-Sun Tzu (AKA Sun Zi, Sunzi, Master Sun, etc.)
-One of the most important people who lived during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history.
-Birth name was Sun Wu.
-Unclear where he was born, but it looks like it was c. 544 BC.
-According to "the Spring and Autumn Annals", Sun Tzu was born in the state of Qi, but "the Records of the Grand Historian" say that he was born in the state/kingdom of Wu.
-Was an adviser (genbang) to King Helu of Wu.
-According to the Records of the Grand Historian, however, Sun Tzu was a general.
-One of the stories in this narrative is that before he became a general, King Helu decided to test Sun Tzu's military leadership ability by ordering him to train all 180 concubines of his harem to become soldiers. Of course, when it was time to train the harem, none of the concubines took him seriously, so after trying to get them to follow his orders he just straight-up executed them, starting with the king's two favorites! Obviously, this horrified the king, but Sun Tzu DGAF and explained to him that it was a general's duty to carry out orders, even if the king protests afterwards! In other words, the military's authority supersedes the crown's authority, especially during wartime!
-During his time as general, Sun Tzu wrote his famous treatise "The Art of War" (AKA "Master Sun's Military Methods", "Master Sun's Military Principles", "Sunzi Bigfa", etc.).
-Of course, his authorship of The Art of War (or even Sun Tzu's very existence!) has been debated by scholars for a long time.
-It's entirely possible that this text is actually a compilation of contemporary and/or earlier works either compiled by Sun Tzu himself and/or other generals (although most scholars seem to agree that Sun Tzu did indeed exist and was at least partly involved in the creation of this text).
-"The Art of War":
-Two themes:
-War is evil, but necessary.
-Because war is a necessary evil, it must be undertaken and concluded swiftly and with as much unnecessary bloodshed as possible. This is because war is bad, but also because it isn't good from an economic perspective to prolong the fighting.
-The positioning of troops and shit is extremely important!
-The book is divided into 13 chapters-
-CHAPTER 1: "Detail Assessment and Planning"
-War is governed by five constant factors:
1. "The Moral Law" - allows for the soldiers to be in complete accord with their ruler so that they'll follow him into danger and won't be scared for their own lives.
2. "Heaven" - seasons, weather, night/day, etc.
3. "Earth" - distances, terrain.
4. "The Commander" - the virtue, wisdom, courage, benevolence, etc. of the commander.
5. "Method and Discipline"- organization of the army, supply routes, etc.
-Based on these the five constant factors, the victor can be forecast by asking the following seven questions:
1. Which of the two rulers is more imbued with "the Moral Law"?
2. Which of the two generals has the greater ability/skill?
3. Which army has the advantage of heaven and earth?
4. Which army enforces discipline most rigorously?
5. Which army is stronger (numbers, spirit, power)?
6. Which army has more highly-trained troops?
7. Which army is more predictable in terms of punishment and rewards?
-The chapter also contains axioms like "All warfare is based on deception" and other stuff.
-CHAPTER 2: Waging War
-Details the economic costs of warfare.
-Argues that the only good war is a short war because war is too costly to have it drag on and on for too long, and could actually end up bankrupting the entire state if it goes on long enough!
-When you are weakened, other states can take advantage of you.
-CHAPTER 3: Strategic Attack
-The source of strength is unity, not size.
-The highest form of warfare is to foil an enemy's plan- a truly a skilled leader defeats his enemy without actually fighting at all! The next highest is to prevent the enemy from from unifying and keeping the enemy divided. The third highest is to actually have to fight in battle. The fourth highest is having to lay siege to a city (too expensive and costly).
-Thus, the best way to win a battle is to not even fight at all.
-However, a commander can also bring about defeat as well. This can occur if the commander is ignorant of the field conditions which result in issuing orders that can't be carried out ("hobbling the army"). Another way is for the commander to attempt to govern an army as if it were a state. Even another way is to uphold certain virtues that are necessary in society but are toxic for a military unit. Finally, another way is to for the commander to be ignorant of the subordinate officers' strengths.
-The poet and intellectual Du Mu (803-852 AD), when commenting on "The Art of War", wrote: "A skillful employer of men will employ a wise man, a brave man, a covetous man, and a stupid man; for the wise man delights in establishing his merit, the brave man likes to show courage in his actions, the covetous man is quick as seizing the advantage, and the stupid man has no fear of death."
-Also:
-"If you know the enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. However, if you know yourself but not your enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. Last, if you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will lose every battle."
-CHAPTER 4: Position of the Army
-Victory can only be truly achieved if the possibility of defeat has been rendered impossible. This certainty can only be achieved through secrecy, because if there is total secrecy then the enemy can't know where to strike or where you may strike from.
-Also discusses the importance of troop morale.
-CHAPTER 5: Forces
-Details the principles of governing an army of any size and how to use its momentum as an advantage in combat.
-The size of an army makes no difference in terms of management as long as it has been divided into manageable units supervised by capable officers; an effective bureaucracy will help keep everything running smoothly.
-Also discussed combat- army engagements can be divided into active, passive, direct, and indirect measures in order to keep an enemy disoriented.
-Deception is key in order to keep an enemy off-balance.
-CHAPTER 6: Weakness and Strengths
-An army's opportunities come from both the environment itself and from the nature of the opposing force.
-The mark of a good soldier is that he must either fight on his own terms or not at all.
-He must emerge from nowhere, strike at vulnerable points, ignore heavily defended areas, and attack where least expected.
-Frontal attacks are to be avoided except as a last resort.
-When on the defense, force the enemy to turn around by cutting off lines of supplies and communication. If on the offense, strike at their sovereign to force the enemy back into defense.
-To avoid combat completely, do something odd or unexpected, which can confuse the enemy.
-Above all, remain unpredictable; tactics must be changed constantly and NEVER repeated (no matter how successful!).
-CHAPTER 7- Military Manouvers
-Discusses direct combat maneuvers and their inherent dangers, including the most dangerous and difficult aspects of warfare.
-With an experienced commander and disciplined troops, maneuvering is advantageous.
-Contains mixed messages about speed, however.
-Of course, moving quickly is of the utmost importance in battle, but it's not good to move TOO quickly, which can divide the troops (which is never good).
-If an enemy army is returning home, they should not be attacked or prevented from doing so because they'll become desperate and fight to the death. There is no more dangerous foe than a desperate one.
-Additionally, a surrounded foe should have a clearly visible escape route, but NOT be allowed to escape. The illusion of having an escape route will allow them to feel like they can flee, so when they decide to actually try and do so they can be either captured or crushed.
-CHAPTER 8- Variations of Adaptability
-An army must be extremely flexible and able to quickly respond to changing circumstances.
-Demands of civil authority must be subservient to military necessity.
-A successful commander relies on chance as little as possible.
-CHAPTER 9- Movement and Development of Troops
-Short chapter- describes the different situations in which an army will find itself. Also discusses where an army should fight, where not to fight, etc.
-The best place to camp is near water and overlooking the battlefield. The worst place to camp is in damp places with marshes and/or no grass.
-CHAPTER 10- Terrain
-Describes the six types of terrain and how to fight in them and shit:
-Accessible ground- freely traversable for both sides.
-The most important thing to do with this terrain is to occupy the high points first.
-Entangling ground- an area which can be abandoned if necessary, but is near-impossible to retake (forests, mountains, etc.).
-It's extremely important to fortify these places first (before the enemy does).
-Delaying ground- similar to entangling ground, but both armies have fortifications so it's disadvantageous for either side to attack.
-Both sides must try to bait the other into an attack, but avoid attacking themselves.
-Narrow passes- easily defended, nearly impossible to attack successfully.
-Can only be taken with subterfuge; otherwise, always avoid this kind of terrain!
-Precipitous heights- Hills, mountains, etc.
-Try to gain the upper ground first, otherwise try to draw the enemy down because it's too difficult to assault!
-Positions at a great distance from the enemy- both armies are too far from each other, so marching to meet the enemy is going to exhaust your own troops so much, so don't bother!
-CHAPTER 11- The Nine Battlegrounds
-Dispersive ground- fighting inside one's own territory.
-There is an obvious "home court advantage", but this can also be a disadvantage because it's most likely home to the troops as well so they might be predisposed to fleeing since they know the terrain and where to find safety and shit. Therefore, it's best to NOT do battle here.
-Facile ground- when you have immediately crossed into enemy territory (but not far).
-Enemy resistance will most likely be fierce and intense, and escape will generally be pretty easy.
-Sun-tzu advises that the general should burn the boats and/or bridges leading back home, reinforcing the idea for the men that it's either victory or death!
-Contentious ground- Whoever holds this ground has a big advantage.
-For example, the Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae.
-Try to avoid this kind of battleground, if possible!
-Open ground- neutral, easy to traverse for both sides.
-Ground of intersecting highways- battlegrounds on the border of at least three intersecting states- very important to control!
-Serious ground- the heart of the enemy state.
-This is where the invading army can take time to rest, restock, plunder, and forage.
-Difficult ground- anywhere you wouldn't want to stop or camp- forests, marshes, mountains, etc. If you have to go through these places, do so as quickly as possible!
-Hemmed-in ground- where retreat would/could be extremely difficult.
-Desperate ground- if escape is impossible and you MUST fight.
-Strike as quickly as possible and be absolutely ruthless!
-CHAPTER 12- Attacking with Fire
-How to use fire as a weapon.
-CHAPTER 13- Intelligence and Espionage
-Man scholars believe that Sun-tzu could not have written this chapter because espionage hadn't developed to the extent that it is described in here while he was alive.
-Gets really into subterfuge, intelligence, and counter-intelligence.
-"An army without spies is like a man without eyes or ears."
-Additionally, it says that military intelligence can't come from divination, deductive reasoning, nor past experiences- ONLY active intelligence gleaned by trustworthy agents.
-These agents must be extremely close with the general, moreso than any other officer, and must also be liberally rewarded for their efforts.
-5 kings of intelligence:
-Local- inhabitants of an enemy district; they can be turned into spies for you through kindness.
-Inward- spies within the enemy court.
-Converted- captured enemy spies, double agents- usually the most important kind of spy.
-Doomed- opposite of converted spies; an enemy subject who has been captured, fed bad intelligence, and then (unbeknownst to the captured spy) secretly allowed to escape so that the enemy fugitive then returns to the enemy camp and gives them bad intelligence. Of course, once the enemy realizes that this is bad intelligence, the doomed spy will then be executed for his error.
-Surviving- traditional spies who go into enemy territory, gather intel, and then report back.
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