--- title: The Art of War author: Sun Tzu category: History publisher: publish_date: 2018 total_page: 112 cover_url: https://books.google.com/books/content?id=i_u_vgEACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&source=gbs_api Status: Read start_read_date: finish_read_date: my_rate: book_note: isbn10: 1912714051 isbn13: 9781912714056 --- **Title:** The Art of War **Author:** Sun Tzu **Type:** #litnote #book #todevelop --- # Book Summary This book is written in reference to the war and fighting strategy, but we don't do that now. But the lessons in this book can be applied pretty much everywhere in our life and can help us make a bigger influence on others. We don't fight physically, but we are always having mental battles in life with ourself ans with others. Therefore, reading this book is vital ## Chapter 1: Laying Plans You have to make calculations before you even go to battlefield. The ones who make the most calculations beforehand are the ones who lead to victory. Deceive your enemies. Act weak when you are strong and act strong when you are weak. When you are away, make the enemy believe you are away and when you are away, make them believe you are near. Hold baits to entice him. If he is tempered, seek to irritate him. Make him believe you are weak, so that his arrogance grows. Attack him when he is unprepares, appear where you are not expected. Five him no rest. Seperte his army if they are united. ## Chapter 2: Waging War When you are in war, don't make long delays for no one has ever been benefited from that. Bring war materila with your from home, but forage on the enemy ## Chapter 3: Attack by Stratagem The best of all is not to destrory the nation but to take it whole and intact, to break enemy's resistance without fighting. The best strategy is to baulk enemy's pland and the worst is to attack enemy's beside the walled cities. The rul of war is to attack him if we are stronger, offer a battle if we are equally matched an try to avoid the enemy if we are unequal in every way. Five essentials of victory: 1. He who knows when to fight and when not to fight will win. 2. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces 3. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. 4. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. 5. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign. If you know the enemy and yoursel, you need not to fear the result of hundred battles. ## Chapter 4: Tactical Dispostions To defend ourselves is in our hand but to gain victory over enemy, the opportunity is provided by himself. A clever fighter is not the one who wins but wins with ease. He wins without making mistakes ## Chapter 5: Energy Controlling a large army is same as controlling a few man. Pick right man and utilise their combined energy. This keeps the momentum on going and is a way to victory ## Chapter 6: Weak Points ans Strong Find the weak points and strong points and attack the undefended weak points. We can form a single concentrated force while making the enemy's army divided. The enemy shoudln't know be well-known about the spot we intend to fight. Don't repeat the smae tactics that you used to gain one victory. ## Chapter 7: Manoevring Don't go to war, unless you know the country and its mountains and forests, its marshes and swamps. Don't move until you see an advantage in moving. Don't show your plans. Make them secret, but when you execute them, make them fall like thunderbolt. ## Chapter8: Variation of Technique Stratagem = Tactics or strategy used to get an advantage Create variations on your techniques and styles ## Chapter 9: The Army on the March Observe the signs of the enemy. Prefer high ground to low and sunny places to dark. You should always place yourself on the advantageous site, always. Dangerous places such as precipitous cliffs, deep natural hollows, creveasses should not be approached at any cost but we should get the enemy to approach them. Your soldiers are the way to your success and if they are not attached to you, they will not prove to be submissive and until thery are submissive they are practically uselesss. "Therefore soldiers must be treated in the first instance with humanity, but kept under control by means of iron discipline. This is a certain road to victory." ## Chapter 10: Terrain six types of terrain and how we should deal with our enemy on every terrain Accessible ground: Where ground can be freely trasversed by both sides. . Try to be before the enemy and occupy the raised and sunny spots to fight with an advantange Entangling ground: Ground which can be abandanoed but is hard to re-occupy __ If the enemy is unprepared, go and defeat him and if he is prepared, and you fail to defeat Temporising ground: When neither side will gain by making a first move- Don't set forward even when enemy sets a enticing bet. Narrow Passes: If you occupy them first, wait for the enemy and if enemy occupies first, don't go after the him Precipitous heights: If you are beforehanded, you should occupy raised and sunny spots first, wait for the enemy to come but if enemy is beforehanded, don't follow him and retreat. Positions at a great distance: If the strength of two armies is equal, you shouldn't fight. You should treat your soldiers as your son and they will stand by you unto death. ## Chapter 11: The Nine Situations In this chapter master sun tzu talks about the nine varieties of ground and how we should deal with our enemy on different kinds of theese grounds. Rapiditiy is the essence of war. You should take advantage of the unreadiness of wary and make unexpected moves to attack at uguarded places. A skilled tactician can be compared to shuai-jan. It is a snake, that is found in the cha'ang mountains. You strike at it's head and it will attack with a tail tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both. ## Keep a Spy Keep the knowledge of enemy's dispositions