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Battle Quotes by Sun Tzu

61 Battle quotes by Sun Tzu

All Battle quotes Sun Tzu’s page

Sun Tzu teaches that battle needs both direct and indirect methods to secure victory. He says success comes from full‑heart preparation and from turning knowledge into practice. He also reminds leaders to study both the enemy and themselves before fighting.

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The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.

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A battle avoided cannot be lost.

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Every battle is won before it is fought.

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“The wise warrior avoids the battle.”

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Know thy self, know thy enemy.

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Know yourself and you will win all battles.

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Know the enemy and know yourself.

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“Every battle is won before it’s ever fought.”

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The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men.

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

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

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

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

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Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory.

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

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Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.

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No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out…

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

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In warfare, first lay plans which will ensure victory, and then lead your army to battle; if you will not begin with…

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He who knows things, and in fighting puts his knowledge into practice, will win his battles. He who knows them not, nor…

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Know yourself and you will win all battles. Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire…

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To persuade your enemy to (retreat) before the fight is to defeat them even before the battle begins. An enemy made ally…

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In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure…

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“In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack--the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise…

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It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if…

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Those who are victorious plan effectively and change decisively. They are like a great river that maintains its course but adjusts its…

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No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out…

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Getting people to fight by letting the force of momentum work is like rolling logs and rocks. Logs and rocks are still…

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Therefore the victories of good warriors are not noted for cleverness or bravery. Therefore their victories in battle are not flukes. Their…

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In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure…

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If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself…

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When you do battle, even if you are winning, if you continue for a long time it will dull your forces and…

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There are only five notes in the musical scale, but their variations are so many that they cannot all be heard. There…

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All battles are won before they start.

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If a battle can not be won do not fight it.

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“One may know how to conquer without being able to do it. ”

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If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle

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Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all.

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Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never peril.

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The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes…

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More by Sun Tzu

It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…

It is according to the shapes that I lay the plans for victory, but the multitude does not comprehend this. Although everyone can see…

Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.

“In a similar way, The Art of War pinpoints anger and greed as fundamental causes of defeat.”

“The PEOPLE being regarded as the essential part of the State, and FOOD as the people's heaven, is it not right that those in…

Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.

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…

“So long as victory can be attained, stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness.”

“You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.”

“Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make…

If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely…

“The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes…

In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.

“To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.”

They [spies] cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness.