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A clever general... avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return. This is the art of studying moods. Disciplined and calm, he awaits the appearance of disorder and hubbub among the enemy. This is the art of retaining self-possession.

Sun Tzu

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Sun Tzu
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Kingdom of Qi
Sun Wu
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More quotes by Sun Tzu

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To persuade your enemy to (retreat) before the fight is to defeat them even before the battle begins. An enemy made ally is no longer an enemy.
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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.
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And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.
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Therefore I say: know the enemy and know yourself in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.
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Those who are victorious plan effectively and change decisively. They are like a great river that maintains its course but adjusts its flow...they have form but are formless. They are skilled in both planning and adapting and need not fear the result of a thousand battles: for they win in advance, defeating those that have already lost.
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Until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared
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Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports.
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When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal.
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So the important thing in a military operation is victory, not persistence.
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Attack the enemy's strategy.
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Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow decision, to the releasing of a trigger.
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The value of time, that is of being a little ahead of your opponent, often provides greater advantage than superior numbers or greater resources.
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If I determine the enemy's disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless: if it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it nor the wise make plans against it.
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The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and does not require too much from individuals. Hence his ability to pick out the right men and utilize combined energy
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One need not destroy one's enemy. One need only destroy his willingness to engage.
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There are routes not to be followed, armies not to be attacked, citadels not to be besieged, territory not to be fought over.
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First learn to become invincible, then wait for your enemy's moment of vulnerability.
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Invincibility is in oneself, and vulnerability is in the opponent. Invincibility is a matter of defense, vulnerability is a matter of attack. Therefore skillful warriors are able to be invincible, but they cannot cause opponents to be vulnerable. That is why it is said that victory is discerned and not manufactured.
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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.
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So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.
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