Maneuvering

H ere is how war is run. The general takes his orders from the ruler. He raises an army, gathers the men, brings the two sides face to face, and makes camp. After that comes the contest for position — and nothing is harder. Sun Tzu said: This is the method of using troops. The general receives his command from the ruler. He joins the army and assembles the host, brings the lines into contact and encamps. In all of this, nothing is harder than the struggle for advantage.

The whole difficulty is this: make the crooked road straight, and turn trouble into gain. Take the long way round, dangle a lure to pull the enemy off course, and though you set out after him you arrive before him. That is knowing how to trade the bent path for the straight one. What makes the struggle for advantage hard is this: to make the devious direct, and to make misfortune into gain. So you make your route circuitous and entice him with a lure, set out after others and arrive before them — this is to understand the calculation of the devious and the direct.

So the contest for position can win you the day — or wreck you. Move the whole army to grab an advantage and you arrive too late. Strip down to a light column to grab it and you lose your baggage and supply. Thus the struggle for advantage can bring gain, and the struggle for advantage can bring ruin. Move the entire army to contend for advantage and you will not arrive in time; abandon the army's gear to contend for it and the baggage and stores are lost.

“Swift as the wind. Still as the forest. Raiding like fire. Unshakable as a mountain.”

Push the men a hundred li at a forced march, day and night without rest, to seize the prize, and your three commanders are taken. The strong reach the front, the spent fall behind, and one man in ten arrives. Race fifty li and your lead commander falls; half the force comes up. Thirty li, and two in three arrive. If you roll up the armor and press on, day and night without halting, marching at double pace a hundred li to contend for advantage, the three commanders will be captured. The strong arrive first, the worn arrive last, and by this method one in ten reaches the goal. Fifty li to contend for advantage, and you lose the senior commander; half arrive. Thirty li, and two-thirds arrive.

So remember it plainly. An army without its baggage is finished. Without provisions, finished. Without stores laid up, finished. Therefore an army without its baggage train is lost; without provisions it is lost; without stores it is lost.

You cannot make alliances until you know what the rival lords are planning. You cannot march an army through mountains and forests, passes and bogs, until you know the lay of the ground. And you cannot turn the ground to your advantage without local guides. So one who does not know the plans of the other lords cannot prepare alliances; one who does not know the form of the mountains and forests, the defiles and obstacles, the marshes and swamps, cannot march the army; one who does not use local guides cannot gain the advantage of the ground.

War stands on deception. It moves for advantage. It splits and joins to keep changing shape. So an army is established on deception, moves according to advantage, and changes through dividing and combining.

Move like this. Swift as the wind. Still as the forest. Raiding like fire. Unshakable as a mountain. Hard to read as the dark. And when you strike, strike like thunder. Therefore: as swift as the wind, as slow as the forest, as ravaging as fire, as unmoving as a mountain, as hard to know as the dark, moving like thunder.

When you plunder the countryside, share out the spoil among the men. When you take new ground, parcel out its yield. Weigh the balance, then move. The one who knows how to trade the bent path for the straight one wins. That is the craft of maneuver. When you plunder the countryside, divide the spoils among the men; when you extend territory, divide its profits. Weigh the situation, then move. The one who first knows the calculation of the devious and the direct wins — this is the method of the struggle for advantage.

The old book on command says: in battle the voice does not carry, so they made gongs and drums; the eye cannot see far enough, so they made banners and flags. Gongs, drums, banners, flags — they fix the ears and eyes of the whole army on one thing. Once the men move as one body, the brave cannot charge alone and the fearful cannot run alone. This is how you handle a host. The Book of Army Management says: because speech is not heard, they made gongs and drums; because sight does not reach, they made banners and flags. Gongs, drums, banners, and flags are how the ears and eyes of the host are made one. Once the men are unified, the brave cannot advance alone and the cowardly cannot retreat alone. This is the method of handling a multitude.

So fight at night with fires and drums, by day with flags and banners — bend the army's eyes and ears to the conditions. Thus in night fighting use many fires and drums, in day fighting many banners and flags, so as to work upon the ears and eyes of the men.

A whole army can be stripped of its spirit; its commander can be stripped of his nerve. Spirit runs on a clock. In the morning it is sharp, by noon it slackens, by evening the men only want to go home. So the good commander dodges the army that is sharp and hits the one that is slack and homesick. That is managing spirit. Meet chaos with order, meet uproar with calm: that is managing the mind. Be near while he is still far, rested while he toils, fed while he starves: that is managing strength. The spirit of the three armies can be taken away; the commander's mind can be taken away. Morning spirit is keen, midday spirit slackens, evening spirit turns homeward. So one good at using troops avoids the keen spirit and strikes the slack and homeward — this is managing spirit. To meet disorder with order, to meet clamor with calm — this is managing the mind. To meet the far while near, the toiling while rested, the hungry while full — this is managing strength.

Do not intercept an enemy whose banners are in perfect order. Do not attack a host drawn up calm and sure. That is managing the changing situation. So here is the rule. Do not climb to attack the high ground. Do not meet him head-on with a hill at his back. Do not chase a feigned retreat. Do not strike crack troops. Do not swallow his bait. Do not block an army marching home. Leave a surrounded army a way out. Do not press a cornered enemy too hard. This is how troops are used. Do not intercept banners in perfect order; do not strike a host arrayed calm and confident — this is managing change. So the method of using troops: do not advance against high ground; do not meet an enemy with a hill at his back; do not pursue a feigned flight; do not attack keen troops; do not eat the bait; do not block a returning army; a surrounded army must be left an opening; do not press a desperate enemy. This is the method of using troops.

軍爭 The original Chinese · honored as an artifact

孫子曰：凡用兵之法，將受命於君，合軍聚眾，交和而舍，莫難於軍爭。

Opening lines, classical Chinese · The Art of War 孫子兵法