Essay About Supreme Excellence And Enemys Country

Attack by Stratagem
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Attack by Stratagem.
1. Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing
of all is to take the enemys country whole and intact; to
shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to
recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment,
a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.
2. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not
supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking
the enemys resistance without fighting.
3. Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the
enemys plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the
enemys forces; the next in order is to attack the enemys army
in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled
cities.
4. The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly
be avoided. The preparation of mantlets, movable shelters,
and various implements of war, will take up three whole
months; and the piling up of mounds over against the walls
will take three months more.
5. The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch
his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that
one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains
untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege.
6. Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemys troops
without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying
siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy
operations in the field.
7. With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of
the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will
be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem.
8. It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemys
one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as
numerous,