The Art of War - Sun Tzu

0:00Chapter 1. Laying plans. Sun Su said the Order 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 cannot no account be neglected. The Order of War then is governed by five constant factors to be taken into account in one's deliberations when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. These are 1. The moral law 2. Heaven 3. Earth 4. The commander 5. Method and discipline. The moral law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler so that they will follow him regardless of their lives undespayed by any danger. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

1:04Earth comprises distances, great and small, danger and security, open ground and narrow passes, the chances of life and death. The commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness. By method and discipline, nor to be understood the marshalling of the army and its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure. These five heads should be familiar to every general. He who knows them will be victorious. He who knows them not will fail. Therefore in your deliberations when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison in this wise. One which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the moral law.

2:08Two which of the two generals has most ability. Three with whom lie the advantages derived from heaven and earth. Four on which side is discipline more rigorously enforced. Five which army is stronger. Six on which side are officers and men more highly trained. Seven in which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment. By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat. The general that harkens to my counsel and acts upon it will conquer. Let such a one be retained in command. The general that harkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it will suffer defeat. Let such a one be dismissed. While heeding the prophet of my counsel avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances

3:11over and beyond the ordinary rules. Accompancing as circumstances are favorable one should modify one's plans. All warfare is based on deception. Hence when able to attack we must seem unable. When using our forces we must seem inactive. When we are near we must make the enemy believe we are far away. When far away we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy, feign disorder and crush him. If he is secure at all points be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength he veith him. If your opponent is of caloric temper seek to irritate him pretend to be weak. If he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease give him no rest. If his forces are united separate them.

4:12Attack him where he is unprepared. Appear where you are not expected. These military devices leading to victory must not be divulged beforehand. Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple air the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory and few calculations to defeat. How much more no calculation at all. It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose. CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 Waging War Sunsoose says in the operations of war where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand male clans soldiers, with provisions in up to carry them a thousand lead, the expenditure

5:16at home and at the front, including entertainment of guests, small items such as glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots and armor, will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day, such as the cost of raising an army of one hundred thousand men. When you engage in actual fighting if victory is long and coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their order will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the state will not be equal to the strain. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your order damped, your strength exhausted, and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to overt the consequences that must ensue.

6:16Thus, though we have heard of stupid hasten war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on. The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supply wagons loaded more than twice. Bring warm material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs. Poverty of the state exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance. Contributing to maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished. On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go up, and high prices cause the people's substance to be drained away.

7:20When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted by heavy executions. With this loss of substance and exhaustion of strength, the homes of the people will be stripped bare and three tents of their income will be dissipated. While government expenses for broken chariots, worn out horses, breastplates and helmets, rows and arrows, spears and shields, protective mantles, draft oxen and heavy wagons, will amount to four tents of its total revenue. Hints a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise a single piquil of his probender is equivalent to twenty from one's own store. Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger, that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy they must have their rewards.

8:23Therefore in chariot fighting, when tin or more chariots have been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first. Our own flags should be substituted for those of the enemy, and the chariot's mingled and used in conjunction with ours. The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept. This is called using the covered foe to augment one's own strength. In war then, let your great object be victory not lengthy campaigns. Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate. The man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril. CHAPTER 3 ATTACK BY STRATIGEM Sonsu said, in the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact.

9:24To shatter and destroy it is not so good. So too it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment they detachment or a company entire than to destroy them. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence. Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. Thus the highest form of general ship is to block the enemy's plans. The next best is to prevent the injunction 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. The rule is not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided. The preparation of MATLITS movable shelters and various implements of war will take up three whole months and the piling up of mounds over against the wall will take three months

10:25more. The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants with a result that one-third of his men are slain while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege. Therefore these skillful leaders 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. With his forces intact, he will dispute the mastery of the empire and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem. It is the rule in war if our forces are ten to the enemies one, two surround him, if five to one to attack him, if twice as numerous to divide our army into two.

11:26If equally matched we can offer battle, if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy, if quite unequal in every way we can flee from him. Hence though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force. Now the general is the bulwark of the state. If the bulwark is complete at all points, the state will be strong. If the bulwark is defective, the state will be weak. There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army. One, by commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey, this is called hobbling the army. Two, by attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds.

12:28Three, by employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances, this shakes the confidence of the soldiers. But when the army is restless and distrustful, trouble is sure to come from the other feudal princes. This is simply bringing anarchy into the army and flinging victory away. Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory. One, he will win, who knows when to fight and when not to fight. Two, he will win, who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. Three, he will win, whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all the trunks. Four, he will win, who prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. Five, he will win, who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

13:33Hence the saying, if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. CHAPTER IV. TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS And Su said, the good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy. Hence the saying, one may know how to conquer without being able to do it.

14:40Security against defeat implies defensive tactics, ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient stress, attacking a super abundance of stress. The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth, he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have the ability to protect ourselves, on the other a victory that is complete. To see victory only when it is within the can of a common herd is not the acme of excellence. Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and the whole empire says well done. To lift an autumn hare is no sign of great strength, to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight. To hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.

15:44But the ancients call a clever fighter is one who not only wins but excels in winning with ease. Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor credit for courage. He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated. Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat impossible and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy. Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory. The consummate leader cultivates the moral law and strictly adheres to method and discipline thus it is in his power to control success.

16:47In respect of military method we have firstly measurement, secondly estimation of quantity, thirdly calculation, fourthly balancing of chances, fifthly victory. Measurement owes its existence to earth. Estimation of quantity to measurement, calculation to estimation of quantity, balancing of chances to calculation and victory to balancing of chances. A victorious army opposed to a routed one is as a pound's weight placed in the scale against a single grain. The enrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pent-up waters into a Casimade thousand Fathoms deep. End of Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Energy Sun 2 said, Be control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few

17:49men. It is merely a question of dividing up their numbers. Fighting with a large army under your command is no-wise different from fighting with a small one. It is merely a question of instituting signs and signals. To ensure that your whole host may withstand the brunt of the enemy's attack and remain unshaken, this is affected by maneuvers direct and indirect. That the impact of your army, maybe like a grindstone dashed against an egg, this is affected by the science of weak points and strong. In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. End direct 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.

18:51Like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more. There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combination of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. There are not more than five primary colors, blue, yellow, red, white and black, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever be seen. There are not more than five cardinal tastes, sour, accurate, salt, sweet, bitter, yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted. In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack, the direct and the indirect. Yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers. The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn. It is like moving in a circle. You never come to an end.

19:52Who can exhaust the possibilities of their combination? The onset of troops is like the rush of a torrent which will even roll stones along in its course. The quality of decision is like the well-timed soup of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim. Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset and prompt in his decision. The enemy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow, decision to the releasing of a trigger. Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all. Amid confusion and chaos, your array may be without head or tail, yet it will be proof against defeat. Immullated disorder postulates perfect discipline, simulated fear postulates courage, simulated weakness postulates strength.

20:55Heading order beneath the cloak of disorder is simply a question of subdivision. Concealing courage under a show of timidity presupposes a fund of latent energy. Masking stress with weakness is to be affected by tactical dispositions. Thus one who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances according to which the enemy will act. He sacrifices something that the enemy may snatch at it. By holding out baits he keeps him on the march, then with a body of picked men he lies and wait for him. The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy and does not require too much from individuals, hence his ability to pick out the right men and utilize combined energy. When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones, for it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level

21:59ground and to move when on a slope. If fore cornered to come to a standstill but if round shaped to go rolling down, thus the energy developed by good fighting men is as the momentum of a round stone rolled down a mountain thousands of feet in height, so much on the subject of energy. End of Chapter 5 Chapter 6 weak points and strong. Sun Tzu said, whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy will be fresh for the fight. Whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him. By holding out advantages to him he can cause the enemy to approach of his own accord or

23:00by inflicting damage he can make it impossible for the enemy to draw near. If the enemy is taking his ease he can harass him. If he is well supplied with food he can starve him out. It quietly encamped he can force him to move. Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend, march swiftly to places where you are not expected. An army may march great distances without distress if it marches through country where the enemy is not. You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended. You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked. Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.

24:01O divine art of subtlety and secrecy through you we learn to be invisible through you in audible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands. You may advance and be absolutely irresistible if you make for the enemy's weak points. You may retire and be safe from pursuit if your movements are more rapid than those of the enemy. If we wish to fight the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve. 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 do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way. By discovering the enemy's dispositions and remaining invisible ourselves we can keep

25:06our forces concentrated while the enemies must be divided. We can form a single united body while the enemy must split up into fractions. Once there will be a hole pitted against several parts of a hole which means that we shall be many to the enemy's few. And if we are able thus to attack an inferior force with a superior one our opponents will be in dire straits. The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known. For then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points and his forces being thus distributed in many directions. The numbers we shall have to face at any given point will be proportionately few. For should the enemy strengthen his van he will weaken his rear. Should he strengthen his rear he will weaken his van.

26:06Should he strengthen his left he will weaken his right. Should he strengthen his right he will weaken his left. If he sends reinforcements everywhere he will everywhere be weak. Numerical weakness comes from having to prepare against possible attacks. Numerical strength from compelling are adversary to make these preparations against us. Knowing the place and the time of the coming battle we may concentrate from the greatest distances in order to fight. But if neither time nor place be known then the left wing will be impotent to sucker the right, the right equally impotent to sucker the left. The van unable to relieve the rear are the rear to support the van. How much more so if the furthest portions of the army are anything under a hundredly apart and even the nearest are separated by several e? So according to my estimate the soldiers of Huei exceed our own in number that shall

27:11advantage them nothing in the matter of victory. I say then that victory can be achieved. Though the enemy be stronger in numbers we may prevent him from fighting. Scheme so as to discover his plans and the likelihood of their success. Rouse him and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Rouse him to reveal himself so as to find out his vulnerable spots. Carefully compare the opposing army with your own so that you may know where strength is super abundant and where it is deficient. In making tactical dispositions the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them. Conceal your dispositions and you will be safe from the prying of the subtlest spies from the machinations of the wise is brains. How victory may be produced for them out of the enemy's own tactics that is what the multitude cannot comprehend.

28:14All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances. Military tactics are like unto water, for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards. 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. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning may be called a heaven-born captain.

29:16The five elements, water, fire, wood, metal, earth are not always equally predominant. Before seasons make way for each in turn. There are short days and long. The moon has its periods of waning and waxing. End of Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Manuvering. Sunsu said, in war, the general receives his commands from the sovereign. Having collected an army and concentrated his forces, he must blend and harmonize the different elements thereof before pitching his camp. After that comes tactical maneuvering, then which there is nothing more difficult. The difficulty of tactical maneuvering consists in turning the devious into the direct and misfortune into gain. Thus to take a long and secuitous route after enticing the enemy out of the way and

30:18though starting after him to contrive to reach the goal before him shows knowledge of the Artifice of Deviation. Manuvering with an army is advantageous, with an undisciplined multitude most dangerous. If you set a fully equipped army in March in order to snatch an advantage, the chances are that you will be too late. On the other hand, to detach a flying column for the purpose involves the sacrifice of its baggage and stores. Thus if you order your men to roll up their buffcoats and make forced marches without halting day or night, covering double the usual distance at a stretch. Doing a hundredly in order to arrest an advantage, the leaders of all your three divisions will fall into the hands of the enemy. The stronger men will be in front. The jaded ones will fall behind, and on this plan only one-tenth of your army will reach

31:20its destination. If you march 50-lead in order to outmaneuver the enemy, you will lose the leader of your first division, and only half your force will reach the goal. If you march 30-lead with the same object, two-thirds of your army will arrive. We will take it then that an army without its baggage train is lost. Without provisions, it is lost. Without bases of supply, it is lost. We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors. We are not fit to lead an army on the march, unless we are familiar with the face of the country. It's mountains and forests, it's pitfalls and precipices, it's marshes and swamps. We shall be unable to turn natural advantage to a cow, unless we make use of local guides. In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.

32:22Whether to concentrate or to divide your troops must be decided by circumstances. Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest. In raiding and plundering be like fire, in immobility like a mountain. Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt. When you plunder a countryside, let the spoil be divided amongst your men. When you capture new territory, cut it up into allotments for the benefit of the soldiering. Ponder and deliberate before you make a move. We will conquer who has lured the Artifice of Debeation, such is the art of maneuvering. The Book of Army management says, on the field of battle the spoken word does not carry far enough, hence the institution of gongs and drums.

33:22Nor can ordinary objects be seen clearly enough, hence the institution of banners and flags. Hustles and drums, banners and flags, are means whereby the ears and eyes of the host may be focused on one particular point. The host thus forming a single united body, it is impossible either for the brave to advance alone or for the cowardly to retreat alone. This is the art of handling large masses of men. In night fighting then make much use of signal fires and drums, and in fighting by day a flag and banners as a means of influencing the ears and eyes of your army. A whole army may be robbed of its spirit. A commander in chief may be robbed of his presence of mind. Now a soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning, by noon day it has begun to flag, and in the evening his mind is bent only on returning to camp.

34:24A clever general therefore avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return. This is the art of studying moods. Disciplined and calm to await the appearance of disorder and hubbub amongst the enemy, this is the art of retaining self-possession. To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from it, to wait at ease while the enemy is toiling and struggling, to be well fed while the enemy is famished, this is the art of husbanding one's strength. To refrain from intercepting an enemy whose banners are in perfect order, to refrain from attacking an army drawn up in calm and confident array, this is the art of studying circumstances. It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill.

35:26Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight, do not attack soldiers whose temper is keen, do not swallow bait offered by the enemy, do not interfere with an army that is returning home. When you surround an army, leave an outlet free, do not press a desperate foe too hard. Such is the art of warfare. CHAPTER VARIATION IN TACTICS Sun Su said, in war the general receives his commands from the sovereign, collects his army and concentrates his forces. In difficult country, do not encamp. In country where high roads intersect, join hands with your allies, do not linger in dangerously isolated positions. In himden situations you must resort to stratagem, in desperate position you must fight.

36:28There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must be not attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed. The general who thoroughly understands the advantages that accompany variation of tactics knows how to handle his troops. The general who does not understand these may be well acquainted with the configuration of the country, yet he will not be able to turn his knowledge to practical account. So the student of war, who is unversed in the art of war of varying his plans, even though he be acquainted with the five advantages, will fail to make the best use of his men. Hence the wise leaders' plans, considerations of advantage and of disadvantage will be blended together. If our expectation of advantage be tempered in this way, we may succeed in accomplishing

37:32the essential part of our schemes. If on the other hand, in the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune. Reduce the hostile chiefs by inflicting damage on them and may trouble for them and keep them constantly engaged. Hold out specious allurements and make them rush to any given point. The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemies not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him, not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable. There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general. One, recklessness which leads to destruction. Two, cowardice which leads to capture. Three, a hasty temper which can be provoked by insults.

38:34Four, a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame. Five, over solicitude for his men which exposes him to worry and trouble. These are the five besetting sins of a general ruinous to the conduct of war. In an army is overthrown and its leader slain, the cause will surely be found among these five dangerous faults. Let them be the subject of meditation. CHAPTER VIII. The Army on the March. Sun Su said, we come now to the question of encamping the army and observing signs of the enemy. Pass quickly over mountains and keep in the neighborhood of valleys. Camp in high places facing the sun. Do not climb heights in order to fight. So much from mountain warfare. After crossing a river, you should get far away from it.

39:36When an invading force crosses a river in its onward march, do not advance to meet it in midstream. It will be best to let half the army get across and then deliver your attack. If you are anxious to fight, you should not go to meet the invader near a river which he has to cross. More your craft higher up than the enemy and facing the sun. Do not move upstream to meet the enemy. So much for river warfare. In crossing salt marshes, your soul concerns should be to get over them quickly without any delay. If forced to fight in a salt marsh, you should have water and grass near you and get your back to a clump of trees. So much for operations in salt marshes. In dry level country, take up an easily accessible position with rising ground to your right and on your rear so that the danger may be in front and safely lie behind.

40:38So much for campaigning in flat country. There are four useful branches of military knowledge which enabled the yellow emperor to vanquish four several sovereigns. All armies prefer high ground to low and sunny places to dark. If you are careful of your men and camp on hard ground, the army will be free from disease of every kind and this will spell victory. When you come to a hill or a bank, occupy the sunny side with a slope on your right rear. Thus you will once act for the benefit of your soldiers and utilize the natural advantages of the ground. When in consequence of heavy rains up country, a river which you wish to ford is swollen and flecked with foam, you must wait until it subsides. Every in which there are precipitous cliffs with torrents running between deep natural hollows, confined places, tangled thickets, quagmires and crevasses should be left with

41:42all possible speed and not approached. While we keep away from such places, we should get the enemy to approach them. While we face them, we should let the enemy have them on his rear. If in the neighborhood of your camp there should be any hilly country, puns surrounded by aquatic grass, hollow basins filled with reeds or woods with thick undergrowth, they must be carefully routed out and searched, for these are places where men in ambush and in city aspires are likely to be lurking. When the enemy is close at hand and remains quiet, he is relying on the natural stress of his position. When he heaps aloof and tries to provoke a battle, he is anxious for the other side to advance. If his place of encampment is easy of access, he is tendering a bait. Movement amongst the trees of a forest shows that the enemy is advancing.

42:43The appearance of a number of screens in the midst of thick grass means that the enemy wants to make us suspicious. The rising of birds in their flight is the sign of an ambuscade. Startle beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming. When there is dust rising in a high column, it is the sign of chariots advancing. When the dust is low but spread over a wide area, it be tokens the approach of infantry. When it branches out in different directions, it shows that parties have been sent to collect firewood. A few clouds of dust moving to and fro signify that the army is encamping. Humble words and increased preparations are signs that the enemy is about to advance. Violent language and driving forward as if to attack are signs that he will retreat. When the light chariots come out first and take a position on the wings, it is a sign that the enemy is forming for battle.

43:46These proposals on a company by a sworn covenant indicate a plot. When there is much running about in the soldiers falling to rank, it means that the critical moment has come. When some are seen advancing and some retreating, it is a lure. When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint from water food. If those who are set to draw water began by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst. If the enemy sees an advantage to be gained, it makes no effort to secure it, the soldiers are exhausted. If birds gather on any spot, it is unoccupied. Clamera by night be tokens nervousness. If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak. If the banners and flags are shifted about, sedition is a foot. If the officers are angry, it means that the men are weary.

44:47When an army feeds its horses with grain and kills its cattle for food, and when the men do not hang their cooking pots over the campfires, showing that they will not return to their tents, you may know that they are determined to fight to the death. The sight of men whispering together in small knots are speaking in subute tones, points to disaffection amongst the rancid file. Two frequent rewards signify that the enemy is at the end of his resources, too many punishments betray a condition of dire distress. To begin by bluster, but after which to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence. When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce. If the enemy's troupes march up angrily and remain facing hours for a long time without either joining battle or taking themselves off again, the situation is one that demands

45:51great vigilance and circumspection. If our troupes are no more in number than the enemy, that is simply sufficient. It only means that no direct attack can be made. What we can do is simply to concentrate all our available strength, keep a close watch on the enemy and obtain reinforcements. He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them. If soldiers are punished before they have grown attached to you, they will not prove submissive. And unless submissive then will be practically useless. If when soldiers have become attached to you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be useless. Therefore, soldiers must be treated in the first instance with humanity, but kept under control by means of our indiscipline. This is a certain road to victory.

46:51If in training soldiers, commands, or habitually enforced, the army will be well disciplined. If not, its discipline will be bad. If a general shows confidence in his men but always insists on his orders being obeyed, the gain will be mutual. CHAPTER XI. TURRANE Sunsou said, we may distinguish six kinds of terrain to it, one accessible ground, two entangling ground, three temporizing ground, four narrow passes, five precipitous heights, six positions at a great distance from the enemy. And which can be freely traversed by both sides is called accessible. With regard to ground of this nature, be before the enemy in occupying the raised and sunny spots, and carefully guard your lines of supplies, then you will be able to fight with advantage.

47:56Ground which can be abandoned but is hard to reoccupy is called entangling. 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. When the position is such that neither side will gain by making the first move, it is called temporizing ground. In a position of this sort, even though the enemy should offer us an attractive bait, it will be advisable not to stir forth, but rather to retreat, thus enticing the enemy in his turn. Then, when part of his army is come out, we may deliver our attack with advantage. With regard to narrow passes, if you can occupy them first, let them be strongly garrisoned and await the advent of the enemy. Should the army forst all you in occupying a pass?

48:56Do not go after him if the pass is fully garrisoned, but only if it is weakly garrisoned. With regard to precipitous heights, if you are beforehand with your adversary, you should occupy the raised and sunny spots and there wait for him to come up. If the enemy has occupied them before you, do not follow him, but retreat and try to entice him away. 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. These six are the principles connected with earth. The general who has attained a responsible post must be careful to study them. Now an army is exposed to six several calamities, not arising from natural causes, but from faults for which the general is responsible. These are one flight, two in subordination, three collapse, four ruin, five disorganization,

50:05six route. Other conditions being equal, if one force is hurled against another ten times its size, the results will be the flight of the former. When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is in subordination. When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is collapse. When the higher officers are angry and in subordinate and on meeting the enemy, give battle on their own account from a feeling of resentment before the commander-in-chief can tell whether or not he is in a position to fight, the result is ruin. When the general is weak and without authority, when his orders are not clear and distinct, when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slavantly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganization. When a general, unable to estimate the enemy's strength, allows an inferior force to engage

51:10a 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 route. There are six ways of courting defeat, which must be carefully noted by the general who has attained a responsible post. The natural formation of the country is the soldier's best ally, but a power of estimating the adversary of controlling the force of victory and of shrewdly calculating difficulties dangerous in distances constitutes the test of a great general. He who knows these 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 fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it. If fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler's

52:11bidding. The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom. Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you, even unto death. If, however, you are indulgent but unable to make your authority felt, kindhearted but unable to enforce your commands, and incapable moreover of quelling disorder, then your soldiers must be likened to spoiled children. They are useless for any practical purpose. 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. If we know that the enemy is open to attack, but are unaware that our own men are not

53:14in condition to attack, we have gone only halfway towards victory. If we know that the enemy is open to attack, and also know that our men are in a condition to attack, but are unaware that the nature of the ground makes fighting impracticable. We have still gone only halfway towards victory. Hence the experienced soldier, once in motion, is never bewildered. Once he has broken camp, he is never at a loss. Hence the saying, if you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt. If you know heaven and no earth, you may make your victory complete. End of Chapter XI The Nine Situations Sun Su said, the art of war recognizes nine varieties of ground. Dispersive ground, facile ground, contentious ground, open ground, ground of intersecting

54:21highways, serious ground, difficult ground, himden ground, desperate ground. When a chieftain is fighting in his own territory, it is dispersive ground. When he has penetrated into hostile territory, but to no great distance, it is facile ground. Ground, the possession of which imports great advantage to either side, is contentious ground. Ground on which each side has liberty of movement, is open ground. Ground, which forms the key to three contiguous states, so that he who occupies at first, as most of the empire at his command, is a ground of intersecting highways. When an army has penetrated into the heart of a hostile country, leaving a number of fortified cities in its rear, it is serious ground. Mountain forests, rugged steeps, marshes and fins, all country that is hard to traverse, this is difficult ground.

55:29Ground, which is reached through narrow gorges, and from which we can only retire by torturous paths, so that a small number of the enemy would suffice to crush a large body of our men, this is himden ground. Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay, is desperate ground. On dispersive ground, therefore, fight not. On facile ground, halt not. On contentious ground, attack not. On open ground, do not try to block the enemy's way. On the ground of intersecting highways, join hands with your allies. On serious ground gather in plunder, and difficult ground keeps steadily on the march. On himden ground, resort to stratagem, on desperate ground, fight. Those who recall skillful leaders of old knew how to drive a wedge between the enemy's front and rear, to prevent cooperation between his large and small divisions, to hinder the good troops from rescuing the band, the officer from rallying their men.

56:47When the enemies' men were united, they managed to keep them in disorder. When it was to their advantage, they made a forward move, when otherwise they stopped still. If asked how to cope with a great host of the enemy in orderly array, and on the point of marching to the attack, I should say, again by seizing something with your opponent, holes dear, then he will be amenable to your will. Repidity is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness. Make your way by unexpected routes and attack unguarded spots. The following are the principles to be observed by an invading force. The further you penetrate into a country, the greater will be the solidarity of your troops, and thus the defenders will not prevail against you. Make forays in fertile country in order to supply your army with food.

57:48Carefully study the well-being of your men and do not overtax them. Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength. Keep your army continually on the move and devise unfathomable plans. Throw your soldiers into positions once there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve. Officers in Minna Lake will put forth their uttermost strength. Soldiers, when in desperate straits, lose the sense of fear. If there is no place of refuge, they will stand firm. If they are in hostile country, they will show a stubborn front. If there is no help for it, they will fight hard. Thus, without waiting to be martyled, the soldiers will be constantly on the quivive, without waiting to be asked, and they will do your will without restrictions, they will be faithful. Without giving orders, they can be trusted.

58:51Prohibit the taking of omens and do away with superstitious doubts. Then, until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared. If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have a distaste for riches. If their lives are not unduly long, it is not because they are disinclined to longevity. On the day they are ordered out to battle, your soldiers may weep. Those sitting up, be doing their garments, and those lying down, letting the tears run down their cheeks. But let them once be brought to bay, and they will display the courage of a chew or kueh. Be skillful tactician, maybe likened to a shweijan. Now the shweijan is a snake that is found in the chung mountains. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail. Strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head. Strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both.

59:53As if an army can be made to imitate the shweijan, I should answer yes. For the men of wu and the men of huay are enemies. Yet, if they are crossing a river in the same boat and are caught by a storm, they will come to each other's assistance, just as the left hand helps the right. Hence, it is not enough to put one's trust in the tethering of horses and the burying of chariot wheels in the ground. The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach. How to make the best of both strong and weak? That is a question involving the proper use of ground. Thus the skillful general conducts his army just as though he were leading a single man, willy-nilly, by the hand. It is the business of a general to be quiet, and thus ensure secrecy, upright and just, and thus maintain order.

1:00:54He must be able to mystify his officers and men by false reports and appearances, and thus keep them in total ignorance. By altering his arrangements and changing his plans, he keeps the enemy without definite knowledge. By shifting his camp and taking securitous routes, he prevents the enemy from anticipating his purpose. At the critical moment, the leader of an army acts like one who is climbed up a height and then kicks away the ladder behind him. He carries his men deep into hostile territory before he shows his hand. He burns his boats and breaks his cooking pots, like a shepherd driving a flock of sheep. He drives his men this way and that, and nothing knows whether he is going. To muster his host and bring it into danger, this may be termed the business of the general. He different measures suited to the nine varieties of ground, the expediency of aggressive or defensive tactics, and the fundamental laws of human nature, these are things that must most certainly be studied.

1:02:06When invading hostile territory, the general principle is that penetrating deeply brings cohesion, penetrating but a short way means dispersion. When you leave your own country behind and take your army across neighborhood territory, you find yourself on critical ground. When there are means of communication on all four sides, the ground is one of intersecting highways. When you penetrate deeply into a country, it is serious ground. When you penetrate but a little way, it is facile ground. But you have the enemy strongholds on your rear and narrow passes in front, it is hemmed in ground. When there is no place of refuge at all, it is desperate ground. Therefore, on dispersive ground I would inspire my men with unity of purpose. On facile ground I would see that there is close connection between all parts of my army.

1:03:08On contentious ground I would hurry up my rear. On open ground I would keep a vigilant eye on my defenses. On ground of intersecting highways I would consolidate my alliances. On serious ground I would try to ensure a continuous stream of supplies. On difficult ground I would keep pushing on along the road. On hemmed in ground I would block any way of retreat. On desperate ground I would proclaim to my soldiers the hopelessness of saving their lives. For it is the soldier's disposition to offer an obstinate resistance when surrounded, to fight hard when he cannot help himself, and to obey promptly when he has fallen into danger. We cannot enter into alliance with neighboring princes until we are equated with their designs. We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country, its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.

1:04:14We shall be unable to turn natural advantages to account unless we make use of local guides. To be ignorant of any one of the following four or five principles does not be fit a warlike prince. When a warlike prince attacks a powerful state, his generalship shows himself in preventing the concentration of the enemy's forces. He over-aws his opponents and their allies are prevented from joining against him. Hence he does not strive to ally himself with all in sundry nor does he foster the power of other states. He carries out his own secret designs keeping his antagonists in awe thus he is able to capture their cities and overthrow their kingdoms. Be stover rewards without regard to rule, issue orders without regard to previous arrangements and you will be able to handle a whole army as though you had to do with but a single man.

1:05:16Confront your soldiers with the deed itself. Never let them know your design. When the outlook is bright bring it before their eyes but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy. Place your army in deadly peril and it will survive. Bunge it into desperate straits and it will come off in safety. For it is precisely when a force has fallen into harm's way that it is capable of striking a blow for victory. Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose. By persistently hanging on the enemy's flank we shall succeed in the long run in killing the commander in chief. This is called ability to accomplish a thing by sheer cunning. On the day that you take up your command block the frontier passes, destroy the official tallies and stop the passage of all emissaries. Be stern in the council chamber so that you may control the situation. If the enemy leaves the door open you must rush in.

1:06:24Forstall your opponent by seizing what he holds dear and subtly contrived to time his arrival on the ground. Walk in the path defined by rule and accommodate yourself to the enemy until you can fight a decisive battle. At first then exhibit the coignus of a maiden until the enemy gives you an opening afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running hair and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you. End of Chapter 11. Chapter 12. The attack by fire. Sunsu said there are five ways of attacking with fire. The first is to burn soldiers in their camp. The second is to burn stores. The third is to burn baggage trains. The fourth is to burn arsenals and magazines. The fifth is to hurl dropping fire amongst the enemy.

1:07:24In order to carry out an attack we must have means available. The materials for raising fire should always be kept in readiness. There is a proper season for making attacks with fire and special days for starting a conflagration. The proper season is when the weather is very dry. The special days are those when the moon is in the constellations of the sieve, the wall, the wing or the cross-bore. For these four are all days of rising wind. At attacking with fire one should be prepared to meet five possible developments. One, when fire breaks out inside the enemy's camp respond at once with an attack from without. Two, if there is an outbreak of fire but the enemy soldiers remain quiet, buy your time and do not attack. Three, when the force of the flames has reached its height follow it up with an attack if that is practicable.

1:08:25If not stay where you are. Four, if it is possible to make an assault with fire from without do not wait for it to break out within but deliver your attack at a favorable moment. Five, when you start a fire be to winward of it do not attack from the leeward. A win that rises in the daytime lasts long but a night breeze soon falls. In every army the five developments connected with fire must be known. The movements of the stars calculated and a watch kept for the proper days. Hence those who use fire as an aid to the attack show intelligence, those who use water as an aid to the attack gain an accession of strength. By means of water an enemy may be intercepted but not robbed of all his belongings. Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of enterprise. For the result is waste of time and general stagnation.

1:09:33Hence the saying, the enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead, the good general cultivates his resources. Move not unless you see an advantage. Use not your troops unless there is something to be gained. Fight not unless the position is critical. No rulers should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen. No general should fight a battle simply out of peak. If it is to your advantage make a forward move, if not stay where you are. Anger may in time change to gladness, vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being nor can the dead ever be brought back to life. Hence the enlightened ruler is heatful and the good general full of caution. This is the way to keep a country at peace and an army intact.

1:10:35End of Chapter 12 Chapter 13 The Use of Spies Sunsu said, raising a host of a hundred thousand men and marching them great distances entails heavy loss on the people and a drain on the resources of the state. The daily expenditure will amount to a thousand ounces of silver. There will be commotion at home and abroad and men will drop down exhausted on the highways. As many as seven hundred thousand families will be impeded in their labor. Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain an ignorance of the enemy's condition simply because one begrudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and immemorials. This is the height of inhumanity. One who acts thus is no leader of men, no present help to a sovereign, no master of victory. Thus what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men is for knowledge.

1:11:50Now this four knowledge cannot be elicited from spirits. It cannot be obtained inductively from experience nor by any deductive calculation. Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men, hence the use of spies of whom there are five classes. One local spies, two inward spies, three converted spies, four doomed spies, five surviving spies. When these five kinds of spy are all at work none can discover the secret system. This is called divine manipulation of the threads. It is the sovereign's most precious faculty. Having local spies means employing the services of the inhabitants of a district. Having inward spies making use of officials of the enemy, having converted spies, getting hold of the enemy spies and using them for our purposes.

1:12:52Having doomed spies, doing certain things openly for purposes of deception and allowing our spies to know of them and report them to the enemy. Surviving spies, finally, are those who bring back news from the enemy's camp. Hence it is that none in the whole army are more intimate relations to be maintained than with spies. None should be more liberally rewarded in no other business should greater secrecy be preserved. Spies cannot be usefully employed without certain intuitive sagacity. They cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness. Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports. Be subtle, be subtle and use your spies for every kind of business. If a secret piece of news is divulged by a spy before the time is ripe, he must be put to death together with the man to whom the secret was told.

1:13:58Whenever the object be to crush an army, to storm a city, or to assassinate an individual, it is always necessary to begin by finding out the names of the attendants, the aides to camp and doorkeepers and centuries of the general in command. Our spies must be commissioned to ascertain these. The enemy spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, let away and come to the enemy. It is led away and comfortably housed, thus they will become converted spies and available for our service. It is through the information brought by the converted spy that we are able to acquire and employ local and inward spies. It is owing to his information again that we can cause the doomed spy to carry false tidings to the enemy. Lastly, it is by his information that the surviving spy can be used on appointed occasions. The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy, and this knowledge can only be derived in the first instance from the converted spy.

1:15:12Hence it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality. Of old, the rise of the Yen dynasty was due to I Ching, who had served under Hisha. Likewise, the rise of the Chu dynasty was due to Luya, who had served under the Yen. Hence, it is only the enlightened ruler in the wise general, who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying and thereby they achieve great results. Spies are the most important element in water because on them depends on armies' ability to move. End of chapter 13