Section VII: Maneuvering

1. Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his commands from the sovereign.
2. Having collected an army and concentrated his forces, he must blend and harmonize the different elements thereof before pitching his camp.
3. After that, comes tactical maneuvering, than which there is nothing more difficult. The difficulty of tactical maneuvering consists in turning the devious into the direct, and misfortune into gain.
4. 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.
5. Maneuvering with an army is advantageous; with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous.
6. If you set a fully equipped army in march in order to snatch an advantage, the chances are that you will be too late. On the other hand, to detach a flying column for the purpose involves the sacrifice of its baggage and stores.
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.
12. We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.
13. We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country--its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.
14. We shall be unable to turn natural advantage to account unless we make use of local guides.
15. In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.
16. Whether to concentrate or to divide your troops, must be decided by circumstances.
17. Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest.
18. In raiding and plundering be like fire, is immovability like a mountain.
19. Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
20. When you plunder a countryside, let the spoil be divided amongst your men; when you capture new territory, cut it up into allotments for the benefit of the soldiery.
21. Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.
22. He will conquer who has learnt the artifice of deviation. Such is the art of maneuvering.
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.
27. A whole army may be robbed of its spirit; a commander-in-chief may be robbed of his presence of mind.
28. Now a soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is bent only on returning to camp.
29. A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return. This is the art of studying moods.
30. Disciplined and calm, to await the appearance of disorder and hubbub amongst the enemy:--this is the art of retaining self-possession.
31. To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from it, to wait at ease while the enemy is toiling and struggling, to be well-fed while the enemy is famished:--this is the art of husbanding one's strength.
32. To refrain from intercepting an enemy whose banners are in perfect order, to refrain from attacking an army drawn up in calm and confident array:--this is the art of studying circumstances.
33. It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill.
34. Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not attack soldiers whose temper is keen.
35. Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.
36. When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
37. Such is the art of warfare.

The maneuver of a platoon is the crux of an attack and defence. Previous sections discussed fighting itself, its applications and its philosophies. Maneuvering is not fighting. It is the seed of fighting, but distinct from it. Though not part of combat, the preceding maneuver will determine the outcome of all firefights.

Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his commands from the sovereign.

Having collected an army and concentrated his forces, he must blend and harmonize the different elements thereof before pitching his camp.

A leader is the most influential person on the field. He has claim to certain responsibilities which he must grasp with sound strategy and tactics. It is a macroscopic art of balance.

After that, comes tactical maneuvering, than which there is nothing more difficult. The difficulty of tactical maneuvering consists in turning the devious into the direct, and misfortune into gain.

Theory is easy; the execution, difficult. All things are in motion. All objects in motion are unstable. Greater motion means less stability. This is why defence is easier to manage than attack, and why a focused attack is easier to manage than a dispersed one.

Your objective in attacking maneuvering is:

A large amass of force.

An overwhelming maneuver.

A transition to defence in which the objective is taken, held, and all maneuvering ceases.

Your objective in defensive maneuvering is to prevent the above.

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.

Though the one that maneuvers heads towards defeat, the victor of battle is the one that outmaneuvers his enemy.

Thus the apparent paradox.

Explaining this paradox cannot be done in words. It is to be experienced in motion.

Know this paradox, and you know strategy, tactics, and war. Further reading would no longer be required.

Maneuvering with an army is advantageous; with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous.

Victory is in coordination. Coordination above all things. Discipline cannot be achieved by 31 strangers. It depends on a leader.

If you set a fully equipped army in march in order to snatch an advantage, the chances are that you will be too late. On the other hand, to detach a flying column for the purpose involves the sacrifice of its baggage and stores.

A reminder on the importance of expansion and contraction. Speed and stillness. Form and emptiness. All aspects of a paradox that presents itself during maneuvering.

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.

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.

Skilled players will often-times run ahead of the advance. They achieve nothing. Call back over-eager rambos. Name them and shame them. Do anything to prevent their suicide.

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.

If you march thirty LI with the same object, two-thirds of your army will arrive.

The greater the distance, the slower your advance.

Remember the mantra: slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

Here follows vital information to consider while maneuvering:

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.

Is a spawn-site secure and sustainable?

If we cannot spawn efficiently, or if a counter-attack is focused on repairing the AAA, these things must be addressed first.

We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.

What is the progress of adjacent platoons?

There would be little point in attacking letters if only one platoon is able to do so.

We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country--its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.

We shall be unable to turn natural advantage to account unless we make use of local guides.

What is the nature of the map? How can it be manipulated to our advantage?

Impart your knowledge to newer players and tell to fight on ground that is most effective. Firefights away from objectives favour the defence.

Use your experience. The best leaders have the greatest experience and have vetted through all three PMCs.

In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.

All warfare is based on deception.

Whether to concentrate or to divide your troops, must be decided by circumstances.

All deception is based on situational maneuvering.

Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest.

In raiding and plundering be like fire, is immovability like a mountain.

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

Though the mastery of warfare is akin to the mastery of paradox, there must be no ambiguity in the efficacy of your actions. All force must be focused and overwhelming.

When you plunder a countryside, let the spoil be divided amongst your men; when you capture new territory, cut it up into allotments for the benefit of the soldiery.

Remember that victory is platoon wide. Though a stronger squad may initiate a victory, it is the other three squads that are required to support them.

Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.

He will conquer who has learnt the artifice of deviation. Such is the art of maneuvering.

Remember you must stop before you start. The emptiness of stillness is what determines the decisiveness of action.

Be creative according to what your intuition says of the situation.

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.

Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are means whereby the ears and eyes of the host may be focused on one particular point.

Remember that it all depends on how effectively you use your broadcast.

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.

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.

Your goal is for everyone to have the same ideas, the same approach, the same execution. This is the root of overwhelming force.

Time these broadcasts. Be absolutely clear in purpose, design and reasoning.

A whole army may be robbed of its spirit; a commander-in-chief may be robbed of his presence of mind.

A reminder about morale. Without morale, victory is impossible

In war, the human heart must become rigid.

Because it becomes rigid, it is fragile.

Now a soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is bent only on returning to camp.

Leadership means understanding the dance of mind, heart and spirit. Understand the morale of the meta-being of a platoon.

A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return. This is the art of studying moods.

Do not forget the warfare is a combat involving people. Not only are your men combating the enemy, they are combating themselves.

Victory and defeat is a state-of-being. It comes from within.

As it's eminence, an army's leader must possess this state of being in its purest form. This is what makes him a leader.

An incompetent leader is a disgrace.

Disciplined and calm, to await the appearance of disorder and hubbub amongst the enemy:--this is the art of retaining self-possession.

Inner peacefulness is thus what leads to victory.

It is the reason why emptiness and stillness is the root of effective maneuvering.

The leader is the one that has mastered himself.

To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from it, to wait at ease while the enemy is toiling and struggling, to be well-fed while the enemy is famished:--this is the art of husbanding one's strength.

Greater strength borne from greater emptiness.

To refrain from intercepting an enemy whose banners are in perfect order, to refrain from attacking an army drawn up in calm and confident array:--this is the art of studying circumstances.

Greater clarity borne from greater emptiness.

All warfare is based on deception.

Deception of the enemy is based on mastery of self.

Mastery of self is based on understanding of energy.

Understanding of energy is based on knowing profound emptiness.

As the sutra says:

"Form is nothing more than emptiness, emptiness is nothing more than Form. Form is exactly emptiness, and emptiness is exactly Form"

Thus,

It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill.

Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not attack soldiers whose temper is keen.

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

When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.

Such is the art of warfare