Sun Tzu Strategy Quotes

#1. When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is INSUBORDINATION.

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#2. There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.

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#3. Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is noise before defeat.

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#4. 5,6. The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.

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#5. If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak.

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#6. 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.

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#7. Attack the enemy's strategy.

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#8. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.

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#9. The rising of birds in their flight is the sign of an ambuscade. Startled beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming.

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#10. Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory; show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat.

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#11. If you fight with all your might, there is a chance of life; where as death is certain if you cling to your corner

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#12. Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.

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#13. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

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#14. who wishes to fight must first count the cost

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#15. To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill

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#16. 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.

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

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#18. 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.

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#19. Whether in an advantageous position or a disadvantageous one, the opposite state should be always present to your mind.

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#20. Never venture, never win!

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#21. Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; march swiftly to places where you are not expected.

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#22. Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.

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#23. Bravery without forethought, causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull. Such an opponent, must not be encountered with brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain.

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#24. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

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#25. If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst. [One may know the condition of a whole army from the behavior of a single man.]

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#26. If we wish to wrest an advantage from the enemy, we must not fix our minds on that alone, but allow for the possibility of the enemy also doing some harm to us, and let this enter as a factor into our calculations.

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#27. mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy

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#28. If you do not take opportunity to advance and reward the deserving, your subordinates will not carry out your commands, and disaster will ensue.

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#29. At first, then, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you.

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#30. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.

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#31. Know the enemy, know yourself and victory is never in doubt, not in a hundred battles.

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#32. The worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation

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#33. When an invading force crosses a river in its onward march, do not advance to meet it in mid-stream. It will be best to let half the army get across, and then deliver your attack.

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#34. All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear 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.

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#35. The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.

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#36. Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay, is desperate ground.

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#37. The peak efficiency of knowledge and strategy is to make conflict unnecessary.

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#38. If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.

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#39. Thus those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle ... They conquer by strategy.

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#40. Danger has a bracing effect.

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

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#42. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.

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#43. Weak leadership can wreck the soundest strategy

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#44. Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will.

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#45. When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy.

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#46. When one treats people with benevolence, justice, and righteoousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders'.

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#47. When your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home.

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#48. In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity

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#49. The art of war is the art of deception.

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#50. Do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat

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#51. A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return.

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#52. If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him. Though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.

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

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#54. To conquer the enemy without resorting to war is the most desirable. The highest form of generalship is to conquer the enemy by strategy.

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#55. 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.

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#56. When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.

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#57. Great results, can be achieved with small forces.

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#58. The height of strategy, is to attack your opponent's strategy.

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#59. Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of enterprise; for the result is waste of time and general stagnation.

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#60. If, on the other hand, in the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune.

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#61. 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.

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#62. Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win

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#63. First lay plans which will ensure victory, and then lead your army to battle; if you will not begin with stratagem but rely on brute strength alone, victory will no longer be assured

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#64. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.

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#65. Supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

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#66. To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.

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#67. If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve.

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#68. We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.

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#69. Be stern in the council-chamber, [Show no weakness, and insist on your plans being ratified by the sovereign.] so that you may control the situation.

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#70. The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach.

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#71. Defeat the enemies strategy.

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#72. Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits

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#73. Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day.

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#74. Conform to the enemy's tactics until a favorable opportunity offers; then come forth and engage in a battle that shall prove decisive.

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#75. Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.

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#76. When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is COLLAPSE.

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#77. 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.

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#78. You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.

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#79. Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.

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#80. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him.

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#81. Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.

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#82. The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points;

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#83. The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.

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#84. The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

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#85. If his forces are united, separate them.

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#86. So long as victory can be attained, stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness.

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