Искусство войны. Уровень 2 / The Art of War

8. The skillful soldier does not require a second payment, neither are his supply-cars loaded more than twice.

9. Bring war material with you from home, but also take it from your enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs.

10. Poverty of the State fund causes an army to be maintained by donations from a distance. Donations from a distance causes the people to become poor.

11. On the other hand, the nearness of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause the people’s resources to be drained away.

12. When their resources is drained away, the peasants will suffer from heavy fees.

13, 14. With this loss of resources and exhaustion of strength, the homes of the people will looted. The Government expenses for broken chariots, worn-out horses, new equipment for soldiers and heavy carts, will amount to four-tenths of its total income.

15. A wise general makes a point of taking provisions from his enemy. One cart of the enemy’s provisions is equivalent to twenty of one’s own.

16. Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be angered; that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.

17. Those who took first chariot in fighting must be rewarded when ten or more chariots are taken. Our own flags should be replaced for those of the enemy, and the chariots used with ours. The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept.

18. This is called, using the enemy to raise one’s own strength.

19. In war, then, let your great goal be victory, not long campaigns.

20. Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the master of the people’s fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in fear.

III. Attack by stratagem

1. Sun Tzŭ said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and undamaged; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is always better to capture an army and leaders entire than to destroy it.

2. To fight and win in all your battles is not the highest excellence; the highest excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.

3. Thus the highest form of generalship is to ruin the enemy’s plans; the next best is to prevent the reunion of the enemy’s forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy’s army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to lay siege to walled cities.

4. The rule is, not to lay siege to walled cities if you can possibly avoid it. It will take up at least six months, which is too long.

5. The general will become frustrated and unable to control himself. He will send his men to the assault and one-third of his men will be killed, while the town will still remain untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege.

6. Therefore the skillful leader master the enemy’s army without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without long operations in the field.

7. With his forces untouched he will take down the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete. This is the method of attacking by strategy.

8. It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy’s one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two.

9. If we are equal, we can offer battle; if slightly different in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can run away from him.

10. Through a small force may fight hard but in the end it must be captured by the larger force.

11. Now the general is the bulwark[4 - bulwark – оплот] of the State: if the bulwark is complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is defective, the State will be weak.

12. There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:-

13. (1)By commanding the army to go forward or to go back, not knowing the fact that it cannot obey. This is called limiting abilities of the army.

14. (2) By attempting to control an army in the same way as he controls a state, not knowing the conditions of an army. This causes chaos among the soldiers.

15. (3) By employing people who cannot adapt to the military circumstances as the officers of his army. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers.

16. The chaos and distrust among the soldiers brings anarchy into the army, and pushes victory away.

17. Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:

(1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.

(2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.

(3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.

(4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.

(5) He will win who has military ability and is not interfered with by the higher ruler.

Victory lies in the knowledge of these five points.

18. People say: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you will win in every of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will lose in every battle.

IV. Tactical dispositions

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

2. To save ourselves from defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

3. Thus the good fighter is able to save himself from defeat, but cannot make sure of defeating the enemy.

4. People say: One may know how to win without being able to do it.

5. The fighter saves himself from defeat by defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive.

6. Standing on the defensive indicates the lack of strength; attacking, an extra of strength.

7. The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret places of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete.

8. To see victory only when it is already obvious is not the height of excellence.

9. Neither is it the height of excellence if you fight and win and the whole Empire says, “Well done!”

10. To lift an autumn leaf is no sign of great strength; to see sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.

11. What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but wins with ease.

12. Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor credit for courage.