Sun Tzu emphasizes the significance of soldiers' resilience and unwavering commitment to achieve victory.
Sun Tzu highlights the role of secrecy, order, and deception in military operations.
Sun Tzu discusses the importance of foreknowledge of the enemy's conditions and the use of spies to gather information.
Deep dives
Nine Varieties of Ground
Sun Tzu discusses the nine varieties of ground in warfare, including disperse, facile, contentious, open, ground of intersecting highways, serious, difficult, hemmed in, and desperate ground. He advises on how to approach each type of ground and offers strategies to gain advantages.
Coping with an Invading Force
Sun Tzu provides advice for an invading force, highlighting the importance of seizing valuable targets, studying the well-being of troops, concentration of energy, constant movement, and the use of unfathomable plans. He emphasizes the significance of soldiers' resilience and unwavering commitment to achieve victory.
The Skillful General's Approach
Sun Tzu explains the importance of a skillful general's tactics, including the ability to imitate the traits of a shuayuan snake. He emphasizes the need for trust, unity, and adaptability within an army. He also highlights the role of secrecy, order, and deception in military operations.
Conclusion
Sun Tzu concludes by discussing the role of a general in managing an army with courage, making the best use of both strong and weak elements, and maintaining discipline. He stresses the need for a general to be strategic, quiet, upright, and just in order to ensure success.
The Importance of Foreknowledge and Spies
Sun Tzu emphasizes the crucial role of having foreknowledge of the enemy's conditions. Ignorance of the enemy can lead to heavy losses and a drain on resources. Foreknowledge cannot be obtained through supernatural means, but rather, from spies. Sun Tzu describes five types of spies: local spies, inward spies, converted spies, doomed spies, and surviving spies. These spies gather information on the enemy's dispositions, allowing for strategic decision-making and achieving victories beyond ordinary means. The use of spies requires sagacity, benevolence, and subtlety. They must be rewarded and managed with secrecy.
The Use of Fire as a Tactic
Sun Tzu discusses five ways of attacking with fire. These include burning soldiers in their camp, burning stores, burning baggage trains, burning arsenals and magazines, and hurling dropping fire amongst the enemy. He advises one to be prepared with material for starting fires and mentions the importance of proper timing, such as during dry weather and specific days with rising winds. Sun Tzu also provides guidelines for responding to fire attacks by the enemy. Successful use of fire as a tactic requires intelligence, resources, and the ability to make quick strategic decisions.
