Sun Tzu Quotes about War

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.

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 every battle.

If you are strong, appear weak. But if you are weak, appear strong.

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

One need not destroy one's enemy. One need only destroy his willingness to engage.

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

Great results, can be achieved with small forces.

To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.

All wars are won or lost before they are ever fought.

Swift as the wind. Quiet as the forest. Conquer like the fire. Steady as the mountain

Opportunities multiply as they are seized.

A leader leads by example not by force.

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

The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

Sweat more during peace: bleed less during war

Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm

To ... not prepare is the greatest of crimes; to be prepared beforehand for any contingency is the greatest of virtues.

In all history, there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. Only one who knows the disastrous effects of a long war can realize the supreme importance of rapidity in bringing it to a close.

One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night.

The true objective of war is peace.

He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.

Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.

The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.