Additionally, victory cannot be achieved without solid preparation and organization ahead of time. Although this chapter is filled with highly specific details, such as the number of horses and troops to take into battle, the most important takeaway message is the importance of acting quickly. When an army has been sent into battle, speed and decisiveness must be adopted. “Those who master them win those who do not are defeated.” – Sun Tzu Chapter 2: Waging War If they can’t gauge your strengths and weaknesses, it’s harder for them to succeed in battle. He states that you should learn all you can about your opponent while making your opponent blind to your true state. Sun Tzu also flips his idea of strategizing. Therefore, this pre-engagement planning is crucial. If you can optimize these five factors, then you are more likely to be successful in war than a significantly bigger army without these factors. Finally, a leader’s doctrine relates to their organization, control, assignment of appropriate ranks, regulation of supply routes, and the provision of items used by the army. A leader must display command by displaying essential virtues, such as wisdom, sincerity, humanity, courage, and strictness. Specifically, how qualified he is to order the troops and be confident that these orders will be followed accurately. Command and DoctrineĪ leader’s assessment of command relates to his own qualities. As a leader, you have to make this estimation to better understand what condition your troops will arrive in before engaging with the enemy. With these two factors, leaders must consider how difficult or easy it will be for his troops to march over the terrain. Plus, this willingness is directly associated with the likelihood of success when waging war. This confidence ultimately determines the people’s willingness to support the stresses of war. The first factor relates to whether or not the people below a leader are confident in their ruler. In other words, these factors are crucial for your strategy. Taken together, these five factors combine to help you to develop a pre-conflict plan of action. Each of these is spoken about in more detail later in the book. He outlines the five fundamental factors associated with war: moral influence, weather, terrain, command, and doctrine.
Sun Tzu uses this chapter to introduce what is to come in the rest of this book.
Studying war was important because it could mean the difference between survival or death of a country. Sun Tzu believed it extremely important that war was thoroughly studied. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” – Sun Tzu Chapter 1: Laying Plans If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. Even if Sun Tzu was not one person, whoever wrote this book was alive during a time of success in battle for these parts of China. Despite this, the most common description of his life is that he was born Sun Wu and obtained the title Sun Tzu (Master Sun) after his performances as a general. We know relatively little about Sun Tzu, with some even questioning whether he was one person or a group of notable men. Sun Tzu was born in approximately 540 BC.
Take their mind and heart out, and the enemy has no chance. The best offensive move to victory is to psychologically destroy the enemy before the actual war occurs and take them over in peace with no killing necessary. Only then can you properly decide if it is advantageous to attack, stay put, or flee. You must calculate your strengths and weaknesses against the enemy’s strengths and weaknesses. The most critical factor to a winning strategy is in the planning stage. Since then, many have adapted these teachings for use in politics, business, and everyday life. Since that time, all levels of the military have used the teaching of Sun Tzu. This classic military strategy book is based on Chinese warfare and military thought. Twenty-Five Hundred years ago, Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War. If you don’t already have the book, order the book or get the audiobook for free to learn the juicy details. Has The Art of War been gathering dust on your bookshelf? Instead, pick up the key ideas now.
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