The Art of War

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Deception (Chapter 1)

2. Planning (Chapter 1)

3. 1,000 ounces of silver (Chapter 2)

4. Whole and undamaged (Chapter 3)

5. Laying siege (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. Sun Tzu describes the five factors that dictate the outcome of war as good governance, weather and season, the quality of the army, the military leader, and geography. (Chapter 1)

2. Sun Tzu describes deception as presenting the army as weak when it is strong and as unprepared when it is prepared. (Chapter 1)

3. He advises military leadership to feed and provide weapons for their military using resources from the country that is invaded. (Chapter 2)

4. Leaders can undermine the chances of their army by failing to see the entire battlefield, by failing to see the individual strengths of officers, and by ruling the army as if it were a state. (Chapter 3)

Chapters 4-8

Reading Check

1. Weaknesses (Chapter 4)

2. Directly and indirectly (Chapter 5)

3. In the evening (Chapter 7)

4. Recklessness, bad temper, cowardice, touchiness, and worry (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. Public heroes win through difficulty, but wise generals win easily through careful planning. (Chapter 4)

2. Keeping the army hidden creates an element of surprise when it is time to attack the enemy. (Chapter 4)

3. The larger military force is divided into smaller sections and organized by signaling. (Chapter 5)

4. He tells leaders to antagonize those who are comfortable, cut supply lines of the well fed, and make encamped forces move. By doing these things, the commander can simultaneously create and exploit weaknesses. (Chapter 6)

5. When faced with a large army, the invader should attack a smaller army. Then the commander of the large army will need to send reinforcements to help the smaller army and be on guard for other indirect attacks, which divides and weakens the large army. (Chapter 6)

Chapters 9-11

Reading Check

1. Upstream (Chapter 9)

2. High, flat ground (Chapter 9)

3. Dispersive ground, or home territory (Chapter 11)

4. Facile ground (Chapter 11)

Short Answer

1. Soldiers who lean on spears are hungry; if water carriers drink first, they are low on water supplies; and commotion in enemy camps at night suggests nervousness. (Chapter 9)

2. Sun Tzu says soldiers must respect their general first. He advises generals to treat troops kindly and not to punish them until they have bonded with their leader. (Chapter 9)

3. Terrain that is hard to navigate can be weaponized to wear down enemy troops, or easily traversable land can be used as an advantage to maneuver troops. (Various chapters)

4. Six errors of leadership are confronting a larger army, having a weak general with strong troops, overly eager officers and weak soldiers, angry officers who work against their general, unclear commands, and lack of planning. (Chapter 10)

Chapters 12-13

Reading Check

1. When it’s windy (Chapter 12)

2. Converted spies (Chapter 13)

Short Answer

1. He says fire can burn camps, supply lines, stores, and arsenals and can rain down fire on the enemy. (Chapter 12)

2. The five types of spies are local, inward, converted, surviving, and doomed. (Chapter 13)

3. Sun Tzu says spies should be well treated and paid. (Chapter 13)

4. Spies are important because they provide valuable information. Information is an essential aspect of planning and knowing the enemy. (Various chapters)