Sun Tzu ' Pingfa' The Art of War '

INTRODUCTION

2,500 years ago a Chinese warrior and philosopher named Sun Tzu became a grand master of strategy in the war world until today. We know many military strategists around the world have used Sun Tzu’s philosophies to win wars and have made Sun Tzu on the Art of War a way for their military education. In this globalization world I thing not only in the war strategy peoples know about Sun Tzu, Those seeking to understand strategy in business, law, and life have also turned to Sun Tzu on the Art of War for the wisdom therein. For at the heart of Sun Tzu’s philosophies are strategies for effective and efficient conflict resolution useful to all who wish to gain advantages over their opposition.

Sun Tzu records his idea in writing on the bamboo strips of his time. Later, a powerful and universal principle comes to the world called the principle of winning whole, meaning winning with your resources and your objective intact. It represents the first of six universal principles described by Sun Tzu that, when used together as one, present the most powerful strategic method yet recorded in any profession for winning conflicts. In this short review journal I will try to give the summaries about the grates way of Sun Tzu to win the war with a good manner that was written with a big scopes in the journal.

Some Notes on The Sun Tzu

In this journal, we have an invitation to take a look the heart of Sun Tzu’s strategic method and how to apply it. This journal we will found about a martial art of the mind, a way to outthink and outfight those who oppose the needs and desires. Ideally, we will also gain an appreciation of the many ways opponents may direct force against us so we can position our self accordingly to preclude harm. 2,500 years ago, Sun Tzu’s recorded words on military strategy proved so insightful that the Chinese nobility preserved them intact, and they, and many others who have read them to this day, would put those ideas to work. The use of Sun Tzu’s philosophies in the West has a shorter and sketchier history. Some military historians suggest that Napoleon applied Sun Tzu’s philosophies in his military planning and even carried a copy of Sun Tzu’s books with him on his campaigns. He certainly could have had in his possession a French translation available in his time, and his methods of maneuver show a marked similarity to those described by Sun Tzu.

In Sun Tzu principle we can founds first step Winning Whole, its means win with your resources and your objective intact. Any other result means you have at least partly failed at your mission. When you fight, you fight for something of value, and should you destroy yourself or that something of value while fighting to obtain it, then you have lost your real purpose for fighting. Winning whole also ascribes to the Way of life because you succeed at resolving conflicts productively and without destroying yourself and the objective. Fighting in accord with the Way of life, when you cannot avoid fighting, allows you to win whole with your army and your objective intact because you take measures. To winning the whole war we must combine with attack by stratagem, its means In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to capture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them. I thing from the journal we can founds to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.

Thus the highest form of generalship is to baulk the enemy’s plans and the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy’s forces, in order is to attack the enemy’s army in the field and the worst policy of all is to besiege cities. With forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus without losing a man and the triumph will be complete. This is what Sun Tzu says about the method of attacking by stratagem. There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon the army: first By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army. Second by attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier’s minds, and the last By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers. This journal give as some big point, that we must know that there are five essentials for victory, first we will win when we knows when to fight and when not to fight, second  we will win when we knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. Third we will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. Fourth we will win when we prepared our self, waits to take the enemy unprepared and the last military capacity and are not interfered with the sovereign. Victory will be there if you knowledge of these five points. Sun Tzu says “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”.

The second Sun Tzu tell as about Waging War, Sun Tzu said “In the operations of war, where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand mail clad soldiers, with provisions enough to carry them a thousand, the expenditure at home and at the front, including entertainment of guests, small items such as glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots and armor, will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day. Such is the cost of raising an army of 100,000 men.

When we engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men’s weapons will grow dull and their patriotic will be damped. If we lay siege to a town, we will exhaust we strength. Now, when we weapons are dulled, our patriotic damped, our strength exhausted and our treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of our extremity.

Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue. We must know there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on. In this waging of war in order to kill the enemy sun Tzu says, our men must be roused to anger that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards. Therefore in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots have been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first. Our own flags should be substituted for those of the enemy, and the chariots mingled and used in conjunction with ours. The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept. This is called, using the conquered enemy to augment one’s own strength. In war, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people’s fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.

Third point for a grates victory we must know Tactical Dispositions, Sun Tzu said “The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy”. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy and Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength attacking was a superabundance of strength.

The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete. We can found in the way Sun Tzu tell as about respect of military method, we have, firstly, Measurement; secondly, Estimation of quantity; thirdly, Calculation; fourthly, Balancing of chances, fifthly, Victory. In war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

The fourth we must put into Terrain, because If we know the enemy and know our self,

Our victory will not stand in doubt; if we know Heaven and know Earth, we may be make our victory complete. Likes Sun Tzu said “the art of war recognizes nine varieties of ground: (1) Dispersive ground; (2) facile ground; (3) contentious ground; (4) open ground; (5) ground of intersecting highways; (6) serious ground; (7) difficult ground; (8) hemmed-in ground; (9) desperate ground”. Those who were called skillful leaders of old knew how to drive a wedge between the enemy’s front and rear; to prevent cooperation between his large and small divisions; to hinder the good troops from rescuing the bad, the officers from rallying their men. In these points Sun Tzu said to throw the soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve. Officers and men alike will put forth their uttermost strength and without waiting to be marshaled, the soldiers will be constantly on the alert, without waiting to be asked, they will do your will; without restrictions, they will be faithful; without giving orders, they can be trusted. If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have distaste for riches, if their lives are not very long; it is not because they are disinclined to longevity.

Fifth Attack by Fire we can said for accept the victory, there are five ways of attacking with fire. The first is to burn soldiers in their camp; the second is to burn stores; the third is to burn baggage trains; the fourth is to burn arsenals and magazines; the fifth is to hurl dropping fire amongst the enemy. In order to carry out an attack with fire, we must have means available. The material for raising fire should always be kept in readiness. In attacking with fire, one should be prepared to meet tree possible developments:  first when fire breaks out inside the enemy’s camp, respond at once with an attack from without, second If there is an outbreak of fire, but the enemy’s soldiers remain quiet, bide your time and do not attack and the last If it is possible to make an assault with fire from without, do not wait for it to break out within, but deliver your attack at a favorable moment.

The last universal strategy principle we must have to win the war we must conduct the used of space. Because Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy’s condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and emoluments, is the height of inhumanity. One who acts thus is no leader of men, no present help to sovereign, and no master of victory we can found. There are five classes of spies. When these five kinds of spy are all at work, none can discover the secret system. This is called “divine manipulation of the threads”. It is the sovereign’s most precious faculty. First local spies mean employing the services of the inhabitants of a district. Second inward spies, making use of officials of the enemy, thirds converted spies, getting hold of the enemy’s spies and using them for our own purposes and the fourth Having doomed spies, doing certain things openly for purposes of deception, and allowing our own spies to know of them and report them to the enemy the last Surviving spies, finally, are those who bring back news from the enemy’s camp. only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results. Spies are a most important element in war, because on them depends an army’s ability to move.

Sun Tzu Principles of Modern Warfare Today

In modern warfare we can say Sun Tzu The first principle, Win All Without Fighting: Achieving the Objective without Destroying It. Many city states, countries, and empires have been built by leaders who leveraged their nation's unique history, geography, and assets to control that state's environment and sphere of influence. Thus, these leaders were able to ensure their states' ability to survive, become stable, expand, dominate their neighbors, and ultimately prosper for hundreds of years. The Roman Empire grew from a small area surrounding Rome to extend from Britain to the Black Sea to Egypt to what would in the future be known as Gibraltar. It lasted over five hundred years. The Mongol Empire began with a single nomadic tribe in central Asia but grew to rule lands from China to India to Europe. And, of course, the sun never set on the British Empire for several centuries. The goal of all these empires has been, like a living organism, to first survive, then to prosper. Today that goal remains for all countries, first to survive as an entity, and then to become prosperous. “Your aim must be to take All under Heaven intact. Thus your troops are not worn out and your gains will be complete. This is the art of offensive strategy” ( Cimbala, Stephen J (1998), Coercive Military Strategy, Publisher: Texas A & M University Press). If the goal of a country is to survive and prosper, then we can see words above what is the goal of its best strategy.

The second principle is an important we can say, avoids strength, attack weakness. Although many generals prefer to attack each other head-on, this approach is very costly. As discussed earlier, wars of attrition can last for months and even years, leaving both sides in a weakened state. Instead, using the method of avoiding strength and attacking weakness maximizes one's gains while minimizing the use of the nation's resources. This, by definition, increases prosperity. Sun Tzu Say: “know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.” I thing he tell us To find and exploit an enemy's weakness requires a deep understanding of their leaders' strategy, capabilities, thoughts, and desires and a similar depth of knowledge of one's own strengths and weaknesses. It is critical to study the minds of the opposing generals and understand how they will react to one's moves. It is also important to understand the environment and terrain which will be contested.

The third strategy we can found in Sun Tzu is about Deception and Foreknowledge its means “Winning the Information War”. Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where has taken no precautions. To move with such speed does not mean to do things hastily. In reality, speed requires much preparation. Reducing the time it takes to make decisions, develop new weapons, implement strategies and respond to the enemy's moves is crucial. To think through and understand the opponent's reaction to one's possible moves also is essential. In the military context Information warfare embraces and overlaps with ‘command and control warfare’ at the tactical , operational, and strategic levels. However, the term is also used to refer to grand-strategic attack on, and defense of, the information infrastructure of a modern state, including stock markets, banking, telecommunications, air traffic control, and electric power.

Modern states, increasingly dependent on computers, are ever more vulnerable to such attacks, and an Information warfare attack could have the same paralyzing effect as a nuclear strike. Furthermore, it may be very difficult to find out who launched it. Information warfare might be waged by a nation state, a faction within a state, a terrorist or criminal group. Its unique nature is illustrated by the fact that in the UK defense against Information warfare is now the responsibility of the Cabinet Office, not the Ministry of Defense. Nowadays the term Information warfare is often used to refer to ‘cyber war’, from the Greek for a governor or controller. A neat definition, though probably too simple, is that Information war fare is war in a new element, cyberspace, in which electronic messages and ‘viruses’ are introduced into the enemy's computers, either to disable them or to plant false information, either through existing communication lines or, in future, by lasers or other electromagnetic transmissions. ‘Trojan horses’ may be introduced which nestle undetected in an enemy computer system until activated by the user. ‘Logic bombs’ may sabotage the software.

Thus Information war fare may take three forms about Deception and Foreknowledge we can say in physical attack such as bombing against an information system; a computer based attack on a physical objective, for example, disabling an aircraft's controls; or an information attack from one information system against another proper cyber war

Conclusion

To read Sun Tzu’s words, however, is not to immediately understand them. That would be equivalent to picking up a sword for the first time and expecting to fight well with it. But, from this journal I have to say the art of war (the six principle of war) is really a vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road to safety or to ruin like Sun Tzu says. Therefore, it is a subject that must be thoroughly studied.

(By: OK.M.Fajar Ikhsan, BA,MSc)