Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ and it’s application in Modern World

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The combination of deception, wisdom and strength have featured a corps indomitable, invincible in battle ground. The watchword of The Art of War authored by Sun Tzu had manifested the tricky manoeuvre through most perspicuous and succinct illustration. This books had been framed on author’s own experience and experiments during his acting tenure as the chief commander of king Helu. In this book, he had impressively coordinated the various dimensions of war, the warfare on considering the different complexities and critical situations of battle grounds, duration of war, and the features of an ideal general. He sharply emphasized on deception and perception management through utilizing covert emissary and good intelligence. Fathoming stratagem of foe’s, and erecting inscrutable manoeuvre were also indispensable features of being an ideal general. The adroitness and proficiency at warfare in it’s leading, crisis management and dealing with critical happens of battleground had depicted the excellency of sun Tzu’s general. The art of war, the most crucial materials in warfare strategy have been held it’s relevancy until present as though most sophisticated technology occupied the position of sun Tzu’s manual weapons. The Vietnam War, Korean War, and the Second World War had been experienced with a successful implementation of Sun Tzu’s Tactics. This article basically have been drawn on Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of Aar’, documentary and some articles on about this. It has been decorated with four sections. The first section deals with the acquaintance of sun Tzu’s art of war. Second, third and fourth sections deals with such depictions of Sun Tzu’s war strategy in Vietnam’s civil war, The Second World War, and the Gattysburg war.

 

Key words: Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, Deception, wisdom, Strength, Vietnam Civil War, Second World War The Gettysburg War.

 

Sun Tzu’s the art of war:

 

Sun Tzu, the great strategist and author of ever most tactful manoeuvre constituted the book ‘The Art of War’. Sun Tzu was designated as the general of the king Helu, from ‘wu’ dynasty.it was the juncture of dynasty, having confronted with the massive frontier of Chu. Sun Tzu designed his war strategy with vesting on three ingredients such Deception, Wisdom, and strength.

Deception:

The vital and tricky point of Sun Tzu’s warfare is deceiving the enemy. Evasion of the enemy can be streamed through the ways of varieties. Employing spies to fathom the intentions and tricks of the enemy, playing double standard role in inflicting violence, and exhibiting reverse position in terms of competence, and direction for misleading the enemies are also the major path of Deception. He always ignited the general to discover the weakest point of enemy to hit, strong zone to evade. Spreading fake information to construct the false perception of enemy’s on about your directions, tactics, and competence another dexterity of Sun Tzu’s. He directed the general to strike unexpected remote posts and conduct war with blistering motions.

Wisdom:

Acquaintance with the competency, potentiality and war strategy are the main ingredients of fortifiers for being victorious. Good intelligence and vateran spy apprised the general about the actual happens that avail him to construct the pragmatic and tricky strategy. A trust worthy group had acted as the spies who had interacted through mystical network. Good intelligence also break off the war strategy and directions of enemy. War directions is delivered on scrutiny and justify the war condition, Risk and cost benefit analysis of strategy.

Warfare:

War is the ground of exhibiting much tricky and dodge approach to subdue the enemy. Sun Tzu asserted to opt to win not to show up. The main strategy is to be victorious not to be glamour. He instructed the general to make the war more fruitful and succinct not to prolong that couldn’t bring any gain for anyone. He made two paradigms of war

‘Chess board’ strategy that stress to take off the soldier’s and then be win. The king is the central point of war.

‘Chinese Go strategy’ that asserted to adopt more tricky approach to wide it’s sphere not inflicting with more violence. it sought to occupy the land define it as the central point of war.

Strength:

Fortification of corps : Sun Tzu heavily emphasized on war tricks and efficiency not to numeric proportion. He composed his corps as educated, efficient valor and devoted soul through impressive coordination of various treatments such as well training, sound adaptation, and political and religious indoctrination.

Proficient leadership : in view of Sun Tzu, the general should be compiled with gravity, sincerity and much more tricky. He also be the eidolon of sound combination of might and intelligence. Sun Tzu seek the tricks to outwit the foe in lieu of outfight with them. Sun Tzu lashed the admirabilty, sagacity and handling capacity as the preconditions of the general. As well Sun Tzu insists on constructing unfathomable tricks, and secrecy of warfare to the enemies.

Vietnam civil war

General William Westmoreland adorned the battle field with the paradigm of chess board strategy that sought to annihilate the pieces of enemies to subdue them. He directed to bombard, and assassin the North Vietnam to halt the sphere of communism. But it was blunder in views of Sun Tzu’s that merely employing might and violence were not sufficient to be victorious in war. Rather it seek much more tricky and chicanery role. Unfortunate happens that he was reluctant to perceive the real surroundings, and conditions of enemy’s in terms of it’s potentiality, manoeuvre. He failed to fathom the tone of locality, political &social backlash and the growing antagonism among the general mass. That’s all over mistakes made him subdued in Vietnam battle ground. On the other side, General Giap retained most tricky approach, learned from Sun Tzu. He adopted to hit the enemy to it’s remote post to outthink it’s attention from the real mark. It defined the guerrilla paradigm to disperse the concentration of enemies and covertly prepared itself to launch the massive strike on enemy. All of tactics of guerrilla attack such ambushes, hand grenades bloody trape and snippers had been fostered to pose threat to the existence of the enemies. Spreading propagandas, erecting an horror environment and disseminating false tidings of casualties of enemy sides also erupted from north Vietnam camps to grow the dejection of war among United States soldiers as well as general mass. it had conducted this propaganda through successive use of spies, and intelligence network. it most effectively build up backdoor spy network to unfold the war code of enemy. Giap’s cleared his perceptions on about dimensions of war, direction and intention of enemy. Deception, the most efficient tactics adopted by GIAP’S warfare. he sought to pay honour to the Vietnamese traditional teat ceasefire. tiresome south Vietnam and Us also looped this with hearten mind. and they got time to make relax to send their troops to home. But Giap’s had marked the luner day (sacred day to Vietnamese) for conducting massive brutal attack on enemies. It launched attack to all of the camps of us throughout the South Vietnam. Eventually US has been shocked, and stunned at this unexpected and deceptive attack.

Second world war:

General Eisenhower, the commander of allied forces effectively traced the strategies that is instructed by Sun Tzu’s in his books ‘Art of War’. General Eisenhower heavily insisted on Core stratagem, Deception in war. German targeted to hit on Normandy But to mislead the enemy it adopted the chicanery and show up it’s preparation to attack on Calais. Demonstrating the fake weapons, fake corps movement through sounding, fake trucks manoeuvring, fake instructions to pose an attack on Calais build a perception among Germany’s that Calais may be the target of allied forces. For aiming to fathom the manoeuvre of Germans, disclose the war codes and know the perception of them it deployed it’s maximum agents including spy network, intelligence units, as well as double agents. Double agents, whose were basically deployed by the German, interrogated by the allied force, hired by the allied to work at the same stage in favour of allied forces. This agents through feeding false tidings for making dilemma, and false perceptions on about the real happens. Through utilising all of these covert agents, network and intelligences Allied force able to break the German’s war code enigma.

Preparation for full pledge attack on enemies it induced to fathom the enemy’s perception, thinking and directions. Another most crucial feature of Sun Tzu’s war was vesting the conduction and directions authority fully handed over to the General except the interference of regime leaders. Adlop hitler failed to realize the Sun Tzu’s of freeing general in directions and eventually he repeatedly intervene all of decisions that distorts the real situations of battle ground. At last, the juncture came and attack had been launched on Normandy. It had been taken in allied control and observed victory as the outcome of deception, the great strategy.

The Gettysburg War (American Civil War):

The Gettysburge war most dreadful and more casual experience of American history. The present hagemone, sophisticated American nation had to go through this horrible era that devoured more thousands lives of American citizens, and irreplaceable damages. The battle had been waged between two wings- North and South. The most crucial tactics had been ignored by northern commander lee that were instructed by sun Tzu’s were perception management, and deception. Lee had been failed to gather his proficiency in leadership, and showing maturity in dealing crisis of battleground. He directed to mobilize the armies except ascertaining it’s efficiency. Sun Tzu’s another great tricks of exempting his frontiers from being thrown into down side of war. He also dejected the general to head the enemy onward side. Unfortunate that North general’s lee didn’t learn from the teachings of Sun Tzu. Therefore such error brought the eventual damages and downfall of lees armies made north wings defeated in that prolonged war.

Concluding Remarks:

The Art of war, a book constituted with war tricks deception, wisdom, and strength that ornamented the excellency of an ideal general, and pragmatic strategist war craftsman. Sun Tzu, the great strategist decorated this book on the basis of his own experiments and experience during the tenure of him acting as chief marshal of King Helu’s frontiers. Therefore the pragmatic approach, and efficiency of this art of war has been initiated by war crafts maker and even until present modern technologist era it uphold it’s applicacy. the Vietnam war, Second world war, and the Gettysburg war have evidenced of this manoeuvre’s accuracy and efficiency.

 

Reference:

Writer:

Muhammad Tanbirul Islam:

Research Manager

History & Civilizations Research Team

Dhaka University Research Society (DURS)

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