There are many wars in today's world.
Some things never change.
Wisdoms on wars - on strategy & tactics - can be found in many books.
First treatise - 'Art of War' - was written by Chinese General Sun Tzu, about 2,500 years ago.
One of 'Art of War's' interpretations was done by Sun Pin - another member of the Sun family - in his book: 'Military Methods'.
These books are studied and present in today's wars, some of ideas are still present in today's military training across whole world, including 'U.S. Marine Corps'.
Knowing these wisdoms can also be useful in all aspect of one's life.
This is a short mind-map of the wisdoms of Sun Tzu and Sun Pin, so we can try to understand what's really going on when wars happen, so we know how mass media manipulates us into thinking that 'we are winning', 'god is on our side', 'enemies are fanatical tyrants'.
Sun Tzu's 'Art of War'
1. Preparation for War.
1.1. Meticulous Preparation.
1.2. Analysing Scenarios.
1.3. Taking steps that have chance of success.
1.4. Misleading and Deceiving enemy are the Essence of the War.
2. Art of War.
2.1. Performing.
2.1.1. Prolonged war harms the nation.
2.1.1.1. Resolution of Conflict should be quick.
2.1.2. Motivating people to overcome fear.
2.1.2.1. Punishments and Rewards.
2.2. Defeating enemy without battle.
2.2.1. Suffering minimum of losses.
2.3. Starting war when victory is sure.
2.3.1. Strong defence position, opportunity for attack.
2.3.2. Every opportunity can be used for achieving our goals.
2.4. Attacking in the most appropriate moment.
2.4.1. Proper size of our forces, proper amount of men.
2.5. Combining conventional and nonconventional methods.
2.6. Key to victory is Flexibility.
3. Strategy.
3.1. Reconnaissance and holding advantageous position.
3.1.1. Taking advantage of enemy's gaps.
3.1.2. Strategic Advantage.
3.1.3. Terrain Reconnaissance.
3.1.3.1. Constant development of defenses.
3.1.4. Victory is for those who suprise enemies.
3.2. Using spies.
3.2.1. Knowledge about enemy, about competition.
3.3. Preventional tactical rules.
3.3.1. Don't force enemy 'to the wall', to the desperation.
3.3.2. Don't get caught by apparent, false benefits.
4. Warfare.
4.1. Carrying activities without fear.
4.1.1. Avoiding being carried by emotions.
4.1.2. Sacrificing individuals for benefit of many, for totality, for whole.
4.1.3. Avoiding anger and spite.
4.1.4. Reasonable risk.
4.2. Terrain, Landform.
4.3. Leading on basis of spying, reconaissance and analysis.
4.4. War is affair of great importance.
4.4.1. Start war only after giving it serious thinking backed by analysis.
4.5. Flexibility and acting quickly.
4.6. Flaming, attack.
4.6.1. Confusion and destruction.
4.6.2. Rumours and insinuations.
5. Military Methods.
5.1. 'Fluent in carrying warfare will conquer those who are easy to be conquered'.
5.2. Uses among competition and rivalry.
5.3. Rigtheousness is motivating factor.
5.3.1. Helps in everyday struggles.
5.4. Building defenses using only available resources.
5.5. Preparing for sudden, suprise attack.
6. People.
6.1. The most important factor.
6.2. Winning loyalty by uniting views and opinions.
6.3. Officers of lower rank.
6.3.1. Respect and backing by ordinary soldiers, by privates.
6.3.2. Trust of superiors.
6.4. Focus on loyalty.
7. Leaders.
7.1. Fighting only when victory is sure.
7.2. No pressures from outside.
7.3. Waiting for events to unfold.
7.4. Taking advantage of external factors and terrain.
7.5. Avoiding terrain that is difficult to pass through.
7.5.1. People who are stuck are easy targets.
7.6. Managing an Army.
7.6.1. All of leader's inclinations are immediately affecting people.
7.6.2. All of faults and emotions affect the team.
7.7. Leader has to:
7.7.1. Keep the inner balance.
7.7.2. Define organizational tasks.
7.7.3. Assign appropriate resources into project's realization.
8. Motivating.
8.1. Disciplining people.
8.2. Punishments and rewards.
8.2.1. 'More than enemy, he fears his leader'.
8.3. Preparing mindset for victory.
8.3.1. Awareness of renunciations and seriousness of the situation.
8.3.2. Avoiding fears and doubts.
8.3.3. Inclination for sacrifices.
8.4. Friendly relations between soldiers.
9. Competition.
9.1. Strong enemy.
9.1.1. Dividing enemy forces.
9.1.2. Keeping enemy ignorant, unaware.
9.1.3. Forcing enemy to fight on large front.
9.2. Masterfully leading and controlling of the army.
9.3. Physical and moral weakening of enemy.
10. Carrying Activities.
10.1. Precisely set moment for starting activities.
10.2. 'Be like water'
10.2.1. Hardness and Softness.
10.2.2. Submission with Decisiveness.
10.3. Freedom of commander's activities from ruler.
10.4. Basic mistakes in leadership:
10.4.1. Smart leader instantly takes advantage of these.
10.4.2. Have fundamential importance.
10.4.3. Inevitably condemn for loss.
11. Measure forces by intentions.
11.1. Ten times stronger - surround enemy.
11.2. Five times stronger - attack.
11.3. Twice as strong - divide your troops.
11.4. Equal armies - battle.
11.5. Lesser forces - outsmart enemy.
11.6. Significiantly lesser forces - avoid.