Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.
Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.
Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.
One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful, subduing the other’s military without battle is the most skillful.
Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.
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.
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.
Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.
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.
When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.
One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.
Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.
When one treats people with benevolence, justice, and righteoousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders’.
There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.
The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.
If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.
He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
Bravery without forethought, causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull. Such an opponent, must not be encountered with brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain.
When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away…
Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy’s fate in our hands.
If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst. [One may know the condition of a whole army from the behavior of a single man.]
Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.
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.
Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.
the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.
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.
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.
When you start a fire, be to windward of it. Do not attack from the leeward.
War is like a fire – if you do not put it out, it will burn itself out.
Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.
Understand both yourself and your enemy, and you shall always emerge victorious
Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day.
If you do not take opportunity to advance and reward the deserving, your subordinates will not carry out your commands, and disaster will ensue.
If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.
When your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home.
If there is disturbance in the camp, the general’s authority is weak.
the worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation
You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.
When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy.
Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy’s purpose.
if you fight with all your might, there is a chance of life; where as death is certain if you cling to your corner
You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.
We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.
Whether in an advantageous position or a disadvantageous one, the opposite state should be always present to your mind.
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.
When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is INSUBORDINATION.
When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is COLLAPSE.
The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach.
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.
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
If we wish to wrest an advantage from the enemy, we must not fix our minds on that alone, but allow for the possibility of the enemy also doing some harm to us, and let this enter as a factor into our calculations.
To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy’s numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.
Be stern in the council-chamber, [Show no weakness, and insist on your plans being ratified by the sovereign.] so that you may control the situation.
At first, then, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you.
Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay, is desperate ground.
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.
Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.
who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits
do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat
Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory; show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat.
The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.
These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.
So long as victory can be attained, stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness.
A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return.
Know the enemy, know yourself and victory is never in doubt, not in a hundred battles.
If quick, I survive.If not quick, I am lost.This is “death.
Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win
Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.
If, on the other hand, in the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune.
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.
The rising of birds in their flight is the sign of an ambuscade. Startled beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming.
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.
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.
If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.
If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.
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.
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.
Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory is won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.
One need not destroy one’s enemy. One need only destroy his willingness to engage.
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.
He who advances without seeking fame,Who retreats without escaping blame,He whose one aim is to protect his people and serve his lord,The man is a jewel of the Realm
If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.
The supreme excellence is not to win a hundred victories in a hundred battles. The supreme excellence is to subdue the armies of your enemies without even having to fight them.
Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
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.
Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy.
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.
There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited.
Secret operations are essential in war upon them the army relies to make its every move.
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.
Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.
Prohibit the taking of omens, and do away with superstitious doubts. Then, until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared.
It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.
A good commander is benevolent and unconcerned with fame.
The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.
Balk the enemy’s power force him to reveal himself.
If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.
He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.
If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have a distaste for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, it is not because they are disinclined to longevity.
Invincibility lies in the defence the possibility of victory in the attack.
Victory usually goes to the army who has better trained officers and men.
All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.
Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.
If we know that our own men are in a condition to attack, but are unaware that the enemy is not open to attack, we have gone only halfway towards victory.