Sun Tzu

“If instructions are not clear and commands not

explicit, it is the commander’s fault. But when

they have been made clear, and are not carried

out in accordance with military law, it is a crime

on the part of officers” Sun Tzu, The Art of War by Samuel Griffith P. 84

ART OF WAR

5

“Your servant has already received your

appointment as commander and when commander

is at the head of the army, he needs not accept all

the sovereign orders”

Sun Tzu, The Art of War by Samuel Griffith P. 115

ART OF WAR

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9

King Ho - Lu

General Sun Tzu

Applicability in 21st

Century

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Alexander The Great

Tamerlane

Genghis KhanSun Tzu 11

ART OF WAR

Excellence

Self

StrategyExecution

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AIM

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To apprise the audience about Sun Tzu Art of War & its applicability in 21st Century

SCHEME OF PRESENTATION

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Background

Authorship of Art of War

Exposure of Sun Tzu Art of War

Salient of Art of War

Applicability in 21st Century

Asymmetric Warfare & Sun Tzu

Conclusion

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BACKGROUND

Sun Tzu lived around 500 BC

Sun Tzu - “Master Sun”

Born in state of Chi, China

Chi

Military doctrine in 510 BC

Worked for King Ho-LuKing Ho - Lu

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BACKGROUND

South China Sea

YellowSea

China divided in small states

Warring States

Ch’i & Wu most prominent

Ch’i

Wu

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BACKGROUND

“Bing-Fa” – “Art of War”

More than 2500 years

13 Chapters

Followed by great leaders

Reference book

AUTHORSHIP OF ART OF WAR

Analysis of classical period, era extending from 551 to 249 BC

Thirteen chapters were not composed around 500 BC, but belong to later stage

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100,000 armoured troops used in relation to problems of war finances, supply & replenishment

Armies of this size unknown in China before 500 BC

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Strategic & tactical doctrine of ‘The Art of War’ is based on

• Deception

• False Appearance

• Indirect Approach

• Adaptability

• Flexible & Coordinated Manoeuvre

• Speedy Concentration

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Application of such tactics required highly mobile & well trained troops

Such formations were not common until Warring States (453 – 221 BC)

Sun Tzu thirteen chapters be placed in category of ‘Authorship Unsettled’

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EXPOSURE TO WORLD

Art of War” was introduced to Japan around 760 AD

Sun Tzu was first brought to attention of western world by Father Amiot

Published in Paris – 1772

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EXPOSURE TO WORLD

Sun Tzu Art was focused in beginning of 20th Century

First English translation “The Art of Modern Warfare” was published in 1905

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EXPOSURE TO WORLD

Four translations in Russian language

Later translations in

German

Italian

Several other languages

Applicability in 21st Century

ART OF WAR

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ART OF WAR

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US way of War – Denial of Sun Tzu principles

Trillion Dollar war in Iraq resulted

Loosing allies Fanatic enemies

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“The Best victory is to win without actual fighting. Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting”

Sun Tzu, The Art of Modern Warfare by Mark Mc Neilly P 5

ART OF WAR

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US keen to start war

Cost of war – Irrelevant to US regimes

ART OF WAR

Little interest in winning without war

"Know yourself and know the enemy. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of 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“


ART OF WAR

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ART OF WAR

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War – Easy game for US

US cared less about

Muslim culture

Religion

History

Tribalism

“The best thing is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good”


ART OF WAR

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ART OF WAR

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Iraq – Broken nation

Millions fled

Dysfunction electoral system

Ethnic war

Terrorism & kidnapping

ART OF WAR

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Ops DESERT STORM

Deceived Saddam Hussain

Amphibious Assault in East

Landed in West

Low Causalities

Deception

SpeedEnemy Weakness

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Win All Without Fighting

Deception & Use of Human Intelligence

Leadership Development

Avoid Strength, Attack Weakness

Speed & Preparation

Shaping Enemy

SALIENT PRINCIPLES

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WIN ALL WITHOUT FIGHTING

BATTLE AVOIDANCE THEORY

SALIENT PRICIPLE

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“Generally in war the best policy is to take a state intact; to ruin it is inferior to this”

“To capture the enemy’s army is better than to destroy; to take intact a battalion, a company or a five-man squad is better to destroy them”

“To gain one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the highest excellence; To defeat the enemy’s army without doing battle is the height of excellence”

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Sun Tzu and Art of Modern Warfare by Mark McNeilly P 15,18


Five principles provide means to achieve

To accomplish nation’s objective battles are not necessarily proper means

Better to win “without fighting”

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Destroying target without firing bullet

More valuable thinking & workable options to decision makers

1962, Cuban Missile Crisis

1994, Haiti Crisis

1996, Taiwan Strait Missile Crisis

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“War is a matter of vital importance to the state; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied”

Sun Tzu, The Art of War by Samuel Griffith, P. 91

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Calculations/estimates essential before war

Avoid actions if risks not properly deliberated

If not, force will be in jeopardy & nation be ruined

German invasion of USSR in 1941

Hitler’s illogical determination resulted in failure of Ops Barbarossa

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“What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy. Next best is to disrupt his alliances. The next best is to attack his army”

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Sun Tzu and Art of Modern Warfare by Mark McNeilly P 21


Strategies with no significant benefits over opponent, may win a battle but will eventually lose war

Doolittle’s bombing had no significant tactical effect

Disrupt Japan’s national military strategy & war plans

Led to Japan’s total defeat

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DECEPTION & USE OF HUMAN INTELLIGENCE

SALIENT PRINCIPLE

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DECEPTION & HUMAN INTELLIGENCE

“Know the enemy and know yourself; in hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril”

Sun Tzu, The Art of War P. 5

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Capable, make enemy believe that we are incapable

Active, demonstrate that we are inactive

Leaving, mislead to think that we are approaching

Employ “Chi” (extraordinary force) & “Cheng” (normal force)

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Deceived Iraqi ground forces

Deploying several U.S Navy SEAL along Kuwaiti coast

Prevented huge human loss in 100 hrs battle

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Local agents Local inhabitants of area

Inward agents Grieved or rejected enemy officials

Converted agents Enemy agents used by giving bribes

Doomed agents Own agents used to leak fabricated information

Surviving agents Own clever, talented & loyal agents

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Utilizing secret agents & preventing enemy from using them, will stand much better chance of victory

Afghanistan & Iraq – coalition forces relied on intelligence for success

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LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

SALIENT PRINCIPLE

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“There are five qualities which are dangerous in a General

If reckless, can be killed

If cowardly, can be captured

If quick-tempered can be made fool

Too delicate sense of honor can calumniate him

Compassionate nature can be harassed”

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Military leaders are highest level thinkers & political military experts

Think in multiple domains & operate flexibly to manage change

Elements of national power as well as interrelationship among them

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“Before going for the battle, one who calculates will win. Many calculations mean victory but with few calculations, no victory”

“If a general who heeds my strategy is employed he is certain to win. Retain him! When one who refuses to listen to my strategy is employed, he is certain to be defeated. Dismiss him”


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“He whose generals are able and not interfered with by the sovereign will be victorious”


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Political leaders should not interfere with military leaders during conduct of war

Political leaders should delegate authority to commander to accomplish mission

Affected morale, destroyed trust & complicated relationship between civilians & military

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“General who regards his men as infants, they will march with him into the deepest valleys. He treats them as his own beloved sons and they will die with him”

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AVOID STRENGTH ATTACK WEAKNESS

SALIENT PRINCIPLE


“Now an army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoids the heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strike weakness”


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Enabled forces in Gulf War to defeat Iraqis in four days suffering almost no casualties

Avoid strength & attack weakness is key to achieve goal

Focusing resources against enemy's critical weak point, success more easily achieved

Attacking weakness by selecting key resource

Create weakness through preemptive strike

Attacking Weakness by Selecting Key Resource

“That you may march a thousand li without wearying yourself is because you travel where there is no enemy. Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends, hit him where he does not expect you”


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Attacking Weakness by Selecting Key Resource

Attack weakest part of enemy defence by selecting key resource

Submarine campaign in Pacific theatre by United States against Japan

WW-II, US Submarines were able to cut off island of Japan

Extreme shortage of logistics required to continue war

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Creating Weakness Through Preemptive Strike

“The potential of troops skillfully commanded in battle may be compared to that of round boulders which roll down from mountain heights. Thus one need to use but little strength to achieve much”



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Creating Weakness Through Pre Emptive Strike

Weakness may be created through preemptive strikes

Strategy employed by Israelis at beginning of Six Day War in 1967

Preemptive strikes gave advantage to negotiate

Israel made no serious effort to come to terms with Arabs


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SALIENT PRINCIPLE

SPEED & PREPARATION

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SPEED & PREPARATION

“Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's un-preparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions”


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SPEED & PREPARATION

Forces must move rapidly to secure ground Substitute for resources

Shocks & surprises enemy

Critical to exploit weakness

Builds momentum

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SPEED & PREPARATION

“War is a matter of vital importance to the state; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied. Therefore, appraise it in terms of five fundamental factors and make comparison of the seven elements later named, so you may assess its essentials”

Sun Tzu The Art of War by Samuel Griffith P. 91

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SPEED & PREPARATION

Morale

Weather

Terrain

Command

Doctrine

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SPEED & PREPARATION

Morale

“Regard your soldiers as your children and they will advance to the deepest valley and will die with you”

Sun Tzu, The Art of War by Samuel Griffith P 95

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Morale played pivotal role in

Indo-Pak 1965 war

SPEED & PREPARATION

Weather

Weather was a key factor for selecting D Day for Normandy landing

Allied forces exploited uncertainty of weather as factor of surprise

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SPEED & PREPARATION

Terrain

“Know the ground, Know the weather, your victory will be total”


77

Terrain played vita

l role in

Vietnam & Afghanistan

SPEED & PREPARATION

Command

Wisdom

Sincerity

Humanity

Courage

Strictness

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SPEED & PREPARATION

Command

Recklessness

Cowardly

Quick tempered

Delicate of honor

Over concerned for his men

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“By Doctrine I mean organisation, control and assignment of appropriate ranks to officers, regulation of supply routes, and the provision of principle items used by the army”


SPEED & PREPARATION

Doctrine

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SPEED & PREPARATION

Wiseness of ruler

Ability of commander

Advantage of nature & terrain

Discipline enforcement

Strength of army

Training of officers & men

Rewards & punishments

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SPEED & PREPARATION

Operations Desert Storm – Success

Movement of thousand of troops, equipment, food, fuel, bullets & bombs was a feat unprecedented after WW-II

Ensured victory within 100 hrs of ground battle with minimum causalities

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SHAPING THE ENEMY

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SALIENT PRINCIPLE

SHAPING THE ENEMY

“Therefore, those skills in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him”

84

Sun Tzu and Art of Modern Warfare by Mark McNeilly P. 125

SHAPING THE ENEMY

Leader must first make opponent conform to his Strategy Rules Will

Make enemy meet at time & place of his choice

Strategy must utilize direct & indirect approaches

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“He who knows the art of the direct; "Cheng;" and the indirect; "Ch'i;" approach will be victorious. Such is the art of maneuvering”

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SHAPING THE ENEMY


Possible to misdirect attention of enemy leaders

Take them by surprise

Put them off balance

Exploit the resulting advantage

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SHAPING THE ENEMY

Holding Strategic Position

Attacking Enemy’s Strategy

Use of Alliances Against Enemy

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SHAPING THE ENEMY

Holding Strategic Positions

Raw materials such as oil have caused countries to go to war

Strategic advantage through

Technology

Nuclear weapons

Diplomatic positions

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SHAPING THE ENEMY

Attacking Enemy’s Strategy

Supreme excellence is to attack an enemy’s plan

Attack was delayed and USSR attacked their strategy

Resulted in successful destruction of German forces at Kursk

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SHAPING THE ENEMY

Use of Alliance Against Enemy

Prevent enemies from combining Avoid attacking powerful alliance Separate main enemy from allies before

attacking Skilful use of allies Do not choose wrong allies Know how to maintain an alliance & when to end

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SHAPING THE ENEMY

ASYMMETRIC WARFARE

Conflict deviating from norm, or indirect approach

No specific tactics

Deception, indirect approach, avoiding strength & attacking weakness

Avoid confrontation with enemy's strength

Prevent larger enemy from effectively utilizing larger force in effective manner

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“As flowing water avoids the heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and

strikes weakness”

“All warfare is based on deception”

ASYMMETRIC WARFARE

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Israel & Palestinian organizations is classic case of asymmetric warfare

Utilized asymmetric tactics i.e small gunfights, cross border sniping, rocket attacks & suicide bombing

Sri Lankan government & Liberation Tigers of Tamil saw large scale asymmetric warfare

ASYMMETRIC WARFARE

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CONCLUSION

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Study the past, understand the future

Guide to all types of warfare

World’s most enduring strategic thinker

Perspective of war

Strategy

Element of strength

Leadership

Use of IntelligenceTheory of c

hoice for 2

1st centu

ry

Sun Tzu

Education

Transcript of Sun Tzu