If we know that the enemy is open to attack, and also know that our
men are in a condition to attack, but are unaware that the nature of
the ground makes fighting impracticable, we have still gone only
halfway towards victory.
I may take this opportunity of pointing out the rather nice
distinction in meaning between 擊 and 攻. The latter is simply “to
attack” without any further implication, whereas 擊 is a stronger
word which in nine cases out of ten means “to attack with
expectation of victory,” “to fall upon,” as we should say, or even
“to crush.” On the other hand, 擊 is not quite synonymous with 伐,
which is mostly used of operations on a larger scale, as of one
State _making war_ on another, often with the added idea of
invasion. 征, finally, has special reference to the subjugation of
rebels. See Mencius, VII. 2. ii. 2.