The Art of War

Chapter 12 Sun Tzu 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. In order […]

Chapter 11 Sun Tzu said: The art of war recognizes nine varieties of ground:(a) Dispersive ground;(b) Facile ground;(c) Contentious ground;(d) Open ground;(e) Ground of intersecting highways;(f) Serious ground;(g) Difficult ground;(h) Hemmed-in ground;(e) 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

Chapter 10 Sun Tzu said: We may distinguish six kinds of terrain, to wit:(a) Accessible ground;(b) Entangling ground;(c) Temporizing ground;(d) Narrow passes;(e) Precipitous heights;(f) Positions at a great distance from the enemy. Ground that 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

Chapter 9 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. Camp in high places, facing the sun. Do not climb heights in order to fight. So much for mountain warfare. After crossing a

Chapter 8 Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his commands from the sovereign, collects his army and concentrates his forces. 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.

Chapter 7 Sun Tzu 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, than which their is nothing more difficult. The difficulty of tactical maneuvering consists in

Chapter 6 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

Chapter 5 Sun Tzu said: The control of a large force is the same in principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers. Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question

Chapter 4 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. 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

Chapter 3 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 capture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment, or

Chapter 2 Sun Tzu said: In the operations of war, where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, ten thousand 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

Chapter 1 Sun Tzu said: The art 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 can on no account be neglected. The art of war, then, is governed by five