On the March

Even though Sun Tzu wrote "The Art of War" when wars were still fought by sending enormous forces clashing against each other in an open field, his principles still apply to modern combat in an urban environment. We still much prefer fighting from the high ground to fighting from low ground and usually prefer daytime to night. However, due to a technological advantage, conducting operations at night can oftentimes offer a distinct advantage. He also discusses how paying attention to the terrain and the environment can tell you a lot about what is waiting for you.

Sun Tzu also classifies terrain in a very similar way to our Unrestricted, Restricted, and Severely Restricted. He gives examples of what the leaders should do when they encounter each type of terrain. He then goes on to discuss the different levels of readiness at which an army can be. For example, they can have weak officers and strong soldiers, strong officers but weak soldiers, insubordinate officers, etc. Lastly, he stresses the importance of knowing the status and readiness of both your soldiers and the enemy before conducting an operation

The chapter entitled "Nine Terrains" is pretty similar in content to the first part of the "Terrain" chapter. It continues to discuss how knowledge of the terrain is crucial and a leader's actions are dependent on the terrain.

"Weak Points and Strong" through "Variations in Tactics"

In the chapter "Weak Points and Strong," Sun Tzu discusses the idea of selecting your targets carefully in an engagement. You should attack the enemy where he can not adequately defend. He tells us to "probe them to know where they have an excess, where a deficiency." This is similar to the use of a leader's recon or some other form of reconnaissance to determine the best place and time for an operation before the operation even takes place.

"Maneuvering" is defined as a movement or series of movement requiring great skill or care. Sun Tzu discusses the best ways to maneuver troops and avoid exhaustion or putting yourself at a disadvantage. He stresses the importance of having plenty of knowledge of the plan and the terrain prior to movement (whenever possible). "Someone unfamiliar with the mountains and forests... cannot advance the army." He also tells us not to move too fast. If all of your men are exhausted by the time they reach the battlefield, they are not going to be very combat effective.

"Variations in Tactics" talks about how tactics change on a situational basis. Sun Tzu says "... the wise must contemplate the intermixture of gain and loss. If they can discern advantage, their efforts can be trusted..." When leading troops, we need to pick our battles, their are times when attacking an opposing force is a bad idea and will result in nothing more than unnecessary casualties. We need to make good decisions as leaders in order to successfully complete missions and keep our soldiers alive.