06.007 To be certain of safety when defending...

To be certain of safety when defending, defend where the enemy cannot attack.

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There is no place that is totally safe when you are in a conflict. I believe that SunTzu means that if you want a safe place to hold your forces or to defend, be sure it is beyond the reach of your opposing forces.

Gonzo

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ANOTHER POV

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Originally posted by sonshi
To be certain of safety when defending, defend where the enemy cannot attack.

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Sun Tzu said, "To be certain of safety when defending, defend where the enemy cannot attack."

The general has to use heaven and ground to move beyond the reach of his opponent. He has to use common and uncommon methods to deter the opposition from moving and he has to guard his information to prevent weakness from being exposed and exploited.

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Basically, my guess is that Sun-tzu is trying to say that the best defense is one where the enemy cannot attack. If the enemy cannot attack you, he cannot take anything valuable away from you. Therefore, defend in a place where the enemy cannot attack you and there will be less battling.

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best defence

To be perfectly safe one needs to be where there is no possibility of being attacked and build defences there.

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If you want to defend you choose a place where you have positional advantage and where your opponent has to apply large forces and incur big losses in case of attack.

This requires to be able to occupy this position before your enemy takes it. Also you have to make sure that you have the right supplies to keep the position for long enough.

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06.007

To be certain of safety when defending, defend where the enemy cannot attack.

When a general is not in a position to attack, he should marshall his strategic resources in such a manner as to afford the strongest resistance to an assault.

If the general is truly skilled in the use of the arts of war, he will use counter-intelligence tactics to persuade his enemy to attack positions that may afford the defending general an opportunity to foray with flanking manuevers using his special forces operations. In this way, he seeks to keep his opponent off-balance and deceived with respect to any potential tactical vulnerability within the defending force.

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Keep the enemy from knowing

quote:

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Originally posted by sonshi
To be certain of safety when defending, defend where the enemy cannot attack.

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To be certain of safety when defending, defend where the enemy cannot attack.

Tiger's lair ...

In the posture of defence lies the quality of invulnerability. Utilise the ability enabled by this quality to create situation which lies beyond the opponent's capacity to seize by assault.

Because the opponent will have first use of the initiative, we must factor all possible uses of this into calculations of advantage. The essence of the defence is to channel the enemy's aggression into paths of our chosing. The art of defence is positional advantage and timing of the change of initiative.

The force with which we enact the decisive action must be available when and where required. This force is the essence of our defence. It must be protected until needed. Park it where it will be safe until that moment.

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Sawyer--"To be certain of an impregnable defense, secure positions that the enemy will not attack."

This could mean, using the terrain... a mountain pass, steep cliff face and the use of obstacles such as rivers or man made defences such as walls (the Great Wall), moats and/or large garrisons of men. All these are orthodox ways of defense. I imagine that any position where the losses would be far greater than what is to be gained would be and impregnable defense.. Positioning troops and supplies within a nation that is allied with both you and your enemy, could be an unorthodox means of securing a position that your enemy will not attack.

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Re: 06.007 To be certain of safety when defending...

quote:

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Originally posted by sonshi
To be certain of safety when defending, defend where the enemy cannot attack.

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Accessibility and Defense

I think what is meant here is that, to ensure something is safe, place it where it can't be attacked. After all, putting up an active defense in a place that can't be attacked in the first place would be a waste of resources. An active defense would be most useful in a place where the enemy will have difficulty attacking, and kept away from those positions the enemy can easily attack.

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Re: 06.007 To be certain of safety when defending...

quote:

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Originally posted by sonshi
To be certain of safety when defending, defend where the enemy cannot attack.

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Re: 06.007 To be certain of safety when defending...

quote:

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Originally posted by sonshi
To be certain of safety when defending, defend where the enemy cannot attack.

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