--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thus it is that in war the victorious…" description: "\"“Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory is won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and aft..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/sun-tzu-283_china_thus-it-is-that-in-war-the-victorious-st_1248306.jpg" --- # Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only… ![“Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory is won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.” quote by Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/sun-tzu-283_china_thus-it-is-that-in-war-the-victorious-st_1248306.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/sun-tzu-283_china_thus-it-is-that-in-war-the-victorious-st_1248306.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/sun-tzu-283_china_thus-it-is-that-in-war-the-victorious-st_1248306.jpg) > ““Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory is won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.”” [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A clever commander plans victory before fighting, while a doomed one fights first and hopes for success later. **In simple terms:** Plan before you act; avoid fighting to win. Key Takeaway Strategize before engaging. Themes strategy war planning Mood determined analytical Type philosophical strategic When to use this quote - military campaigns - business negotiations - political campaigns - sports tournaments Key Concepts Sun T preemptive victory risk management Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever act before confirming success? - How can you test a plan before execution? A Different Perspective Assuming victory guarantees success can lead to overconfidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“15. 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Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) [Browse all 3,827 China quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory is won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sun Tzu" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/thus-it-is-that-in-war-the-victorious-strategist-only-seeks-battle/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "China" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/thus-it-is-that-in-war-the-victorious-strategist-only-seeks-battle/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/sun-tzu-283_china_thus-it-is-that-in-war-the-victorious-st_1248306.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/sun-tzu-283_china_thus-it-is-that-in-war-the-victorious-st_1248306.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/sun-tzu-283_china_thus-it-is-that-in-war-the-victorious-st_1248306.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory is won, whereas he who…” — Sun Tzu", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sun Tzu", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Thus it is that in war...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/thus-it-is-that-in-war-the-victorious-strategist-only-seeks-battle/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/thus-it-is-that-in-war-the-victorious-strategist-only-seeks-battle/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```