Section III: Attack by Stratagem

1. Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.
2. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
3. Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.
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.
6. Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.
7. With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem.
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.
9. If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him.
10. Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.
11. Now the general is the bulwark of the State; if the bulwark is complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is defective, the State will be weak.
12. There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:--
13. (1) By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army.
14. (2) By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds.
15. (3) By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers.
16. But when the army is restless and distrustful, trouble is sure to come from the other feudal princes. This is simply bringing anarchy into the army, and flinging victory away.
17. Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:
    1. He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
    2. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
    3. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
    4. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
    5. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.
18. Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

This chapter is dedicated to attack, but will also be relative for a defensive counter-attack.

MAG allows us to excel in many areas. We all fall under the same bell-curve, and thus, by definition, we are all average shooters. There are no 'good' or 'exceptional' soldiers in this game; here, a man is judged by how well he can take an objective.

A match begins with the attacker's first strike. Remember this point. The attacker is white. The match is in his hands.

Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.

Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

An attacker's success lies in avoiding unnecessary combat.

A defender's objective, thus, is to engage the enemy with overwhelming force over the most suitable terrain.

A K/D ratio is a complete fabrication of your weak ego. You will be judged by your ability to take and hold objectives.

A perfect attack means a 0-0 score and all objectives taken.

A perfect defence is completely situational.

An attacker must contemplate all the meanings of without fighting. Smoke, gas, bunkerspawn killing, sabotage, etc. It does not include sniping.

Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

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.

Anticipate the enemy's plan to defend (or at least, a random noob's tendencies) and flank them. Failing that, force defenders to scamper across their line.

The minute you are forced to fire your weapon, you are strategically losing. If you force the enemy to grit his teeth to defend an objective, strategically speaking, you have already lost.

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.

Avoid, at all costs, a direct and frontal attack. Use your broadcast to elucidate this to your men.

Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.

With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem.

The key is not to kill, the key is to remain unkilled and complete the objective.

A company that cannot be killed is by definition 'invincible'.

An invincible company that can complete objectives is by definition a pantheon of gods.

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.

If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him.

Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.

Find where the defender is naturally isolated and flank him, with overwhelming force.

An unorganised attacker fails because the soldiers isolate themselves. In effect, they are already destroying themselves. An isolated attacker is ripe for a counter-attack if the defender uses the attacker's principles.

Thus soldiers must be taught: when in numbers, strike in full view; when alone, use espionage. Both methods, used effectively, will demoralise equally. However, only a platoon-scale strike can hold an objective.

Now the general is the bulwark of the State; if the bulwark is complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is defective, the State will be weak.

A reminder, here, that moral strength given by the PLs and the OIC will determine the effectiveness of the attack; and for that matter, the defence.

There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:--

(1) By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army.

Learn when it is time for the platoon to commence platoon-level (counter-)attack. By committing a full platoon to one objective, you are concurrently neglecting another.

(2) By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds.

You are not a king. Do not act like it. Request, don't demand. Inspire, not insult. If you broadcast harshly, you will lose respect.

(3) By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers.

If you are OIC, analyse the PLs. If you are PL, analyse your SLs. If they are below par, then the men have already lost faith in them. Be prepared to demote them verbally over broadcast. No-one will step down voluntarily. Be prepared to take over. Be prepared to abandon your squad, or your platoon; move to another; even if they are on the other side of the map:

But when the army is restless and distrustful, trouble is sure to come from the other feudal princes. This is simply bringing anarchy into the army, and flinging victory away.

Remember, this is a game, and in real life we are all randoms. Your subordinates have the choice not to follow your orders. Some never will. Randoms will hear your broadcast and discredit you. 127 people will judge you as a person.

What will determine how well you lead the men is your ability to be a leader in real life.

Study leadership principles that apply in business and enterprise.

Minors and women will find it uphill. It is an unfortunate reality.

Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:

He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.

He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.

He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.

He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.

He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

Broadcast the situation to the men, and act accordingly; remember to be flexible. "They are doing A, so we will do B, but don't forget tactic C. Mark your targets, think quick and be aggressive".

Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.