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VOLUME THREE
Terrain
Top. Part 66. Part 67. Part 68. Part 69. Part 70. Part 71. Part 72. Part 73. Part 74. Part 75. Part 76
Part 66
Sun Tzu said: There are different kinds of terrain in
nature. Some terrain is easily accessible, some is entrapping, some temporizing, some constricted, some precipitous and some distant.
What terrain is accessible? Ground that is easy for
both your troops and the enemy's to move across is called
accessible terrain. If you enter the accessible region, you
should first take high and sunny positions and keep your
supply routes unimpeded. This is convenient for you to
fight with the enemy.
Part 67
Ground that is entrapping is easy for you to enter, but
difficult to get out from. In such terrain you make a sally if
the enemy is unprepared, and you will defeat him. If the
enemy is fully prepared for your coming and you launch
an attack, you may not defeat him, and you will have a difficult time getting back. This is the disadvantage.
Part 68
Ground that is temporizing is disadvantageouS for
both the enemy and yourself to make a sally. In such terrain even if the enemy offers you an attractive bait, do not
make a sally, but pretend to retreat. When his troops are
halfway out in pursuit of you, you may strike them. This is
the advantage.
Part 69
If you occupy such a ground that is narrow or
constricted, you should block the narrow passes with
strong garrisons and wait for the enemy there. If the enemy has taken it first and blocked these narrow passes,
you should not make a sally. If the enemy has not blocked
them, you may pursue him.
Part 70
If you first occupy a precipitous ground you should
take a high position on the sunny side to wait for the
coming enemy. If the enemy races to control it, you should
lead your troops away, and do not make a sally.
Part 71
If the enemy stations his troops on a distant terrain
and his strength matches yours, it is certainly not easy to
provoke a battle. Therefore it is to your disadvantage to
sally.
These, then, are the ways to take advantage of six different types of terrain to fight. The generals have the
highest responsibility to inquire into them carefully.
Part 72
A general should know six situations that point to the
defeat of an army: when soldiers take flight, when they
have lax discipline, when the army is bogged down by
weak soldiers, when it collapses under insurgence, when it
is disorganized and when it is routed. None of these
situations can be attributed to natural disasters, they are
the faults of the generals, which are not inevitable.
Part 73
When conditions and military strengths are equal between you and your enemy, if your army has to fight one
ten times its size, the result is your flight. When soldiers
are brave and skilled, but officers are weak and incompetent, the whole army will be lax in discipline. When
officers are valiant and competent but soldiers are weak
and out of training, the army will be bogged down. When
some senior officers have grudges against the commander,
they are insubordinate. When they encounter the enemy,
they rush into battle without authorization. If at the same
time, the commander is ignorant of their abilities, the
army will collapse. When the commander is weak, incompetent and fails to command respect, when officers and
soldiers behave in an undisciplined way, lacking proper
training and clear instructions, when military formations
are disorderly, the army is in serious disorganization. If a
commander fails to estimate the enemy's strength, uses a
small force against a large army, fights the strong enemy
with his weak troops and at the same time does not select
crack units as vanguards, the result is rout.
All these six situations are the causes of defeat. It is
the most important responsibility of a commander to study
them with great care.
Part 74
Terrain is an important aid to a commander in military operations. Correctly estimating the enemy's situation, creating conditions to win, and carefully calculating
the dangerous grounds and distances are the basic duties
of a wise commander. He who knows these and can apply
them in war will definitely win; he who is ignorant of these
and cannot employ them in war will certainly lose.
If, in the light of the prevailing situation, fighting is
sure to result in victory, a wise commander will decide to
fight even if the sovereign tells him not to. Conversely, if
the situation points to defeat, he will decide not to fight
even if the sovereign orders him to.
Therefore, a great commander advances without
seeking personal fame and gain, retreats without shirking
responsibility, aims at protecting the safety of the people
and promotes the interests of the sovereign. Such a commander is a gem of the state.
Part 75
If a general cares for his men as he does infant$, they
will follow him through thick and thin. If he dearly loves
his men as he does his own beloved sons they will be
willing to die with him in battle. If a general, indulges his
men but does not know how to use them, loves them but
cannot command them, and when they violate laws and
regulations, he fails to punish and manage them, such
soldiers are like spoiled children and will be useless for
battle.
Part 76
A general, who only knows his troops' ability to
launch an attack but does not know the enemy's
invulnerability, will only have half the chance of victory.
He, who only knows the enemy may be defeated but does
not know his own troops' inability to fight, will also only
have half the chance of victory. If he knows that the enemy can be defeated and that his own troops have the
ability to strike, but does not know if the lay of the land
makes it unsuitable for battle, his chance of winning is also
merely half.
So a general who is skilled in military operations
moves his troops without losing his direction and purpose
and acts with unlimited resources and adaptations.
So it is said: Know both the enemy and yourself and
you will win victory with no danger; know both weather
and geographical conditions and you will be evervictorious.
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