemy’s dispositions while at the same time I conceal my own then I can concentrate and he must divide.  And if I concentrate while he divides, I can use my entire strength to attack a fraction of his.  There, I will be numerically superior.  Then, if I am able to use many to strike few at the selected point, those I deal with will be in dire straits.

14.  The enemy must not know where I intend to give battle.  For if he does not know where I intend to give battle he must prepare in great many places.  And when he prepares in a great many places, those I have to fight in any one place will be few.

15.  For if he prepares to the front his rear will be weak, and if to the rear, his front will be fragile.  If he prepares to the left, his right will be vulnerable and if to the right, there will be few on his left.  And when he prepares everywhere he will be weak everywhere.

16.  One who has few must prepare against the enemy; one who has many makes the enemy prepare against him.

17.  If one knows where and when a battle will be fought his troops can march a thousand li and meet on the field.  But if one knows neither the battleground nor the day of battle, the left will be unable to aid the right, or the right, the left; the van to support the rear, or the rear, the van.  How much more is this when separated by several tens of li, or, indeed, by even a few.

18.  Although I estimate the troops of Yueh as many, of what benefit is this superiority in respect to the outcome.

19.  Thus I say that victory can be created.  For even if the enemy is numerous, I can prevent him from engaging.

20.  Therefore, determine the enemy’s plans and you will know which strategy will be successful and which will not.

21.  Agitate him and ascertain the pattern of his movement.

22.  Determine his dispositions and so ascertain the field of battle.

23.  Probe him and learn where his strength is abundant and where deficient.

24.  The ultimate in disposing one’s troops is to e without ascertainable shape.  Then the most penetrating spies cannot pry in nor can the wise lay plans against you.

25.  It is according to the shapes that I lay the plans for victory, but the multitude does not comprehend this.  Although everyone can see the outward aspects, none understands the way in which I have created victory.

26.  Therefore, when I have won a victory I do not repeat my tactics but respond to circumstances in an infinite variety of ways.

27.  Now an army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoids the heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strikes weakness.

28.  And as water shapes its flow in accordance with the ground, so an army manages it s victory in accordance with the situation of the enemy.

29.  And as water has no constant form, there are in war no constant conditions.

30.  Thus, one able to gain the victory be modifying his tactics in accordance with the enemy situation may be said to be divine.

31.  Of the five elements, none is always predominant; of the four seasons, none lasts forever; of the days, some are long and some short, and the moon waxes and wanes.

Maneuver

1.      Normally, when the army is employed, the general first receives his commands from the sovereign.  He assembles the troops and mobilizes the people.  He blends the army into a harmonious entity and encamps it.

2.     Nothing is more difficult than the art of maneuver.  What is difficult about maneuver is to make the devious route the most the most direct and to turn misfortune to advantage.

3.     Thus, march by an indirect route and divert the enemy by enticing him with a bait.  So doing, you may set out after he does and arrive before him.  One able to do this understands the strategy of the direct and the indirect.

4.     Now both advantage and danger are inherent in maneuver.

5.     One who sets the entire army in motion to chase an advantage will not attain it.

6.     If he abandons the camp to contend for advantage the stores will be lost.

7.     It follows that when on rolls up the armor and sets out speedily, stopping neither day nor night and marching at double time for a hundred li, the three commanders will be captured.  For the vigorous troops will arrive first and the feeble straggle along behind, so that if this method is used only one-tenth of the army will arrive.

8.     In a forced march of fifty li the commander of the van will fall, and using this method but half the army will arrive.  In a forced march of thirty li, but two-thirds will arrive.

9.     It follows that an army which lacks heavy equipment, fodder, food and stores will be lost.

10.  Those who do not know the conditions of mountains and forests, hazardous defiles, marshes and swamps, cannot conduct the march of an army.

11.  Those who do not use local guides are unable to obtain the advantages of the ground.

12.  Now war is based on deception.  Move when it is advantageous and create changes in the situation by dispersal and concentration of forces.

13.  When campaigning, be swift as the wind; in leisurely march, majestic as the forest; in raiding and plundering, like fire; in standing, firm as the mountains.  As unfathomable as the clouds, move like a thunderbolt.

14.  When you plunder the countryside, divide your forces.  When you conquer territory, divide the profits.

15.  Weigh the situation, then move.

16.  He who knows the art of the direct and the indirect approach will be victorious.  Such is the art of maneuvering.

17.  The book of military administration says: ‘As the voice cannot be heard in battle, drums and bells are used.  As troops cannot see each other clearly in battle, flags and banners are used.’

18.  Now gongs and drums, banners and flags are used to focus the attention of the troops.  When the troops can be thus united, the brave cannot advance alone, nor can the cowardly withdraw.  This is the art of employing a host.

19.  In night fighting use many torches and drums, in day fighting many banners and flags in order to influence the sight and hearing of our troops.

20.  Now an army may be robbed of its spirit and its commander deprived of his courage.

21.  During the early morning spirits are keen, during the day they flag, and in the evening thoughts turn toward home.

22.  And therefore those skilled in war avoid the enemy when is spirit is keen and attack him when it is sluggish and his soldiers homesick.  The is control of the moral factor.

23.  In good order they await a disorderly enemy; in serenity, a clamorous one.   This is control of the mental factor.

24.  Close to the field of battle, they await an enemy coming from afar; at rest, an exhausted enemy; with well-fed troops, hungry ones.  This is control of the physical factor.

25.  They do not engage an enemy advancing with well-ordered banners nor one whose formations are in impressive array.  This is control of the factor of changing circumstances.

26.  Therefore, the art of employing troops is that when the enemy occupies high ground, do not confront him; with his back resting on hills, do not oppose him.

27.  When he pretends to fell, do not pursue.

28.  Do not attack his elite troops.

29.  Do not gobble proffered baits.

30.  Do not thwart an enemy returning homewards.

31.  To a surrounded enemy you must leave a way of escape.

32.  Do not press an enemy at bay.

33.  This is the method of employing troops.

The Nine Variables.

1.      In general, the system of employing troops is that the commander receives his mandate from the sovereign to mobilize the people and assemble the army.

2.     You should encamp in low-lying ground.

3.     In communicating ground, unite with your allies.

4.     You should not linger in desolate ground.

5.     In enclosed ground, resourcefulness is required.

6.     In death ground, fight.

7.     There are some roads not to follow; some troops not to strike; some cities not to assault; and some ground which should not be contested.

8.     There are occasions when the commands of the sovereign need not be obeyed.

9.     A general thoroughly versed in the advantages of the nine variable factors knows how to employ troops.

10.  The general who does not understand the advantages of the nine variable factors will not be able to use the ground to his advantage even though familiar with it.

11.  In the direction of military operations one who does not understand the tactics suitable to the nine variable situations will be unable to use his troops effectively, even if he understand the ‘five advantages.’

12.  And for this reason, the wise general in his deliberations must consider both favorable and unfavorable factors.

13.  By taking into account the favorable factors, he makes his plan feasible; by taking into account the unfavorable, he may resolve the difficulties.

14.  He who intimidates his neighbors does so by inflicting injury upon them.

15.  He wearies them by keeping the constantly occupied, and makes them rush about by offering them ostensible advantages.

16.  It is a doctrine of war not to assume the enemy will not come, but rather to rely on one’s readiness to meet him; not to presume that he will not attack, but rather to make one’s self invincible.

17.  There are five qualities which are dangerous in the character of a general.

18.  If reckless, he can be killed.

19.  If cowardly, captured.

20.  If quick-tempered you can make a fool of him.

21.  If he has too delicate a sense of honor you can calumniate him.

22.  If he is of a compassionate nature you can harass him.

23.  Now these five traits of character are serious faults in a general and in military operations calamitous.

24.  The ruin of the army and the death of the general are inevitable results of these shortcomings.  They must be deeply pondered.