Throughout most of the centuries of warfare, military men have devised their own strategies and insisted they were the best. In the 4th century BC the Chinese general Sun-tzu wrote 'The Art of War', one of the earliest compilations on strategy. His insistence on the political aspect of war was influential on later generals. Altogether, Sun-tzu set forth 13 principles of generalship. Much later Napoleon decided there were at least 115 maxims needed to guide generals. In the United States the Civil War general Nathan Bedford Forrest needed only one: get there first with the most men. He was in overall agreement with the Prussian Clausewitz, for whom defeat of the enemy's armed forces on the battlefield was the heart of strategy. Although generals have long disagreed, most principles of strategy include clarifying the objective of the campaign; unity of command; mass concentration of force; the effort to achieve surprise; proper movement of forces, their security from surprise attack, sabotage, or subversion; and simplicity of operation.

© Copyright matterial of Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia 1996, All Rights Reserved

OVERVIEW

Around 2300 years ago, Sun Tzu is credited with having written The Art of War, a compilation of essays that might well be termed the concentrated essence of wisdom on the conduct of war. Following are some of the more salient war precept quotes (in italics), drawn from THE ART OF WAR -- SUN TZU edited by James Clavell, along with my comments on the application of the precepts to portfolio management and risk management issues. My comments are expressed in the form of Portfolio Management and Risk Management corollaries. I have also drawn several companion quotes (in italics), as noted, from Samuel B. Griffith's translation of, and commentary on, the same work entitled, SUN TZU -- THE ART OF WAR.

Laying Plans (Estimates)
On Waging War
The Sheathed Sword (Offensive Strategies)
Tactics (Dispositions)
Energy
Weak Points and Strong
Maneuvering
Variation of Tactics (The Nine Variables)
The Army on the March (Marches)
Terrain
The Nine Situations [The Nine Varieties of Ground (Not Geograpical)]
Attack by Fire (Order of Attack)
The Use of Spies

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