The Artifice of Deviation

The difficulty of tactical maneuvering consists in turning the devious into the direct and misfortune into gain. Maneuvering with an army is advantageous, with an undisciplined multitude most dangerous. 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, only one-tenth of your army will reach its destination. We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors. In war, practice dissimulation and you will succeed. Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night and when you move fall like a thunderbolt. When you plunder a countryside let the