The Art of War ~ Sun Tzu (23 of 24)

 The Art of War is a book of conflict knowledge and tactics revolving around several key concepts, including:

• Knowing when to fight and when not to fight.
• Knowing how to mislead the enemy.
• Knowing oneself and one's enemy.

Chapter Summaries

The Art of War contains 13 chapters, each detailing specific lines of indirect and direct attack to use in different circumstances of conflict and war.

Chapter 1: Laying Plans

Sun-Tzu explains the importance of being prepared.

He points out five essential elements of war: moral influence, weather, terrain, command, and doctrine.

Chapter 2: Waging War

This chapter includes highly specific details, including how many horses and troops are required for battle.

The author emphasizes the utmost importance of advanced preparation so a soldier can act quickly when the time comes.

Chapter 3: Attack by Stratagem

Sun-Tzu focuses on preventative measures such as subduing the enemy without a fight.

Five situations are given as predictions for victory:

The leader has full awareness of themself, troops, and the opposition.

The leader knows how to use small or large forces. #The leader knows how to unify the ranks with a common purpose.

The leader knows how to be patient while the opposition is impatient.

The leader's authority does not cloud judgment.

Chapter 4: Tactical Dispositions

Victory should never be assumed or taken for granted.

The elements of war are presented and include measurement of space, estimation of quantities, calculations, comparisons, and chances of victory.

Chapter 5: Energy

When dealing with troops, a group of people should be unified into a single force.

The troops should be well-organized according to a chain of command.

Chapter 6: Weak Points and Strong

Look like an easy target to make enemies assume an easy victory.

Use mixed tactics to keep the enemy guessing and vulnerable.

Chapter 7: Maneuvering

When you surround an army, leave an outlet free.This does not mean that the enemy is to be allowed to escape. The object, as Tu Mu puts it, is "to make him believe that there is a road to safety, and thus prevent his fighting with the courage of despair." Tu Mu adds pleasantly: "After that, you may crush him."

Do not press a desperate foe too hard.

Chapter 8: Variation in Tactics

Keep Moving

 When 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 hemmed-in situations, you must resort to stratagem. In desperate position, you must fight. 

What Not To Do

 There 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. 

Handling Troops

 The general who thoroughly understands the advantages that accompany variation of tactics knows how to handle his troops. 

A Student of War

 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. 

Eliminate Misfortune

 If, in the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune. 

Always Be Ready

 The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's 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. 

Five Dangerous Faults

 There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general: 

(a) Recklessness, which leads to destruction

(b) Cowardice, which leads to capture

(c) A hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults

(d) A delicacy of honour which is sensitive to shame

(e) Over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble

Take Advantage of Faults

 When an army is overthrown and its leader slain, the cause will surely be found among these five dangerous faults. Let them be a subject of meditation. 

Chapter 9: The Army on the March

When traveling, move quickly through mountains and across rivers and keep to valleys. If an enemy crosses a river, wait until it’s halfway across to attack. Any such approach should be made from upriver, lest the opposition manipulate the waters to flood you.

Avoid swamps and marshes, and camp on high, flat ground, with any hills to your rear. Arrange battlefields so that the enemy has difficult terrain to its rear. Observe carefully the enemy’s actions: Lots of dust means troop movements; shouting and threats suggest weakness; chariots arranging themselves on the flanks signal the battle is about to start.Keep alert for signs of trouble among enemy ranks, including knots of men speaking quietly or flags being moved around. If water carriers drink first, this hints at low water supplies; if the men lean on their spears, they’re hungry. Commotion at night suggests nervousness.

Soldiers must be treated kindly at first until they respect their leader, and afterwards they must be punished strictly for any misbehavior. Punishing troops before they’ve bonded to their general will cause unrest. 

Chapter 10: Terrain

Success depends on all aspects of the battle.  The general cannot trust to his men’s strength alone. He must know the enemy’s plans and circumstances as well as he knows his own. Yet he must not assume he knows his own men well—he must also stay on top of his own circumstances. Victory is only assured when the general can perceive and control the whole battlefield. But when he does, he can be certain of victory in every battle he fights.

Chapter 11: The Nine Situations

Enemies fighting on the home turf is scattering ground. Entering enemy land but not deeply is light. Strategic is when either side could gain advantage. Open ground is where both sides can come and go freely. Crossroad ground is where there is an opportunity to defeat multiple states. Heavy ground is where the army is in enemy territory and holds multiple towns. Intractable ground is tough natural terrain. Enclosed ground is narrow and twisting terrain. Death ground is where one must struggle for survival.

Don’t fight on scattering ground, don’t halt on light ground, don’t attack on strategic ground, and don’t block open ground. Form alliances on crossroads. Plunder when on heavy ground. Keeping moving on intractable ground. Focus on strategy on enclosed ground. Fight on death ground.The skillful general divides the enemy army, and stops their men from supporting each other. When they are separated, it is hard to regroup. Move when there is gain, halt when there is none. How should you confront a well-assembled enemy? Take something dear to him and he will do as you command. Speed is key in war. Catch the enemy unaware and unprepared, take a route he doesn’t expect you to.

Do not allow the men to consult omens. Remove all doubts and they will follow you to their deaths. They have no abundance, but prize wealth. They expect to die, but cling to life. When battle orders are given, they lie down and weep, wetting their clothes and cheeks. But put them where they cannot escape and they will fight with historic valor.Reward the men and give orders fairly. Treat the army as one man and do not give explanations. Tell them the opportunity but do not reveal the dangers. Throw them into death ground and they will live—this is how to turn defeat into victory.

Chapter 12: The Attack by fire

When attacking by fire, there are five ways to do it, burning men, supplies, equipment, warehouses, and lines of communication. You must have the means and the material. Certain seasons and days are best for lighting fires. Ideally, strike when it is hot and dry. The best days are when the moon is in Sagittarius, Pegasus, Crater, and Corvus. They are the four constellations of rising wind.

The are five changes to adapt to. If an enemy camp breaks out with fire, attack immediately. If the enemy remains calm, do not attack, but watch how the fire spreads and strike if an opportunity arises. If you can start a fire in the enemy camp, do it when the time is right. Always be upwind when starting a fire. Winds that start in the day last a long time. Night winds die out quickly. Know these changes and be vigilant.

Fire is a massive help in war. Water can be a big help too. It isolates but does not kill entirely. Not following through on an opportunity is a great waste. Thus it is said, good rulers think deeply, good generals follow through. Only move for gain or victory, and fight only in a crisis. Rulers must never mobilize out of anger, and generals must not fight out of spite. Move for gain; halt if there is none.

Anger and spite can subside to joy, but once a nation or men are destroyed, they cannot be rebuilt. Rulers must be prudent and generals cautious. This is the Way to preserve peace and keep men whole.

Chapter 13: The Use of Spies

Having information early allows rulers and generals to advance and triumph. It brings them uncommon success. This type of knowledge cannot be gained from omens. It can only be gained from men who know the enemy. There are five types of spies: local, internal, double, dead, and live. All of these are mysterious. Local spies are from the enemy state. Internal spies are officials in the enemy’s government. Double agents are enemy spies turned to the general’s side. Dead spies pass on false information to the enemy. Live spies come back with information.

No one should be closer to the general than his spies, nor better paid or treated. Wisdom is necessary to managing spies, as are humanity and justice. Without genius and subtlety, the general cannot know their accuracy or truth. Spies have many uses. If the spy tells someone else his information before the general, both spy and listener must be executed.

When attacking a city or killing someone, the general must know the names of the enemy’s general, servants, and staff. The spies must know to collect all this information in detail. Enemy spies in the general’s camp must be turned and paid well for it, to become double agents. From the double agent can be won local and internal spies. He can also send misinformation to the enemy, and shows the general how to best use live spies.

Sun Tzu's Quotes on Discipline

"The art 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 The Moral Law, Heaven, Earth, The Commander, and Method and Discipline.

"Therefore, soldiers must be treated in the first instance with humanity but kept under control by means of iron discipline. This is a certain road to victory. If in training soldiers commands are habitually enforced, the army will be well-disciplined; if not, its discipline will be bad."

"He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared."

The Art of War pinpoints anger and greed as fundamental causes of defeat. According to Sun Tzu, it is the unemotional, reserved, calm, detached wins.

Here are 3 lessons from Master Sun Tzu:

• Only enter battles you know you can win.
• Deceive your competition to make them do what you want.
• Lead your team as if you were leading a single man by the hand.

Know when to fight and when not to fight: avoid what is strong and strike at what is weak. Know how to deceive the enemy: appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak. Know your strengths and weaknesses: if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.