06.018 Therefore, if he prepares to defend the front...

Therefore, if he prepares to defend the front, the back will be weak. If he prepares to defend the back, the front will be weak. If he prepares to defend the left, the right will be weak. If he prepares to defend the right, the left will be weak. If he prepares to defend everywhere, everywhere will be weak.

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quote:

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Therefore, if he prepares to defend the front, the back will be weak. If he prepares to defend the back, the front will be weak. If he prepares to defend the left, the right will be weak. If he prepares to defend the right, the left will be weak. If he prepares to defend everywhere, everywhere will be weak.

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This statement applies to "him".

This statement also applies to "you".

To me, it is Master Sun's way of saying that an army can never achieve perfection in attack, defense, organization, weapons, skill and logistics. There will always be openings and vulnerabilities.

Concentration of force against a weak point can be helpful, but it can also create vulnerability, maybe even dangerous vulnerability.

Hence, the "Fog of War" described by Clauswitz is always with both "you" and "him".

If you need to act, you should perform your calculations, and understand the strengths and weaknesses of your forces as well as those of the enemy. But in the end, you should act, being cognizant that there is an element of risk in every endeavor and strategy.

When the competent strategist acts, he has anticipated beforehand all the major effects and reactions resulting from his action and ensured that the odds are adequately in his favor, in relation to the importance of the objective and his position at the time.

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The whole notion of trying to remain formless is to confound the enemy so that they are unable to discern where the "front" is and where the "rear" is.

I realize that in the modern age this is practically impossible.

Still, I find that there is much truth in Sun Tzu's excerpt and even experienced commander's and CEO's fall for the ruse after an initial attack is successfully executed.

The bottom line is that one can not possibly be equally prepared against an attack everywhere. And this is especially true if one understands that a smart foe will always seek to attack a weakness.

And even if one is "prepared" it is still possible to apply some combination of orthodox and unorthodox to achieve victory.

Target selection is a by product of mission feasibility and lack of preparedness on the part of the potential target set. This is why attacking an enemies' center of gravity can potentially have a cascading affect on the enemy and lead to political implosion.


-BingFa

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Center of Gravity

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Originally posted by BingFa
This is why attacking an enemies' center of gravity can potentially have a cascading affect on the enemy and lead to political implosion.

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Good insight. Thanks.

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"To Injure the Corners"

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To Injure the Corners

It is difficult to move strong things by pushing directly, so you should "injure the corners".

In large-scale strategy, it is beneficial to strike at the corners of the enemy's force. If the corners are overthrown, the spirit of the whole body will be overthrown.

To defeat the enemy you must follow up the attack when the corners have fallen.

In single combat, it is easy to win once the enemy collapses. This happens when you injure the "corners" of his body, and this weaken him. It is important to know how to do this, so you must research this deeply.

Miyamoto Musashi

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Therefore, if he prepares to defend the front, the back will be weak. If he prepares to defend the back, the front will be weak. If he prepares to defend the left, the right will be weak. If he prepares to defend the right, the left will be weak. If he prepares to defend everywhere, everywhere will be weak.

My interpretation of this is that you cannot prepare for everything. The old boy scout motto of "be prepared" is still true, however it is unrealistic to be prepared for everything. I remember a quote from one of the astronaughts on Apollo 13 as saying that they (the crew) prepared for so many oddball things, but they never prepared for what happened. However, even when you aren't prepared for what comes your way, if you can improvise and make the situation favorable it will be better than sticking with your now obsolete plan.
The quote also says that, in something competitive (like our marketplace), you should look to where there is potential and strike there. The place where there is potential would be where the enemy is weak. For instance, if the enemy prepares for the left, then the right has the potential to become yours.
Think back to the story of Achilles. He was bathed in magical water that made him invulnerable. However, his mom held him by his tendons when he was bathed. Because of that, he was vulnerable at his tendons, which ultimately led to his death.

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ANOTHER POV

I do not think I can add anything more to this quote here.

To attack any opposition, the wise strategist usually use an assortment of misdirectional tactical approach [36 Strategems].

By properly using strategems like [Strategem #6 of 36 - Display in the east and attack in the west.] to [Strategem #17 of 36 - Bait a piece of jade with a brick ], the wise strategist can influence the opposition running back & forth [#4 of 36 Make your enemy work while you wait at leisure ].

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"In the Field of Observation, Fortune Favors the Prepared (and the Bold)."

"The stillness in stillness is not the true stillness; only when there is stillness in motion does the universal rhythm manifest." - Old Daoist Text

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Illustrating the divide and conquer effect. Either divert his forces so you can work around them, or divide his forces to cover a lot of ground so you can overwhelm them.

Gonzo

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Sun Tzu said, "Therefore, if he prepares to defend the front, the back will be weak. If he prepares to defend the back, the front will be weak. If he prepares to defend the left, the right will be weak. If he prepares to defend the right, the left will be weak. If he prepares to defend everywhere, everywhere will be weak."

If the opposition is forced to redistribute its forces as a reaction to the general's stratagems then the opposition is having the will of the general imposed upon it and will be vulnerable.

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Defending one spot means there is a lack of something else. What you increase for one side decreases the other. So if you defend at different places, other places are weak. So that if he divides his forces to defend everywhere, all his sides will be weak, and therefore he will be weak everywhere he defends.

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Look for imbalances

Too strong on the front means weaker in the back or sides.

It is an optimistic way of sizing up an opponent because it allows one to have a window of opportunity however small. I think this quote naturally builds on the chapter on assessments and calculating battles in advance.

Pawn11

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Building strength in one point may create a weakness in another. The opponent looses a self-balance and if forced to prepare defense in one place while he will not be necessarily attacked there. This is forcing errors and is based on wrong calculation.

Again we are coming back to one of the principles of Sun Tzu – deception. Without deceiving the opponent when it comes to your intentions there can not be errors. Well, forced ones at least.

If we had all information on time then we would not make mistakes. So insufficient time and imprecise information about enemy and his intentions causes people make mistakes.

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MonteChristo
And there is only blue sky above us.

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A wise leader can create balance. By providing strength to one area, you leave another weak to attack.

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The enemy's desparation

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Originally posted by sonshi
Therefore, if he prepares to defend the front, the back will be weak. If he prepares to defend the back, the front will be weak. If he prepares to defend the left, the right will be weak. If he prepares to defend the right, the left will be weak. If he prepares to defend everywhere, everywhere will be weak.

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"Truth is narrowed down and made a plaything for those who are weak, for those who are only momentarily discontented. Truth cannot be brought down; rather the individual must make the effort to ascend to it."

Krishnamurti

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