10 MAXIMS ANCIENT FOR MODERN MILITARIES
Sun Tzu is the ultimate military guru and The Art Of War is the ultimate military self-help book. It consists of 13 chapters containing a total of 385 maxims. Most are common sense, a few are completely inscrutable, while others remain universal truths about the nature of warfare. Certainly he is more accessible than that other doyen of military thought – Carl von Clausewitz. Although he was writing centuries ago, there are dozens of examples in modern conflicts that demonstrate Sun Tzu’s wisdom.
1 “All warfare is based on deception”
This is the ultimate Sun Tzu maxim. When he was writing soldiering was seen as an honourable profession governed by certain codes of conduct. Sun Tzu basically said the means justify the ends, however to trick your enemy was seen as dishonourable. Today deception in warfare is taken for granted. One of the
