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

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

The natural formation of the country is the soldier's best ally

There is nothing more difficult than tactical maneuvering. The difficult consists in turning the devious into the direct, and misfortune into gain. Thus, to take a long and circuitous route after enticing the enemy out of the way, and though starting after him to contrive to reach the goal before him, shows knowledge of the artifice of deviation.

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.

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.

So there are five ways of knowing who will win. Those who know when to fight and when not to fight are victorious. Those who discern when to use many or few troops are victorious. Those whose upper and lower ranks have the same desire are victorious.