Quotes About Tactics

The ultimate skill in taking up a strategic position is to have no form.

The wise general in his deliberations must consider both favorable and unfavorable factors. He ponders the dangers inherent in the advantages, and the advantages inherent in the dangers. By taking into account the favorable factors, he makes his plan feasible; by taking into account the unfavorable, he may resolve the difficulties. Advantage and disadvantage are mutually reproductive. The enlightened deliberate.

Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical. No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique.

Najwy?szym osi?gni?ciem jest pokonanie wroga bez stoczenia z nim walki.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war.

It is a doctrine of war not to assume the enemy will not come, but rather to rely on one's readiness to meet him; not to presume that he will not attack, but rather to make one's self invincible.

stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness.

14.  By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat. 15.  The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer:—let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:—let such a one be dismissed!

In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power. It is sufficient to estimate the enemy situation correctly and to concentrate your strength to capture him. There is no more to it than this. He who lacks foresight and underestimates his enemy will surely be captured by him.

Lure with bait, strike with chaos

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

the wise leader's plans, considerations of advantage and of disadvantage will be blended together.

WANG XI Opponents cannot exhaust you.

purposely ignored by him. [16] Tu Mu's conjecture seems to be based

to concentrate or to divide your troops, must be decided by circumstances.      17. Let your rapidity be that of the wind, [The simile is doubly

He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain

The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven.

Should one ask: 'How do I cope with a well-ordered enemy host about to attack me?' I reply: 'Seize something he cherishes and he will conform to your desires.' Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where has taken no precautions.

is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.

When I wish to give battle, my enemy, even though protected by high walls and deep moats, cannot help but engage me, for I attack a position he must succor. When I wish to avoid battle I may defend myself simply by drawing a line on the ground; the enemy will be unable to attack me because I divert him from going where he wishes.

the highest excellence is winning without fighting, not decimating every adversary you encounter. Since destruction clearly isn't your goal and victory is, leaving things intact maximizes your gains and helps you to mend your fences with your adversary.

la norma general de las operaciones militares consiste en no contar con que el enemigo no acuda, sino confiar en tener los medios de enfrentarte a él; no contar con que el adversario no ataque, sino confiar en poseer lo que no puede ser atacado.

holding a position from which the enemy is trying to dislodge you, or perhaps, as Tu Yu says, when he is trying to entice you into a

Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be defeated.