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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 283563" data-attributes="member: 1645">Re: Sun Tzu's Art of WarI thought I'd quote some of the concrete advice from Sun Tzu's <a href="http://www.chinapage.com/philosophy/sunzi/sunzi-e.html" target="_blank">Art of War</a>, the kind of elements that should play out in a mass-combat game.From II. WAGING WAR: 1. 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 li, 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.13,14. With this loss of substance and exhaustion    of strength, the homes of the people will be stripped bare,    and three-tenths of their income will be dissipated;    while government expenses for broken chariots, worn-out horses,    breast-plates and helmets, bows and arrows, spears and shields,    protective mantles, draught-oxen and heavy wagons,    will amount to four-tenths of its total revenue.15. Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging    on the enemy.  One cartload of the enemy's provisions    is equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise    a single picul of his provender is equivalent to twenty    from one's own store.From III. ATTACK BY STRATAGEM: 4. The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it    can possibly be avoided.  The preparation of mantlets,    movable shelters, and various implements of war, will take    up three whole months; and the piling up of mounds over    against the walls will take three months more. 5. The general, unable to control his irritation,    will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants,    with the result that one-third of his men are slain,    while the town still remains untaken.  Such are the disastrous    effects of a siege. 8. 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 him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army    into two.From V. ENERGY: 2. Fighting with a large army under your command    is nowise different from fighting with a small one:     it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.From VI. WEAK POINTS AND STRONG: 1. Sun Tzu said:  Whoever is first in the field and    awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight;    whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle    will arrive exhausted.From VII. MANEUVERING:5. Maneuvering with an army is advantageous;    with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous. 7. Thus, if you order your men to roll up their    buff-coats, and make forced marches without halting day    or night, covering double the usual distance at a stretch,    doing a hundred LI in order to wrest an advantage,    the leaders of all your three divisions will fall into    the hands of the enemy. 8. The stronger men will be in front, the jaded    ones will fall behind, and on this plan only one-tenth    of your army will reach its destination. 9. If you march fifty LI in order to outmaneuver    the enemy, you will lose the leader of your first division,    and only half your force will reach the goal.10. If you march thirty LI with the same object,    two-thirds of your army will arrive.11. We may take it then that an army without its    baggage-train is lost; without provisions it is lost;    without bases of supply it is lost.23. The Book of Army Management says:  On the field    of battle, the spoken word does not carry far enough:     hence the institution of gongs and drums.  Nor can ordinary    objects be seen clearly enough:  hence the institution    of banners and flags.24. Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are means    whereby the ears and eyes of the host may be focused    on one particular point.25. The host thus forming a single united body,    is it impossible either for the brave to advance alone,    or for the cowardly to retreat alone.  This is the art    of handling large masses of men.26. In night-fighting, then, make much use of signal-fires    and drums, and in fighting by day, of flags and banners,    as a means of influencing the ears and eyes of your army.33. It is a military axiom not to advance uphill    against the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill.That's a start.  Those excerpts come from the first seven chapters.</blockquote>

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