Maneuvering

Sun Tzu said: Normally, the principle of commanding a battle is that the general accepts the orders of the monarch, gathers the people to form an army, and marches to the battlefield to confront the enemy, these three are not as difficult as the army to fight each other.

When armies are fighting each other, the difficulty lies in making the enemy detour to achieve the short cut of our army;

as well as to make the enemy worry to achieve a favorable situation for our army.

Therefore, in order to make the enemy detour, it is necessary to tempt the enemy with benefits, and we set out after the enemy, but arrive before the enemy. This is the one who understands using the detour to make the short cut.

Rivalry between armies creates favorable conditions as well as dangers.

If one lead the whole army to fight for favorable conditions, one will not be able to arrive on time;

If one leave behind a part of one's army to fight for favorable conditions, equipment and supplies will be lost.

Therefore, when one roll up all armor, march urgently, day and night without rest, even if one have to walk several times more, one still have to move forward:

The march of a 100 miles to fight for favorable conditions resulted in: the generals of the armies would be captured by the enemy, and the able-bodied soldiers would arrive first, and the tired soldiers would arrive last, and only a tenth of the troops would be in place;

The march of a 50 miles to fight for favorable conditions resulted in: a setback for the former generals, and only half of their troops would be in place;

The march of 30 miles to fight for favorable conditions resulted in: only two-thirds of the troops would be in place.

Therefore, the army without armament will be subdued, the army without food supplies will be subdued, and the army without material reserves will be subdued.

Therefore, if one do not understand the plans of other nations, do not engage them lightly;

if one do not understand the terrain distribution of mountains, forests, dangers and swamps, do not march and fight;

if one do not use a local guide, one can't grasp and take advantage of the favorable terrain.

Therefore, in war, it is necessary to rely on camouflaging the size and strength of troops to find a foothold, rely on winning favorable conditions to act, and rely on dispersion and concentration to change the situation on the battlefield.

Therefore, when one’s army took action,

it is fast like a strong wind, it is slow like a vine spreading;

Siege and plunder the land are like ruthless fire, and garrison and defense are like unshakable mountains;

The military situation is concealed like a dark cloud; The army is dispatched like a thunderbolt.

If the enemy wants to plunder the towns, they will scatter thier forces.

If the enemy expands his territory, they will scatters the favorable conditions.

Our army should act according to the actual situation.

The generals who are the first to understand "using the detour to make the short cut" can win the victory, and this is the principle of armies fight for.

In ancient book "Military Management", it is said: "On the battlefield, when one speak to command, others can't hear, so one must set up gongs and drums;

when one use gestures to command, others can't see clearly or, so one must set up banners and flags.

The gongs, drums, banners and flags are equipments used to unify the audio-visual of soldiers.

The actions of the army are uniform and neat, so that the brave soldier will not rush alone, and the timid soldier will not retreat alone. This is how to command a large army to fight.

Therefore, most of the night operations are commanded by gongs and drums, and the command of the banners and flags are mostly used in daytime operations.

In this way, it is adapted to the audio-visual of the soldiers.

For the enemy's army, one can demoralize it;

For the enemy's general, one can shake his determination and make him lose his fighting spirit.

Therefore, when the formation of enemy's army is just formed, the morale will be strong;

If one don't engage in war for half a day, the morale of enemy's army will be low;

If one don't engage in war all day long, people's minds of enemy's army will want to go home, and their spirits will decline.

One who is good at commanding his troops in battle will avoid when the enemy's spirit is strong, and attack when the enemy's morale is exhausted and wants to retreat. That's how morale is handled.

Use uniform and neat to deal with chaotic, use calm and steady to deal with uproar and restlessness.

That's how determination is handled.

Use the near march to deal with the far march, use comfort to deal with fatigue, and use hunger to deal with full food.

That's how endurance is handled.

Don't go against an army with a neat banner and a unified army, and don't attack an army with a clean lineup and full morale, this is the way to deal with changes on the battlefield.

So, the principles of commanding war are:

When the enemy who occupies the high ground, do not attack towards them;

When the enemy who leans against the hills, do not go uphill to fight them;

When the enemy who pretends to be a defeated, don't follow or pursuit them;

When the enemy who are elite troops, do not attack;

When the enemy who are bait soldiers, don't be gluttonous;

When the enemy who are the troops retreating to the mainland, do not intercept them;

To surround the enemy, it is necessary to reserve a gap;

The fugitive enemy who is unable to fight back, do not push too much.

These are the basic principles of commanding war.