For it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on a slope if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped to go rolling down. When he uses combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones. Hence his ability to pick out the right men and use combined energy The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and does not require too much from individuals. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers. By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances.
This causes restlessness in the soldiers' minds. By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army.By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey.There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune on his army: Army Parachute Team members conduct their Annual Certification Cycle, March 4, 2014 He who knows them not, nor practices them, will surely be defeated.Ĭarefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient. He who knows things, and in fighting puts his knowledge into practice, will win his battles. When a general, unable to estimate the enemy's strength, allows an inferior force to engage a larger one, or hurls a weak detachment against a powerful one, and neglects to place picked soldiers in the front rank, the result must be rout. Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports.īe subtle! be subtle! and use your spies for every kind of business. They cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness. Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity. Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men. Now this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits it cannot be obtained inductively from experience, nor by any deductive calculation. What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge. Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead the good general cultivates his resources.
We shall be unable to turn natural advantages to account unless we make use of local guides. 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 cannot enter into alliance with neighbouring princes until we are acquainted with their designs. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both.
Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang mountains.
The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Keep your army continually on the move, and devise unfathomable plans. Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength. Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.Ĭarefully study the well-being of your men, and do not overtax them. When the general is weak and without authority when his orders are not clear and distinct when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganization. If, however, you are indulgent, but unable to make your authority felt kind-hearted, but unable to enforce your commands and incapable, moreover, of quelling disorder: then your soldiers must be likened to spoilt children they are useless for any practical purpose. Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.