The Art of War: The Liveblog

I'm guessing that if you must leave these cities behind, at least smash them to pieces first. It's by no means a perfect answer, but it's good enough.

Can't be... that requires laying siege to them, which Sun Tzu is opposed to.

I guess you are supposed to plan your invasion away from any walled cities, so that none of them are near your supply lines when you leave to move forward.

I do admit my idea was on shaky ground. Your thoughts are probably correct.

If you must march through a heavily fortified area, its time to put Sun Tzu's "attack what is dear to them so they have to march out and fight" approach into practice. Attack something they absolutely have to defend. It could be the source of the countries irrigation, which is required for future harvest, or a province that is treasured by the ruler or is hard to defend but strategically required for some resource. Make them leave their cities and come out to face you.

18. If you have to deal with someone who's aggressive and organized, kidnap their sister.

19. Be faster than the bad guys. I remember something about this on a History Channel special on the sinking of the Bismark. They were talking about how it was the philosophy of some important person or other that if your ships were faster than the other guys then it meant you were in control of when and where the battle took place, and if your guns were longer range then it didn't matter one bit if the bad guys had three times your firepower.

20. Huh, apparently, the further into enemy territory you go, the more solidarity you have in your troops and the enemies will have a harder time defending against you. I guess that sort of makes sense in a counter-intuitive way. I wonder if anybody's confirmed that theory since then.

21. Pillaging is good, burning optional.

22. Pay attention to how well your men are holding up, concentrate your strength, and don't stop moving.

23. Put your men into a position where it's either fight or die. If they can't run they'll perform loads better. But in exchange, you will be forever known as Commander Dick. The last sentence is my own addition.

24. Again, if your soldiers can't run, they'll fight better. And again, Sun Tzu is a dick.

25. When you're in a situation like that you can trust your men to perform. *cough*friendlyfire*cough*

26. Superstition has no place in the army.

27. If your soldiers are poor and have a short life expetancy it's not because they want it that way.

28. Your soldiers may be pussies when you tell them to fight, but once the battle actually starts they'll kick ass.

Sun Tzu was a douche, but he knew how to fight a war.

If you're already a douche, a war is the worst time to stop being one generally.

True...

29. The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch Ung 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 middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both.

Am I a bad person when my first thought is that I really want to see one of these snakes in action? It sounds like a cobra-scorpion hybrid.

30. It is possible to make your army work like that too, where the front and rear quickly respond to each other's needs.

32. The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach.

I really like that.

33. Apparently the key to using all the people in your army, including the pussies, is to make proper use of ground.

34. So a good general treats his entire army like it's one person. I get the feeling that this idea can be adapted to other things besides war.

36. Lie to your officers.

37. Be flexible and unpredictable. Change your plans, habits, and marches. That'll keep the enemy confused.

There's an interesting historical example of the making your courage equal. The ancient Greeks had a system in the phalanx where the soldiers who had seen a reasonable amount of service were placed at the front. Behind them were the rookies, who would be sheltered from the worst of it. However... the best, most experienced hoplites? They were placed at the rear. This was so that if the worst came to the worst, the experienced veterans would be able to literally push the rookies on! Therefore preventing a rout.

edited 1st Oct '10 12:27:58 PM by GameChainsaw

^^All solid advice, apart from perhaps lying to your officers.

^Interesting.