Art of War
Art of War
Art of War
P
lan an advantage by listening.
This makes you powerful.
Get assistance from the outside.
Know the situation.
Then planning can find opportunities and give you control.
Y
ou can never totally understand all the dangers in using
arms.
Therefore, you can never totally understand the advantages
in using arms either.
You want to make good use of war.
Do not raise troops repeatedly.
Do not carry too many supplies.
Choose to be useful to your nation.
Feed off the enemy.
Make your army carry only the provisions it needs.
B
ecause of this, the commanders duty is to feed off the
enemy.
Use a cup of the enemys food.
It is worth twenty of your own.
Win a bushel of the enemys feed.
It is worth twenty of your own.
You can kill the enemy and frustrate him as well.
Take the enemys strength from him by stealing away his
supplies.
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Fight for the enemys supply wagons.
Capture their supplies by using overwhelming force.
Reward the first who capture them.
Then change their banners and flags.
Mix them in with your own to increase your supply line.
Keep your soldiers strong by providing for them.
This is what it means to beat the enemy while you grow
more powerful.
M
ake victory in war pay for itself.
Avoid expensive, long campaigns.
The military commanders knowledge is the key.
It determines if the civilian officials can govern.
It determines if the nations households are peaceful or a
danger to the state.
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PLANNING AN ATTACK
T
he best policy is to attack while the enemy is still
planning.
The next best is to disrupt alliances.
The next best is to attack the opposing army.
The worst is to attack the enemys cities.
This is what happens when you attack a city.
You can attempt it, but you cant finish it.
First you must make siege engines.
You need the right equipment and machinery.
You use three months and still cannot win.
Then, you try to encircle the area.
You use three more months without making progress.
The commander still doesnt win and this angers him.
He then tries to swarm the city.
This kills a third of his officers and men.
He still isnt able to draw the enemy out of the city.
This attack is a disaster.
M
ake good use of war.
Make the enemys troops surrender.
You can do this fighting only minor battles.
You can draw their men out of their cities.
You can do it with small attacks.
You can destroy the men of a nation.
You must keep your campaign short.
Note: The deeper meaning of surrender, cities,
destroy, men of a nation, and a campaign are
much more complicted in the context of Sun Tzus
compete system. They are all code words.
THE ART OF WAR
23
You must use total war, fighting with everything you have.
Never stop fighting when at war.
You can gain complete advantage.
To do this, you must plan your strategy of attack.
The rules for making war are:
If you outnumber the enemy ten to one, surround them.
If you outnumber them five to one, attack them.
If you outnumber them two to one, divide them.
If you are equal, then find an advantageous battle.
If you are fewer, defend against them.
If you are much weaker, evade them.
Small forces are not powerful.
However, large forces cannot catch them.
Y
ou must master command.
The nation must support you.
Supporting the military makes the nation powerful.
Not supporting the military makes the nation weak.
Politicians create problems for the military in three different
ways.
Ignorant of the armys inability to advance, they order an
advance.
Ignorant of the armys inability to withdraw, they order a
withdrawal.
We call this tying up the army.
Politicians dont understand the armys business.
Still, they think they can run an army.
This confuses the armys officers.
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Politicians dont know the armys chain of command.
They give the army too much freedom.
This will create distrust among the armys officers.
The entire army becomes confused and distrusting.
This invites the invasion from many different rivals.
We say correctly that disorder in an army kills victory.
Y
ou must know five things to win:
Victory comes from knowing when to attack and when to
avoid battle.
Victory comes from correctly using both large and small
forces.
Victory comes from everyone sharing the same goals.
Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems.
Victory comes from having a capable commander and the
government leaving him alone.
You must know these five things.
You then know the theory of victory.
W
e say:
Know yourself and know your enemy.
You will be safe in every battle.
You may know yourself but not know the enemy.
You will then lose one battle for every one you win.
You may not know yourself or the enemy.
You will then lose every battle.
Y
ou are sometimes unable to win.
You must then defend.
You will eventually be able to win.
You must then attack.
Defend when you have insufficient strength to win.
Attack when you have more strength than you need to win.
26
POSITIONING
You must defend yourself well.
Save your forces and dig in.
You must attack well.
Move your forces when you have a clear advantage.
You must protect your forces until you can completely
triumph.
S
ome may see how to win.
However, they cannot position their forces where they must.
This demonstrates limited ability.
Some can struggle to a victory and the whole world may
praise their winning.
This also demonstrates a limited ability.
Win as easily as picking up a fallen hair.
Dont use all of your forces.
See the time to move.
Dont try to find something clever.
Hear the clap of thunder.
Dont try to hear something subtle.
Learn from the history of successful battles.
Victory goes to those who make winning easy.
A good battle is one that you will obviously win.
It doesnt take intelligence to win a reputation.
It doesnt take courage to achieve success.
Note: When Sun Tzu uses the term history it means
something close to statistical reality. His text only
seems vague because the deeper meaning is secret.
THE ART OF WAR
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You must win your battles without effort.
Avoid difficult struggles.
Fight when your position must win.
You always win by preventing your defeat.
You must engage only in winning battles.
Position yourself where you cannot lose.
Never waste an opportunity to defeat your enemy.
You win a war by first assuring yourself of victory.
Only afterward do you look for a fight.
Outmaneuver the enemy before the battle and then fight to
win.
Y
ou must make good use of war.
Study military philosophy and the art of defense.
You can control your victory or defeat.
This is the art of war.
1. Discuss the distances.
2. Discuss your numbers.
3. Discuss your calculations.
4. Discuss your decisions.
5. Discuss victory.
The ground determines the distance.
The distance determines your numbers.
Your numbers determine your calculations.
Your calculations determine your decisions.
Your decisions determine your victory.
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Creating a winning war is like balancing a coin of gold
against a coin of silver.
Creating a losing war is like balancing a coin of silver
against a coin of gold.
W
inning a battle is always a matter of people.
You pour them into battle like a flood of water pouring into
a deep gorge.
This is a matter of positioning.
I
t is the same in all battles.
You use a direct approach to engage the enemy.
You use surprise to win.
You must use surprise for a successful invasion.
Surprise is as infinite as the weather and land.
Surprise is as inexhaustible as the flow of a river.
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MOMENTUM
You can be stopped and yet recover the initiative.
You must use your days and months correctly.
If you are defeated, you can recover.
You must use the four seasons correctly.
There are only a few notes in the scale.
Yet, you can always rearrange them.
You can never hear every song of victory.
There are only a few basic colors.
Yet, you can always mix them.
You can never see all the shades of victory.
There are only a few flavors.
Yet, you can always blend them.
You can never taste all the flavors of victory.
You fight with momentum.
There are only a few types of surprises and direct actions.
Yet, you can always vary the ones you use.
There is no limit in the ways you can win.
Surprise and direct action give birth to each other.
They proceed from each other in an endless cycle.
You can not exhaust all their possible combinations!
W
ar is very complicated and confused.
Battle is chaotic.
Nevertheless, you must not allow chaos.
War is very sloppy and messy.
Positions turn around.
Nevertheless, you must never be defeated.
Chaos gives birth to control.
Fear gives birth to courage.
Weakness gives birth to strength.
You must control chaos.
This depends on your planning.
Your men must brave their fears.
This depends on their momentum.
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You have strengths and weaknesses.
These come from your position.
You must force the enemy to move to your advantage.
Use your position.
The enemy must follow you.
Surrender a position.
The enemy must take it.
You can offer an advantage to move him.
You can use your men to move him.
You use your strength to hold him.
Y
ou want a successful battle.
To do this, you must seek momentum.
Do not just demand a good fight from your people.
You must pick good people and then give them momentum.
You must create momentum.
You create it with your men during battle.
This is comparable to rolling trees and stones.
Trees and stones roll because of their shape and weight.
Offer men safety and they will stay calm.
Endanger them and they will act.
Give them a place and they will hold.
Round them up and they will march.
You make your men powerful in battle with momentum.
This is just like rolling round stones down over a high, steep
cliff.
Use your momentum.
33
WEAKNESS AND STRENGTH
Sun Tzu said:
A
lways arrive first to the empty battlefield to await the
enemy at your leisure.
If you are late and hurry to the battlefield, fighting is more
difficult.
You want a successful battle.
Move your men, but not into opposing forces.
You can make the enemy come to you.
Offer him an advantage.
You can make the enemy avoid coming to you.
Threaten him with danger.
When the enemy is fresh, you can tire him.
When he is well fed, you can starve him.
When he is relaxed, you can move him.
34
WEAKNESS AND STRENGTH
L
eave any place without haste.
Hurry to where you are unexpected.
You can easily march hundreds of miles without tiring.
To do so, travel through areas that are deserted.
You must take whatever you attack.
Attack when there is no defense.
You must have walls to defend.
Defend where it is impossible to attack.
Be skilled in attacking.
Give the enemy no idea of where to defend.
Be skillful in your defense.
Give the enemy no idea of where to attack.
B
e subtle! Be subtle!
Arrive without any clear formation.
Quietly! Quietly!
Arrive without a sound.
You must use all your skill to control the enemys decisions.
Advance where they cant defend.
Charge through their openings.
Withdraw where the enemy cannot chase you.
Move quickly so that they cannot catch you.
Note: A great deal of Sun Tzus system was developed
to explain how newer and smaller competitors can and
do eventually overcome larger, well-established oppo-
nents. You can learn more about overcoming your
own larger opponents by buying any one of our Art of
War PLUS books.
THE ART OF WAR
35
I always pick my own battles.
The enemy can hide behind high walls and deep trenches.
I do not try to win by fighting him directly.
Instead, I attack a place that he must rescue.
I avoid the battles that I dont want.
I can divide the ground and yet defend it.
I dont give the enemy anything to win.
Divert him from coming to where you defend.
I
make their men take a position while I take none.
I then focus my forces where the enemy divides his forces.
Where I focus, I unite my forces.
When the enemy divides, he creates many small groups.
I want my large group to attack one of his small ones.
Then I have many men where the enemy has but a few.
My large force can overwhelm his small one.
I then go on to the next small enemy group.
I will take them one at a time.
[
W
e must keep the place that weve chosen as a
battleground a secret.
The enemy must not know.
Force the enemy to prepare his defense in many places.
I want the enemy to defend many places.
Then I can choose where to fight.
His forces will be weak there.
36
MOMENTUM
If he reinforces his front lines, he depletes his rear.
If he reinforces his rear, he depletes his front.
If he reinforces his right flank, he depletes his left.
If he reinforces his left flank, he depletes his right.
Without knowing the place of attack, he cannot prepare.
Without knowing the right place, he will be weak
everywhere.
The enemy has weak points.
Prepare your men against them.
He has strong points.
Make his men prepare themselves against you.
Y
ou must know the battle ground.
You must know the time of battle.
You can then travel a thousand miles and still win the battle.
The enemy should not know the battleground.
He shouldnt know the time of battle.
His left will be unable to support his right.
His right will be unable to support his left.
His front lines will be unable to support his rear.
His rear will be unable to support his front.
His support is distant even if it is only ten miles away.
What unknown place can be close?
We control the balance of forces.
The enemy may have many men but they are superfluous.
How can they help him to victory?
THE ART OF WAR
37
We say:
You must let victory happen.
The enemy may have many men.
You can still control him without a fight.
W
hen you form your strategy, know the strengths and
weaknesses of your plan.
When you execute, know how to manage both action and
inaction.
When you take a position, know the deadly and the winning
grounds.
When you battle, know when you have too many or too few
men.
Use your position as your wars centerpiece.
Arrive at the battle without a formation.
Dont take a position.
Then even the best spies cant report it.
Even the wisest general cannot plan to counter you.
Take a position where you can triumph using superior
numbers.
Keep the enemys forces ignorant.
Their troops will learn of my location when my position will
win.
They must not know how our location gives us a winning
position.
Make the battle one from which they cannot recover.
You must always adjust your position to their position.
38
M
anage your military position like water.
Water takes every shape.
It avoids the high and moves to the low.
Your war can take any shape.
It must avoid the strong and strike the weak.
Water follows the shape of the land that directs its flow.
Your forces follow the enemy who determines how you win.
Make war without a standard approach.
Water has no consistent shape.
If you follow the enemys shifts and changes, you can
always win.
We call this shadowing.
Fight five different campaigns without a firm rule for
victory.
Use all four seasons without a consistent position.
Your timing must be sudden.
A few weeks determine your failure or success.
Note: Every word in Sun Tzu has a specific meaning. The five
campaigns here refers to the five different type of attacks that he
teaches. The four seasons is NOT the four seasons that we
think of in a year. Seasons refers to the key element weather
which, in the original text, is the Chinese character for sky or
heaven. This character means the hand of fate, the passage of
time, as well as, changes in climate, but the four refers to the
four steps in the competitive cycle. Timing is also a
characteristic of heaven and is many respect the heavenly
partner of the earthly, ground-based skill of momentum. Again,
you miss not just a little, but most of the meaning hidden in the
text by simply reading it. Its advice is universal, but very detailed,
packed with hidden meanings.
39
ARMED CONFLICT
Sun Tzu said:
E
veryone uses the arts of war.
You accept orders from the government.
Then you assemble your army.
You organize your men and build camps.
You must avoid disasters from armed conflict.
Seeking armed conflict can be disastrous.
Because of this, a detour can be the shortest path.
Because of this, problems can become opportunities.
Use an indirect route as your highway.
Use the search for advantage to guide you.
When you fall behind, you must catch up.
When you get ahead, you must wait.
You must know the detour that most directly accomplishes
your plan.
Undertake armed conflict when you have an advantage.
Seeking armed conflict for its own sake is dangerous.
40
ARMED CONFLICT
Y
ou can build up an army to fight for an advantage.
Then you wont catch the enemy.
You can force your army to go fight for an advantage.
Then you abandon your heavy supply wagons.
You keep only your armor and hurry after the enemy.
You avoid stopping day or night.
You use many roads at the same time.
You go hundreds of miles to fight for an advantage.
Then the enemy catches your commanders and your army.
Your strong soldiers get there first.
Your weaker soldiers follow behind.
Using this approach, only one in ten will arrive.
You can try to go fifty miles to fight for an advantage.
Then your commanders and army will stumble.
Using this method, only half of your soldiers will make it.
You can try to go thirty miles to fight for an advantage.
Then only two out of three get there.
If you make your army travel without good supply lines,
they will die.
Without supplies and food, your army will die.
If you dont save the harvest, your army will die.
Note: Again, you misunderstand Sun Tzu unless you
understand that he teaches avoiding unnecessary
conflict. He wants you to win without conflict. He sees
direct conflict as unnatural and those that seek it in
competition as foolish and worse for very specific
reasons.
THE ART OF WAR
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Do not let any of your potential enemies know of what you are
planning.
You must not hesitate to meet the allies.
You must know the mountains and forests.
You must know where the obstructions are.
You must know where the marshes are.
If you dont, you cannot move the army.
If you dont, you must use local guides.
If you dont, you cant take advantage of the terrain.
Y
ou make war using a deceptive position.
If you use deception, then you can move.
Using deception, you can upset the enemy and change the
situation.
You must move as quickly as the wind.
You must rise like the forest.
You must invade and plunder like fire.
You must stay as motionless as a mountain.
You must be as mysterious as the fog.
You must strike like sounding thunder.
Divide your troops to plunder the villages.
When on open ground, dividing is an advantage.
Dont worry about organization, just move.
Be the first to find a new route that leads directly to a
winning plan.
This is the how you are successful at armed conflict.
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ARMED CONFLICT
M
ilitary experience says:
You can speak, but you will not be heard.
You must use gongs and drums.
You cannot really see your forces just by looking.
You must use banners and flags.
You must master gongs, drums, banners and flags.
Place people as a single unit where they can all see and hear.
You must unite them as one.
Then, the brave cannot advance alone.
The fearful cannot withdraw alone.
You must force them to act as a group.
In night battles, you must use numerous fires and drums.
In day battles, you must use many banners and flags.
You must position your people to control what they see and
hear.
Y
ou control your army by controlling its emotions.
As a general, you must be able to control emotions.
In the morning, a persons energy is high.
During the day, it fades.
By evening, a persons thoughts turn to home.
You must use your troops wisely.
Avoid the enemys high spirits.
Strike when they are lazy and want to go home.
This is how you master energy.
THE ART OF WAR
43
Use discipline to await the chaos of battle.
Keep relaxed to await a crisis.
This is how you master emotion.
Stay close to home to await a distant enemy.
Stay comfortable to await the weary enemy.
Stay well fed to await the hungry enemy.
This is how you master power.
D
ont entice the enemy when their ranks are orderly.
You must not attack when their formations are solid
This is how you master adaptation.
You must follow these military rules.
Do not take a position facing the high ground.
Do not oppose those with their backs to wall.
Do not follow those who pretend to flee.
Do not attack the enemys strongest men.
Do not swallow the enemys bait.
Do not block an army that is heading home.
Leave an escape outlet for a surrounded army.
Do not press a desperate foe.
This is the art of war.
Y
ou must be creative in your planning.
You must adapt to your opportunities and weaknesses.
You can use a variety of approaches and still have a
consistent result.
You must adjust to a variety of problems and consistently
solve them.
Y
ou can deter your potential enemy by using his
weaknesses against him.
You can keep your enemys army busy by giving it work to
do.
You can rush your enemy by offering him an advantageous
position.
Y
ou must make use of war.
46
ADAPTABILITY
Do not trust that the enemy isnt coming.
Trust on your readiness to meet him.
Do not trust that the enemy wont attack.
We must rely only on our ability to pick a place that the
enemy cant attack.
Y
ou can exploit five different faults in a leader.
If he is willing to die, you can kill him.
If he wants to survive, you can capture him.
He may have a quick temper.
You can then provoke him with insults.
If he has a delicate sense of honor, you can disgrace him.
If he loves his people, you can create problems for him.
In every situation, look for these five weaknesses.
They are common faults in commanders.
They always lead to military disaster.
To overturn an army, you must kill its general.
To do this, you must use these five weaknesses.
You must always look for them.
A
rmies are stronger on high ground and weaker on low.
They are better camping on sunny, southern hillsides than on
the shady, northern ones.
Provide for your armys health and place it well.
Your army will be free from disease.
Done correctly, this means victory.
You must sometimes defend on a hill or riverbank.
You must keep on the south side in the sun.
Keep the uphill slope at your right rear.
This will give the advantage to your army.
It will always give you a position of strength.
I
f you are too weak to fight, you must find more men.
In this situation, you must not act aggressively.
You must unite your forces, expect the enemy, recruit men
and wait.
You must be cautious about making plans and adjust to the
enemy.
You must increase the size of your forces.
W
ith new, undedicated soldiers, you can depend on them if
you discipline them.
They will tend to disobey your orders.
If they do not obey your orders, they will be useless.
You can depend on seasoned, dedicated soldiers.
But you must avoid disciplining them without reason.
Otherwise, you cannot use them.
You must control your soldiers with esprit de corp.
You must bring them together by winning victories.
You must get them to believe in you.
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Make it easy for them to obey your orders by training your
people.
Your people will then obey you.
If you do not make it easy to obey, you wont train your
people.
Then they will not obey.
Make your commands easy to follow.
You must understand the way a crowd thinks.
S
ome armies can be outmaneuvered.
Some armies are too lax.
Some armies fall down.
Some armies fall apart.
Some armies are disorganized.
Some armies must retreat.
Know all six of these weaknesses.
They lead to losses on both good and bad ground.
They all arise from the armys commander.
58
FIELD POSITION
One general can command a force equal to the enemy.
Still his enemy outflanks him.
This means that his army can be outmaneuvered.
Another can have strong soldiers, but weak officers.
This means that his army will be too lax.
Another has strong officers but weak soldiers.
This means that his army will fall down.
Another has sub-commanders that are angry and defiant.
They attack the enemy and fight their own battles.
As a commander, he cannot know the battlefield.
This means that his army will fall apart.
Another general is weak and easygoing.
He fails to make his orders clear.
His officers and men lack direction,
This shows in his military formations.
This means that his army will be disorganized.
Another general fails to predict the enemy.
He pits his small forces against larger ones.
He puts his weak forces against stronger ones.
He fails to pick his fights correctly.
This means that his army must retreat.
You must know all about these six weaknesses.
You must understand the philosophies that lead to defeat.
When a general arrives, you can know what he will do.
You must study each one carefully.
Y
ou may know what your soldiers will do in an attack.
You may not know if the enemy is vulnerable to attack.
You will then win only half the time.
You may know that the enemy is vulnerable to attack.
You may not know if your men are capable of attacking
them.
You will still win only half the time.
You may know that the enemy is vulnerable to attack.
You may know that your men are ready to attack.
You may not know how to position yourself in the field for
battle.
You will still win only half the time.
You must know how to make war.
You can then act without confusion.
You can attempt anything.
THE ART OF WAR
61
We say:
Know the enemy and know yourself.
Your victory will be painless.
Know the weather and the field.
Your victory will be complete.
G
o to an area that helps you in waging war.
Use it to cut off the enemys contact between his front and
back lines.
Prevent his small parties from relying on his larger force.
Stop his strong divisions from rescuing his weak ones.
Prevent his officers from getting his men together.
Chase his soldiers apart to stop them from amassing.
Harass them to prevent their ranks from forming.
When joining battle gives you an advantage, you must do it.
When it isnt to your benefit, you must avoid it.
A daring soldier may ask:
A large, organized enemy army and its general are coming.
What do I do to prepare for them?
Note: You must understand the chapters larger orga-
nization. After the introduction, each individual section
explains one stage of competition (type of terrain) in
more detail. Without knowing which stage is being
examined, you miss the point of the advice.
THE ART OF WAR
65
Tell him:
First seize an area that the enemy must have.
Then they will pay attention to you.
Mastering speed is the essence of war.
Take advantage of a large enemys inability to keep up.
Use a philosophy of avoiding difficult situations.
Attack the area where he doesnt expect you.
Y
ou must use the philosophy of an invader.
Invade deeply and then concentrate your forces.
This controls your men without oppressing them.
Get your supplies from the riches of the territory.
It is sufficient to supply your whole army.
Take care of your men and do not overtax them.
Your esprit de corps increases your momentum.
Keep your army moving and plan for surprises.
Make it difficult for the enemy to count your forces.
Position your men where there is no place to run.
They will then face death without fleeing.
They will find a way to survive.
Your officers and men will fight to their utmost.
Military officers that are committed lose their fear.
When they have nowhere to run, they must stand firm.
Deep in enemy territory, they are captives.
Since they cannot escape, they will fight.
66
TYPES OF TERRAIN
Commit your men completely.
Without being posted, they will be on guard.
Without being asked, they will get what is needed.
Without being forced, they will be dedicated.
Without being given orders, they can be trusted.
Stop them from guessing by removing all their doubts.
Stop them from dying by giving them no place to run.
Your officers may not be rich.
Nevertheless, they still desire plunder.
They may die young.
Nevertheless, they still want to live forever.
You must order the time of attack.
Officers and men may sit and weep until their lapels are wet.
When they stand up, tears may stream down their cheeks.
Put them in a position where they cannot run.
They will show the greatest courage under fire.
M
ake good use of war.
This demands instant reflexes.
You must develop these instant reflexes.
Act like an ordinary mountain snake.
Someone can strike at your head.
You can then attack with your tail
Someone can strike at your tail.
You can then attack with your head.
Someone can strike at your middle.
You can then attack with both your head and tail.
THE ART OF WAR
67
A daring soldier asks:
Can any army imitate these instant reflexes?
We answer:
It can.
To command and get the most of proud people, you must
study adversity.
People work together when they are in the same boat during
a storm.
In this situation, one rescues the other just as the right hand
helps the left.
Use adversity correctly.
Tether your horses and bury your wagons wheels.
Still, you cant depend on this alone.
An organized force is braver than lone individuals.
This is the art of organization.
Put the tough and weak together.
You must also use the terrain.
Make good use of war.
Unite your men as one.
Never let them give up.
T
he commander must be a military professional.
This requires confidence and detachment.
You must maintain dignity and order.
You must control what your men see and hear.
They must follow you without knowing your plans.
68
TYPES OF TERRAIN
You can reinvent your mens roles.
You can change your plans.
You can use your men without their understanding.
You must shift your campgrounds.
You must take detours from the ordinary routes.
You must use your men without giving them your strategy.
A commander provides what his army needs now.
You must be willing to climb high and then kick away your
ladder.
You must be able to lead your men deeply into your
enemys territory and then find a way to create the
opportunity that you need.
You must drive men like a flock of sheep.
You must drive them to march.
You must drive them to attack.
You must never let them know where you are headed.
You must unite them into a great army.
You must then drive them against all opposition.
This is the job of a true commander.
You must adapt to the different terrain.
You must adapt to find an advantage.
You must manage your peoples affections.
You must study all these skills.
D
o the right thing when you dont know your different
enemies plans.
Dont attempt to meet them.
You dont know the local mountains, forests, hills and
marshes?
Then you cannot march the army.
You dont have local guides?
You wont get any of the benefits of the terrain.
There are many factors in war.
You may lack knowledge of any one of them.
If so, it is wrong to take a nation into war.
You must be able to dominate a nation at war.
Divide a big nation before they are able to gather a large
force.
Increase your enemys fear.
Prevent his forces from getting together and organizing.
Do the right thing and dont try to compete for outside
alliances.
You wont have to fight for authority.
Trust only yourself and your own resources.
This increases the enemys uncertainty.
You can force one of his allies to pull out.
His whole nation can fall.
THE ART OF WAR
71
Distribute plunder without worrying about agreements.
Halt without the governments command.
Attack with the whole strength of your army.
Use your army as if it was a single man.
Attack with skill.
Do not discuss it.
Attack when you have an advantage.
Do not talk about the dangers.
When you can launch your army into deadly ground, even if
it stumbles, it can still survive.
You can be weakened in a deadly battle and yet be stronger
afterward.
Even a large force can fall into misfortune.
If you fall behind, however, you can still turn defeat into
victory.
You must use the skills of war.
To survive, you must adapt yourself to your enemys
purpose.
You must stay with him no matter where he goes.
It may take a thousand miles to kill the general.
If you correctly understand him, you can find the skill to do
it.
M
anage your government correctly at the start of a war.
Close your borders and tear up passports.
Block the passage of envoys.
Encourage politicians at headquarters to stay out of it.
You must use any means to put an end to politics.
Your enemys people will leave you an opening.
You must instantly invade through it.
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TYPES OF TERRAIN
Immediately seize a place that they love.
Do it quickly.
Trample any border to pursue the enemy.
Use your judgment about when to fight.
Doing the right thing at the start of war is like approaching
a woman.
Your enemys men must open the door.
After that, you should act like a streaking rabbit.
The enemy will be unable to catch you.
Y
ou win in battle by getting the opportunity to attack.
It is dangerous if you fail to study how to accomplish this
achievement.
As commander, you cannot waste your opportunities.
We say:
A wise leader plans success.
A good general studies it.
If there is little to be gained, dont act.
If there is little to win, do not use your men.
If there is no danger, dont fight.
As leader, you cannot let your anger interfere with the
success of your forces.
As commander, you cannot fight simply because you are
enraged.
Join the battle only when it is in your advantage to act.
If there is no advantage in joining a battle, stay put.
Anger can change back into happiness.
Rage can change back into joy.
A nation once destroyed cannot be brought back to life.
Dead men do not return to the living.
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This fact must make a wise leader cautious.
A good general is on guard.
Your philosophy must be to keep the nation peaceful and
the army intact.
77
USING SPIES
Sun Tzu said:
A
ltogether, building an army requires thousands of men.
They invade and march thousands of miles.
Whole families are destroyed.
Other families must be heavily taxed.
Every day, thousands of dollars must be spent.
Internal and external events force people to move.
They are unable to work while on the road.
They are unable to find and hold a useful job.
This affects seventy percent of thousands of families.
You can watch and guard for years.
Then a single battle can determine victory in a day.
Despite this, bureaucrats hold onto their salary money too
dearly.
They remain ignorant of the enemys condition.
The result is cruel.
They are not leaders of men.
They are not servants of the state.
They are not masters of victory.
78
USING SPIES
You need a creative leader and a worthy commander.
You must move your troops to the right places to beat
others.
You must accomplish your attack and escape unharmed.
This requires foreknowledge.
You can obtain foreknowledge.
You cant get it from demons or spirits.
You cant see it from professional experience.
You cant check it with analysis.
You can only get it from other people.
You must always know the enemys situation.
Y
ou must use five types of spies.
You need local spies.
You need inside spies.
You need double agents.
You need doomed spies.
You need surviving spies.
You need all five types of spies.
No one must discover your methods.
You will be then able to put together a true picture.
This is the commanders most valuable resource.
You need local spies.
Get them by hiring people from the countryside.
You need inside spies.
Win them by subverting government officials.
You need double agents.
Discover enemy agents and convert them.
T H E A RT O F WA R
79
You need doomed spies.
Deceive professionals into being captured.
We let them know our orders.
They then take those orders to our enemy.
You need surviving spies.
Someone must return with a report.
Y
our job is to build a complete army.
No relations are as intimate as they are with spies.
No rewards are too generous for spies.
No work is as secret as that of spies.
If you arent clever and wise, you cant use spies.
If you arent fair and just, you cant use spies.
If you cant see the small subtleties, you wont get the truth
from spies.
Pay attention to small, trifling details!
Spies are helpful in every area.
Spies are the first to hear information, so they must not
spread it.
Spies who give your location or talk to others must be killed
along with those to whom they have talked.
T
his technique created the success of ancient emperors.
This is how they held their dynasties.
You must always be careful of your success.
Learn from the past examples.
Be a smart commander and good general.
You do this by using your best and brightest people for
spying.
This is how you achieve the greatest success.
This is how you meet the necessities of war.
The whole armys position and ability to move depends on
these spies.