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The China Adventures of Arielle Gabriel
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The Art Of War, Famous Book 7
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- Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his commands
from the sovereign.
- Having collected an army and concentrated his forces,
he must
blend and harmonize the different elements thereof before pitching his
camp.
- 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.
- 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.
- Maneuvering with an army is advantageous; with an
undisciplined multitude, most dangerous.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 with the same object, two-thirds
of your army will arrive.
- 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.
- We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted
with the designs of our neighbors.
- 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.
- We shall be unable to turn natural advantage to account
unless we make use of local guides.
- In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.
- Whether to concentrate or to divide your troops,
must be decided by circumstances.
- Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness
that of the forest.
- In raiding and plundering be like fire, is immovability
like a mountain.
- Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night,
and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
- 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.
- Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.
- He will conquer who has learnt the artifice of deviation.
Such is the art of maneuvering.
- 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.
- Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are means whereby
the ears and eyes of the host may be focused on one particular point.
- 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.
- 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.
- A whole army may be robbed of its spirit; a commander-in-chief
may be robbed of his presence of mind.
- Now a soldier'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.
- 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.
- Disciplined and calm, to await the appearance of
disorder and
hubbub amongst the enemy:--this is the art of retaining self-possession.
- 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.
- 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.
- It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against
the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill.
- Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not
attack soldiers whose temper is keen.
- Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not
interfere with an army that is returning home.
- When you surround an army, leave an outlet free.
Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
- Such is the art of warfare.
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