13 chapitre of Sun Zi's art of war
sun
tzu's the art of war:
I.
LAYING PLANS
1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the
State.
2. It is a matter of life and death, a road
either to safety or to ruin.Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no
account be neglected.
3. 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.
4. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth;(4) The Commander; (5) Method
and discipline.
5,6.
The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so
that they will follow him
regardless of their lives, undismayed by
any danger.
7. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and
heat,times and seasons.
8. Earth comprises distances, great and
small;danger and security; open ground and narrow passes;
the chances of life and death.
9. The Commander stands for the virtues of
wisdom,sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness.
10.
By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in 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.
11.
These five heads should be familiar to every general:he who knows them will be
victorious; he who knows them not will fail.
12.
Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military
conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:--
13.
(1) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law?
(2) Which of the two generals has most
ability?
(3) With whom lie the advantages derived
from Heavenand Earth?
(4) On which side is discipline most
rigorously enforced?
(5) Which army is stronger?
(6) On which side are officers and men more
highly trained?
(7) In which army is there the greater
constancy both in reward and punishment?
14.
By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.
15.
The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command!The
general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer
defeat:--let such a one be dismissed!
16.
While heading the profit of my counsel,avail yourself also of any helpful
circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules.
17.
According as circumstances are favorable,one should modify one's plans.
18.
All warfare is based on deception.
19.
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.
20.
Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder,and crush him.
21.
If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him.If he is in superior
strength, evade him.
22.
If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow
arrogant.
23.
If he is taking his ease, give him no rest.If his forces are united, separate
them.
24.
Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
25.
These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.
26.
Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere 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.
II.
WAGING WAR
1. Sun Tzu said: In the operations of war,where there are in
the field a thousand swift chariots,as many heavy chariots, and a hundred
thousand mail-clad soldiers, with provisions enough to carry them a thousand
li, the expenditure at 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 is the cost of
raising an army of 100,000 men.
2. When you engage in actual fighting, if
victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor
will be damped. If you lay siege to a
town,you will exhaust your strength.
3. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the
resources of the State will not be equal to the strain.
4. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your
ardor 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 avert the consequences that must ensue.
5. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste
in war,cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.
6. There is no instance of a country having
benefited from prolonged warfare.
7. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted
with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.
8. The skillful soldier does not raise a
second levy, neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice.
9. Bring war material with you from home, but
forage on the enemy.Thus the army will have food enough for its needs.
10.
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.
11.
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.
12.
When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted by heavy
exactions.
13,14.
With this loss of substance and exhaustion of strength, the homes of the people will be stripped bare,and
three-tenths of their income will be dissipated; while government expenses for broken
chariots, worn-out horses, breast-plates and helmets, bows and arrows, spears and shields,protective
mantles, draught-oxen and heavy wagons, will amount to four-tenths of its total revenue.
15.
Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy's provisions is
equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is
equivalent to twenty from one's own store.
16.
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.
17.
Therefore in chariot fighting, when ten 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 chariots mingled and used in conjunction with ours.
The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept.
18.
This is called, using the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.
19.
In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.
20.
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.
III.
ATTACK BY STRATAGEM
1. Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing
of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to 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, a detachment or a
company entire than to destroy them.
2. Hence to fight and conquer in all your
battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the
enemy's resistance without fighting.
3. Thus the highest form of generalship is to
balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction 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.
4. The rule is, not to besiege walled cities
if it can possibly be avoided.The preparation of mantlets,movable shelters, and
various implements of war, will take up three whole months; and the piling up
of mounds over against the walls will
take three months more.
5. The general, unable to control his
irritation,will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants,with the
result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects
of a siege.
6. Therefore the skillful leader 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.
7. With his forces intact he will dispute the
mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumphe will be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem.
8. It is the rule in war, if our forces are
ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one,to attack him; if twice
as numerous, to divide our army into
two.
9. If 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.
10.
Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it
must be captured by the larger force.
11.
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.
12.
There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:--
13.
(1) By commanding the army to advance or to retreat,being ignorant of the fact
that it cannot obey.This is called hobbling the army.
14.
(2) 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.
15.
(3) 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.
16.
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.
17.
Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:
(1) He will win who knows when to fight and
when not to fight.
(2) He will win who knows how to handle
both superior and inferior forces.
(3) He will win whose army is animated by
the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
(4) He will win who, prepared himself,
waits to take the enemy unprepared.
(5) He will win who has military capacity
and is not interfered with by the sovereign.
18.
Hence 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.
IV.
TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS
1. Sun Tzu said: The good fighters of old first put themselves
beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of
defeating the enemy.
2. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in
our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the
enemy himself.
3.
Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat,but cannot make
certain of defeating the enemy.
4. Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being
able to do it.
5. Security against defeat implies defensive
tactics;ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive.
6. Standing on the defensive indicates
insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.
7. 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 ability
to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete.
8. To see victory only when it is within the
ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.
9. Neither is it the acme of excellence if you
fight and conquer and the whole Empire says, "Well done!"
10.
To lift an autumn hair 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.
11.
What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels
in winning with ease.
12.
Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor credit for
courage.
13.
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.
14.
Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat
impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy.
15.
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.
16.
The consummate leader cultivates the moral law,and strictly adheres to method
and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success.
17.
In respect of military method,we have,firstly,Measurement;secondly,Estimation of
quantity;thirdly, Calculation; fourthly, Balancing of chances;fifthly, Victory.
18.
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.
19.
A victorious army opposed to a routed one, is as a pound's weight placed in the
scale against a single grain.
20.
The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pent-up waters into a
chasm a thousand fathoms deep.
V.
ENERGY
1. Sun Tzu said:The control of a large force
is the same principle as the control of a few men:it is merely a question of
dividing up their numbers.
2. Fighting with a large army under your
command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a
question of instituting signs and signals.
3. To ensure that your whole host may
withstand the brunt of the enemy's attack and remain unshaken--this is effected
by maneuvers direct and indirect.
4. That the impact of your army may be like a
grindstone dashed against an egg--this is effected by the science of weak
points and strong.
5. In all fighting, the direct method may be
used for joining battle, but indirect
methods will be needed in order to secure victory.
6. Indirect 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;like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.
7. There are not more than five musical notes,
yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be
heard.
8. There are not more than five primary colors
(blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more
hues than can ever been seen.
9. There are not more than five cardinal
tastes (sour, acrid, salt, sweet, bitter), yet combinations of them yield more
flavors than can ever be tasted.
10.
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.
11.
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. Who can exhaust the possibilities of their
combination?
12.
The onset of troops is like the rush of a torrent which will even roll stones
along in its course.
13.
The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables
it to strike and destroy its victim.
14.
Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his
decision.
15.
Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow;decision, to the releasing
of a trigger.
16.
Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there maybe 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.
17.
Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline,simulated fear postulates
courage;simulated weakness postulates
strength.
18.
Hiding 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 strength with weakness is to be effected by tactical
dispositions.
19.
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.
20.
By holding out baits, he keeps him on the march;then with a body of picked men
he lies in wait for him.
21.
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.
22.
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 ground, and to move when
on a slope;if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped, to go rolling down.
23.
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.
VI.
WEAK POINTS AND STRONG
1. 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.
2. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his
will on
the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's
will to be imposed on him.
3. By holding out advantages to him, he can
cause the enemy
to approach of his own accord; or, by
inflicting damage,
he can make it impossible for the enemy to
draw near.
4. If the enemy is taking his ease, he can
harass him;
if well supplied with food, he can starve
him out;
if quietly encamped, he can force him to
move.
5. Appear at points which the enemy must
hasten to defend;
march swiftly to places where you are not
expected.
6. An army may march great distances without
distress,
if it marches through country where the
enemy is not.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you
we learn to be invisible, through you
inaudible;
and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in
our hands.
10.
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.
11.
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.
12.
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.
13.
By discovering the enemy's dispositions and remaining
invisible ourselves, we can keep our forces
concentrated,
while the enemy's must be divided.
14.
We can form a single united body, while the
enemy must split up into fractions. Hence there will
be a whole pitted against separate parts of
a whole,
which means that we shall be many to the
enemy's few.
15.
And if we are able thus to attack an inferior force
with a superior one, our opponents will be
in dire straits.
16.
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.
17.
For should the enemy strengthen his van,
he will weaken his rear; should he
strengthen his rear,
he will weaken his van; should 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.
18.
Numerical weakness comes from having to prepare
against possible attacks; numerical
strength, from compelling
our adversary to make these preparations
against us.
19.
Knowing the place and the time of the coming battle,
we may concentrate from the greatest
distances in order
to fight.
20.
But if neither time nor place be known,
then the left wing will be impotent to
succor the right,
the right equally impotent to succor the
left, the van
unable to relieve the rear, or the rear to
support the van.
How much more so if the furthest portions
of the army are
anything under a hundred LI apart, and even
the nearest
are separated by several LI!
21.
Though according to my estimate the soldiers
of Yueh exceed our own in number, that
shall advantage
them nothing in the matter of victory. I say then
that victory can be achieved.
22.
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.
23.
Rouse him, and learn the principle of his
activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself,
so as to find out his vulnerable spots.
24.
Carefully compare the opposing army with your own,
so that you may know where strength is
superabundant
and where it is deficient.
25.
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 wisest brains.
26.
How victory may be produced for them out of the enemy's
own tactics--that is what the multitude
cannot comprehend.
27.
All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer,
but what none can see is the strategy out
of which victory
is evolved.
28.
Do not repeat the tactics which have gained
you one victory, but let your methods be
regulated
by the infinite variety of circumstances.
29.
Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its
natural course runs away from high places
and hastens downwards.
30.
So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong
and to strike at what is weak.
31.
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.
32.
Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape,
so in warfare there are no constant
conditions.
33.
He who can modify his tactics in relation to his
opponent and thereby succeed in winning,
may be called
a heaven-born captain.
34.
The five elements (water, fire, wood, metal, earth)
are not always equally predominant; the
four seasons make
way for each other in turn. There are short days and long;
the moon has its periods of waning and
waxing.
[To
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VII.
MANEUVERING
1. Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his
commands from the sovereign.
2. Having collected an army and concentrated
his forces,
he must blend and harmonize the different
elements thereof
before pitching his camp.
3. After that, comes tactical maneuvering,
than which there is nothing more difficult.
The difficulty of tactical maneuvering
consists
in turning the devious into the direct, and
misfortune into gain.
4. Thus, to take a long and circuitous route,
after enticing the enemy out of the way,
and though starting
after him, to contrive to reach the goal
before him,
shows knowledge of the artifice of
DEVIATION.
5. Maneuvering with an army is advantageous;
with an undisciplined multitude, most
dangerous.
6. 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.
7. Thus, if you order your men to roll up
their
buff-coats, and make forced marches without
halting day
or night, covering double the usual
distance at a stretch,
doing a hundred LI in order to wrest an
advantage,
the leaders of all your three divisions
will fall into
the hands of the enemy.
8. 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 its destination.
9. If you march fifty LI in order to
outmaneuver
the enemy, you will lose the leader of your
first division,
and only half your force will reach the
goal.
10.
If you march thirty LI with the same object,
two-thirds of your army will arrive.
11.
We may take it then that an army without its
baggage-train is lost; without provisions
it is lost;
without bases of supply it is lost.
12.
We cannot enter into alliances until we are
acquainted with the designs of our
neighbors.
13.
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.
14.
We shall be unable to turn natural advantage
to account unless we make use of local
guides.
15.
In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.
16.
Whether to concentrate or to divide your troops,
must be decided by circumstances.
17.
Let your rapidity be that of the wind,
your compactness that of the forest.
18.
In raiding and plundering be like fire,
is immovability like a mountain.
19.
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night,
and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
20.
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 soldiery.
21.
Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.
22.
He will conquer who has learnt the artifice
of deviation. Such is the art of maneuvering.
23.
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. Nor can ordinary
objects be seen clearly enough: hence the institution
of banners and flags.
24.
Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are means
whereby the ears and eyes of the host may
be focused
on one particular point.
25.
The host thus forming a single united body,
is it 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.
26.
In night-fighting, then, make much use of signal-fires
and drums, and in fighting by day, of flags
and banners,
as a means of influencing the ears and eyes
of your army.
27.
A whole army may be robbed of its spirit;
a commander-in-chief may be robbed of his
presence of mind.
28.
Now a soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning;
by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the
evening,
his mind is bent only on returning to camp.
29.
A 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.
30.
Disciplined and calm, to await the appearance
of disorder and hubbub amongst the
enemy:--this is the art
of retaining self-possession.
31.
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.
32.
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.
33.
It is a military axiom not to advance uphill
against the enemy, nor to oppose him when
he comes downhill.
34.
Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight;
do not attack soldiers whose temper is
keen.
35.
Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy.
Do not interfere with an army that is
returning home.
36.
When you surround an army, leave an outlet free.
Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
37.
Such is the art of warfare.
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VIII.
VARIATION IN TACTICS
1. Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives
his commands from the sovereign, collects
his army
and concentrates his forces
2. 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.
3. There are roads which must not be followed,
armies which must be not attacked, towns
which must
be besieged, positions which must not be
contested,
commands of the sovereign which must not be
obeyed.
4. The general who thoroughly understands the
advantages
that accompany variation of tactics knows
how to handle
his troops.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Hence in the wise leader's plans,
considerations of
advantage and of disadvantage will be
blended together.
8. If our expectation of advantage be tempered
in
this way, we may succeed in accomplishing the
essential
part of our schemes.
9. If, on the other hand, in the midst of
difficulties
we are always ready to seize an advantage,
we may extricate
ourselves from misfortune.
10.
Reduce the hostile chiefs by inflicting damage
on them; and make trouble for them, and
keep them
constantly engaged; hold out specious
allurements,
and make them rush to any given point.
11.
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.
12.
There are five dangerous faults which may affect
a general:
(1) Recklessness, which leads to
destruction;
(2) cowardice, which leads to capture;
(3) a hasty temper, which can be provoked
by insults;
(4) a delicacy of honor which is sensitive
to shame;
(5) over-solicitude for his men, which
exposes him
to worry and trouble.
13.
These are the five besetting sins of a general,
ruinous to the conduct of war.
14.
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.
[To
Chinese text|To Top]
IX. THE ARMY ON THE MARCH
1. Sun Tzu 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.
2. Camp in high places, facing the sun. Do not climb
heights in order to fight. So much for mountain warfare.
3. After crossing a river, you should get far
away
from it.
4. When an invading force crosses a river in
its
onward march, do not advance to meet it in
mid-stream.
It will be best to let half the army get
across,
and then deliver your attack.
5. If you are anxious to fight, you should not
go
to meet the invader near a river which he
has to cross.
6. Moor your craft higher up than the enemy,
and facing
the sun. Do not move up-stream to meet the enemy.
So much for river warfare.
7. In crossing salt-marshes, your sole concern
should be to get over them quickly, without
any delay.
8. 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-marches.
9. 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
safety lie behind.
So much for campaigning in flat country.
10.
These are the four useful branches of military
knowledge which enabled the Yellow Emperor
to vanquish
four several sovereigns.
11.
All armies prefer high ground to low and sunny
places to dark.
12.
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.
13.
When you come to a hill or a bank, occupy the
sunny side, with the slope on your right
rear.
Thus you will at once act for the benefit
of your soldiers
and utilize the natural advantages of the
ground.
14.
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.
15.
Country in which there are precipitous cliffs
with torrents running between, deep natural
hollows,
confined places, tangled thickets,
quagmires and crevasses,
should be left with all possible speed and
not approached.
16.
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.
17.
If in the neighborhood of your camp there should
be
any hilly country, ponds 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 or
insidious
spies are likely to be lurking.
18.
When the enemy is close at hand and remains quiet,
he is relying on the natural strength of
his position.
19.
When he keeps aloof and tries to provoke a battle,
he is anxious for the other side to
advance.
20.
If his place of encampment is easy of access,
he is tendering a bait.
21.
Movement amongst the trees of a forest shows that the
enemy is advancing. The appearance of a number of screens
in the midst of thick grass means that the
enemy wants to make us suspicious.
22.
The rising of birds in their flight is the sign
of an ambuscade. Startled beasts indicate that a sudden
attack is coming.
23.
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 betokens
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.
24.
Humble words and increased preparations are signs
that the enemy is about to advance. Violent language
and driving forward as if to the attack are
signs that he
will retreat.
25.
When the light chariots come out first and take
up a position on the wings, it is a sign
that the enemy
is forming for battle.
26.
Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant
indicate a plot.
27.
When there is much running about and the soldiers
fall into rank, it means that the critical
moment has come.
28.
When some are seen advancing and some retreating,
it is a lure.
29.
When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears,
they are faint from want of food.
30.
If those who are sent to draw water begin
by drinking themselves, the army is
suffering from thirst.
31.
If the enemy sees an advantage to be gained and
makes no effort to secure it, the soldiers
are exhausted.
32.
If birds gather on any spot, it is unoccupied.
Clamor by night betokens nervousness.
33.
If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's
authority is weak. If the banners and flags are shifted
about, sedition is afoot. If the officers are angry,
it means that the men are weary.
34.
When 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 camp-fires, showing
that they
will not return to their tents, you may
know that they
are determined to fight to the death.
35.
The sight of men whispering together in small
knots or speaking in subdued tones points
to disaffection
amongst the rank and file.
36.
Too frequent rewards signify that the enemy is
at the end of his resources; too many
punishments betray
a condition of dire distress.
37.
To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright
at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme
lack of intelligence.
38.
When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths,
it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a
truce.
39.
If the enemy's troops march up angrily and remain
facing ours for a long time without either
joining
battle or taking themselves off again, the
situation
is one that demands great vigilance and
circumspection.
40.
If our troops are no more in number than the enemy,
that is amply 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.
41.
He who exercises no forethought but makes light
of his opponents is sure to be captured by
them.
42.
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 the soldiers have become attached
to you,
punishments are not enforced, they will
still be unless.
43.
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.
44.
If in training soldiers commands are habitually
enforced, the army will be
well-disciplined; if not,
its discipline will be bad.
45.
If a general shows confidence in his men but always
insists on his orders being obeyed, the
gain will be mutual.
[To
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X.
TERRAIN
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