Chapter 6: Weak Points and Strong

Sun Tzu said:

Those who arrive first at the battlefield and await the enemy are rested; those who arrive late and rush to fight are weary.

Skilled warriors bring the enemy to them, not the reverse.
To make the enemy come willingly, offer benefits. To prevent their advance, create obstacles.

When the enemy is rested, tire them; when sated, starve them; when secure, unsettle them.

Strike where they must rush to defend; advance where they least expect.

March a thousand miles without fatigue by traveling through uncontested land.

Attack and conquer by targeting undefended positions.
Defend impregnably by guarding what the enemy does not attack.

Skilled attackers leave the enemy unsure of what to defend; skilled defenders leave the enemy unsure of what to attack.

Subtle and invisible, they leave no trace; mysterious and silent, they control the enemy’s fate.

Advance irresistibly by striking their weaknesses; retreat uncatchably by moving too swiftly.

To force battle, attack what the enemy must save. To avoid battle, defend in a way that prevents engagement.
Shape the enemy while remaining formless, concentrating your forces while dividing theirs.

When concentrated, you are one; when the enemy is divided into ten, you strike one with ten, outnumbering them.

Fight where the enemy least expects, preparing many defenses while engaging few.

Defending the front weakens the rear; defending the rear weakens the front; defending the left weakens the right; defending everywhere leaves all weak.

Weakness comes from preparing against others; strength from forcing others to prepare against you.

Knowing the place and time of battle allows a thousand-mile march to engage.

Without this knowledge, left cannot aid right, front cannot aid rear, and coordination fails over miles or even leagues.
In my estimation, even a numerous army like Yue’s gains no advantage without this knowledge.

Thus, victory can be shaped. Even a numerous enemy can be rendered unable to fight.

Analyze to know their plans’ strengths and weaknesses.
Probe to know their movements and positions.

Shape to know their terrain’s life-or-death points.

Test to know their strengths and deficiencies.

The ultimate in shaping an army is formlessness.

Formless, even the deepest spies cannot penetrate, and the wisest cannot scheme against it.

Victory shaped to the masses’ perception is unknowable to them. All see the form of victory, but none know how it was shaped.

Victories are not repeated; they adapt infinitely to circumstances.

Military disposition is like water: water avoids heights and flows downward; armies avoid strengths and strike weaknesses. Water flows according to terrain; armies win according to the enemy.

Armies have no fixed momentum, just as water has no fixed form. Adapting to the enemy for victory is divine.

The five elements have no constant dominance, the seasons no fixed order, days vary in length, and the moon waxes and wanes.