Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win
Know yourself and you will win all battles
To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.
In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity
The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.
There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.
Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.
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.
Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.
Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.
When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.
When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.
So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.
One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.
Who wishes to fight must first count the cost
If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.
If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.
To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill
Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.
You have to believe in yourself.
One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.
What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.
Be extremely subtle even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.
He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.
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'.
Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.
Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.
If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.
Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.
The wise warrior avoids the battle.
There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.
Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.
If quick, I survive. If not quick, I am lost. This is "death.
Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm
He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight
Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting.
If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.
To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.
If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.
Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.
The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.
Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.
Great results, can be achieved with small forces.
Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.
Wheels of justice gind slow but grind fine
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.
Never venture, never win!
If his forces are united, separate them.
Be where your enemy is not.
To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
Bravery without forethought, causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull. Such an opponent, must not be encountered with brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain.
But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.
Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.
In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack--the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.
Mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy
Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits
Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.
Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster
If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.
Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will.
It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.
Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day.
Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
Conform to the enemy's tactics until a favorable opportunity offers; then come forth and engage in a battle that shall prove decisive.
Every battle is won before it’s ever fought.
Hence that general is skilful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skilful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.
Do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat
He who advances without seeking fame, Who retreats without escaping blame, He whose one aim is to protect his people and serve his lord, The man is a jewel of the Realm
The Art of War is self-explanatory
It is easy to love your friend, but sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy.
Disorder came from order, fear came from courage, weakness came from strength.
If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak.
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.
The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.
Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.
Order or disorder depends on organisation; courage or cowardice on circumstances; strength or weakness on dispositions.
It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two.
In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.
Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.
Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.
Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.
Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory; show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat.
When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy.
You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.
Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack.
It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.
By reinforcing every part, he weakens every part.
The worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation
The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points;
Confront them with annihilation, and they will then survive; plunge them into a deadly situation, and they will then live. When people fall into danger, they are then able to strive for victory.
