Sun Tzu Compare and Contrast

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‘The Art of War’ which was written in 500 b.c. was filled with principles of war. These principles have been used throughout history since it was written. “Sun Tzu’s secrets are kept hidden, made available only to emperors and authorized scholars. They surface in the 8th century in Japan and since then, their insights have spread through the world. (Art of War) The principles are important that Sun Tzu put to the test as he led Wu against Nang Wa and the Chu. Sun Tzu led about 30,000 warriors against the Chu army of hundreds of thousands. He consistently shifted his forces on the field which kept Nang Wa and his forces chasing Sun Tzu, which gives Sun Tzu a better understanding of his opponent. His maneuvering is related to chess and the Chinese game of Go. Chess is attrition based in which you may only maneuver pieces in a certain pattern unlike Go which you only place pieces on the board to dominate territory. Sun Tzu uses the Go like strategy to overcome the Wu and chooses when and where he will fight. This form of warfare can be related to Guerilla warfare and was displayed in Vietnam. America was the most powerful country in the world in 1960 and they were fighting a country that was smaller than “Montana.” General Westmoreland, a World War II combat officer, positioned U.S. troops to fight head on and moved his troops like a chessboard. However there were no fixed objectives to fight or destroyed, the war could not be fought like it was in WWII. According to Rosenberg, “U.S. troops fought a jungle war, mostly against the well-supplied Viet Cong. The Viet Cong would attack in ambushes, set up booby traps, and escape through a complex network of underground tunnels. For U.S. forces, even just finding their enemy proved difficult. Since Viet Cong hid in the dense brush, U.S. forces would drop Agent Orange or napalm bombs, which
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