Sun Tzu

Chapter 7: Manuevering

1. Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his commands
from the sovereign.

2. Having collected an army and concentrated his forces, he
must blend and harmonize the different elements thereof before
pitching his camp.

3. After that, comes tactical maneuvering, than which there
is nothing more difficult.

The difficulty of tactical maneuvering consists in turning the
devious into the direct, and misfortune into gain.

4. Thus, to take a long and circuitous route, after
enticing the enemy out of the way, and though starting after him,
to contrive to reach the goal before him, shows knowledge of the
artifice of DEVIATION.

5. Maneuvering with an army is advantageous; with an
undisciplined multitude, most dangerous.

6. If you set a fully equipped army in march in order to
snatch an advantage, the chances are that you will be too late.
On the other hand, to detach a flying column for the purpose
involves the sacrifice of its baggage and stores.

7. Thus, 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, doing a hundred LI in order to wrest an advantage, the leaders of all your three divisions will fall into the hands of the enemy.

8. The stronger men will be in front, the jaded ones will
fall behind, and on this plan only one-tenth of your army will
reach its destination.

9. 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.

10. If you march thirty LI with the same object, two-thirds
of your army will arrive.

11. We may take it then that an army without its baggage-
train is lost; without provisions it is lost; without bases of
supply it is lost.

12. We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted
with the designs of our neighbors.

13. 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.

14. We shall be unable to turn natural advantage to account
unless we make use of local guides.

15. In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.

16. Whether to concentrate or to divide your troops, must
be decided by circumstances.

17. Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest. is immovability like a mountain.

19. Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and
when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

20. When you plunder a countryside, let the spoil be
divided amongst your men; when you capture new territory, cut it up into allotments for the benefit of the soldiery.

22. He will conquer who has learnt the artifice of
deviation.

Such is the art of maneuvering.

23. The Book of Army Management says:

On the field of battle, the spoken word does not carry far enough: hence the institution of gongs and drums. Nor can ordinary objects be seen clearly enough: hence the institution of banners and flags.

24. Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are means whereby
the ears and eyes of the host may be focused on one particular
point.

25. The host thus forming a single united body, is it
impossible either for the brave to advance alone, or for the
cowardly to retreat alone.

This is the art of handling large masses of men.

26. In night-fighting, then, make much use of signal-fires
and drums, and in fighting by day, of flags and banners, as a
means of influencing the ears and eyes of your army.

27. A whole army may be robbed of its spirit; a commander-in-chief may be robbed of his presence of mind.

28. Now a solider's spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is bent only on returning to camp.

29. A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its
spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined
to return. This is the art of studying moods.

30. Disciplined and calm, to await the appearance of
disorder and hubbub amongst the enemy:--this is the art of
retaining self-possession.

31. To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from
it, to wait at ease while the enemy is toiling and struggling, to
be well-fed while the enemy is famished:--this is the art of
husbanding one's strength.

32. To refrain from intercepting an enemy whose banners are
in perfect order, to refrain from attacking an army drawn up in
calm and confident array:--this is the art of studying
circumstances.

33. It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against
the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill.

34. Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not
attack soldiers whose temper is keen.

35. Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy.

Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.

36. When you surround an army, leave an outlet free.

Do not press a desperate foe too hard.

37. Such is the art of warfare.