01.016 Attack where they are not prepared...

[sonshi]

Attack where they are not prepared, go out to where they do not expect.

I wholeheartedly agree that one should attack where a foe is not prepared. This excerpt is related to the maxim that one should always strive to match up one's strengths against someone else's weaknesses.

I am reminded of a story told about Sun Pin. A local Royal who was fond of wagering on horse races kept consistently losing alot of his gold to some dude who seemed to have faster horses.

So the Royal sought out Sun Pin and asked him for his advice. Sun Pin suggested that the Royal match his fastest horse (i.e.#1) against his opponents 2nd fastest horse. Also, Sun Pin had the royal match his 2nd fastest horse against the other guy's 3rd fastest. Finally, the royal's #3 horse was matched against the other dude's #1 horse.

I think I got that right.

It has been awhile since I read Military Methods so if I am wrong, I hope someone will set me straight. Anyway, the Royal lost the last race but he won two out of three races and won a ton of money. Plus 52 chickens!!

And then I read in an obscure footnote that the Royal took his money and opened up a Chinese food takeout joint and presto, the Chinese Takeout industry was formed.

-BingFa

[markb287]

"Attack where they are not prepared, go out to where they do not expect."-Sun-tzu.

Again, deception is the key here. Attack where they think you will not attack them. Watch their every more in order to see their weaknesses and strengths.

[UV]

If the opponent can effectively respond to your attack (where he was originally "not prepared"), you may score a temporary victory, as your indirect approach soon becomes a direct approach.

The art of war is not always that simple.

An extension of this principle is, as Sherman put it, to put the "enemy on the horns of a dilemma" where his response choices are exposed and he is strategically checkmated.

In its highest form, the extension of this principle can lead to the best type of victory: victory without war.

[MonteChristo]

You can win a war if you are not stronger, but the same cannot happen with the battle. The direct attack can only be executed when you are facing the enemy, which is not strong enough.

And it is commander duty to dispose his/her resources when the victory is assured. Mental attitude is important part of the war. Maybe even the most important. People who are not prepared for it will be much less effective than those ready for fight. That is why you should seek opportunities to caught people off-guard. Then victory is easy.

The goal of the war is not necessarily wins all battles, but to be stronger when the war is over. Otherwise you might achieve something what is called Pyrrhic victory. Victories over unprepared opponent are causing fewer resources to be lost in the battle.

[gonzo]

Exploit weaknesses. Nothing more. Even the most dilligent individual or organization can not possibly cover every weakness. One must be sure, however, that the weakness that you exploit will be worth the time and energy in doing so.

Gonzo

[UV]

Sometimes in order to attack where and when you are not expected to, you have to experience great exertion to perform what is thought by the opponent to be impossible.

This may mean a forced march, a Herculean weapons development effort or breaking through a route considered to be impassable by your forces.

To achieve victory via the unexpected, your forces may need to be outstandingly strong in Spirit, the spirit to perform way beyond the reach of most ordinary mortals, the spirit to achieve the extraordinary.

I believe that this principle applies to war and everyday life.

How is your Spirit today?

To attack an unprepared defensive area, one must be aware of the possibility of deception.

The consummate strategist focuses on the usage of psychological deception in order to attack or counterattack his opposition.

Deception starts with many layers of preparation and pre-position.

Creating deceptions is based on knowing the opposition tendencies.

When he is sure of the attack, the attack must move like a rock rolling down from the 9th level of heaven.

[Theo17]

try to be as least obvious as possible, the more unexpected, the more damage will be done. If he rushes to the left he cannot aid his right, so if he is certain you are going to attack the left, go out of your way to attack the right ,where he does not expect, then the maximum amount of damage will be done.

[Sr_Tokes_Alot]

Attack where they are not prepared, go out to where they do not expect.

This means knowing where they are not prepared and accurately predicting what they will not expect. I would add one thing to this. Something that seems too good to be true, probably is. Don’t allow the enemy to convince you that they are not prepared, and then lead you into ambush.

I would like to see the US take up this principal more often in conflict. As it stands, the enemy expects us to bomb them and then send troops right up the middle to the objective. This is exactly what we always do.

I hate to give any resemblance of credit to the maggots, but this is why the towers fell. The maggots knew where to strike and we didn’t even expect it. Most of us didn’t even think we were under attack until the second plane hit. First of all, we didn’t expect the targets that were attacked to be in danger, or consider that someone could attack them (we were too “haughty”?). Second, we did not expect that the maggots would sacrifice themselves the way they did. I guess we did not learn all we could from fighting the Japanese.

Toker

[Logan mcloud]

To easily decieve the enemy one should luanch an large frontal attack, while holding back a small team consisting of one's most skilled worriors. while the enemy is preocupied with the asualt, one simply moves the special team to an poorly defended area of the front (and yes, there will always be a poorly defended area, for camanders are only human) and drive inward to the camand of the army. Without a camander the army will soon fall into disseray and victury will be ensured.

Sun Tzu said, "Attack where they are not prepared, go out to where they do not expect."

Attack areas that are not supported. Exploit tactical "real time" and "on the spot" opportunities. If the action is unexpected it will have a greater effect.

[The Sage]

This makes perfect sense. In a street fight to a battle field this represents what you must do to win. Do what they dont expect when they dont expect it and you will knock them down. You cannot defend against everything so you look for what they didn't guard or maybe where they wouldn't expect to be hit and you take them out there. Also it points out that someone who is intellegent must at all times guard against what they dont expect and come to expect things that would seem rather impossible.

Originally posted by sonshi
Attack where they are not prepared, go out to where they do not expect.

I think attacking where one is not prepared is not always where one is vulnerable. Attacking a strong point is unexpected and unheard of therefore unprepared. My example for this: Pearl Harbor. During the movie the Americans weren't worried about the torpedoes because they claimed the bay was too shallow. One of the Generals then said something to the effect of "A good enemy attacks you where you feel safe."

"Attack where they are not prepared, go out to where they do not expect."

your plan of war must be incomprensible for your enemy,
using a sort of judo or taijiquan applied on army maneuvers, a wise general uses the "hard" of his troops against the "soft" of his enemy, and viceversa.