Strategy Wisdom

In the practical art of war, the best achievement is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact. To shatter and destroy is not desirable.

To fight and conquer is not supreme excellence, but rather breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.

The highest form of leadership is to destroy the enemies plans. The next best is to prevent the enemies forces from engaging. The next is to attack the enemy in the field. The worst is to lay siege.

The skilled leader subdues the enemies troops without any fighting, captures cities without laying siege, overthrows kingdoms without lengthy field operations.

If your forces are 10 to 1, surround the enemy; if 5 to 1 attack the enemy.

If equally matched, offer battle; if fewer in number, avoid the enemy; if much smaller, flee from the enemy.

Five essentials for victory:

• Knowing when to fight and when not to
• Knowing how to handle superior and inferior forces
• Knowing how to comprehensively inspire forces, so that all have the same spirit
• Knowing how prepare and to wait to take the enemy unprepared
• Having the military capacity and a free hand to lead.

If you know your enemy and yourself, you need not fear the result of 100 battles. If you know yourself but not your enemy, for every victory won there will a defeat. If you know neither your enemy nor yourself, you will lose every battle.

The costs of large, well-provisioned forces mount quickly, both in the field and at home.

When engaged in actual fighting, if victory does not come quickly, forces become exhausted, and the costs will become too much to bear.

In battle there is stupid haste, but it is never smart to have delays in winning. No country has benefited from prolonged warfare.

Only by comprehensive knowledge of the evils of war can one understand the best way of carrying it out.

Make the opponent support the costs of battle. Eat from their supplies. Ensure that winning in the field provides resources to support the forces.

In order to kill the enemy, forces must be incited to anger; this creates a reward in defeating the enemy.

Take the resources of the enemy and use them against them.

In war, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.