Sun Tzu Enemy Quotations

The good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.

Defeat the enemies strategy.

If the enemy leaves a door open, you must rush in.

If an enemy has alliances, the problem is grave and the enemy's position strong; if he has no alliances, the problem is minor and the enemy's position weak.

The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they will become double agents and available for our service. It is through the information brought by the double agent that we are able to acquire and employ local and inward spies. It is owing to his information, again, that we can cause the doomed spy to carry false tidings to the enemy.

Should one ask: 'how do I cope with a well-ordered enemy host about to attack me?' I reply: seize something he cherishes and he will conform to your desires.

What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

Do not press an enemy at bay.

Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with your enemy.

Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and you know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you now Heaven and you know Earth, you may make your victory complete.

From a position of this sort, if the enemy is unprepared, you may sally forth and defeat him. But if the enemy is prepared for your coming, and you fail to defeat him, then, return being impossible, disaster will ensue.

Should the enemy forestall you in occupying a pass, do not go after him if the pass is fully garrisoned, but only if it is weakly garrisoned.

First learn to become invincible, then wait for your enemy's moment of vulnerability.

A wise general makes a point of foraging of the enemy.

If the enemy has occupied them before you, do not follow him, but retreat and try to entice him away.

To persuade your enemy to (retreat) before the fight is to defeat them even before the battle begins. An enemy made ally is no longer an enemy.

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

For them to perceive the advantage of defeating the enemy, they must also have their rewards.

Keep your fiends close and your enemies even closer.

Know thy enemy and know thy self and you will win a hundred battles.

Those who would wage war, should first eliminate all domestic enemies before proceeding to attack the external foe.

Therefore, to estimate the enemy situation and to calculate distances and the degree of difficulty of the terrain so as to control victory are virtues of the superior general.

It is sufficient to estimate the enemy situation correctly and to concentrate your strength to capture him. There is no more to it than this. He who lacks foresight and underestimates his enemy will surely be captured by him.

When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal.

To a surrounded enemy, you must leave a way of escape.

If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.

Fierce language and pretentious advances are signs that the enemy is about to retreat.

When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.

Do not press an enemy at bay. Prince Fu Ch'ai said: "Wild beasts, when at bay, fight desperately. How much more is this true of men! If they know there is no alternative, they will fight to the death.

Keep their friends close and their enemies closer.

If your enemy is superior, evade him

Without local guides, your enemy employs the land as a weapon against you.

If I am able to determine the enemy's dispositions while at the same time I conceal my own, then I can concentrate and he must divide.

Thus those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle .... They conquer by strategy.

So the principles of warfare are: Do not depend on the enemy not coming, but depend on our readiness against him. Do not depend on the enemy not attacking, but depend on our position that cannot be attacked.

It is more important to outhink your enemy, than to outfight him

To conquer the enemy without resorting to war is the most desirable. The highest form of generalship is to conquer the enemy by strategy.

And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.

All warfare is based on deception. There is no place where espionage is not used. Offer the enemy bait to lure him.

If the enemy opens the door, you must race in.

Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.

It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, be able to evade them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.

Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.

The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first instance, from the converted spy. Hence it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality.

Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.

To Subdue an enemy without fighting is the greatest of skills

Know thy self, know thy enemy.

Against those skilled in attack, an enemy does not know where to defend; against the experts in defense, the enemy does not know where to attack.

If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near.

All warfare is based on deception. If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight and if not: split and re-evaluate.

Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.

However desperate the situation and circumstances, don't despair. When there is everything to fear, be unafraid. When surrounded by dangers, fear none of them. When without resources, depend on resourcefulness. When surprised, take the enemy by surprise.

With regard to narrow passes, if you can occupy them first, let them be strongly garrisoned and await the advent of the enemy.

If you follow the enemy's shifts and changes, you can always find a way to win.

Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.

Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; march swiftly to places where you are not expected.

Of old the expert in battle would first make himself invincible and then wait for his enemy to expose his vulnerability.

To plan secretly, to move surreptitiously, to foil the enemy's intentions and balk his schemes, so that at last the day may be won without shedding a drop of blood.

To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.

If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.

If I wish to engage, then the enemy, for all his high ramparts and deep moat, cannot avoid engagement; I attack that which he is obliged to rescue.

Attack the enemy's strategy.

Pretend to be weak, so your enemy may grow arrogant.

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

Should the enemy strengthen his van, he will weaken his rear; should he strengthen his rear, he will weaken his van; should he strengthen his left, he will weaken his right; should he strengthen his right, he will weaken his left. If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.

If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.

He who knows his enemy and himself well will not be defeated easily.

The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

Supreme excellence in warfare consists of subduing the enemy without fighting.