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XII. THE ATTACK BY FIRE
1. Sun Tzu said: There are five ways of attacking
with fire. The first is to burn soldiers in their camp;
the second is to burn stores; the third is to burn
baggage trains; the fourth is to burn arsenals and magazines;
the fifth is to hurl dropping fire amongst the enemy.
2. In order to carry out an attack, we must have
means available. The material for raising fire should
always be kept in readiness.
3. There is a proper season for making attacks with fire,
and special days for starting a conflagration.
4. The proper season is when the weather is very dry;
the special days are those when the moon is in the
constellations of the Sieve, the Wall, the Wing
or the Cross-bar; for these four are all days of rising wind.
5. In attacking with fire, one should be prepared
to meet five possible developments:
6. (1) When fire breaks out inside to enemy's camp,
respond at once with an attack from without.
7. (2) If there is an outbreak of fire, but the enemy's
soldiers remain quiet, bide your time and do not attack.
8. (3) When the force of the flames has reached its height,
follow it up with an attack, if that is practicable;
if not, stay where you are.
9. (4) If it is possible to make an assault with fire
from without, do not wait for it to break out within,
but deliver your attack at a favorable moment.
10. (5) When you start a fire, be to windward of it.
Do not attack from the leeward.
11. A wind that rises in the daytime lasts long,
but a night breeze soon falls.
12. In every army, the five developments connected with
fire must be known, the movements of the stars calculated,
and a watch kept for the proper days.
13. Hence those who use fire as an aid to the attack show intelligence;
those who use water as an aid to the attack gain an accession of strength.
14. By means of water, an enemy may be intercepted,
but not robbed of all his belongings.
15. Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his
battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating
the spirit of enterprise; for the result is waste of time
and general stagnation.
16. Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his
plans well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources.
17. Move not unless you see an advantage; use not
your troops unless there is something to be gained;
fight not unless the position is critical.
18. No ruler should put troops into the field merely
to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight
a battle simply out of pique.
19. If it is to your advantage, make a forward move;
if not, stay where you are.
20. Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may
be succeeded by content.
21. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can
never come again into being; nor can the dead ever
be brought back to life.
22. Hence the enlightened ruler is heedful,
and the good general full of caution. This is the way
to keep a country at peace and an army intact.
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After the initial discussions of the specifics of fire and water, the final few statements here are reminders of the correct predispositions one needs for warfare.
The specifics of modes of attack are metaphors for knowing one's weaponry, calculating the effects of same, and all the various implications of one's arsenal.
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