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Introduction:
Sun Tzu was a Chinese general who lived around the 5th century BC and to whom a great legacy is attributed through the collection of essays on The Art of War, the oldest known treatise on the subject. Despite its age, the advice is still valid.
The Art of War inspired Napoleon, Machiavelli, Mao Tse Tung and many more historical figures. This two-five-hundred-thousand-year-old book is one of the most important Chinese classical texts and is not just a book of military practice, it is a work to understand the roots of a conflict and seek a solution. “The best victory is to win without fighting,” Sun Tzu tells us, “and that is the distinction between the prudent man and the ignorant man.”
-Summary of the prologue of the Universal Virtual Library
Clarification:
The Art of War is an incredibly famous book because it was written several thousand years ago and yet its advice is still applicable today.
It is a fascinating book but after having read it several times I came to the conclusion that its chapters could have been better structured and even condensed some concepts that are repeated throughout the entire work. For that reason, it is that In this entry you will see a summary of The Art of War structured in the most convenient way possible that I found to facilitate its reading. Some chapters are missing and others may have been renamed, since the purpose of this summary was not to be faithful to the work, but rather to facilitate its reading and understanding without altering at any time the key points or concepts discussed in it.
If you want to read a faithful summary of the work you can access another of my blog posts: The Art of War: The Summary.
THE ART OF WAR – KEY CONCEPTS
INDEX
YO, Assessment
II, Resources
III, Spies and Fire
IV, Firmness
V, Start Actions
SAW, Changes
VII, Advantage and disadvantage
VIII, Topology and Terrain
IX, Clashes
X, Victory and Defeat
I, Evaluation
In a war it is important to take into account five factors:
The discipline of men, the climate, he land, the capabilities of the general and the organization of time and troops. It will be essential to carry out this analysis on both your side and the enemy side.
If you want to be invincible and battle a vulnerable enemy you need to know yourself perfectly, and then know the enemy.
Is it is essential to be invincible, even if your enemy is not vulnerable.
What is not good is to deprive your invincibility by making the enemy vulnerable.
If you know yourself but not your rival, even if you don't win, you won't lose either.
If you know your opponent but not yourself, even if you have a chance of winning, it may also be the case that you will face defeat.
Be invincible is defense issue, while make vulnerable to the enemy is attack question.
You will need to also be aware of a lot of information, such as the enemy's plans, the circumstances of the terrain and the strengths of each of your soldiers, so you will know how to assign them the position where each one will perform best, because a man can be brave, strong, cautious, intelligent... there are many options for every type of person.
II, Resources
Have two types of media with which to carry out a war: The first are your resources, the second are your enemy's resources.
Starting with you, to battle you will need money. This will give you three types of items: weapons, provisions and aid foreign
Other help can be, for example, local guides, who will help you know the terrain through which you move, and the terrain in which you will end up fighting. This way you will be able to know where to gain advantage, where to prepare traps and ambushes...
This is totally valid in a war, and is usually the most used resource: creating traps and cheat to the enemy.
Deceiving the enemy is synonymous with providing false information, and the main way to do this will be with spies and infiltrated men, but we will talk about these individuals in the next chapter.
The best generals do not control their army alone, but they also have influence on the enemy's army. They hinder communication, create discord, sow fear...
Making the enemy believe false information can be crucial, such as in cases where you are carrying out a direct attack, where you will have to make him believe that your army is far away and your men are weak. Or on the contrary, make it believe that you are about to attack when it turns out that you are recovering strength in your territory.
In this way, your enemy will be the one who panics and wastes energy, going back to what was mentioned above: your enemy is the best resource to defeat your enemy.
You can steal supplies to feed your soldiers, reward your best men with possessions from the rival, or even get the enemy to join your battle lines.
An experienced general will not exterminate the enemy, but will manage to recruit soldiers and treat them in the same way as his men, without discriminating or depriving them of their previous privileges, to be able to count them among the troops of his army.
III, Spies and Fire
III. Spies
The war requires a great effort on the part of all citizens, civilians and combatants, and can last for years, so at this time your main task will be to collect information that benefits your movements and your men. The spies They will be your main resource.
A spy can be:
-Native: Citizens of your country, who will come to enemy lands to collect information.
-Internal: Officials from the country you are investigating.
-Double: Enemy spies who will act by spying on their own country.
-Liquidable: People who will give false reports to enemy spies.
-Floating: He will be in charge of collecting the information and bringing it to you.
Give them acceptable treatment, otherwise you run the risk of them giving information about your country to the enemy army, but don't trust them either, because if you are very lenient they could start working with the enemy just not be afraid of the reprisals you may take. .
III. Fire
He fire It is essential in any war, and there are five ways to use them.
Against the people, against the supplies, against the warehouses, against the weapons and against him equipment.
It is a resource that can work against you, so it is advisable to use it only when the weather is dry and calm. If you know how and when to use it, it will be a key element to wreak havoc on your enemy's ranks.
IV, Firmness
The firmness It is the essence of an army. It will be necessary from direct battle to deceive your enemy, because if your men are strong and aware of their strength they will be able to pass themselves off as weak, if you know all the ways to organize your men you will be able to create artificial disorder...
In summary, Both army and generals need training and discipline. Especially generals, who need to dominate every aspect of the battlefield.
If a general is trained and wise, he will keep his men happy and in good health, and will give each one the job in which he is most productive: stroke, defending, analysis…
Still, as we've already mentioned, soldiers will also need to learn to work together, stick together, and help each other. In combat you will need to use banners, drums and fire to guide them, and if they are well trained they will know how to act accordingly.
To maintain a stricter order, it is important that you also use a system fair of rewards and punishments, without exceeding or falling short in any case, or your own men could come to confront you or fear you. The allies who fear you are your worst enemies.
Maintain a fair system, and take care of them as if they were your children; Every life is important, so there will be cases where keeping them alive will be more important than even your reputation. If you are a good general you will know when to disobey an order, and you will be able to do it.
Besides all this, you should also worry about yourself town, keep it in harmony and keep in mind that your ruler might raise taxes if you waste money on war.
V, Start Actions
A military maneuver is the result of the plan and strategy considered optimal to win, and The mobility and effectiveness of the troops depend on it.
Your orders will be the ones that lead to actions, so try to never give a confusing order, or go back on too many plans, or your soldiers will be confused and lose trust in you. So when you are going to give an order, keep three fundamental laws in mind.
The first law when initiating an action is that You shouldn't attack an enemy if you're not going to get anything worthwhile.. Don't attack for the sake of attacking, keep your troops at home whenever possible.
The second law is to make a assessment and planning of absolutely everything.
Once these factors are known and a battle has started, you will need to be aware of the action called withdrawal, as it will be essential in some cases.
As a third law: attacks quickly and accurately, but without rushing or letting yourself be controlled by your emotions.
Once you are going to attack, keep in mind that your enemy can defend himself mainly in two ways: either by agglomerating his troops at the same point to achieve a powerful defense, or by distributing his soldiers at different points to defend a large territory. It will be your job to move your troops to undefended or poorly defended points, and you should almost never attack your enemy where he has all his troops, if necessary.
Attack quickly, accurately, and leave; whether you achieve your goal or not. Remember that No It is good that mobilize your troops twice for the same action, nor send supplies three times to the same troops, because you must begin to steal from your opponent from the second arrival of supplies, and achieve your objective the first time, when the enemy is not paying attention.
VI, Changes
You have evaluated your own army, that of the enemy, you already know the terrain, you are prepared to battle and you have initiated actions to win. Quite thoughtful and planned actions in advance, but still, It won't be good if you focus on carry out a plan that is degenerating over time, no matter how good it was at the beginning.
Keep in mind that war is constantly changing actions, and you must know how to adapt. If a plan doesn't work, change it. Even if your plan is good but the enemy is very well organized, sometimes it is advisable to change your strategy to confuse them.
It has always been said that changes are good, but even so, keep in mind that altering your plans, strategies or routes excessively could turn against you, because not only will the enemy end up disconcerted, your soldiers will also be confused, and they might think that you are a leader who doesn't know what he's doing.
The enemy's emotions will also vary over the course of the fight, and you will be able to take advantage of this. What you should never allow is your emotions to control your rational side, or you could send your men to imminent defeat.
Sometimes by not acting, lives are lost without any benefit, and even so, it is better than acting. A good leader considers that too.
VII, Advantage and Disadvantage
“Those who do not know the disadvantages of using a weapon are also not aware of all its advantages.”
It seems obvious that the number of troops is important when it comes to having an advantage, however the most relevant points will be know the terrain and know the enemy's situation, both your location and your mood and ability to work together.
Knowing and studying the terrain, at the same time, can help you locate your enemy, since the animals in the area will flee from the same point in case there are troops passing by, and smoke or clouds of dust will confirm more accurately. your theory.
If you are aware of where the enemy troops are and also, through spies, know their mood and willingness to fight, your chances of winning will increase.
Once these data are known, we can conclude that if having information about your enemy is essential to obtain an advantage, it also seems advantageous to keep yourself without providing information, without form, so that rival analysts and generals do not know where to approach your army.
Then, to continue gaining advantage, start with your own men, motivate them, get them all to have the same objective in mind, in such a way that almost They can be treated as a single individual and make them trust you completely, even when you do not tell them the dangers or negative information that you know. Then, continue acquiring as much information as possible.
Knowing the area in which your enemy plans to attack will be essential. Well, waiting for your enemy to rest on high ground is always one of the best advantages you can have, since your enemy will arrive later, more tired and hungry, and will have to fight by attacking upwards.
If you think that even on such neutral terrain it would be difficult for you to win, wait for it within your walls, because having your enemy face your walls and your men at the same time is the greatest advantage you can have.
As a last resort, corner your own men in such a way that they are forced to give their 100% or die, and so, even if you are at a disadvantage, your soldiers will fight with infinitely greater motivation than the enemy soldiers.
A good general will make the most of his side's disadvantages, and will not forgive a single mistake from the enemy..
VIII, Topology and Terrain
There are mainly 9 types of terrain to move on and 6 types of terrain to fight.
You will be able to move on terrain:
Communication: Used by everyone to get around. Try not to let the enemy control it.
Intersecting: Area where paths that lead to different kingdoms intersect. Try to form an alliance with one of those kingdoms.
Dispersion: Very close to your country. Avoid fighting here or your soldiers might sneak away with their family.
Light: Area of enemy territory near your border. Soldiers will fear discovery and will not be fully focused. Troops in these situations expand a bit and investigate individually.
difficult: Area of enemy territory far from your border. You will need good supplies. At this point the troops come together and their actions are coordinated.
fenced: Narrow and allowing little maneuverability. Try to control it yourself, and prepare traps in case enemies approach.
Unfavorable: Mountains, forests, swamps, cliffs... Never stay here for too long.
Of inevitable struggle: Area you need to defend or strategic point. It will be very difficult to fight for it if it doesn't belong to you.
Mortals: Area where your only option is to fight, whether against people, animals or dangerous weather conditions. Struggle. Your troops will gain good experience.
And you will fight on land:
easy: Where you are in a high place, the sun rises behind you and the supply route is adequate.
difficult: When your enemy is on Easy terrain, you will have a difficult time fighting, so try not to start a confrontation if you do not have a good advantage.
Neutrals: Where no one has an advantage, and you will be the one who has to generate it. It is not advisable to face the enemy face to face and just see what happens, even when your army seems superior, since you can always resort to some method that puts you in a favorable position.
Open: Similar to Neutral terrain, because in very large areas, it will be difficult for one side to take advantage of the terrain, since there will be better points for you and others for the enemy.
Even so, you can always resort to some method that guarantees a small advantage.
Narrow: The one who takes a position first will have the advantage. Still, if you win the fight, never chase the enemy if he blocks the gorge or alley.
Hilly: You must occupy the highest and sunniest points of the terrain, or else, withdraw.
Once you know the different types of scenarios, you will have to be aware of where it is more or less convenient for you to fight, and if it is feasible to do so, since in many cases the distances are long, and involve a great expenditure of energy and supplies.
For example, try to avoid traveling long distances, or areas such as swamps and deserts, and never order your men to move against the flow of water or the wind, nor camp in low areas of a river, as the enemy's advantages would be very notable.
IX, Direct and Indirect Confrontation
The best way to confront an enemy is through indirect confrontations: without taking the lives of civilians and enemy combatants, and then being able to count on them as allies.
Attacking and siege should never be the first options to consider.
Indirect confrontation is totally feasible, and consists of destroying the enemy from within, intercepting the supplies they receive from the outside, demotivating their troops, creating conflicts with their allies, maneuvering to create disturbances between enemy civilians and their leaders...
Your achievements, actions and deceptions will be of great help, since your rival will never know the exact strength you have, and if he is guided by false information and your good achievements, he may think that you have three or four times as many troops as you actually have. This will benefit you a lot.
If you think you have the means to take action and therefore can attack directly, there are two different ways to do it: or attack head on, either attack vulnerable points of your enemy.
Attacking vulnerable points means knowing the location of the enemy troops, and if they are all together defending an important point, attacking many of their undefended areas with few troops, and if they have scattered troops defending several points, attacking one of their areas with many troops. areas with few soldiers. This will be your best resource when attacking, since it is never advisable to attack from the front, and even less so if the enemy troops are in good order, greatly outnumber you or have a better position.
If, on the other hand, you prefer to deploy a large-scale operation because you are sure you can win in a head-on confrontation, it is usually most convenient to treat your soldiers as small groups, with the same goal.
X, Victory and Defeat
First of all you have to know that there is not only victory and defeat, since if you don't win, the best what can you do is not to lose, and retire.
“If you cannot be strong, and you do not know how to be weak, you will be defeated.”
Continuing with victory: there are two types, which are the reason why many generals are considered great leaders when in reality they are not.
The first is the victory in a battle you can't lose. Where even if you do not prepare or study the enemy, due to your overwhelming strength, you will defeat the rival.
The second is the victory in a battle that cannot be won. Where the true generals appear, and manage to conquer the enemy country.
It is key that you are aware that a country is not conquered when you have defeated its army, nor when half of the population has surrendered to you, but when the entire population has renounced its former ruler and is comfortable. with you as leader.
Complete victory will be achieved when the general commands the best orders, and is not influenced by rulers who do not know The Art of War.
No one can predict a victory one hundred percent, but in general it can be said that a campaign of more than three months does nothing to help achieve it. Remember: fast and precise attacks, or your kingdom's expenses will increase drastically.
To achieve a good victory you will need all the members of your army to share the same objective, be aware of when you should not fight, when you need many or few troops and be prepared to face any enemy.
Once you have won a battle, never corner your enemy, as a cornered animal that can only fight or die is the last thing you would want to face.
In case you want to destroy the enemy army, leave them an escape route controlled by you, and they will be forced to use it. Then you can finish them off without endangering your men.
Victory represents no danger, because an attack is carried out when you are sure of winning, otherwise it will represent a risk for everyone. A true general does not attack if his chances of winning are fifty percent, but will attack when they are close to one hundred percent.
EN 
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