Sun Tzu War Quotes

#1. Place your army in deadly peril, and it will survive; plunge it into desperate straits, and it will come off in safety.

Sun Tzu

#2. The Art of War is self-explanatory

Sun Tzu

#3. 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.

Sun Tzu

#4. Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.

Sun Tzu

#5. In warfare, there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent will succeed and win.

Sun Tzu

#6. Do not engage an enemy more powerful than you. And if it is unavoidable and you do have to engage, then make sure you engage it on your terms, not on your enemy's terms.

Sun Tzu

#7. Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory is won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

Sun Tzu

#8. Victory is the main object in war.

Sun Tzu

#9. All warfare is based on deception. There is no place where espionage is not used. Offer the enemy bait to lure him.

Sun Tzu

#10. Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

Sun Tzu

#11. One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.

Sun Tzu

#12. [Once war is declared, he will not waste precious time in waiting for reinforcements, nor will he return his army back for fresh supplies, but crosses the enemy's frontier without delay.

Sun Tzu

#13. To perceive victory when it is known to all is not really skilful. Everyone calls victory in battle good, but it is not really good.

Sun Tzu

#14. 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'.

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

#18. War is a matter of vital importance to the state; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied.

Sun Tzu

#19. All wars are won or lost before they are ever fought.

Sun Tzu

#20. Invincibility depends on one's self; the enemy's vulnerability on him.

Sun Tzu

#21. When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.

Sun Tzu

#22. The supreme excellence is not to win a hundred victories in a hundred battles. The supreme excellence is to subdue the armies of your enemies without having to fight them.

Sun Tzu

#23. Leaders can change the tenor of the workplace and create harmony in motion toward a favorable result. So every time you say to your team, "Let's rock and roll," make sure you have already set up the stage to where they can actually perform like rock stars.

Thomas Huynh

#24. If the enemy leaves a door open, you must rush in.

Sun Tzu

#25. With regard to precipitous heights, if you are beforehand with your adversary, you should occupy the raised and sunny spots, and there wait for him to come up.

Sun Tzu

#26. Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

#28. When orders are consistently trustworthy and observed, the relationship of a commander with his troops is satisfactory.

Sun Tzu

#29. The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

Sun Tzu

#30. Don't flail against the world, use it. Flexibility is the operative principle in the art of war.

Sun Tzu

#31. 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.

Sun Tzu

#32. Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.

Sun Tzu

#33. Ground which can be freely traversed by both sides is called accessible.

Sun Tzu

#34. So the important thing in a military operation is victory, not persistence.

Sun Tzu

#35. As water shapes its flow in accordance with the ground, so an army manages its victory in accordance with the situation of the enemy.

Sun Tzu

#36. Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.

Sun Tzu

#37. The Sun Tzu School Ping-fa Directive.
Be strong and continually aware. Manage your strength and that of others. When essential, engage on your terms. Be observant, adaptive, and subtle. Do not lose control. Act decisively. Conclude quickly. Don't Fight!

David G. Jones

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

Sun Tzu

#39. A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.

Sun Tzu

#40. The Chinese general Sun Tzu said that all war was based on deception. Oscar Wilde said the same thing of romance.

Marco Tempest

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

Sun Tzu

#42. In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

Sun Tzu

#43. 8. The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice. [Once war is declared, he will

Sun Tzu

#44. There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited.

Sun Tzu

#45. Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.

Sun Tzu

#46. When the position is such that neither side will gain by making the first move, it is called temporising ground.

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

#48. Perfection in war lies in so sapping your opponents will that he surrenders without fighting.

Sun Tzu

#49. 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.

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

#51. There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.

Sun Tzu

#52. When Lionel Giles began his translation of Sun Tzu's ART OF WAR, the work was virtually unknown in Europe. Its introduction to Europe began in 1782 when a French Jesuit Father living in China, Joseph Amiot, acquired a copy of it, and translated

Sun Tzu

#53. Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.

Sun Tzu

#54. When two sides who consider each other enemies converge in armed struggle, for the moment they are no longer enemies. They are fellow human beings who face the same two choices that their ancestors did for centuries before them: to destroy each other or to prosper together.

Thomas Huynh

#55. The value of time, that is of being a little ahead of your opponent, often provides greater advantage than superior numbers or greater resources.

Sun Tzu

#56. In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power.

Sun Tzu

#57. And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.

Sun Tzu

#58. This does not mean that the enemy is to be allowed to escape. The object is to make him believe that there is a road to safety, and thus prevent his fighting with the courage of despair. After that, you may crush him.

Sun Tzu

#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.

Sun Tzu

#60. Wheels of justice grind slow but grind fine

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

#62. When the higher officers are angry and insubordinate, and on meeting the enemy give battle on their own account from a feeling of resentment, before the commander-in-chief can tell whether or not he is in a position to fight, the result is ruin.

Sun Tzu

#63. Rapidity is the essence of war.

Sun Tzu

#64. Attack where he is unprepared; sally forth when he does not expect you.

Sun Tzu

#65. It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, be able to evade them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.

Sun Tzu

#66. 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.

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

#68. 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

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

#71. Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy ... use the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.

Sun Tzu

#72. Thus the skilful general conducts his army just as though he were leading a single man, willy-nilly, by the hand.

Sun Tzu

#73. When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint from want of food.

Sun Tzu

#74. With regard to ground of this nature, be before the enemy in occupying the raised and sunny spots, and carefully guard your line of supplies. Then you will be able to fight with advantage.

Sun Tzu

#75. 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.

Sun Tzu

#76. A sovereign should never launch an army out of anger, a leader should never start a war out of wrath

Sun Tzu

#77. Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.

Sun Tzu

#78. Now an army is exposed to six several calamities, not arising from natural causes, 1 but from faults for which the general is responsible. These are: (1) Flight; (2) insubordination; (3) collapse; (4) ruin; (5) disorganisation; (6) rout.

Sun Tzu

#79. Now a soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is only on returning to camp.

Sun Tzu

#80. 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.

Sun Tzu

#81. Therefore the master of war causes the enemy's forces to yield, but without fighting ; he captures his fortress, but without besieging it ; and without lengthy fighting takes the enemy's kingdom. Without tarnishing his weapons he gains the complete advantage. This is the assault by stratagem.

Sun Tzu

#82. In a similar way, The Art of War pinpoints anger and greed as fundamental causes of defeat.

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

#84. 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!

Sun Tzu

#85. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

Sun Tzu

#86. Know the enemy, know yourself; your victory will never be endangered. Know the ground, know the weather; your victory will then be total.

Sun Tzu

#87. When the enemy is at ease, be able to weary him; when well fed, to starve him; when at rest, to make him move. Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

#89. Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources.

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

#91. What is of the greatest importance in war is extraordinary speed: One cannot afford to neglect opportunity.

Sun Tzu

#92. Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve.

Sun Tzu

#93. 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.

Sun Tzu

#94. When you start a fire, be to windward of it. Do not attack from the leeward.

Sun Tzu

#95. When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away ...

Sun Tzu

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

Sun Tzu

#97. In all history, there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. Only one who knows the disastrous effects of a long war can realize the supreme importance of rapidity in bringing it to a close.

Sun Tzu

#98. If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely traced out on the ground. All we need to do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way.

Sun Tzu

#99. One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful, subduing the other's military without battle is the most skillful.

Sun Tzu

#100. Be where your enemy is not.

Sun Tzu