Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends, hit him where he does not expect you.
A sovereign of high character and intelligence must be able to know the right man, should place the responsibility on him, and expect results.
It is the business of a general to be serene and inscrutable, impartial and self-controlled.
The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
In all history, there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. Only one who knows the disastrous effects of a long war can realize the supreme importance of rapidity in bringing it to a close.
Order or disorder depends on organisation; courage or cowardice on circumstances; strength or weakness on dispositions.
Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.
Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.
What is of the greatest importance in war is extraordinary speed: One cannot afford to neglect opportunity.
Winning isn’t enough. The acme of all skill is to defeat your enemy before taking the field.
Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will.
If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near.
He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious.
So the important thing in a military operation is victory, not persistence.
Against those skilled in attack, an enemy does not know where to defend; against the experts in defense, the enemy does not know where to attack.
Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.
An army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoids the heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strikes weakness.
It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy’s strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, be able to evade them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.
In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power.
Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him.