There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.

Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If...

We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country — its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.

If, on the other hand, in the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune.

According to my assessment, even if you have many more troops than others, how can that help you to victory?

Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory.

Be where your enemy is not.

Danger has a bracing effect.

The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.

Hence that general is skilful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skilful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.

There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited.

There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.

Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.

You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.

When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is INSUBORDINATION.

Thus, what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge.

For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.

In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good.

Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity

The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach.

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Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.

The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities…It is best to win without fighting.

Bravery without forethought, causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull. Such an opponent, must not be encountered with brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain.

If you do not take opportunity to advance and reward the deserving, your subordinates will not carry out your commands, and disaster will ensue.

So long as victory can be attained, stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness.

You have to believe in yourself.

All war is deception.

It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.

Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.

If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place...

When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is COLLAPSE.

There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. There are not more than five primary colours, yet in combinationthey...

The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.

The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.

When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.

Quão lamentável é arriscar tudo em um único combate, negligenciando a estratégia vitoriosa, e fazer com que o destino de tuas armas dependa de uma única batalha!

Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay, is desperate ground.

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.

If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have a distaste for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, it is not because they are disinclined to longevity.

Therefore the victories of good warriors are not noted for cleverness or bravery. Therefore their victories in battle are not flukes. Their victories are not flukes because they position themselves where they will surely win,...

When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away…

Be stern in the council-chamber, [Show no weakness, and insist on your plans being ratified by the sovereign.] so that you may control the situation.

These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.

The art of giving orders is not to try to rectify the minor blunders and not to be swayed by petty doubts.

War is based on deception.

defeat the enemies strategy

One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful, subduing the other’s military without battle is the most skillful.

For should the enemy strengthen his van, he will weaken his rear; should he strengthen his rear, he will weaken his van; should he strengthen his left, he will weaken his right; should he strengthen...