Military Strategy Quotes

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result 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 succumb in ever" "Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across." "The expert in battle moves the enemy and is not moved by him." "If his forces are united, separate them." "It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it" "The purpose of war is to serve a political end but the true nature of war is to serve itself." "Knowing when and when not to engage is the key to winning battles." "The nation that secures control of the air will ultimately control the world" "In war, the moral is to the physical as three is to one." "The enemy gets a vote" "Russia does not negotiate with terrorists, it destroys them" "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." "There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general: 1) Recklessness, which leads to destruction; 2) cowardice, which leads to capture; 3) a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults; 4) a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame; 5) over-" "Those skilled at making the enemy move do so by creating a situation to which he must conform; they entice him with something he is certain to take, and with lures of ostensible profit they await him in strength." "If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak." "The worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation." "In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack--the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers." "The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang mountains. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its mi" "The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent." "There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare."