Sun Tzu The Art Of War 7/10

I. LAYING PLANS

1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.

2. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

3. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

4. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.

5,6. The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.

7. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

8. Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.

9. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness.

10. By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.

11. These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.

12. Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:--

13. (1) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law? (2) Which of the two generals has most ability? (3) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth? (4) On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? (5) Which army is stronger? (6) On which side are officers and men more highly trained? (7) In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

14. By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.

15. The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:--let such a one be dismissed!

16. While heading the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules.

17. According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans.

18. All warfare is based on deception.

19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

20. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

21. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.

22. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

23. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.

24. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

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

26. Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.

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[LadyGenieOfTheLamp]

the goal for the war in germany in ww2 was revenge on the jews

[rustyschackleford100]

Don't forget the assassination attempt on Hitler's life with the briefcase bomb. After that he was extra paranoid (his doctor already was poisoning him with cocaine eyedrops and amphetamine shots), and never trusted his commanders ever again.

[PatrickEngSU]

You guys don't know what you're talking about. Hilter adopted Manstein's plan for the invasion of france. He was so successful in poland and especially france that he thought his intuition was superior to generalship. If he hadn't had such early success he might have let his generals make decisions- at least until that assassination attempt. Hilter did a great job until Russia. He didn't attack at Dunkirk becasue he thought preserving the brittish army would lead to a peace agreement

[15GamingGuy]

@MrLantean Well, he should have left room for error. Put the Panzer devisions midway between the suspect landing points to be moved upon further intelligence gathered.

[MrLantean]

@15GamingGuy Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had a hunch that Normandy might be the landing place for Allied forces, not Calais as Germain High Command expected. That's why the Atlantic Wall was built as a precaution. He also proposed that the German Panzer Tank Divisions should be stationed as close to the coast as possible. However Hitler still believed that Calais was the main Allied objective and the Panzers were stationed there. The Germans were tricked into believing that ruse.

[MrLantean]

@Iraqendwar I doubt that Hitler will be able to direct his armed forces effectively even if he has computers to see what's going on. He kept interfering with his commanders' decisions and demanded that his orders were followed. He did not trust his commanders completely and were always make sure he had full authority over his commanders. His bad decision making had allowed the Allies to gain advantages over the German armed forces.

[Iraqendwar]

@MrLantean Haha. Would you say Hitler is an idiot then? I would. Well I guess back in his day, he didn't have the luxury of computers to see what's going on. Thanks for the brief history lesson though =)

[MrLantean]

@Iraqendwar Hitler was trying to direct the German armed forces from his mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden. He was not on a battlefield where commander could access the situation and came up with best battle plan. His bad decisions had cost the German armed great losess. For example, at Stalingrad, Paulus of the German 6th Army recommended that they should break out before completely encircled by the Soviet troops but Hitler ordered him to hold out as German troops would break in instead.

[15GamingGuy]

Alright Mister Hitler. We know an attack is coming within the month on the French coasts Calais or Normandy and our intelligence suggests that the attack on Normandy is a decoy. Shall we keep our tanks on the Calais beach? Shall we keep the tanks along the northern French coast in case they attack somewhere else?

NO! PUT THEM IN HOLLAND!

[Iraqendwar]

"And being Hitler, he made all the wrong decisions." Lawl.....that sucks ;)