Quotes About Warfare

That the impact of your army may be like a grindstone dashed against an egg — this is effected by the science of weak points and strong.

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.

Secure the defense by defending unattacked.

Ten, kdo nabízí mír, aniž by si kladl jakýchkoli podmínek, chystá lest.

The enemy can be numerous, but we can stop the fight.

Speed is the essence of War. Exploit the enemy's unpreparedness; attack him unawares; take an unexpected route.

Vojáci jsou oddáni pÄ›ti vÄ›cem: Pro svého vojev?dce zapomenou na svou rodinu. PÃ…â"¢ejdou-li hranici, zapomenou na své pÃ…â"¢íbuzné. StÃ…â"¢etnou-li s nepÃ…â"¢ítelem, zapomenou na sebe. Jsou-li odhodláni zemÃ…â"¢ít, budou žít. Neustálá honba za vítÄ›zstvím je z tÄ›chto pÄ›ti nejmenÅ¡í.

preserved in the T`UNG TIEN, and another in Ho Shin's commentary. It is suggested that before his interview with Ho Lu, Sun Tzu had only written the 13 chapters, but afterwards composed a sort of exegesis in the form of question and answer between himself and the King. Pi I-hsun, the author of the SUN TZU HSU LU, backs this up with a quotation from the WU YUEH CH`UN CH`IU: The King

Una operación militar implica engaño. Aunque seas competente, aparenta ser incompetente. Aunque seas efectivo, muéstrate ineficaz.

Las armas son instrumentos de mal augurio

Those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him. One able to make the enemy come of his own accord does so by offering him some advantage. And one able to prevent him from coming does so by hurting him. If you are able to hold critical points on his strategic roads the enemy cannot come. Therefore Master Wang said: 'When a cat is at the rat hole, ten thousand rats dare not come out; when a tiger guards the ford, ten thousand deer cannot cross.

of Turenne, deception of the enemy, especially as to the numerical strength of his troops, took a

very well represent a collected edition of these lumped together with the original work. It is also possible

All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved

When doing battle, seek a quick victory. A protracted battle will blunt weapons and dampen ardor. If troops lay siege to a walled city, their strength will be exhausted. If the army is exposed to a prolonged campaign, the nation's resources will not suffice.4 When weapons are blunted and ardor dampened, strength exhausted and resources depleted, the neighboring rulers will take advantage of these complications.5

Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. (LP 19)

Now the troops of those adept in war are used like the 'Simultaneously Responding' snake of Mount Ch'ang. When struck on the head its tail attacks; when struck on the tail, its head attacks, when struck in the centre bot head and tail attack.

Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all; amid confusion and chaos, your array may be without head or tail, yet it will be proof against defeat.

Toda guerra se basa en el engaño.

Their blows are correlated. The cheng and the ch'i are compared to two interlocked rings: 'Who can tell where one begins and the other ends?' Their possible permutations are infinite; the cheng effort may be transformed into a ch'i, a ch'i into a cheng. Thus we may redefine a ch'i attack as one made where a decision is speedily attainable at least cost, in an area characterized by voids or fissures in the enemy's defences.

Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat:

Así es como en la guerra, el estratega victorioso solo busca la batalla después de que la victoria ya se ha ganado, mientras que aquel destinado a la derrota, primero pelea y después busca la victoria.

If I am able to determine the enemy's dispositions while at the same time I conceal my own then I can concentrate and he must divide.

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. [Chang Yu said: "Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive." He adds: "Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack." It would be hard to find a better epitome of the root-principle of war.]