Tactical Strategies

The Art of War explores a wide range of both military and general strategy that when used in conjunction in the appropriate situation will virtually garentee victory. Some of the fundamentals that are mentioned such as phrases like "know the enemy and know yourself" may seem cliche today but this is likely where the phrases originated. The chapters "Tactical Dispositions" and "The Army on the March" explore the many different situations that an army can face and how to deal with them. Although there are many cases in which Tzu's complete meaning to lost due to the translation, his overall message is preserved. In "Tactical Dispositions," the author explains the different initial conditions that can be the condition of a force such as one with "insufficient strength" and one a with "superabundance of strength." The former should stand on a defensive while the latter should attack the enemy. Many of the strategies mentioned may seem to be blatantly obvious but in the heat of battle, even thte obvious can slip the mind and an uninformed commander might lead his army on futile attack that will result in a tremendous loss of life without any benefits. In the next chapter, Tzu explores the relative merits of a mobile army to a stationary army. He mostly relies on direct statements that follow strings of logic to appeal to the reader, who was likely a military strategist (original intended audience). After concluding that a mobile army is more beneficial in most situations, Tzu describes the "how" in moving through different geographic features such as rivers, mountains and valleys. to say that warfare has changed drastically in the past 5 millenia is an understatment but the geographic features of earth have remained the same and these strategies, for the most part, are still valid. Using the surroundings to your advantage is stil more beneficial than any advanced weaponry.. . Overall, in the first half of the book, Sun Tzu's language is refined (the work before the translation is likely more refined a sthe ancient Chinese devoted much energy in the art of rhetoric) and direct. He likely chose this approach because he must be easily understood in order for his readers to apply the knowledge that he has compiled. This is also likely the reasont that this book has gained its mass appeal throughout time.