Besiege Wèi to rescue Zhào
When the enemy is too strong to be attacked directly, then attack something he holds dear. Know that he cannot be superior in all things. Somewhere there is a gap in the armour, a weakness that can be attacked instead.
The origins of this proverb is from the Warring States Period. The state of Wèi attacked Zhao and laid siege to its capital Handan. Zhào turned to Qí for help, but the Qí general Sun Bin determined it would be unwise to meet the army of Wèi head on, so he instead attacked their capital at Daliang. The army of Wèi retreated in haste, and the tired troops were ambushed and defeated at the Battle of Guiling, with the Wèi general Pang Juan slain on the field. Note that this campaign is also described explicitly in the Art of War of Master Sun Bin the younger.
The idea here is to avoid a head on battle with a strong enemy, and instead strike at his weakness elsewhere. This will force the strong enemy to retreat in order to support his weakness. Battling against the now tired and low-morale enemy will give a much higher chance of success.
圍魏救趙
公元前354年，趙國(guó)進(jìn)攻衛(wèi)國(guó)，迫使衛(wèi)國(guó)屈服于它。衛(wèi)國(guó)原來是入朝魏國(guó)的，現(xiàn)在改向親附趙國(guó)，魏惠王不由十分惱火，于是決定派龐涓討伐趙國(guó)。不到一年時(shí)間，龐涓便攻到了趙國(guó)的國(guó)都邯鄲。邯鄲危在旦夕。趙國(guó)國(guó)君趙成侯一面竭力固守，一面派人火速奔往齊國(guó)求救（此時(shí)，趙國(guó)與齊國(guó)結(jié)盟）。齊威王任命田忌為主將，以孫臏為軍師，率軍救趙。孫臏出計(jì)，要軍中最不會(huì)打仗的齊城、高唐佯攻魏國(guó)的軍事要地——襄陵，以麻痹魏軍。而大軍卻繞到直插大梁。龐涓得到魏惠王的命令只得火速反國(guó)救援。魏軍為疲憊之師，怎能打過齊國(guó)以逸待勞的精銳之師。所以大敗。
所謂圍魏救趙，是指當(dāng)敵人實(shí)力強(qiáng)大時(shí)，要避免和強(qiáng)敵正面決戰(zhàn)，應(yīng)該采取迂回戰(zhàn)術(shù)，迫使敵人分散兵力，然后抓住敵人的薄弱環(huán)節(jié)發(fā)動(dòng)攻擊，致敵于死地。
本指圍攻魏國(guó)的都城以解救趙國(guó)?，F(xiàn)借指用包超敵人的后方來迫使它撤兵的戰(zhàn)術(shù)。
When the enemy is too strong to be attacked directly, then attack something he holds dear. Know that he cannot be superior in all things. Somewhere there is a gap in the armour, a weakness that can be attacked instead.
The origins of this proverb is from the Warring States Period. The state of Wèi attacked Zhao and laid siege to its capital Handan. Zhào turned to Qí for help, but the Qí general Sun Bin determined it would be unwise to meet the army of Wèi head on, so he instead attacked their capital at Daliang. The army of Wèi retreated in haste, and the tired troops were ambushed and defeated at the Battle of Guiling, with the Wèi general Pang Juan slain on the field. Note that this campaign is also described explicitly in the Art of War of Master Sun Bin the younger.
The idea here is to avoid a head on battle with a strong enemy, and instead strike at his weakness elsewhere. This will force the strong enemy to retreat in order to support his weakness. Battling against the now tired and low-morale enemy will give a much higher chance of success.
圍魏救趙
公元前354年，趙國(guó)進(jìn)攻衛(wèi)國(guó)，迫使衛(wèi)國(guó)屈服于它。衛(wèi)國(guó)原來是入朝魏國(guó)的，現(xiàn)在改向親附趙國(guó)，魏惠王不由十分惱火，于是決定派龐涓討伐趙國(guó)。不到一年時(shí)間，龐涓便攻到了趙國(guó)的國(guó)都邯鄲。邯鄲危在旦夕。趙國(guó)國(guó)君趙成侯一面竭力固守，一面派人火速奔往齊國(guó)求救（此時(shí)，趙國(guó)與齊國(guó)結(jié)盟）。齊威王任命田忌為主將，以孫臏為軍師，率軍救趙。孫臏出計(jì)，要軍中最不會(huì)打仗的齊城、高唐佯攻魏國(guó)的軍事要地——襄陵，以麻痹魏軍。而大軍卻繞到直插大梁。龐涓得到魏惠王的命令只得火速反國(guó)救援。魏軍為疲憊之師，怎能打過齊國(guó)以逸待勞的精銳之師。所以大敗。
所謂圍魏救趙，是指當(dāng)敵人實(shí)力強(qiáng)大時(shí)，要避免和強(qiáng)敵正面決戰(zhàn)，應(yīng)該采取迂回戰(zhàn)術(shù)，迫使敵人分散兵力，然后抓住敵人的薄弱環(huán)節(jié)發(fā)動(dòng)攻擊，致敵于死地。
本指圍攻魏國(guó)的都城以解救趙國(guó)?，F(xiàn)借指用包超敵人的后方來迫使它撤兵的戰(zhàn)術(shù)。