There are six kinds of military defeat: flight, laxity, collapse, rupture, disorder and rout. None of these come from natural disasters; they all stem from the general’s faults.
When forces are evenly matched yet one unit attacks ten, the army will flee.
When soldiers are brave but officers are weak, discipline grows lax.
When officers are fierce but soldiers cowardly, the army will be trapped.
Senior officers resentful and disobey orders, fighting arbitrarily without the general’s control – this is rupture.
A weak general with loose rules and confused training leads to chaotic ranks and messy formations – this is disorder.
A general who cannot assess the enemy, fights large forces with small troops, or attacks the strong without elite vanguards – this ends in rout.
These six are paths to defeat. They are the vital concerns of a general and must be carefully examined.
Note
Sun Tzu lists six military failures all arising from flawed generalship, including flight, laxity, rout, etc. Uneven troop-officer morale, mutinous officers, loose discipline and poor enemy evaluation all lead to defeat, which commanders must guard against.
A great military strategist and thinker in ancient China, who lived in the late Spring and Autumn Period. He authored The Art of War, the world’s earliest and most influential military classic. His strategic thoughts have been widely applied in military, politics and management worldwide.
Six types of defeat
Six common failures caused by poor generalship and mismanagement.
Discipline & command
The core factors to keep an army effective.
Elite vanguard
Essential strike force for battles.
Leadership responsibility
The general bears full accountability for defeat.
故兵有走者，有弛者，有陷者，有崩者，有亂者，有北者；凡此六者，非天地之災，將之過也。夫勢均，以一擊十，曰走。卒強吏弱，曰弛。吏強卒弱，曰陷。大吏怒而不服，遇敵懟而自戰，將不知其能，曰崩。將弱不嚴，教道不明，吏卒無常，陳兵縱橫，曰亂。將不能料敵，以少合眾，以弱擊強，兵無選鋒，曰北。凡此六者，敗之道也。將之至任，不可不察也。
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