The Art Of War Book Summary | By Sun Tzu

The Art of War by Sun Tzu was published 250 years ago. This classic work on military strategy is influenced by Chinese military doctrine and warfare. Since then, the Sun Tzu philosophy has been applied at all military levels. Since then, many people have modified these principles to apply to business, politics, and daily life.

The planning phase is the most important element of a successful strategy. You must weigh your advantages and disadvantages against those of your adversary. Only then will you be able to assess if it would be best to assault, remain stationary, or leave.

Before a conflict even breaks out, psychologically destroying the opposition and occupying them peacefully without resorting to violence is the strongest offensive strategy for success.

Approximate birth year of Sun Tzu is 540 BC. We don’t know a lot about Sun Tzu; some even wonder if he was a single person or a collection of illustrious guys. Even Nevertheless, the most typical account of his life states that he was born Sun Wu and earned the moniker Sun Tzu (Master Sun) as a result of his accomplishments as a general. Even if Sun Tzu was not a single individual, whoever composed this book lived during a period of military victory for various regions of China.

You need not be afraid of the outcome of a hundred wars if you understand your adversary and yourself. For every triumph you achieve, you will also experience a setback if you are aware of yourself but not your adversary. You will lose every war if you don’t know your enemy or yourself.

Table of Contents

Laying Plans

Sun Tzu thought it was crucial that war be carefully studied. Studying war was crucial because it may determine whether a nation would survive or perish. This chapter serves as an introduction to what the remaining chapters of this book will cover. He lists the moral effect, weather, terrain, command, and doctrine as the five key elements that make up a war. Later in the book, each of these is discussed in more detail. These five elements work together to assist you in creating a pre-conflict action plan. In other words, these elements are essential to your plan.

The first factor has to do with how confident the followers are in their leader. The people’s willingness to support the pressures of war is ultimately determined by their level of confidence. Additionally, this willingness is closely related to how likely it is for a conflict to succeed.

Terrain and Weather
Leaders must take into account these two criteria when deciding how easy or difficult it will be for his troops to march over the terrain. In order to better comprehend the state in which your forces will arrive before attacking the enemy, it is your responsibility as the leader to create this estimation.

Instruction and Command
The evaluation of command by a leader is related to his personal traits. How capable he is, namely, to command the troops and have faith that his commands would be faithfully carried out. A leader must project authority by exemplifying fundamental values like discernment, truthfulness, humanism, courage, and strictness. Finally, a leader’s doctrine has to do with how they are organized, in charge, assign the proper ranks, oversee the flow of supplies, and supply the army with the things they need.

You have a better chance of winning a battle if you can maximize these five elements than a far larger force would without them. This pre-engagement planning is essential as a result.

Also flipping the script on strategy is Sun Tzu. He advises finding out as much as you can about your opponent while keeping them unaware of your genuine intentions. It will be more difficult for them to win the war if they can’t assess your strengths and weaknesses.

Declaring War

Speed and decisiveness must be used when an army has been launched into battle. The most crucial lesson learned from this chapter is the value of responding quickly, despite the fact that it is packed with extremely detailed information, such as the amount of horses and soldiers to bring into battle. Furthermore, success cannot be attained without thorough planning and organisation beforehand. Understanding your soldiers and resources can help you avoid ever needing to send for further supplies. By doing this, you avoid making any changes to your carefully thought-out strategy. The most effective commanders are aware of each soldier’s physical capabilities and mental state. Generals must make sure that a number of things are taken into account before engaging in combat.

Without swift determined action, defeat is inevitable:

Hunger \ Thirst
attachment to amassed plunder
disgusted by an injustice

Leaders must not only make sure that these variables have been taken into account, but also keep in mind that while going to war, both lives and money are on the line. As a result, you should never act carelessly. Recklessness will have a psychological effect on your army, leaving them worn out and with depleting supplies. In times of battle, make the most of your resources. Don’t burn food you can eat, don’t damage resources you can use, and don’t kill soldiers who could inform you or join your ranks.

Attack by Strategy

The level of destruction you inflicted does not determine your level of victory. The objective of war is to subjugate and engulf the adversary. Only with meticulous planning is it possible to accomplish this kind of victory.

In order of preference, Sun Tzu offers the following set of strategies that can be used in the conflict:

Attack the enemy’s plans or strategies.
Keep the enemy’s allies separate from it.
Defeat the army

Only launch an assault on the opposing army if there is no other option. Sun Tzu emphasises the significance of restraint in a siege situation as a result. He uses the emperor T’ai Wu as an example to illustrate his idea. T’ai Wu oversaw 100,000 soldiers.

Emperor T’ai Wu requested some wine from Sung General Tsang Chih in accordance with tradition. He was instead given a pot of urine. T’ai Wu was so enraged that he assaulted the city right away. Over half of T’ai Wu’s troops had perished after 30 days. Even when they are experiencing intense emotions, the leader’s job is to maintain composure. Both the leader’s emotions and those of their followers should be under control.

Sun Tzu also lists five situations where success can be forecast:

Assume the leader is as knowledgeable about himself and his troops as he is about those of the adversary. The leader will be able to decide whether to move forward and when to retreat thanks to this knowledge.
if the commander is adept at using both small and large armies effectively.
if the leader can unite the ranks around a common goal.
When the opposition may find it difficult to be patient, the leader might display patience.
If the leader is aware that his sovereignty should never be used to circumvent his own decisions.

Additional advice from Sun Tzu:

If your forces far exceed the enemy’s forces, surround them.
Attacking your adversary makes sense if you have five times as many soldiers as they do. If you have twice as much, divide the opposition into smaller groups and engage them in combat.
If your adversary outnumbers you, you should take cover. Additionally, you should flee if they outnumber you by a sufficient margin.
You need a general who can act independently and without interference from those in positions of authority.

Tactical Dispositions

Defense and offensive are clearly distinguished by Sun Tzu. The key distinction is between what the general can control (such as himself and his men) and what is out of his control (the opposing general and his troops).

You must manage the egos in your organization as the leader. Let’s say your team has defeated a force that is obviously weaker with ease and predictability. Then you must constantly remind yourself that this success is not an indication of talent. Furthermore, the true causes of a triumph are not always obvious. For instance, some wins are secret realities that become apparent only after a war breaks out.

The shrewd commander will be well-prepared to seize any opportunities for victory that present themselves. Nothing is taken for granted by them.

Sun Tzu introduced Taoism as a guide for assembling one’s forces into a group that can behave like an unstoppable force of nature. He also discussed several aspects of war:

evaluation of space
quantification estimation
Calculations
Comparisons
Prospects for Success

Employing Energy

You should strive to organise your troops into well-functioning units as a leader. You may effectively command your various forces to function as a single army. This cohesion may be the key to defeating a less tightly controlled foe.

A pyramid of command is something Sun Tzu advises using. Starting from the bottom up, where there should be individual soldiers, you assemble your team. Then, create increasingly larger units to advance through each level. a pair, a trio, a squad, section, a platoon, a company, a battalion, a regiment, a group, a brigade, and the army are some examples. You should include a commander to submit to superiors and manage inferiors at every level.

According to Sun Tzu, controlling an amazing force can be accomplished by understanding that while its parts are few—much like the well-organized and systematic organisation of an army—the potential combinations are virtually endless. Sun Tzu outlines how you may build boundless configurations with just five music notes or five main colours to give an example of these endless variants.

An advantage can be obtained if the adversary can be persuaded or coaxed into making a dangerous attack. By doing this, a capable general prevents his adversary from controlling his movements.

Weak and strong points

Sun Tzu said that effective commanders might set up circumstances where the opponent is compelled to engage. They achieve this by seducing the leaders of the opposition with the promise of quick success. Overconfidently, this will then force the adversary into a position from which they are unable to escape. Furthermore, they’ll probably be unable to effectively defend themselves.

Leave open what appears to be an escape route in order to lure the opposition into a trap. In actuality, though, you will have been in charge of this path as a means of seizing supplies and detainees.

The advantage of being the first army on the battlefield is that they have had time to relax and thoroughly evaluate the best positions for their battalions.

When a general keeps his opponent in the dark about his plans, the adversary may try to fortify one sector at the expense of leaving another weak. Enemy fortification attempts in every direction are one way to ensure victory. By doing this, the enemy’s resources will be dispersed throughout their positions, making it impossible for any one of them to survive an assault.

Maneuvering

When a general conceals the specifics of his strategy from his adversary, the latter may try to fortify one region at the expense of leaving another weak. Making the opposition try to fortify in all directions is one approach to ensure victory. As a result, the enemy’s resources would be dispersed so thinly that no one location would be able to fend off an assault.

In one of his stories, Sun Tzu is tasked with raising a concubine army. It was apparent why this seemed unattainable. After giving an order, they would giggle and continue. He then put two of the King’s preferred concubines to death to restore order. Everyone now paid close attention and followed instructions properly. This tale demonstrates how one of a leader’s most difficult jobs might be getting his army to move. Therefore, it could be necessary to make some challenging choices to facilitate movement.

Sun Tzu also offers detailed instructions on how to move. Your army should only split up when it is absolutely necessary, to start. It is preferable to make sure that every soldier arrives at the battleground at the same time and in good condition. Additionally, you want your army to arrive ahead of the other force. This cohesion and promptness, according to Sun Tzu, is a favorable posture.

Various Strategies

Sometimes circumstances necessitate a change in strategy and direction. Some cities are safe for you to avoid attacking. There are paths you ought to avoid taking.

You can know from your planning which decisions will be disastrous. There are five main ways a general can make a mistake when choosing tactics, and they are all decisions made by the general.

Being hasty and careless results in disaster.
Fear and cowardice eventually result in captivity.
Anyone with a quick temper can be provoked and enticed.
One who holds themselves to a high standard of honour may be vulnerable and sensitive to shame.
An overly concerned general may second-guess his choices and worry about the troops rather than concentrating solely on victory.
Every time an army is routed or a leader is killed, according to Sun Tzu, one of these five flaws is to blame.

The Army in Motion

When facing an invading adversary, Sun Tzu emphasises the value of orderly marches and unit placement. When describing the optimal approaches, he also considers the terrain and weather. For instance, he advises using rivers, mountains, salt marshes, and level ground in addition to the placements of sunlight in relation to the time of day. Sun Tzu suggests this based on a historical instance from his time. Four kings had been subjugated by the Yellow Emperor because he was willing to exploit particular encampments.

Sun Tzu also advises making use of unfavorable weather or terrain. Consider a scenario where there are multiple rivers in front of you and it is raining.

Differentiating Terrain Types

Sun Tzu offers advice to leaders on how to understand their terrain and the advantages of fighting on various terrains.

Terrain that is simple for anybody to navigate is said to be accessible.
Assume you can take hold of a high location before your opponent shows up, and that you have enough supplies to last. You are in a highly advantageous position in that scenario. You should retreat and make the opponent leave these advantages if they want to continue it if they have the high ground.
Ground entangling – Simple to advance and secure fresh land. It will be challenging to turn around or retreat, though. Before proceeding in this land, be sure your adversary is exposed.

Deadlock: Neither side may be said to have an advantage. Sun Tzu advises retreating in this situation and forcing the adversary to advance into this territory. Then, you’ll be in a better position to attack.
Enclosed – A constrained path with few choices. You can block it or ambush it if you get at this area first. If the enemy has such a space, you should only attack if you are certain that they are ineffectively defending it.
Additionally, the risks posed by a general’s weakness or hesitation have an equal impact on the readiness of the troops to fight as the terrain on which a war is fought. All officers and subcommanders in relation to the troops they command are subject to this.

The Attack by Fire

Sun Tzu discusses a number of combat weapons. Fire, on the other hand, is one of the most potent weapons. Five strategies for using fire in battle are outlined by him:

burning hostile combatants
Destroying static materials
Destroying the supplies they have on the way
Disposing of their ammunition and weapons
sabotaging communication channels and producing confusion

These techniques are dependent on humidity, wind speed and direction, and meteorological conditions. They suggest that every piece of equipment needed for this kind of attack be properly planned out and set up well in advance so that modifications can be made to account for changing conditions.

For instance, to profit from a successful fire attack, make a physical attack right away. Attack while the fire is at its most intense. Don’t hold off till the fire is out. When lighting a fire, make sure it is upwind and keep in mind that nighttime fires will probably burn out more quickly than daytime ones.

Utilizing Spies

Agents who are “native” to the enemy are individuals who were born there, whereas “inside” agents are those who were already embedded with the enemy force. Anyone harbouring resentment may be open to flattery, generous bribery, or persuasion by an emotional or logical appeal when dealing with these two types of agents. Such agents are capable of conveying important information.

The enemy may send “doubled” agents, or spies who are bribed and then exploited to provide false information to the opponent. The type of enticement that a twofold agent will likely be vulnerable to can be predicted by having a thorough understanding of the type of person he is. On the other hand, “expendable” agents are individuals entrusted with feeding the enemy intentionally incorrect information that has been leaked.

Such agents are useless since, if discovered in the scheme, they will be executed. On the other hand, “living” agents are those who deliver intelligence to the general alone. The utilisation of this knowledge can provide one an advantage over the opposition.

According to Sun Tzu, these intelligence gatherers ought to be the best compensated and treated because their knowledge is essential to achieving victory, particularly a bloodless one. A general bases every decision on this intelligence.

The Art Of War Book Review

The Art of War is a Chinese military treatise written by Sun Tzu in the 6th century BCE. It is one of the most influential works on military strategy and tactics and has been widely read by military leaders and strategic thinkers throughout history. The book is comprised of 13 chapters, each of which covers a different aspect of warfare, such as tactics, strategy, planning, and leadership. The Art of War is known for its concise and direct language, as well as its practical insights into the nature of war and the principles of successful military leadership. Despite its ancient origins, the ideas and concepts presented in The Art of War are still widely studied and applied today in both military and business contexts.

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