Every battle is won before it is fought.

If I determine the enemy's disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless: if it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it nor the wise make plans against it.

Unless you know the mountains and the forests, the defiles and impasses, the lay of the marshes and swamps, you cannot maneuver with an armed force. Unless you use local guides, you cannot get the advantages of the land.

He who relies solely on warlike measures shall be exterminated; he who relies solely on peaceful measures shall perish.

If we know that the enemy is open to attack, but are unaware that our own men are not in a condition to attack, we have gone only halfway towards victory.

Thus, though I have heard of successful military operations that were clumsy but swift, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.

Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.