Principles: Art of Victory

Lessons from "Art of War," by Sun Tzu

ASSESSMENTS
Victory and defeat in battle is decisive; it is the ground of life and death, the path of survival and destruction, someone wins and someone loses, so it is essential to study.
Therefore measures in terms of six things, use these considerations to make comparisons and thus find out what the circumstances are. The six things are the Cause, the Conditions, the Contradictions, the Commitment, the Command, and the Cost.
The Cause means the great Path, the Way, our way; it means inducing our force to have the same aim as the leadership, so that it will share death and share life, without fear of danger.
The Conditions means the seasons, the time, the circumstances, the context, and the situation.
The Contradictions means the opposites, the aspects of each opposite, the unity and struggle of opposites within the same category, the transition of quantity into quality, the regression before the leap forward, the resolution, and the rebirth in the higher unity.
The Commitment is a matter of morality, intelligence, trustworthiness, humanness, courage, and relentlessness.
The Command means chain of command, organizational program, plans, procedures, policies, and logistics.
The Cost means the willingness to pay the supreme price required for victory.
All have heard of these six things. Those who understand and master them prevail; those who do not, fail.
Therefore use these for comparison, to find out what the conditions are. That is to say, which leadership is driven by a supreme cause? Which leadership has skills and technical know-how? Who has favorable circumstances? Whose command is effective? Whose fighters are the stronger, smarter, and braver? Whose officers and soldiers are the better trained, and more relentless? Who is more willing the pay the supreme price for victory? This is how you can know who will win.
The formation and procedure used by your force should not be divulged beforehand.
The one who figures on victory at headquarters before even doing battle is the one who has the most strategic factors on their side.
The one who figures on inability to prevail at headquarters before doing battle is the one who has the least strategic factors on their side.
The one with many strategic factors in their favor wins, the one with few strategic factors in their favor loses. One with no strategic factors in their favor has no chance of victory.
Therefore, who will win and who will lose is based on who is most committed to victory. The most prepared, the most resilient, the most determined, the most driven, the most persistent, the most unrelenting will always win in the end.
History shows that populations with black skins have been defeated, brutalized, crushed, and taken advantage of all over the world to the degree that they were unwilling to sacrifice the necessary force to end the abuse.
PREPARATIONS
•1.      Governing a large number as though governing a small number is a matter of division into groups. Battling a large number as though battling a small number is a matter of forms and cells.
•2.      Preparing to engage opponents in close combat without being defeated is a matter of unorthodox and orthodox methods.
•3.      For the impact of victorious forces to be like stones thrown against spider webs is a matter of emptiness and fullness.
•4.      When you do battle, even if you are winning, if you continue for a long time it will dull your forces and blunt your edge; if you besiege a center, your strength will be exhausted. If you keep your forces out in the field for a long time, your supplies will be insufficient.
•5.      When your forces are dulled, your edge is blunted, your strength is exhausted, and your supplies are depleted, then others will take advantage of your powerlessness and rise up. Even if you have wise counselors you are without the means to succeed in the end.
•6.      For that reason, there are martial operations that were inept yet swift, but none that were skillful lasted a long time. It is never beneficial to have an extensive operation continue indefinitely.
•7.      Therefore, those who are not thoroughly aware of the disadvantages in the use of force cannot appreciate the advantages in the use of force.
•8.      By not taking from your own, but feeding off the enemy you can be sufficient in martial means and materials.
•9.      In all things, a wise leader strives to feed off the enemy. Each grain taken from the enemy is equivalent to 13 pounds you provide by yourself.
•10. So the important thing in a martial operation is victory, not persistence.
USE OF FORCE
•1.      The general rule for use of force is if attacked, under favorable conditions act without doubt to wipe them out resolutely, thoroughly, wholly and completely.
•2.      Do not strike rashly, but when you do strike, strike to win. At all times firmly adhere to, and never forget to wage principled struggles with just reason, key advantages, and relentlessness; always relying on your own strength, correct guidance, while making use of favorable circumstances.
•3.      Therefore those who win every battle are not really skillful. Those who render others' forces helpless without fighting are the best of all. Force is to be organized strategically and tactically, based on what is advantageous. Such an operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.
•4.      When you are going to attack nearby, make it appear as if attack is far away; when you are going to attack far away, make it look as if you are going just a short distance.
•5.      When they are fulfilled, be prepared against them; when they are strong, avoid them. Use anger to throw them into disarray. Use humility to make them overconfident. Tire them by flight. Cause division among them. Attack when they are unprepared; make your move when they do not expect it. So what kills the enemy is anger, what gets the enemy's goods is reward.
•6.      The superior militarist strikes while plans are being laid; next best is to attack alliances. The next best is to attack the enemy's force. The lowest is to attack without focus. Siege on various fronts is only done as a last resort.
•7.      Take three months to prepare your forces and three months to complete your siege means.
•8.      Therefore one who is good at martial arts overcome opponents without battle, conquers others' main forces without siege, and wipes out the opponent without taking a long time.
•9.      So the rule for use of force is that if you outnumber the opponent ten to one, then surround them; five to one, attack; two to one, divide them. If you are equal, then fight if you are able. If you are fewer, then keep away if you are able. If you are not as good, then flee if you are able.
•10. Leaders are the heart and soul of a civilization. When their guidance is complete, the civilization is secure; the civilization is strong and has a future. When their guidance is flawed, the civilization is weak and is marked for destruction and therefore has no future. So there are six ways of knowing who will win.
•11. Those who know when to fight and when not to fight are victorious.
•12. Those who discern when to use many or few fighters are victorious.
•13. Those whose upper and lower ranks have the same need are victorious.
•14. Those who face the unprepared with preparation are victorious.
•15. Those whose leaders are not constrained by corruption, cowardice, or chicken-heartedness are victorious.
•16. Those who are most committed, whether for a good or bad cause, will always win in the end.
•17. So it is said that if you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a million battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you will one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
INVINCIBILITY AND MOMENTUM
•1.      In ancient times skillful warriors first made them invincible, and then observed vulnerability in their opponents. Invincibility is in oneself; vulnerability is one's opponent. Therefore skillful warriors are able to be invincible, but they cannot cause opponents to be vulnerable.
•2.      In ancient times those known as good warriors prevailed when they had made it easy to prevail. Therefore the victories of good warriors are not noted for cleverness or bravery. Their victories in battle are not flukes. Their victories are not flukes because they position themselves where they will surely win, prevailing over those who have already lost.
•3.      So it is that good warriors take their stand on ground where they cannot lose, and do not overlook conditions that make an opponent prone to defeat. Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory.
•4.      Those who use arms well cultivate the Way and keep the rules. Thus they can govern in such a way as to prevail over the corrupt.
•5.      The rules of martial arts are mission, measurement, assessment, calculation, momentum, and victory. The mission gives rise to measurements, measurements gives rise to assessments, assessments give rise to calculations, calculations give rise to momentum, momentum give rise to victories.
•6.      Therefore the victorious are like the sun compared to the moon, the defeated are like the moon compared to the sun. When the victorious mobilize to do battle as if they were directing a massive flood into a deep canyon, this is a matter of formation; this is the force of momentum. When the speed of rushing water reaches the point where it can move mountains, this is the force of momentum. Therefore good warriors seek effectiveness in battle from the force of momentum, not from individual people. Favorable conditions, dense force precisely aimed, relentlessness and the force of momentum equal victory in battle.
•7.      Motivation to fight with the force of momentum is like rolling rocks. Rocks are still when in a secure place, but roll on an incline; they remain stationary if flat, they roll if round. Therefore, those skillfully led into battle are like round rocks rolling down a high mountain---their force of momentum results in certain victory.
GOVERNING FORCES
•1.      In epic battles, confrontation is made directly, and yet victory is often achieved by surprise.
•2.      Therefore those skilled at the unorthodox are infinite as heaven and earth, inexhaustible as the Nile River. When they come to an end, they begin again, like the days, weeks, months, and years; they die and are reborn, like the three seasons.
•3.      There are only six basic sounds, but their variations are so many that they cannot all be heard. There are only six basic colors, but their variations are so many that they cannot all be seen. There are only six basic flavors, but their variations are so many that they cannot all be tasted. There are six basic textures, but their variations are so many that they cannot all be felt. There are only two kinds of change in battle, the unorthodox surprise attack and the orthodox surprise attack and the orthodox direct attack, but variations of the unorthodox and the orthodox are endless. The unorthodox and the orthodox give rise to each other, like a never-ending cycle---what could ever exhaust them?
•4.      When the speed of a falcon is such that it can strike and kill, this is precision. So it is with skillful warriors---their force is quick, their precision is sharp. Their force is like loading a real weapon; their precision is like releasing the trigger.
•5.      Disorder arises from order, cowardice arises from courage, and weakness arises from strength. Order and disorder are a matter of organization, courage and cowardice are a matter of momentum, and strength and weakness are a matter of formation.
•6.      Therefore those who skillfully move opponents make formations that opponents are sure to follow, give what opponents are sure to take. They move opponents with the prospect of gain, waiting for them in ambush.
POSITIONING
•1.      Those who are first on the battlefield and await the opponents are at ease; those who are last on the battlefield and head into battle get worn out.
•2.      Therefore good warriors cause others to come to them, and do not go to others.
•3.      What causes opponents to come of their own accord is the prospect of harm.
•4.      So when opponents are at ease, it is possible to tire them. Then they are well fed, it is possible to starve them. When they are at rest, it is possible to move them.
•5.      Appear where they cannot go, head for where they least expect you. To travel thousands of miles without fatigue, go over land were there are no opponents.
•6.      To unfailingly take what you attack, attack where there is no defense. For unfailingly secure defense, defend where there is no attack.
•7.      So in the case of those who are skilled in attack, their opponents do not know where to defend. In the case of those skilled in defense, their opponents do not know where to attack.
•8.      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.
•9.      To advance irresistibly, push through their gaps. To retreat elusively, outsmart them.
•10. Therefore when you want to do battle, even if the opponent is deeply entrenched in a defensive position, he will be unable to avoid fighting if you attack where he will surely go to the rescue.
•11. When you do not want to do battle, even if you draw a line on the ground to hold, the opponent cannot fight with you because you set him off on the wrong track.
•12. Therefore when you induce others to construct a formation while you yourself are formless, then you are concentrated while the opponent is divided.
•13. When you are concentrated into one while the opponents is divided into 13, you are attacking at a concentration of 13 to one; so you greatly outnumber the opponent in that specific case.
•14. If you can strike few with many, you will thus minimize the number of those with whom you do battle.
•15. Your battleground is not to be known, for when it cannot be known, the enemy makes many guard outposts, and since multiple outposts are established, you only have to do battle with small squads.
•16. So when the front is prepared the rear is lacking, and when the rear is prepared the front is lacking. Preparedness on the left means lack on the right, preparedness on the right means lack on the left. Preparedness everywhere means lack everywhere. Spread the opponent out.
•17. The few are those on the defensive against others, the many are those who cause others to be on the defensive against themselves.
•18. So if you know the place and time of battle, you can join the fight from a thousand miles away. If you do not know the place and time of battle, then your left flank cannot save your right, your right cannot save your left, your vanguard cannot save you rearguard, and your rearguard cannot save your vanguard, even in a short range.
•19. Even if opponents are numerous, they can be made not to fight.
•20. So assess them to find out their plans, both the successful ones and the failures. Incite them to action in order to find out the patterns of their movement and rest.
•21. Induce them to adopt specific formations, in order to know the ground of death and life.
•22. Test them to find out where they are sufficient and where they are lacking.
•23. Therefore the consummation of forming a force is to arrive at formlessness. When you have no form, undercover espionage cannot find out anything, intelligence cannot form a strategy.
•24. Victory over multitudes by means of formation is unknowable to the multitudes. Everyone can know the form by which one is victorious, but no one should know the form by which one ensures victory.
•25. Therefore victory in war is not repetitious, but adapts its form endlessly.
•26. Martial formation is like water. The form of water is to avoid the high and go to the low, the form of a martial force is to avoid the full and attack the empty. The flow of water is determined by the earth, the form of victory is determined by the opponent.
•27. So a martial force has no constant formation, water has no constant shape. The ability to gain victory by changing and adapting according to the opponent is genius.

MAAT CODE OF LIFE

We have the moral and historical obligation to professionally organize our misery, our suffering, our enslavement, and our exploitation, not merely to end this miserable condition but to give new meaning to this life, to make dreams come true, to give new hope, to love and live again without the pain, to feel life beyond the storms, to feed our hungry, clothes those naked, to shelter the homeless, educate the ignorant, to create wings that fly, to make wrongs right, to pick up those who fall, to lift those who lost their reach, to strengthen those who are weak, to lend voice to those unable to speak, eyes to those who cannot see, legs to those who cannot walk, and heart to those who are in fear. Our obligation is to carry this out scientifically in accordance with the ancient moral principles of Maat.

9 Ways to Know People

13 Firsts

15 Paths Never to Cross

21 Daily Routines

36 Greatest Goods

42 Declarations of Innocence

69 Great Weaknesses

99 Principles of Right Living

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

1. Face all difficulties squarely and overcome them. Arrange all work on a long-term basis. Pay the closest attention to the economical use of manpower and material resources and guard against any wishful thinking about easy success through good luck.
2. To build through battle always forge various kinds of mass organizations, set up organizational nuclei, build armed units of the masses and organs of struggle and lead the masses to take part in building base areas.
3. Bring tangible material benefits and always pay special attention to investigation and study, to acquaint selves with people, place, conditions, and contradictions with the goal of becoming one with our own.
4. Concentrate a superior force to destroy the enemy forces one by one.
5. When the enemy employs many forces and advances against our forces from several directions, our forces must concentrate an absolutely superior force---nine, six, or at least three times the enemy strength---and pick an opportune moment to encircle and wipe out one enemy force first. This should be one of the enemy's weaker forces, or one that has less support, or one stationed where the terrain and the people are most favorable to us and unfavorable to the enemy.
6. Tie down the rest of the enemy forces with small forces in order to prevent them from rushing reinforcements to the force you are encircling and attacking so that you can destroy it first. When achieved, according to the circumstances, either wipe out one or several more enemy forces or retire to rest and consolidate for future fighting.
7. In sum, concentrate an absolutely superior force, a force nine, six, or at least three times that of the enemy, concentrate the whole or the bulk of our weapons, select one, not two, of the weak spots in the enemy's positions, attack it fiercely and be sure to win. This accomplished, swiftly exploit the victory and destroy the enemy forces one by one without mercy and with precision and professionalism.
8. The effects of this method of fighting are, first, complete annihilation and, second, quick decision. Only complete annihilation can deal the most telling blows to the enemy, leaving one less enemy force to deal with and providing a direct means to replenish your own forces with the enemy's arms and ammunition. In addition, complete annihilation demoralizes the enemy's troops and inspires one's own people.
9. Quick decision in battle and campaign is a necessary condition for the strategy of a protracted war.
10. When the main force of our troops is concentrated to annihilate the enemy, it must coordinate its operations with vigorous activities by the regional formations, local forces and people's community forces. When the regional formations attack an enemy force, whatever the size, they should also adopt the principle of concentrating our force to annihilate the enemy's forces one by one.
11. The principle of concentrating our forces to wipe out the enemy forces in a single specific place at a time and simulations coordinating vigorous operations to prepare the stage for quick decisions in battle is aimed chiefly at annihilating the enemy's effective strength, not holding and seizing a place. So long as one is able to wipe out the enemy's effective strength on a large scale, it will be possible to recover lost territory and seize new territory.
12. Ordinarily, an army likes high places and dislikes low ground values light and despises darkness. Take advantage of high and low, light and dark, wet and dry, hot and cold, clear and distorted, early and late, favorable and unfavorable. All critically review there past experiences in fighting in order to draw lessons and avoid repeating mistakes.
13. Take care of physical health and stay where there are plenty of resources. When there is no sickness in the army, it is said to be invincible. To cope with a long war expand forces in a planned way, ensuring that main forces are always kept at full strength and large numbers of martial reserves are trained.
14. In addition, develop production and regulate finances according to plan and firmly put into effect the principles of developing internal economy and ensuring supply, of unified leadership and decentralized management and of giving consideration to both the force and our people.
15. Always utilize the intervals between battles for intensified martial training and regularly strengthen moral and mental work. In areas temporarily occupied by the enemy, strengthen organizational' leadership, develop the regional armed forces, persevere in guerrilla warfare, safeguard the interest of the innocent masses and strike blows at the activities of the reactionaries.
16. The enemy has great strength; we have emerging strength and some weaknesses. The struggle is long and cruel with many twists and turns. However it is victory is historically inevitable and will come to those who want it most and are willing to pay whatever is the price. If one, with an indomitable will, undertake meticulously planned martial operations aimed at quick decisive victories in winnable battles, in time the entire war will be won.
17. When the enemy is near but still, he is resting on a natural strong hold. When he is far away but tries to provoke hostilities, he wants you to move forward. If his position is accessible, it is because that is advantageous to him.
18. Those whose words are humble while they increase war preparations are going to advance. Those whose words are strong and who advance aggressively are going to retreat.
19. Those who come seeking peace without a treaty are plotting.
20. If half their force advances and half retreats, they are trying to lure you. When they see an advantage but do not advance on it, they are weary. If the army is unsettled, it means the leader is not taken seriously. If signals move, that means they are in confusion. If their representatives are irritable, it means they are tired.
21. When there are murmurings, lapses in duties, and extended conversations, the loyalty of the group has been lost.
22. When they give out numerous rewards, it means they are at an impasse; when they give out numerous punishments, it means they are worn out.
23. Those who come in a conciliatory manner want to rest. When forces angrily confront you but delay engagement, yet do not leave; it is imperative to watch them carefully. In martial matters it is beneficial to have more strength, only to avoid acting aggressively; it is enough to consolidate your power, assess opponents, and get people. For the individualist without strategy who takes opponents lightly will inevitably become the captive of others.
24. If soldiers are punished before a personal attachment to the leadership is formed, they will not submit, and if they do not submit they are hard to employ.
25. If punishments are not executed after personal attachment has been established with the soldiers, then they cannot be employed. Therefore direct them through cultural arts unify them through martial arts; this means certain victory.
26. When directives are consistently carried out to edify the populace, the populace accepts. When directives are not consistently carried out to edify the populace, the populace does not accept. When directives are consistently carries out, there is mutual satisfaction between the leadership and the group.

VICTORY'S TERRAIN

1. Some terrain is easily passable, in some you get hung up, some is narrow, some is steep, and some is wide open. When both sides can come and go easily this is passable terrain.
2. When the terrain is easily passable, take up your position first, choosing the high and sunny side, convenient to supply routes, for advantage in battle.
3. When you can go but have a hard time getting back, you are hung up. On this type of terrain, if the opponent is unprepared, you will prevail if you go forth, but if the enemy is prepared, if you go forth and do not prevail you will have a hard time getting back, to your disadvantage.
4. When it is disadvantageous for either side to go forth, it is called standoff terrain. On standoff terrain, if you are there first, you should fill it up to await the opponent. If the opponent is there first, do not pursue if the opponent fills the narrows. Pursue if the opponent does not fill the narrows.
5. On steep terrain, if you are there first, you should occupy the high and sunny side to await the opponent. If the opponent is there first, withdraw from there and do not pursue. On wide-open terrain, the force of momentum is equalized, and it is hard to make a challenge, disadvantageous to fight. Understanding these six kinds of terrain is the highest responsibility of the general, and it is imperative to examine them.
6. So among martial forces there are those who rush, those who tarry, those who fall, those who crumble, those who riot, and those who get beaten. These are not natural disasters, but faults of the leaders. Those who have equal momentum but strikes ten with one are in a rush. Those whose officers are strong but whose officers are weak tarry. Those whose officers are weak fall.
7. When colonels are angry and obstreperous and fight on their own out of spite when they meet opponents, and the general do not know their abilities, they crumble.
8. When the leaders are weak and lack authority, instructions are not clear, officers and soldiers lack consistency, and they form battle lines every which way, this is riot. When the leaders cannot assess opponents, clash with much greater numbers or more powerful forces, and do not sort out the levels of skill among their own troops, these are the ones who get beaten.
9. The contour of the land is an aid to an army; sizing up opponents to determine victory, assessing dangers and distances, it the proper course of action for martial leaders. Those who do battle knowing these will win, those who do battle without knowing these will lose.
10. Therefore, when the laws of war indicate certain victory it is surely appropriate to do battle. If the laws of war do not indicate victory, it is appropriate not to do battle.
11. Look upon your soldiers as you do infants, and they willingly go into deep valleys with you; look upon your soldiers as beloved children, and they willingly die with you.
12. If you are so nice to them that you cannot employ them, so kind to them that you cannot command them, so casual with them that you cannot establish order, they are like spoiled children, useless.
13. If you know your soldiers are capable of striking, but do not know whether the enemy is invulnerable to a strike, you have half a chance of winning. If you know the enemy is vulnerable to a strike, but do not know if your soldiers are incapable of making such a strike, you have half a chance of winning. If you know the enemy is vulnerable to a strike, and know your soldiers can make the strike, but do not know if the lay of the land makes it unsuitable for battle, you have half a chance of winning.
14. Therefore those who know the arts do not wander when they move, and do not become exhausted when they rise up. So it is said that when you know yourself and others, victory is not in danger; when you know sky and earth, victory is inexhaustible.

RULES OF SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS

1. According to the rule for martial operations, those who are masters of the arts make opponents lose contact between front and back lines, lost reliability between large and small groups, lose mutual concern for the welfare of the different social classes among them, lose mutual accommodation between the rulers and the ruled, lose enlistments among the soldiers, lose coherence within the armies. They went into action when it was advantageous stopped when it was not.
2. It may be asked, when a large well-organized opponent is about to come to you, how do you deal with it? The answer is that you first take away what they like, and then they will listen to you.
3. The condition of a martial force is that its essential factor is speed, taking advantage of others' failure to catch up, going by routes they do not expect, attacking where they are not on guard.
4. In general, the pattern of invasion is that invaders become more intense the farther they enter alien territory, to the point where the native leadership cannot overcome them.
5. Glean from rich fields, and your forces will have enough to eat. Take care of your health and avoid stress, consolidate your energy and build up your strength. Maneuver your forces and assess strategies so as to be unfathomable.
6. Put them in a spot where they have no place to go, and they will die before fleeing. If they are to die there, what can they not do? Warriors exert their full strength. When warriors are in great danger, then they have no fear. When there is nowhere to go they are firm, when they are deeply involved they stick to it. If they have no choice, they will fight. For this reason the soldiers are alert without being drilled, enlist without being drafted, are friendly without treaties, are trustworthy without commands.
7. Prohibit superstition, mysticism, guesswork, speculation, and cowardice, and your best fighters will win every war.
8. So a skillful martial operation should be like a swift snake that counters with its tail when someone strikes at its head, counters with its head when someone strikes at its tail, and counters with both head and tail when someone strikes at its middle. Even those who dislike each other, if in the same boat, will help each other out in trouble.
9. Therefore those skilled in martial operations achieving cooperation in a group is like directing a single individual with no other choice.
10. The business of great leaders is quiet and secret, fair and other orderly. They change their actions and revise their plans, so that opponents will not recognize them. They change their abode and go by circuitous routes, so that opponents cannot anticipate them.
11. When a leader establishes a goal with the troops, she or he is like one who climbs up a mountain tosses away the rope. When a leader enters deeply into enemy territory with the troops, he or she brings out their potential. She or he then burns the boats and destroys the pots, drives them like sheep, none knowing where they are going. Fight or die is the mood set.
12. To assemble forces and place them into dangerous situations is the business of leaders. Adaptations to different grounds, advantages of contraction and expansion, patterns of human feelings and conditions - these must be examined.
13. Generally, the way it is with invaders is that they unite when deep in enemy territory but are prone to dissolve while on the fringes. When you leave cross the opponent's border on a martial operation that is isolated ground. When it is accessible from all directions, it is trafficked ground. When penetration is deep, that is heavy ground.
14. When penetration is shallow, that is light ground. When your back is to an impassable fastness and before you are narrow straits, that is surrounded ground. When there is nowhere to go that is deadly ground.
15. So on a ground of dissolution, unify the minds of the troops. On light ground, have them keep in touch. On a ground of contention, have them follow up quickly. On an intersecting ground, be careful about defense. On a trafficked ground, make alliances firm. On heavy ground, ensure continuous supplies. On bad ground, urge them onward.
16. On surrounded ground, close up the gaps. On deadly ground, indicate to them there is no surviving. So the psychology of fighters is to resist when surrounded, fight when it cannot be avoided, and obey in extremes.
17. Therefore those who do not know the plans of competitors cannot prepare alliances. Those who do not know the lay of the land cannot maneuver their forces. Those who do not use local guides cannot take advantage of the ground. Effective leadership must know all these things. When its power overwhelms opponents, alliances cannot come together.
18. Therefore if you do not compete for alliances anywhere, do not foster authority anywhere, but just extend your personal influence, threatening opponents, this makes force and friend vulnerable.
19. Give out rewards that are not in the rules, give out directives that are not in the code.
20. Employ the entire armed forces like employing a single person. Employ them with actual tasks; do not talk to them. Motivate them with returns, do not tell them about harm.
21. 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.
22. So the task of a martial operation is to accord deceptively with the intentions of the enemy. If you concentrate totally on the enemy, you can concentrate totally on the enemy, you can kill its martial leadership a thousand miles away. This is skillful accomplishment of the task.
23. Matters are dealt with strictly at headquarters.
24. When opponents present openings, you should penetrate them immediately.
25. Get to what they want first, subtly anticipate them. Maintain discipline and adapt to the enemy in order to determine the outcome of the war.
26. Thus, at first you are like a maiden, so that enemy opens his door; then you are like a rabbit on the loose, so the enemy cannot keep you out.

FINAL VICTORY IN WAR

1. Make wiping out the enemy's effective strength your main objective; do not make holding or seizing a place your main objective. Holding or seizing a place is the outcome of wiping out the enemy's effective strength, and often a place can be held or seized for good only after it has changed hands a number of times.
2. In every battle, concentrate an absolutely superior force, encircle the enemy forces completely, strive to wipe them out thoroughly and do not let any escape from the net. In special circumstances, use the method of dealing crushing blows to the enemy, that is, concentrate all your strength to make a frontal attack and also to attack one or both of their flanks, with the aim of wiping out one part and routing another so that our army can swiftly move its troops to smash other enemy forces.
3. On the one hand, be sure to fight no battle unprepared, fight no battle you are not sure of winning; make every effort to be well prepared for each battle, make every effort to ensure victory in the given conditions between the enemy and self.
4. On the other hand, give full respect and use to our style of fighting---courage in battle, no fear of sacrifice, no fear of fatigue, and continuous fighting (i.e., fight successive battles in a short time).
5. Strive to draw the enemy into mobile warfare, but at the same time lay great stress on learning the tactics of positional attack and on stepping up the building of the artillery and engineer corps in order to capture enemy fortified points and key areas.
6. Attack dispersed, isolated enemy forces first; attack concentrated, strong enemy forces later. Take medium and small areas and extensive indigenous areas first; take big other areas later.
7. Resolutely attack and seize all fortified points, which are weakly defended. Attack and seize at opportune moments all fortified points defended with moderate strength, provided circumstances permit. At a last resort, and only when overly prepared attack strongly defended fortified points.
8. Replenish our strength with al the arms and most of the soldiers captured from the enemy.
9. The 13 rules of discipline are to obey orders at all times, do not steal a scrap or a crumb from our people, turn in everything captured, place innocent Blacks first always, never betray our principles, return all that you borrow, speak politely, pay fairly for what you buy, first women and children, first master the fundamentals, then their derivative, first build with the strong, the morally sound, the resilient, the righteous.
10. Replenish our fighting strength with the means and materials captured from the enemy. Our army's main sources of weapons, technology, and materials are at the front in the enemy's hands. They have brought them to us; and therefore they are ours for the taking.
11. Make good use of the intervals between campaigns to rest, train and consolidate troops, develop strategy, evolve scientific methods, theory, and philosophy, and organize. Periods of rest, training and consolidation should in general not be very long, and the enemy should so far as possible be permitted no breathing space. Annihilate them.
12. To win in battle or make a successful siege without rewarding the meritorious is stinginess. Therefore enlightened leadership rewards merit. They do not mobilize when there is no advantage, do not act when there is nothing to gain, do not fight when there is no danger.
13. A force should not be mobilized out of anger; leaders should not provoke war out of wrath. Act when it is beneficial; desist if it is not. Anger can revert to joy, wrath can revert to delight, but that which has been destroyed cannot be restored to existence, and the dead cannot be restored to life. Therefore an enlightened force is painstaking about this, a good leader is conscious of this. This is the way to secure millions and keep one's forces whole.

INTELLEGENCE

1. What enables an intelligent government and a wise martial leadership to overcome others and achieve extraordinary accomplishments is foreknowledge.
2. Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, and cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained form people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.
3. There are five kinds of spy the local spy, the inside spy, the reverse spy, the dead spy, and the living spy. When the five kinds of spies are all active, no one knows their routes - this is called organizational genius, and is valuable to the leadership.
4. Local spies are hired from among the people of a locality. Inside spies are hired from among enemy officials. Reverse spies are hired from among enemy spies. Dead spies transmit false intelligence to enemy spies. Living spies come back to report.
5. One cannot use spies without sagacity and knowledge, one cannot use spies without humanity and justice, and one cannot get the truth from spies without subtlety. This is a very delicate matter indeed. Spies are useful everywhere.
6. If an item of intelligence is heard before a spy reports it, then both the spy and the one who told about it cannot breath long.
7. Whenever you want to attack an army, besiege a city, or kill a person, first you must know the identities of their defending leaders, their associates, their visitors, their gatekeepers, and their chamberlains, so have your spies find out.
8. You must seek out enemy agents who have come to spy on you, bribe them and induce them to stay with you, so you can use them as reverse spies.
9. By intelligence thus obtained, you can find local spies and inside spies to employ.
10. By intelligence thus obtained, you can cause the misinformation of dead spies to be conveyed to the enemy. By intelligence thus obtained, you can get living spies to work as planned.
11. These are essential for martial operations, and the armies depend on this in their actions.

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Lessons from "Art of War," by Sun TzuASSESSMENTS

Victory and defeat in battle is decisive; it is the ground of life and death, the path of survival and destruction, someone wins and someone loses, so it is essential to study.

Therefore measures in terms of six things, use these considerations to make comparisons and thus find out what the circumstances are. The six things are the Cause, the Conditions, the Contradictions, the Commitment, the Command, and the Cost.

The Cause means the great Path, the Way, our way; it means inducing our force to have the same aim as the leadership, so that it will share death and share life, without fear of danger.

The Conditions means the seasons, the time, the circumstances, the context, and the situation.

The Contradictions means the opposites, the aspects of each opposite, the unity and struggle of opposites within the same category, the transition of quantity into quality, the regression before the leap forward, the resolution, and the rebirth in the higher unity.

The Commitment is a matter of morality, intelligence, trustworthiness, humanness, courage, and relentlessness.

The Command means chain of command, organizational program, plans, procedures, policies, and logistics.

The Cost means the willingness to pay the supreme price required for victory.

All have heard of these six things. Those who understand and master them prevail; those who do not, fail.

The formation and procedure used by your force should not be divulged beforehand.

The one who figures on victory at headquarters before even doing battle is the one who has the most strategic factors on their side.

The one who figures on inability to prevail at headquarters before doing battle is the one who has the least strategic factors on their side.

The one with many strategic factors in their favor wins, the one with few strategic factors in their favor loses. One with no strategic factors in their favor has no chance of victory.

Therefore, who will win and who will lose is based on who is most committed to victory. The most prepared, the most resilient, the most determined, the most driven, the most persistent, the most unrelenting will always win in the end.

History shows that populations with black skins have been defeated, brutalized, crushed, and taken advantage of all over the world to the degree that they were unwilling to sacrifice the necessary force to end the abuse.

PREPARATIONS

•1. Governing a large number as though governing a small number is a matter of division into groups. Battling a large number as though battling a small number is a matter of forms and cells.

•2. Preparing to engage opponents in close combat without being defeated is a matter of unorthodox and orthodox methods.

•3. For the impact of victorious forces to be like stones thrown against spider webs is a matter of emptiness and fullness.

•4. When you do battle, even if you are winning, if you continue for a long time it will dull your forces and blunt your edge; if you besiege a center, your strength will be exhausted. If you keep your forces out in the field for a long time, your supplies will be insufficient.

•5. When your forces are dulled, your edge is blunted, your strength is exhausted, and your supplies are depleted, then others will take advantage of your powerlessness and rise up. Even if you have wise counselors you are without the means to succeed in the end.

•6. For that reason, there are martial operations that were inept yet swift, but none that were skillful lasted a long time. It is never beneficial to have an extensive operation continue indefinitely.

•7. Therefore, those who are not thoroughly aware of the disadvantages in the use of force cannot appreciate the advantages in the use of force.

•8. By not taking from your own, but feeding off the enemy you can be sufficient in martial means and materials.

•9. In all things, a wise leader strives to feed off the enemy. Each grain taken from the enemy is equivalent to 13 pounds you provide by yourself.

•10. So the important thing in a martial operation is victory, not persistence.

USE OF FORCE

•1. The general rule for use of force is if attacked, under favorable conditions act without doubt to wipe them out resolutely, thoroughly, wholly and completely.

•2. Do not strike rashly, but when you do strike, strike to win. At all times firmly adhere to, and never forget to wage principled struggles with just reason, key advantages, and relentlessness; always relying on your own strength, correct guidance, while making use of favorable circumstances.

•4. When you are going to attack nearby, make it appear as if attack is far away; when you are going to attack far away, make it look as if you are going just a short distance.

•6. The superior militarist strikes while plans are being laid; next best is to attack alliances. The next best is to attack the enemy's force. The lowest is to attack without focus. Siege on various fronts is only done as a last resort.

•7. Take three months to prepare your forces and three months to complete your siege means.

•8. Therefore one who is good at martial arts overcome opponents without battle, conquers others' main forces without siege, and wipes out the opponent without taking a long time.

•9. So the rule for use of force is that if you outnumber the opponent ten to one, then surround them; five to one, attack; two to one, divide them. If you are equal, then fight if you are able. If you are fewer, then keep away if you are able. If you are not as good, then flee if you are able.

•11. Those who know when to fight and when not to fight are victorious.

•12. Those who discern when to use many or few fighters are victorious.

•13. Those whose upper and lower ranks have the same need are victorious.

•14. Those who face the unprepared with preparation are victorious.

•15. Those whose leaders are not constrained by corruption, cowardice, or chicken-heartedness are victorious.

•16. Those who are most committed, whether for a good or bad cause, will always win in the end.

•17. So it is said that if you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a million battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you will one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.

INVINCIBILITY AND MOMENTUM

•1. In ancient times skillful warriors first made them invincible, and then observed vulnerability in their opponents. Invincibility is in oneself; vulnerability is one's opponent. Therefore skillful warriors are able to be invincible, but they cannot cause opponents to be vulnerable.

•3. So it is that good warriors take their stand on ground where they cannot lose, and do not overlook conditions that make an opponent prone to defeat. Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory.

•4. Those who use arms well cultivate the Way and keep the rules. Thus they can govern in such a way as to prevail over the corrupt.

•5. The rules of martial arts are mission, measurement, assessment, calculation, momentum, and victory. The mission gives rise to measurements, measurements gives rise to assessments, assessments give rise to calculations, calculations give rise to momentum, momentum give rise to victories.

GOVERNING FORCES

•1. In epic battles, confrontation is made directly, and yet victory is often achieved by surprise.

•2. Therefore those skilled at the unorthodox are infinite as heaven and earth, inexhaustible as the Nile River. When they come to an end, they begin again, like the days, weeks, months, and years; they die and are reborn, like the three seasons.

•4. When the speed of a falcon is such that it can strike and kill, this is precision. So it is with skillful warriors---their force is quick, their precision is sharp. Their force is like loading a real weapon; their precision is like releasing the trigger.

•5. Disorder arises from order, cowardice arises from courage, and weakness arises from strength. Order and disorder are a matter of organization, courage and cowardice are a matter of momentum, and strength and weakness are a matter of formation.

•6. Therefore those who skillfully move opponents make formations that opponents are sure to follow, give what opponents are sure to take. They move opponents with the prospect of gain, waiting for them in ambush.

POSITIONING

•1. Those who are first on the battlefield and await the opponents are at ease; those who are last on the battlefield and head into battle get worn out.

•2. Therefore good warriors cause others to come to them, and do not go to others.

•3. What causes opponents to come of their own accord is the prospect of harm.

•4. So when opponents are at ease, it is possible to tire them. Then they are well fed, it is possible to starve them. When they are at rest, it is possible to move them.

•5. Appear where they cannot go, head for where they least expect you. To travel thousands of miles without fatigue, go over land were there are no opponents.

•6. To unfailingly take what you attack, attack where there is no defense. For unfailingly secure defense, defend where there is no attack.

•7. So in the case of those who are skilled in attack, their opponents do not know where to defend. In the case of those skilled in defense, their opponents do not know where to attack.

•8. 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.

•9. To advance irresistibly, push through their gaps. To retreat elusively, outsmart them.

•10. Therefore when you want to do battle, even if the opponent is deeply entrenched in a defensive position, he will be unable to avoid fighting if you attack where he will surely go to the rescue.

•11. When you do not want to do battle, even if you draw a line on the ground to hold, the opponent cannot fight with you because you set him off on the wrong track.

•12. Therefore when you induce others to construct a formation while you yourself are formless, then you are concentrated while the opponent is divided.

•13. When you are concentrated into one while the opponents is divided into 13, you are attacking at a concentration of 13 to one; so you greatly outnumber the opponent in that specific case.

•14. If you can strike few with many, you will thus minimize the number of those with whom you do battle.

•15. Your battleground is not to be known, for when it cannot be known, the enemy makes many guard outposts, and since multiple outposts are established, you only have to do battle with small squads.

•16. So when the front is prepared the rear is lacking, and when the rear is prepared the front is lacking. Preparedness on the left means lack on the right, preparedness on the right means lack on the left. Preparedness everywhere means lack everywhere. Spread the opponent out.

•17. The few are those on the defensive against others, the many are those who cause others to be on the defensive against themselves.

•19. Even if opponents are numerous, they can be made not to fight.

•20. So assess them to find out their plans, both the successful ones and the failures. Incite them to action in order to find out the patterns of their movement and rest.

•21. Induce them to adopt specific formations, in order to know the ground of death and life.

•22. Test them to find out where they are sufficient and where they are lacking.

•23. Therefore the consummation of forming a force is to arrive at formlessness. When you have no form, undercover espionage cannot find out anything, intelligence cannot form a strategy.

•24. Victory over multitudes by means of formation is unknowable to the multitudes. Everyone can know the form by which one is victorious, but no one should know the form by which one ensures victory.

•25. Therefore victory in war is not repetitious, but adapts its form endlessly.

•26. Martial formation is like water. The form of water is to avoid the high and go to the low, the form of a martial force is to avoid the full and attack the empty. The flow of water is determined by the earth, the form of victory is determined by the opponent.

•27. So a martial force has no constant formation, water has no constant shape. The ability to gain victory by changing and adapting according to the opponent is genius.

Lessons from "Art of War," by Sun Tzu

ASSESSMENTS