Sun Tzu's Art of War for Women. Catherine Huang

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СКАЧАТЬ 2: Waging War

       Sun Tzu wrote:

In order to field a thousand swift chariots, an equal number of heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand mail-clad soldiers, with enough armor and other items (such as glue and paint) to carry them a thousand li¹, the total expenditure will amount to a thousand ounces of silver per day.

       Seek a Timely Victory

       “I have heard of awkward haste, but have never observed skill in overlong campaigns.”—Sun Tzu

      When you engage such a large force in battle, a prolonged campaign will dull their weapons, dampen their enthusiasm and deplete your funds. If you attack cities, the men’s strength will be exhausted. Then the enemy will rise to take advantage of your weakened forces, and even the wisest leader will be unable to control the consequences. Only those who are well acquainted with the dangers inherent in employing a major force are capable of truly understanding how to engage a military action to advantage.

       Provisions

      A skillful leader does not conscript the same people more than once or transport provisions more than twice. At first, bring your equipment from home, and then forage upon the enemy. This should be enough to feed your army. Continuing to transport food and other provisions from home will impoverish the state.

      Those who are in close proximity to the army will raise their prices, causing the people’s substance to be drained away. This further leads to strains upon the rich (who are supporting the army) and the poor, who will not be able to afford adequate food and living necessities. The expenses of the rich will amount to seven-tenths of their wealth, and the ruler’s unrecoverable expenses for ruined chariots, broken-down horses, damaged breast-plates, helmets, bows and arrows, spears and protective shields, sturdy oxen and heavy wagons, will expend six-tenths of his total resources.

Thus the wise general will forage on the enemy. A single bushel of the enemy’s food is worth twenty of his own, and the same applies to a picul² of fodder.

       Motivation

      Anger is what motivates soldiers to slay the enemy, and material rewards encourage them to seize the enemy’s property. In a fight where ten or more chariots have been captured, give a reward to the first man who captured one. Then remove the enemy’s flags and insignias from the captured chariots, replace them with your own, and use them alongside ours.

      Treat the captured soldiers well, and reorient those you can to fight on your side. This is known as conquering the enemy to strengthen your own side.

      To summarize, focus your objective on victory, not a prolonged siege. The general who understands warfare is thus the master of the people’s fate, and is responsible for the safety or endangerment of the nation.

3: Attack Strategically

       Sun Tzu wrote:

      Overall, the best way to defeat your enemy is to take their state undamaged. This is highly preferable to destroying it. It follows that capturing their forces is better than annihilating them, all the way from the entire army down to its battalions, companies and squads.

      Thus winning a hundred victories is not the height of excellence; breaking their resistance without fighting is the true height of excellence.

       Strategy

      The most efficient and effective warfare policy is to neutralize the enemy’s plans; next to block their alliances; then to attack their army; and last (worst) to siege their fortified cities.

      As a rule, attacking fortified cities should be avoided whenever possible and undertaken only as a last resort. Building massive protective shields capable of being moved forward, not to mention armored assault vehicles and a host of additional materials, will take three whole months; and building mounds of earth against the walls will take another three months to finish.

      Meanwhile, the general may not be able to control his impatience and may launch his men into the assault like swarming ants. In such a case he will lose one-third of his force, and the city will remain untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege.

      The skillful leader subdues the enemy’s troops without fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them, and overthrows their realms without a prolonged battle. His objective is to exercise his mastery while preserving his forces intact, leaving his weapons sharp and enabling him to preserve his military gains. Such is the strategy of a successful campaign.

       Following the Odds

      In most cases, the best strategy for deploying troops is the following:

      1. If your strength equates to ten to the enemy’s one, surround them;

      2. If five to one, attack them;

      3. If two to one, divide your army into two separate forces;

      4. If your strength is equal to theirs, attack when other circumstances favor you;

      5. If you are slightly inferior in numbers, protect yourself and seek to circumvent the enemy;

      6. If you are overmatched, avoid them.

      Although a small force may fight well, a lack of flexibility will result in its being captured by the larger force.

      

       The Wrong Stuff

      The general is the pillar of the state. If he is strong and competent in all regards, the state will be likewise strong; if the pillar is defective, the state will weaken. Either way, the ruler of the state can create difficulties for the military in three specific manners:

      1. By commanding the army to advance or retreat without understanding their position and circumstances. This is called hobbling the army.

      2. By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, with no knowledge of the conditions that affect the army. This confuses and unsettles the officers.

      3. By issuing commands to the army despite ignorance of military principles and tactical circumstances. This makes the officers doubtful.

      Confusion and doubt are destined to invite trouble from neighboring rulers. Such anarchy will open the door to an opponent’s victory.

       The Right Stuff

      These five essential factors will assure victory to the side whose general:

      1. knows when to fight and when not to fight;

      2. knows how to deploy both superior and inferior forces;

      3. whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks;

      4. has prepared himself and waits to take the enemy unprepared;

      5. is capable and is not interfered with СКАЧАТЬ