March, Terrain, and Situations

In this first section "The Army on the March" Tzu makes several different points. This first is about the different terrains in which wars can be conducted: mountains, rivers, marshes, and plains. These terrains may not apply to urban warfare today, but his main point that you need to hold a better piece of terrain than the enemy is still true. Another important point from this section is that by watching the enemy you can learn about their situation. This idea is still followed in the OPORD process whenever we say the enemy has high/low morale and what their likely course of action is based upon their current situation.

In the next section "Terrain" Tzu makes two main points which can be summed up in his statement "if you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete." When Tzu refers to Heaven and Earth he is actually referencing the terrain. Although warfare in urban environments does not have the same terrain as the types Tzu is talking about it is still important to know the surrounding environment. He stresses the relationship between the general (officer) and the common soldiers (subordinates) which is still especially important in urban warfare.

In the last section "The Nine Situations" Tzu speaks of nine different kinds of ground and the different actions you should take on each. No matter what type of ground suprise and rapidity are still important; both in Tzu's time and in a modern urban environment. While the exact nine types of ground may not all be in sure today, it is still important to know both the environment and the enemy.