tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37400809850616092542023-11-15T06:24:29.730-08:00The Art of War and MAGdabanhfreakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18403975867058588084noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740080985061609254.post-27711895811858297512010-09-12T09:03:00.000-07:002010-09-12T09:33:04.923-07:00Section VIII: Variation in Tactics<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his commands from the sovereign, collects his army and concentrates his forces</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>When in difficult country, do not encamp. In country where high roads intersect, join hands with your allies. Do not linger in dangerously isolated positions. In hemmed-in situations, you must resort to stratagem. In desperate position, you must fight.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must be not attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The general who thoroughly understands the advantages that accompany variation of tactics knows how to handle his troops.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The general who does not understand these, may be well acquainted with the configuration of the country, yet he will not be able to turn his knowledge to practical account.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>So, the student of war who is unversed in the art of war of varying his plans, even though he be acquainted with the Five Advantages, will fail to make the best use of his men.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Hence in the wise leader's plans, considerations of advantage and of disadvantage will be blended together.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>If our expectation of advantage be tempered in this way, we may succeed in accomplishing the essential part of our schemes.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>If, on the other hand, in the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Reduce the hostile chiefs by inflicting damage on them; and make trouble for them, and keep them constantly engaged; hold out specious allurements, and make them rush to any given point.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general:</b><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Recklessness, which leads to destruction;</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>cowardice, which leads to capture;</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults;</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame;</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.</b></li></ol></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>These are the five besetting sins of a general, ruinous to the conduct of war.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>When an army is overthrown and its leader slain, the cause will surely be found among these five dangerous faults. Let them be a subject of meditation.</b></li></ol><div><br /></div><div>MAG is an extremely diverse game. Large numbers on large maps create an infinite variety of situations. It is a leader's responsibility to make the right decisions as the situations sees fit. Do not contrive a maneuver for the sake of it; all decisions are completely situational.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his commands from the sovereign, collects his army and concentrates his forces.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>A leader's role is to lead. You are an officer first, a soldier second. When you forget your duties, your men are impotent.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>When in difficult country, do not encamp. In country where high roads intersect, join hands with your allies. Do not linger in dangerously isolated positions. In hemmed-in situations, you must resort to stratagem. In desperate position, you must fight.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Maneuver when situations put you at a disadvantage.</div><div>Always combine forces with other squads and platoons.</div><div>Do not remain still when alone.</div><div>When others are being direct, be the first to use deception.</div><div>When it hits the fan, you must fight.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must be not attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>There are times when the best strategy is to avoid combat.</div><div>There are times when objectives must not be attacked.</div><div>There are orders that should not be followed.</div><div><br /></div><div>They only emerge when, by delaying combat, you are ensuring imminent combat leads to victory. There are times when avoiding a small victory leads to a larger one.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The general who thoroughly understands the advantages that accompany variation of tactics knows how to handle his troops.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Competent leadership is not through knowledge, but through intuition. It is knowing, not knowledge.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The general who does not understand these, may be well acquainted with the configuration of the country, yet he will not be able to turn his knowledge to practical account.</i></div><div><i>So, the student of war who is unversed in the art of war of varying his plans, even though he be acquainted with the Five Advantages, will fail to make the best use of his men.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Map knowledge is vital for victory, but is useless when applied incorrectly. Even the greatest resources in skill and numbers go to waste when use inefficiently.</div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></i></div><div><div><i>Hence in the wise leader's plans, considerations of advantage and of disadvantage will be blended together.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><div>It is a simple matter of recognising weak points and strong points. For both yourself and the enemy.</div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></i></div></span></i></div><div><i>If our expectation of advantage be tempered in this way, we may succeed in accomplishing the essential part of our schemes.</i></div></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>If you immediately recognise yourself as the stronger platoon, this will take care of itself.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>If, on the other hand, in the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>If it is obvious that your platoon is the weaker, there needs a greater emphasis on the amassing of force and blitzkrieg.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Reduce the hostile chiefs by inflicting damage on them; and make trouble for them, and keep them constantly engaged; hold out specious allurements, and make them rush to any given point.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>A reminder.</div><div>Minimise maneuvering while outmaneuvering the enemy.</div><div>Attack overwhelmingly. Be aggressive.</div><div>Defend statically. Yield firmly yet flexibly.</div><div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.</i></div></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>At the end of the day, all warfare is based on stillness. Hold and defend. Then attack.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general:</i><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><i>Recklessness, which leads to destruction;</i></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><i>cowardice, which leads to capture;</i></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><i>a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults;</i></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><i>a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame;</i></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><i>over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.</i></li></ol><div><br /></div></div><div>All remedied by maturity and humility. Be humble above everything else.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div><i>These are the five besetting sins of a general, ruinous to the conduct of war.</i></div><div><i>When an army is overthrown and its leader slain, the cause will surely be found among these five dangerous faults. Let them be a subject of meditation.</i></div></div></span>dabanhfreakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18403975867058588084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740080985061609254.post-60386735724094178172010-08-29T06:41:00.000-07:002010-08-30T06:27:20.474-07:00Section VII: Maneuvering<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his commands from the sovereign.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Having collected an army and concentrated his forces, he must blend and harmonize the different elements thereof before pitching his camp.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Maneuvering with an army is advantageous; with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If you march thirty LI with the same object, two-thirds of your army will arrive.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We shall be unable to turn natural advantage to account unless we make use of local guides.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Whether to concentrate or to divide your troops, must be decided by circumstances.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In raiding and plundering be like fire, is immovability like a mountain.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will conquer who has learnt the artifice of deviation. Such is the art of maneuvering.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are means whereby the ears and eyes of the host may be focused on one particular point.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A whole army may be robbed of its spirit; a commander-in-chief may be robbed of his presence of mind.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Disciplined and calm, to await the appearance of disorder and hubbub amongst the enemy:--this is the art of retaining self-possession.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not attack soldiers whose temper is keen.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Such is the art of warfare.</span></b></li></ol><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his commands from the sovereign.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Having collected an army and concentrated his forces, he must blend and harmonize the different elements thereof before pitching his camp.</span></i></div></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Your objective in attacking maneuvering is:</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A large amass of force.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">An overwhelming maneuver.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A transition to defence in which the objective is taken, held, and all maneuvering ceases.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Your objective in defensive maneuvering is to prevent the above.</span></b></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Though the one that maneuvers heads towards defeat, the victor of battle is the one that outmaneuvers his enemy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thus the apparent paradox.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Explaining this paradox cannot be done in words. It is to be experienced in motion.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Know this paradox, and you know strategy, tactics, and war. Further reading would no longer be required.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Maneuvering with an army is advantageous; with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Victory is in coordination. Coordination above all things. Discipline cannot be achieved by 31 strangers. It depends on a leader. </span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If you march thirty LI with the same object, two-thirds of your army will arrive.</span></i></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The greater the distance, the slower your advance.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Remember the mantra: </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">slow is smooth, smooth is fast.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Here follows vital information to consider while maneuvering:</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Is a spawn-site secure and sustainable?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If we cannot spawn efficiently, or if a counter-attack is focused on repairing the AAA, these things must be addressed first.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What is the progress of adjacent platoons?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There would be little point in attacking letters if only one platoon is able to do so.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We shall be unable to turn natural advantage to account unless we make use of local guides.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What is the nature of the map? How can it be manipulated to our advantage?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Impart your knowledge to newer players and tell to fight on ground that is most effective. Firefights away from objectives favour the defence.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Use your experience. The best leaders have the greatest experience and have vetted through all three PMCs.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">All warfare is based on deception.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Whether to concentrate or to divide your troops, must be decided by circumstances.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">All deception is based on situational maneuvering.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In raiding and plundering be like fire, is immovability like a mountain.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will conquer who has learnt the artifice of deviation. Such is the art of maneuvering.</span></i></div></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Remember you must stop before you start. The emptiness of stillness is what determines the decisiveness of action.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Be creative according to what your intuition says of the situation.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are means whereby the ears and eyes of the host may be focused on one particular point.</span></i></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Remember that it all depends on how effectively you use your broadcast.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Your goal is for everyone to have the same ideas, the same approach, the same execution. This is the root of overwhelming force.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Time these broadcasts. Be absolutely clear in purpose, design and reasoning.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A whole army may be robbed of its spirit; a commander-in-chief may be robbed of his presence of mind.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A reminder about morale. Without morale, victory is impossible</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In war, the human heart must become rigid.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Because it becomes rigid, it is fragile.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Leadership means understanding the dance of mind, heart and spirit. Understand the morale of the meta-being of a platoon.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Do not forget the warfare is a combat involving people. Not only are your men combating the enemy, they are combating themselves. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Victory and defeat is a state-of-being. It comes from within.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">An incompetent leader is a disgrace.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Disciplined and calm, to await the appearance of disorder and hubbub amongst the enemy:--this is the art of retaining self-possession.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Inner peacefulness is thus what leads to victory.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is the reason why emptiness and stillness is the root of effective maneuvering.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The leader is the one that has mastered himself.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Greater strength borne from greater emptiness.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Greater clarity borne from greater emptiness.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">All warfare is based on deception.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Deception of the enemy is based on mastery of self.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mastery of self is based on understanding of energy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Understanding of energy is based on knowing profound emptiness.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As the sutra says:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Form is nothing more than emptiness, emptiness is nothing more than Form. Form is exactly emptiness, and emptiness is exactly Form"</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thus,</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not attack soldiers whose temper is keen.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.</span></i></div></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Such is the art of warfare</span></i></div></span></div></span>dabanhfreakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18403975867058588084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740080985061609254.post-73716195088497829122010-08-19T09:29:00.000-07:002010-08-19T11:02:56.288-07:00Section VI: Weak Points and Strong<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>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.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>By holding out advantages to him, he can cause the enemy to approach of his own accord; or, by inflicting damage, he can make it impossible for the enemy to draw near.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>If the enemy is taking his ease, he can harass him; if well supplied with food, he can starve him out; if quietly encamped, he can force him to move.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; march swiftly to places where you are not expected.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>An army may march great distances without distress, if it marches through country where the enemy is not.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>You may advance and be absolutely irresistible, if you make for the enemy's weak points; you may retire and be safe from pursuit if your movements are more rapid than those of the enemy.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely traced out on the ground. All we need do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>By discovering the enemy's dispositions and remaining invisible ourselves, we can keep our forces concentrated, while the enemy's must be divided.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>We can form a single united body, while the enemy must split up into fractions. Hence there will be a whole pitted against separate parts of a whole, which means that we shall be many to the enemy's few.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>And if we are able thus to attack an inferior force with a superior one, our opponents will be in dire straits.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points; and his forces being thus distributed in many directions, the numbers we shall have to face at any given point will be proportionately few.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>For should the enemy strengthen his van, he will weaken his rear; should he strengthen his rear, he will weaken his van; should he strengthen his left, he will weaken his right; should he strengthen his right, he will weaken his left. If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Numerical weakness comes from having to prepare against possible attacks; numerical strength, from compelling our adversary to make these preparations against us.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Knowing the place and the time of the coming battle, we may concentrate from the greatest distances in order to fight.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>But if neither time nor place be known, then the left wing will be impotent to succor the right, the right equally impotent to succor the left, the van unable to relieve the rear, or the rear to support the van. How much more so if the furthest portions of the army are anything under a hundred LI apart, and even the nearest are separated by several LI!</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Though according to my estimate the soldiers of Yueh exceed our own in number, that shall advantage them nothing in the matter of victory. I say then that victory can be achieved.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Though the enemy be stronger in numbers, we may prevent him from fighting. Scheme so as to discover his plans and the likelihood of their success.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Carefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them; conceal your dispositions, and you will be safe from the prying of the subtlest spies, from the machinations of the wisest brains.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>How victory may be produced for them out of the enemy's own tactics--that is what the multitude cannot comprehend.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The five elements (water, fire, wood, metal, earth) are not always equally predominant; the four seasons make way for each other in turn. There are short days and long; the moon has its periods of waning and waxing.</b></li></ol><div><b><br /></b></div><div>In a game with such overwhelming numbers, the effect of individual skills is diminished. Victory or defeat depends on strength meeting weakness. To disperse away from enemy strongholds and pour into their weak points. A platoon always fails when the men do the opposite.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>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.</i></div><div><i><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="display: inline !important; ">Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him.</div></i></span></div></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Just as a platoon is expected to contract and expand, a squad is expected to <i>start and stop</i>. Soldiers need to learn how to position themselves to attack or defend. Positioning is the key to winning individual firefights. Choose your firefights with extreme discrimination.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you undertake careless firefights, you simply waste time, ammo, health, and everything else that you value as a soldier.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>By holding out advantages to him, he can cause the enemy to approach of his own accord; or, by inflicting damage, he can make it impossible for the enemy to draw near.</i></div><div><i>If the enemy is taking his ease, he can harass him; if well supplied with food, he can starve him out; if quietly encamped, he can force him to move.</i></div></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Positioning your squad in defence....</div><div>...must be in direct line of the enemy advance.</div><div>...must be difficult to flank.</div><div>...must push the enemy spawn-source as far back as possible.</div><div>...must be easily replenished by your own defensive spawn-source.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>A defence succeeds when it can hold objectives while remaining still; it fails when it is forced to maneuver.</b></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; march swiftly to places where you are not expected.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>An army may march great distances without distress, if it marches through country where the enemy is not.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">An attacking maneuver...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">...must avoid all unnecessary combat.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">...must always find a flank.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">...must charge in from nearby cover with overwhelming force.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><div>An attack succeeds when it takes an objective with a single swift maneuver; it fails when its momentum is forced to a standstill.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Success and failure is witnessed concurrently in a single point of transition.</div><div>That is:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><div style="display: inline !important; "> when attackers may stop maneuvering to hold and defend; and when defenders are forced to maneuver and counter-attack.</div></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><br /></div></b></span></div><div><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Such is the nature of start-stop.</span></div></div><div><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></span></div></div><div><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.</i></span></div></div><div><div style="display: inline !important; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.</span></i></div></div><div><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><i><br /></i></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Success depends knowledge of enemy positions and maneuvers. Proaction and reaction are a in constant motion.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><div><i>O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Every soldier must do his utmost to prevent revealing his position to the enemy.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>You may advance and be absolutely irresistible, if you make for the enemy's weak points; you may retire and be safe from pursuit if your movements are more rapid than those of the enemy.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Never engage on ground that is not near an objective or spawn-point.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve.</i></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Never attack an enemy that is static. Force him to move.</div><div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely traced out on the ground. All we need do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way.</i></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Never advance upon enemy an when you need to defend. Force him to move and come to you.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>By discovering the enemy's dispositions and remaining invisible ourselves, we can keep our forces concentrated, while the enemy's must be divided.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><b><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><div>Always use espionage. Always keep together.</div><div>Learn what triggers a red dot over your head. Learn what happens when you go alone. It is common sense.</div></span></div></b></span></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><div>We can form a single united body, while the enemy must split up into fractions. Hence there will be a whole pitted against separate parts of a whole, which means that we shall be many to the enemy's few.</div><div>And if we are able thus to attack an inferior force with a superior one, our opponents will be in dire straits.</div><div><br /></div></i></div><div>Numbers > Skill</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points; and his forces being thus distributed in many directions, the numbers we shall have to face at any given point will be proportionately few.</i></div></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Overwhelming, maneuvering force > Numbers</div><div><br /></div><div><i>For should the enemy strengthen his van, he will weaken his rear; should he strengthen his rear, he will weaken his van; should he strengthen his left, he will weaken his right; should he strengthen his right, he will weaken his left. If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Strategic placement of static defenders > Maneuvering force</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Numerical weakness comes from having to prepare against possible attacks; numerical strength, from compelling our adversary to make these preparations against us.</i></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div><div>Thus,</div><div>Force attackers into predictable channels.</div><div>Force defenders into displacement.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Knowing the place and the time of the coming battle, we may concentrate from the greatest distances in order to fight.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Victory and defeat thus depends on skill, numbers, movement and stillness. Master them all, but understand the economy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, then, the reason that we play MAG. <b>Skill is shown to be the asset of least strategic value.</b></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>But if neither time nor place be known, then the left wing will be impotent to succor the right, the right equally impotent to succor the left, the van unable to relieve the rear, or the rear to support the van. How much more so if the furthest portions of the army are anything under a hundred LI apart, and even the nearest are separated by several LI!</i></div></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>A platoon is built upon squads, a squad is built upon soldiers. A platoon cannot depend on individuals<b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="display: inline !important; ">.</div></span></div></b></div><div><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><i><br /></i></div></span></div></b></div><div><i>Though according to my estimate the soldiers of Yueh exceed our own in number, that shall advantage them nothing in the matter of victory. I say then that victory can be achieved.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Memorise the economy of platoon-level warfare. Do prioritise a lower over a higher.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Though the enemy be stronger in numbers, we may prevent him from fighting. Scheme so as to discover his plans and the likelihood of their success.</i></div><div><i>Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.</i></div><div><i>Carefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient.</i></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Execution is always a reactionary response to enemy disposition.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them; conceal your dispositions, and you will be safe from the prying of the subtlest spies, from the machinations of the wisest brains.</i></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Make your own plans difficult to decipher. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>How victory may be produced for them out of the enemy's own tactics--that is what the multitude cannot comprehend.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>If you are able to evolve constantly to the situations that present themselves to you, the above is easy.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div><i>All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.</i></div><div><i>Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.</i></div></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Only great leaders can appreciate the nuances of platoon-level warfare.</div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></i></div><div>But what of himself?</div><div><br /></div><div>A PL's responsibilities extend far, far outside that of simple skill. </div><div><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><div style="display: inline !important; "><b>To succeed in this post, a PL must sacrifice himself as a soldier and focus solely upon leadership.</b></div></span></div></b></div><div><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><br /></div></span></div></b></div><div><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="display: inline !important; ">Such is the nature of all leadership.</div></span></div></b></div><div><b><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="display: inline !important; "><i><br /></i></div></span></div></b></div><div><i>Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>The stages of war unfolds by itself. What is happening has happened before. It will happen again.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>In the end, all things in warfare are simple, elegant and predictable.</div><div>But only for those who understand it.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.</i></div><div><i>Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.</i></div></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Let the grunts fight it out between themselves. Direct them where and how to fight.</div><div><br /></div><div>Learn from the Past.</div><div>And understand the Present.</div><div>Recognise the Present.</div><div>And predict the Future.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is an elegant unfolding with its own unique beauty.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div><i>He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.</i></div><div><i>The five elements (water, fire, wood, metal, earth) are not always equally predominant; the four seasons make way for each other in turn. There are short days and long; the moon has its periods of waning and waxing.</i></div></div></span></div></b></div></span>dabanhfreakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18403975867058588084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740080985061609254.post-72219458495968147492010-08-10T08:42:00.000-07:002010-08-10T09:32:08.934-07:00Section V: Energy<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; "><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Sun Tzu said: The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>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.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>To ensure that your whole host may withstand the brunt of the enemy's attack and remain unshaken-- this is effected by maneuvers direct and indirect.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>That the impact of your army may be like a grindstone dashed against an egg--this is effected by the science of weak points and strong.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhaustible as Heaven and Earth, unending as the flow of rivers and streams; like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>There are not more than five primary colors (blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>There are not more than five cardinal tastes (sour, acrid, salt, sweet, bitter), yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack--the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn. It is like moving in a circle--you never come to an end. Who can exhaust the possibilities of their combination?</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The onset of troops is like the rush of a torrent which will even roll stones along in its course.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all; amid confusion and chaos, your array may be without head or tail, yet it will be proof against defeat.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline, simulated fear postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates strength.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Hiding order beneath the cloak of disorder is simply a question of subdivision; concealing courage under a show of timidity presupposes a fund of latent energy; masking strength with weakness is to be effected by tactical dispositions.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Thus one who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances, according to which the enemy will act. He sacrifices something, that the enemy may snatch at it.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>By holding out baits, he keeps him on the march; then with a body of picked men he lies in wait for him.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and does not require too much from individuals. Hence his ability to pick out the right men and utilize combined energy.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on a slope; if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped, to go rolling down.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Thus the energy developed by good fighting men is as the momentum of a round stone rolled down a mountain thousands of feet in height. So much on the subject of energy.</b></li></ol><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The Art of War is rooted in Taoism; Tao is rooted in Heaven and Earth; thus the Infinite. When the Infinite settles into our consciousness, it separates into Yin-Yang. All things material presents as yin or yang. Yang is expansion; yin is contraction. Yang is attack; yin is defence. Yang is aggression; yin is calm. And so on.</div><div><br /></div><div>When Yin meets Yang, there is a state of <i>wu-wei</i>, or <i>mu</i>, or emptiness. In emptiness lies Tao. In war, emptiness exists during periods of transition. On either side of transition, yang-becomes-yin, yin-becomes-yang: it is a transfer of energy. <b> </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>In all forms of war, key events occur due to transitions in energy. Transition of energy is the crux of all warfare.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Know emptiness, contemplate Tao, and you will understand war.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>Sun Tzu said: The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.</i></div><div><i>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.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Leadership is leadership. An incompetent leader must never lead, ever. You must not apply for SL if you are not ready for PL or OIC. Failure of leadership, on any level, is a disgrace. </div><div><b>It is a truth of the human heart that men will never follow a weak leader.</b></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>To ensure that your whole host may withstand the brunt of the enemy's attack and remain unshaken-- this is effected by maneuvers direct and indirect.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Direct and indirect, like the transition of yin to yang to yin.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>That the impact of your army may be like a grindstone dashed against an egg--this is effected by the science of weak points and strong.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Weak and strong, also yin against yang.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>If you do not attack, you will fail. If you overextend an attack, you will fail. If you do not press a successful attack, you will fail. Yang becomes yin becomes yang.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhaustible as Heaven and Earth, unending as the flow of rivers and streams; like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>There is only one correct strategy; there are many possible tactics.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.</i></div><div><i>There are not more than five primary colors (blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.</i></div><div><i>There are not more than five cardinal tastes (sour, acrid, salt, sweet, bitter), yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Tactics are many. All are basic. Some are too basic to be named. Even the most complex maneuvers are fundamentally basic.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack--the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Understand that all maneuvers are a result of creativity. Creativity is birthed by emptiness. All ideas of emptiness are unique and perfect to a situation.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn. It is like moving in a circle--you never come to an end. Who can exhaust the possibilities of their combination?</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Learn to expand and contract, as fluidly and frequently as you breathe.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The onset of troops is like the rush of a torrent which will even roll stones along in its course.</i></div><div><i>The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>An army of Tao is irresistible.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.</i></div><div><i>Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>See the enemy, contemplate the situation, and strike.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all; amid confusion and chaos, your array may be without head or tail, yet it will be proof against defeat.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Yin, Yang, Tao and Heaven will give you your order.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline, simulated fear postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates strength.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>The common soldier will witness this and be struck in awe. For a warrior, the silence of emptiness sings a unique song.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Hiding order beneath the cloak of disorder is simply a question of subdivision; concealing courage under a show of timidity presupposes a fund of latent energy; masking strength with weakness is to be effected by tactical dispositions.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b>All warfare is based on deception.</b></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Thus one who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances, according to which the enemy will act. He sacrifices something, that the enemy may snatch at it.</i></div><div><i>By holding out baits, he keeps him on the march; then with a body of picked men he lies in wait for him.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Know emptiness and you already know what your enemy will do in any situation. Use it to your advantage.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and does not require too much from individuals. Hence his ability to pick out the right men and utilize combined energy.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>All men have a role to play.</div><div>All men are musicians.</div><div>But not all men can dance to Tao.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">And thus, all warfare unfolds to its own music, its unique notes and its elegant prose:</span></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on a slope; if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped, to go rolling down.</i></div><div><i>Thus the energy developed by good fighting men is as the momentum of a round stone rolled down a mountain thousands of feet in height. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>So much on the subject of energy.</i></div></div></span>dabanhfreakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18403975867058588084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740080985061609254.post-89316972326814669992010-08-07T23:13:00.000-07:002010-08-10T08:21:00.373-07:00Section IV: Tactical Dispositions<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sun Tzu said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and the whole Empire says, "Well done!"</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor credit for courage.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In respect of military method, we have, firstly, Measurement; secondly, Estimation of quantity; thirdly, Calculation; fourthly, Balancing of chances; fifthly, Victory.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Measurement owes its existence to Earth; Estimation of quantity to Measurement; Calculation to Estimation of quantity; Balancing of chances to Calculation; and Victory to Balancing of chances.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A victorious army opposed to a routed one, is as a pound's weight placed in the scale against a single grain.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pent-up waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep.</span></b></li></ol><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">MAG is not simply a first-person shooter. To an aspiring leader, it is something else entirely. It is one thing to know how to shoot someone in the face. It is another thing to know how to win strategically.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sun Tzu said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.</span></i></div></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The attacking platoon leader must not rely on brute force to break down an enemy's front line. He will allow himself windows of 90-120 seconds each attack; every cycle he will analyse the situation. He is firstly to command his platoon to eliminate basic strategic errors that his platoon is making. Only when this is eliminated will be scour the enemy to find their mistakes. A defence will only succeed if it makes NO mistakes. Against a competent attack, this is in fact impossible.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Not knowing how is the greatest crime in the game.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is the responsibility of senior players, when not in the position of command, to seek a demotion incompetent leaders.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The reality is, regardless whether you are the attacker or defender, your platoon must go through a cycling process of attack and defence. It is a neverending process of expansion and contraction. Understanding the timing of the transition is a combination of experience, intuition and leadership. </span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Defence requires solid soldier placement. Attack depends upon aggression.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and the whole Empire says, "Well done!"</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.</span></i></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Remove your ego when it comes to victory or defeat. Warriors sprout from the springs of humility.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><div><i>What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.</i></div><div><i>Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor credit for courage.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>The only way a leader wins a match is to inspire his soldiers to do the right things. This is simple. Coordinate them as a group and instruct them when they do stupid things. Nothing is ever achieved by one man doing it all. He only has two arms and two legs, doesn't he? An army's achievements is a combination of small acts of service.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.</i></div><div><i>Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>A leader must know what common mistakes look like. If you instruct others of their mistakes, give them a reason. They will stop. If nobody makes mistakes, you win. It is your voice broadcasting on their speakers that is the key to victory.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>The process of victory is to formulate a plan that is both simple and effective. If it is simple and effective, the plan is idiot-proof and mistake-proof.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Remember:</div><div>Moral law means the passion to win, maturity, personal qualities: how willing the men are to follow a one man into combat.</div><div>Method means planning, perfect in simplicity and effectiveness.</div><div>Discipline means the degree of teamwork and elimination of common mistakes.</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>In respect of military method, we have, firstly, Measurement; secondly, Estimation of quantity; thirdly, Calculation; fourthly, Balancing of chances; fifthly, Victory.</i></div><div><i>Measurement owes its existence to Earth; Estimation of quantity to Measurement; Calculation to Estimation of quantity; Balancing of chances to Calculation; and Victory to Balancing of chances.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b>Planning requires the following steps:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>(1) Know the map.</div><div>(2) Disperse troops.</div><div>(3) Define a. strategy and b. tactics</div><div>(4) Give leeway for randomness: randomness in events, randomness in discipline and randomness in skill. Luck.</div><div>(5) Press favourable outcomes, or else retreat and regroup.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Or, in attack:</b></div><div>(1) Understand which flank is best to approach</div><div>(2) Overcommit to that flank.</div><div>(3) a. commit the bulk of troops towards an isolated bunker with overwhelming force and b. commit skilled players to an alternative route to find a hidden flank</div><div>(4) Pray</div><div>(5) Press any advantage.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Or, in defence:</b></div><div>(1) Order flanks and roadblocks/gates to be overprotected until enemy's attack pattern is apparent.</div><div>(2) Position troops where confrontation is to your maximum advantage.</div><div>(3) a. commit troops and engage from cover, thereby stopping the advance in its tracks, followed by b. commit skilled players to find alternative routes and counterattack from a hidden flank</div><div>(4) Pray</div><div>(5) Press for a counterattack; but do not overcommit yourself.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>A victorious army opposed to a routed one, is as a pound's weight placed in the scale against a single grain.</i></div><div><i>The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pent-up waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep.</i></div></span></div></span>dabanhfreakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18403975867058588084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740080985061609254.post-13588806370678105242010-08-01T11:31:00.000-07:002010-08-07T23:12:26.757-07:00Section III: Attack by Stratagem<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:--</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:</span></b><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.</span></b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.</span></b></li></ol></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li></ol><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This chapter is dedicated to attack, but will also be relative for a defensive counter-attack.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A match begins with the attacker's first strike. Remember this point. The attacker is white. The match is in his hands.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.</span></i></div></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">An attacker's success lies in </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">avoiding unnecessary combat.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A defender's objective, thus, is to </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">engage the enemy with overwhelming force</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> over the most suitable terrain</span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A K/D ratio is a complete fabrication of your weak ego. You will be judged by your ability to take and hold objectives.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">perfect </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">attack means a 0-0 score and all objectives taken.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">perfect </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">defence is completely situational.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">An attacker must contemplate all the meanings of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">without fighting</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Smoke, gas, bunkerspawn killing, sabotage, etc. It does not include sniping.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The minute you are forced to fire your weapon, you are strategically losing. </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> If you force the enemy to grit his teeth to defend an objective, strategically speaking, you have already lost.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Avoid, at all costs, a direct and frontal attack. Use your broadcast to elucidate this to your men.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The key is not to kill, the key is to remain unkilled and complete the objective. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A company that cannot be killed is by definition 'invincible'. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">An invincible company that can complete objectives is by definition a pantheon of gods.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.</span></i></div></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Find where the defender is naturally isolated and flank him, with overwhelming force.</span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">An unorganised attacker fails because the soldiers isolate themselves. In effect, they are already destroying themselves.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> An isolated attacker is ripe for a counter-attack if the defender uses the attacker's principles.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:--</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(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.</span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(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.</span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(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.</span></i></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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:</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What will determine how well you lead the men is your ability to be a leader in real life.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Study leadership principles that apply in business and enterprise.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Minors and women will find it uphill. It is an unfortunate reality.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.</span></i></div></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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".</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div></span>dabanhfreakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18403975867058588084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740080985061609254.post-32019198064794272010-07-31T17:56:00.000-07:002010-08-02T16:16:01.466-07:00Section II: Waging War<div><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px;font-family:sans-serif;" class="Apple-style-span"><ol style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.5em; MARGIN: 0.3em 0px 0px 3.2em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; LIST-STYLE-IMAGE: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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 mile, 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.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Poverty of the State exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance. Contributing to maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause the people's substance to be drained away.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted by heavy exactions.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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;</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Therefore in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots have been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first. Our own flags should be substituted for those of the enemy, and the chariots mingled and used in conjunction with ours. The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is called, using the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.</span></b></li><li style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0.1em"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.</span></b></li></ol><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">MAG is a shooter like no other. While we have spent our years refining our skills for twitch-FPS skills, it is imperative that the leaders drive their soldiers to where they will be most effective. The greatest army is the one that strikes the enemy where he is vulnerable; it is only possible with precise and overwhelming force.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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 mile, 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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">All war has a cost.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div></span></i></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; display: inline !important; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; display: inline !important; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.</span></i></li></ol></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; display: inline !important; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain.</span></li></ol></i></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Always mark the progression of time.</span></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><ol style="margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; display: inline !important; "></li></span></ol><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; display: inline !important; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.</span></li></ol><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; display: inline !important; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.</span></li></ol><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; display: inline !important; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.</span></li></ol></i></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The minds and hearts of men will continuously shift as the minutes tick by.</span></span></span></i></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; display: inline !important; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.</span></li></ol></i></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:13px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">MAG is a virtual battlefield. Infinite respawns and resources are the order of the day. What is not limitless is the morale of the men. You must fight strongly and swiftly. Your responsibilities as a leader call for an exerted strike. Your words should be "mark your targets" and "be aggressive". Your orders for the platoon is to attack "in overwhelming force". Should an attack falter for any given amount of time, your men will lose heart and will no longer fight for you.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><div style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-weight: normal;"><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; display: inline !important; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></li></ol></span></b></span></div></i></span></i></span></b></span></div></i></span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The single most important aspect of an effective fighting unit is their ability to spawn close to the objective. The closer a soldier can spawn to the fight, the greater the chance for success.</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Spawn points must be sustainable</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. No individual soldier is more important that his spawn point.</span></span></span></b></i></div><div><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The following actions are very common. They yield unsustainable spawns and thus is an indication of a feeble-minded soldier:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In attack:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sacrificing an APC hoping to break down a gate/roadblock - keep them safe yet close to the fight.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Destroying a AAA before at least two bunkers have fallen - helicopters and paratroopers are vulnerable.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In defence:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Pushing up to the red line leaving the bunker undefended.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Repairing fallen bunkers in a fallen front-line one-by-one - repair them partially so that you can swing back across the line and get all four of them up within 60 seconds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A successful attack is </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">completed</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> only when a platoon can use the resupplies behind the bunkers without the risk of being shot or mortared.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A successful defence is only </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">possible </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">if </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the defenders can reliably resupply from the bunkers.</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A successful counter-attack from the objectives back to the bunkers can only be achieved if the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">full platoon</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> is able to push up in unison. It is a must that all bunkers are there waiting for them, and that </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#00CCCC;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#00CCCC;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">o</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#00CCCC;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">bjectives are BLUE and SECURE</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></i></b></div><div><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Poverty of the State exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance. Contributing to maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The message is clear. </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Break the enemy's ability to spawn and you break a platoon. </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But this only applies if, once again, it is sustainable. Destroying/repairing a lone AAA is pointless and futile.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause the people's substance to be drained away.</span></i></div><div><i><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted by heavy exactions.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The average soldier is a quitter: he has a weak emotional resilience to the scent of defeat.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As their leader, you must understand the mind of a soldier when he is under stress. Whereas a common soldier becomes weak, a warrior is to be a pillar of strength in service of his men.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></div></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Being overrun by an enemy's forces is simply demoralising. Many of the more experienced shooters will spot a defeat and rage-quit. Remember, fighting cannot be effective without morale. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> In MAG, </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">destroying the enemy's spawn will destroy their morale</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Victory shall soon follow.</span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">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.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The feeling of a crushing victory over your enemies....</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Your men must be aggressive for the win.</span></b></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Therefore in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots have been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first. Our own flags should be substituted for those of the enemy, and the chariots mingled and used in conjunction with ours. The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept.</span></i></div></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is called, using the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.</span></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Remember, supplies and spawns win the day.</span></b></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div><div><b><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.</span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.</span></i></span></div></b></div><div><br /></div></span></div></i></span></i></span></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></b></div></span></div>dabanhfreakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18403975867058588084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740080985061609254.post-67871706979426510522010-07-28T10:28:00.000-07:002010-07-31T18:00:17.215-07:00Section I: Laying Plans<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>These are:</b><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The Moral Law;</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Heaven;</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Earth;</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The Commander;</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Method and discipline.</b></li></ol></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:--</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b> </b><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 0.3em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-image: none; "><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law?</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Which of the two generals has most ability?</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Which army is stronger?</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>On which side are officers and men more highly trained?</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?</b></li></ol></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:--let such a one be dismissed!</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>While heeding the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>All warfare is based on deception.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.</b></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em; "><b>Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.</b></li></ol><div><br /></div><div>This will be the why section. Why we fight.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before a shot is fired, we have to ask ourselves, why do we play MAG? It is a team-based shooter. It depends on discipline, teamwork and communication. It has a leadership system. Let's say you are that leader. You are given the abilities to give out orders. In about 30 minutes, you have the most influence over your men. But why should the men follow your orders? You're just a stranger with a mic.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.</i></div><i><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i>It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.</i></span></div></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><i></i>We play MAG to have fun. But why MAG? I believe we want something deeper than simply point-and-shoot. We want something epic. Huge. To get this we are willing to put up with inferior graphics, frustrating lag, weird knife mechanics and some broken balance issues. We want the feeling that we are part of something bigger than ourselves; 1up summarises it perfectly: "This is one of those rare shooters built around a dream -- some would say a pipe dream -- that players will voluntarily adhere to the sort of command structure you need in a military operation". Eight months down the road the MW f-tards are gone, kicked or verbally abused back into their 8v8 shell. We are left to build our own empire.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>These are:</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The Moral Law;</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Heaven;</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Earth;</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The Commander;</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Method and discipline.</i></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Understanding these factors is the key to victory.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Moral Laws means how inspiring an OIC is on his broadcast. How it is that the soldiers and their squad leaders will fight for the common cause. They will not be cowards and snipe, but rather will charge in, taking down bunkers and capturing objectives.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">In literal terms this denotes the relationship between the weather and the terrain. In esoteric terms, it is a balance of yin-yang. Balance is the key to smoothness. Smoothness is efficiency. Efficiency means victory.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">This in fact is not a call for you to think of yourself as a Great Commander. It is a call for humility. The virtues are listed as a call for potential leaders to look inside themselves and ask, "where do I lack these qualities?"</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">In otherwords, the ability for squads to fight and traverse the map as a group.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:--</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Which of the two generals has most ability?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Which army is stronger?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>On which side are officers and men more highly trained?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The OIC has control over:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Moral law, meaning how empassioned an OIC is for victory, and how well he displays this to his men.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Ability; the timing and efficacy of his command abilities.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Heaven and Earth, as in how well he uses his resources in terrain and tactics.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The OIC does not have control over:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Discipline - how many retards and rambos make up your army - the less the better</div><div style="text-align: left;">Strength - individual skill of your men - the greater the better.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Officers - SLs and PLs</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Above, an OIC needs to define REWARD and PUNISHMENT.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Or, how well you keep up morale. Good rewards almost always means making the right comments with your company broadcast. Good punishment means kicking ineffective SLs and PLs, and declaring standing orders that snipers will be shot in the back. Bad punishment includes yelling at noobs and calling them retards for being noobs. This does not apply to cussing experienced players who do idiot things :)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:--let such a one be dismissed!</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>While heeding the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Keep to the basics of attacking strategy and defending strategy. Learn from good SLs, PLs and OICs. Discard bad leaders. However, sometimes even a 10man bunker flank continuously fails. BE FLEXIBLE.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>All warfare is based on deception.</i></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm sorry. Did you miss that? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>ALL WARFARE IS BASED ON DECEPTION.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected</i></span>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The direct way is never the best way. Go indirectly to the direct way...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">...but don't make it too obvious what you're trying.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Before you apply for leadership formulate a plan. Learn from the successes and mistakes of other leaders. Form plan A for unique situations, but also plans B, C and Y. It is then a matter of execution </span>given the correct tactical situation.</div></b></div></div></div></span>dabanhfreakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18403975867058588084noreply@blogger.com0