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(5) over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and

trouble.

[Here again, Sun Tzŭ does not mean that the general is to be

careless of the welfare of his troops. All he wishes to emphasize

is the danger of sacrificing any important military advantage to

the immediate comfort of his men. This is a shortsighted policy,

because in the long run the troops will suffer more from the

defeat, or, at best, the prolongation of the war, which will be

the consequence. A mistaken feeling of pity will often induce a

general to relieve a beleaguered city, or to reinforce a

hard-pressed detachment, contrary to his military instincts. It

is now generally admitted that our repeated efforts to relieve

Ladysmith in the South African War were so many strategical

blunders which defeated their own purpose. And in the end, relief

came through the very man who started out with the distinct

resolve no longer to subordinate the interests of the whole to

sentiment in favour of a part.