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

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6: Weakness and Strength

       Sun Tzu wrote:

      In most cases, the one who occupies the field first and awaits the enemy will be prepared for battle; he who arrives later and must rush to get there will arrive exhausted. Thus does the one who is skilled at warfare impose his will upon the enemy without allowing the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.

      Offer the enemy the appearance of some benefit to entice him to approach of his own accord; or inflict damage to prevent the enemy to from approaching.

      In this manner you can tire a rested enemy, hunger him when he is well-provisioned, or force him to move when he is at rest. Take positions to which the enemy must rush to defend, and move swiftly to places where he does not expect you.

You can march a thousand li³ through unoccupied terrain without getting tired. To assure success, attack only positions that are undefended; to make certain your defense, secure positions that the enemy cannot attack.

       Deception

      Thus the skillful general attacks in such a manner that his opponent knows not where to defend; and defends in a manner that his opponent knows not where to attack. The arts of subtlety and secrecy allow us to become unseen and unheard; thus can we grasp the enemy’s fate within our hands.

      You may advance without resistance if you attack the enemy’s weaknesses; and you can withdraw safely from pursuit if you move more quickly than the enemy. So if I choose to fight even an enemy protected behind high ramparts and deep moats, he is forced to fight because I attack targets he must save.

      

      If I do not wish to fight, even if the lines of our encampment are only traced out on the ground, I can prevent the enemy from attacking. All I need to do is to divert his direction and confuse his movements.

      Thus I learn the enemy’s distribution of forces while disguising my own, enabling me to concentrate my forces where the enemy is divided. I can form a single force to attack his separated forces; if he is divided into ten groups, I attack with ten times his strength. Thus we are many where he is few. And if I am able thus to attack his small force with a superior one, he will be in dire straits.

      The place where we plan to engage the enemy must not be made known. This way he must prepare to defend against a possible attack at several different points; with his forces thus distributed in several directions, the forces we will face at any given point will be proportionately few.

      If the enemy strengthens his front, he will weaken his rear; should he strengthen his rear, he weakens his front; if he fortifies his left, he weakens his right; and if he defends his right, he weakens the left. If he sends his men everywhere, then every side will be weak.

       Numbers

      Numerical weakness comes from having to prepare against possible attacks; numerical strength, from compelling our adversary to make these preparations against us.

      It follows that knowing the place and the time of the coming battle enables one to cover a thousand li and concentrate to engage in battle. But if one knows neither the time nor place of battle, then the left flank will be unable to help the right, the right equally unable to support the left, the front unable to relieve the rear, nor the rear to support the front. How much more so when the most distant are separated by some tens of li and even the nearest by several li!

      

      According to my estimate, the soldiers of Yueh exceed our own in number, but what advantage will that bring them in attaining victory? Thus I say that victory can be achieved. For although the enemy be stronger in numbers, we can prevent them from fighting.

      Study the enemy to discover their plans and the likelihood of their success. Stimulate them to identify the pattern of their movement and inactivity. Force them to reveal themselves to uncover their vulnerabilities. Carefully compare their army with your own to learn where they are strong or weak.

      The ultimate of military deployment is to conceal your troops without a visible form. This will keep even the most clever spy from observing and making plans against you.

       Tactics

      The manner of producing victory from the enemy’s own tactics, this is what the masses cannot understand. All men can see the tactics by which I conquer, but none can see the strategy from which my victory is gained.

      Do not repeat the tactics which have gained a victory, but let your methods be influenced by the infinite variety of circumstances.

      Now tactics are like water; for water’s natural course flows away from high places and rushes downward. Thus in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak. As water configures its course according to the terrain over which it flows, the army controls the course of victory in accordance with the opposition. Just as water keeps no constant shape, in warfare there are no constant conditions.

      One who is able to modify his tactics in relation to his opponent, and thereby succeed in winning, is known as a spiritual leader.

      

      So it is that no one of the five elements (water, fire, wood, metal, earth) will dominate; nor do the four seasons resist their transitions into one another. Days grow long and short, and the moon continues to wax and wane.

7: Maneuvering

       Sun Tzu wrote:

In war, the general commonly receives his commands from the ruler. He begins by assembling the army and organizing the masses⁴, then goes on to confront the enemy and set up his forces. Next comes the most difficult step, that of tactical maneuvering, which is the process of turning the devious route into a direct path, and adversity into gain.

      The art of deviation here is to entice the enemy (with the illusion of gain) into taking a long and circuitous route, so that even though starting after them, you manage to arrive before them. This maneuver is accomplished through the tactics of the circuitous and the direct.

       Logistics

      Combat with an army is advantageous; with undisciplined masses it is dangerous. If you march a fully equipped army ordered to seize an advantage, you will arrive too late. But if you send forth a smaller force, you will lose your baggage and equipment.

      If you march a hundred li by setting aside your armor and rushing forward, day and night without stopping, advancing twice the usual distance at a stretch, covering a hundred li in order to gain an advantage, the leaders of all your (three) divisions will be captured: the stronger men will arrive first, the exhausted ones will fall behind, and only one in ten of your army will reach its destination.

      If you march fifty li in order to outmaneuver the enemy, you will lose the leader of your first division, and only half your force will reach the goal.

      If you march thirty li in the same manner, two-thirds of your army will arrive.

      Clearly, an army without its baggage and heavy equipment СКАЧАТЬ