Sun Tzu

I. Laying Plans (The Calculations) (Initial Estimations) (Detail Assessment and Planning)
II. Waging War (The Challenge)
III. Attack by Stratagem (The Plan of Attack) (Planning Offensives) (Strategic Attack)
IV. Tactical Dispositions (Positioning) (Military Disposition) (Disposition of the Army)
V. Energy (Directing) (Strategic Military Power) (Forces)
VI.Weak Points and Strong (Illusion and Reality) (Vacuity and Substance) (Weaknesses and Strengths)
VII. Maneuvering (Engaging The Force) (Military Combat) (Military Maneuvers)
VIII. Variation of Tactics (The Nine Variations) (Nine Changes) (Variations and Adaptability)
IX. The Army on the March (Moving The Force) (Maneuvering the Army) (Movement and Development of Troops)
X.Terrain (Situational Positioning) (Configurations of Terrain)
XI.The Nine Situations (Nine Terrains) (The Nine Battlegrounds)
XII.The Attack by Fire (The Fiery Attack) (Incendiary Attacks)
XIII. The Use of Spies (The Use of Intelligence) (Employing Spies) (Intelligence and Espionage)


I. Detail Assessment and Planning
i.(18) All warfare is based on deception.

i.(17) According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans.

i.(21)If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.

II. Waging War
ii. (4) Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.

ii. (19) In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

III. (The Plan of Attack)
iii. (5) The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege.

iii. (17)Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: (1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
(2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
(3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
(4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
(5) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

iii. (18) Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

IV. Tactical Dispositions (Positioning)
iv. (1) Sun Tzu said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.
(2)To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
(That is, of course, by a mistake on the enemy's part.)
(3)Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.

iv. (11) What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.

iv. (13) He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated

iv. (19) A victorious army opposed to a routed one, is as a pounds weight placed in the scale against a single grain.

V. Energy (Directing)
v. (2) Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.

v. (7) There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.

v. (8) There are not more than five primary colors (blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.

v. (9)There are not more than five cardinal tastes (sour, acrid, salt, sweet, bitter), yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.

v.(10) In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack: the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.

v. (11) The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn. It is like moving in a circle—you never come to an end. Who can exhaust the possibilities of their combination?

VI. (Weaknesses and Strengths)
vi. (1) Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted.

vi. (7) You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.

You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.