Sun Tzu
Confront them with annihilation, and they will then survive; plunge them into a deadly situation, and they will then live. When people fall into danger, they are then able to strive for victory.Collection: War
The essential factor of military success is speed, that is taking advantage of others' unpreparedness or lack of foresight, their failure to catch up, going by routes they do not expect, attacking where they are not on guard. This you cannot accomplish with hesitation.Collection: Art
Perfection in war lies in so sapping your opponents will that he surrenders without fighting.Collection: War
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.Collection: Art
And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.Collection: Art
In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.Collection: War
Like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.Collection: War
There is no place where espionage is not possible.Collection: Espionage
Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.Collection: War
What is of the greatest importance in war is extraordinary speed: One cannot afford to neglect opportunity.Collection: War
Act after having made assessments. The one who first knows the measure of far and near wins - this is the rule of armed struggle.Collection: War
If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.Collection: War
No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique. 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.Collection: War
Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve.Collection: Art
Know the enemy, know yourself; your victory will never be endangered. Know the ground, know the weather; your victory will then be total.Collection: Art
When you shoot a bow and arrow, you aim at the clouds, not because you expect to hit them, but so that you may reach the distant target on the ground.Collection: Clouds
Maneuvering with an army is advantageous; with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous.Collection: Art
O divine art of subtlety and secrecy!Collection: Art
In warfare, first lay plans which will ensure victory, and then lead your army to battle; if you will not begin with stratagem but rely on brute strength alone, victory will no longer be assured.Collection: Army
War is a matter of vital importance to the state; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied.Collection: Art
To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.Collection: Art
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.Collection: Art Of War
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 energyCollection: Art
Spies cannot be usefully employed without a 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 warfare; 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.Collection: Art
The general must be the first in the toils and fatigues of the army. In the heat of summer he does not spread his parasol nor in the cold of winter don thick clothing. In dangerous places he must dismount and walk. He waits until the army's wells have been dug and only then drinks; until the army's food is cooked before he eats; until the army's fortifications have been completed, to shelter himself.Collection: Summer
Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army's ability to move.Collection: Art
If, however, you are indulgent, but unable to make your authority felt; kind-hearted, but unable to enforce your commands; and incapable, moreover, of quelling disorder: then your soldiers must be likened to spoilt children; they are useless for any practical purpose.Collection: Art
Now this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits; it cannot be obtained inductively from experience, nor by any deductive calculation.Collection: Art
To capture an enemies army is better than to destroy it.Collection: Art
As water has no constant form, there are in war no constant conditions.Collection: Art
A clever general... 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, he awaits the appearance of disorder and hubbub among the enemy. This is the art of retaining self-possession.Collection: Art
The relative size of your force as against that of your adversary is by itself of no consequence. What controls is the relative size of your force at the point where you join in battle. You can strike with the few and be many if you strike your adversary in his gaps. Seek out places where the defense is not strict, the place not tightly guarded, the generals weak, the troops disorderly, the supplies are scarce and the forces are isolated.Collection: Art
There are five kinds of incendiary attack: The first is called setting fire to personnel; the second, to stores; the third, to transport vehicles and equipment; the fourth, to munitions; the fifth, to supply installations...In all cases an army must understand the changes induced by the five kinds of incendiary attack, and make use of logistical calculations to address them.Collection: Army
Appraise war in terms of the fundamental factors. The first of these factors is moral influence.Collection: War
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.Collection: Art
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.Collection: Art
Therefore the victories of good warriors are not noted for cleverness or bravery. Therefore their victories in battle are not flukes. Their victories are not flukes because they position themselves where they will surely win, prevailing over those wh.Collection: Warrior
Hence the experienced soldier, once in motion, is never bewildered; once he has broken camp, he is never at a loss.Collection: Art
He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.Collection: Military
Place your army in deadly peril, and it will survive; plunge it into desperate straits, and it will come off in safety.Collection: War
You cannot know if you will be successful or not. You can only prepare for battle and it must be done with all of your heart and with all of your consciousness. In that manner, you will have an edge.Collection: Heart
Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.Collection: Life
Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack.Collection: War
A battle avoided cannot be lost.Collection: Battle
Attack the enemy's strategy.Collection: Enemy
If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.Collection: Art
A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.Collection: War
Those who are victorious plan effectively and change decisively. They are like a great river that maintains its course but adjusts its flow...they have form but are formless. They are skilled in both planning and adapting and need not fear the result of a thousand battles: for they win in advance, defeating those that have already lost.Collection: Winning
He who relies solely on warlike measures shall be exterminated; he who relies solely on peaceful measures shall perish.Collection: Peaceful