Guerrilla warfare

:Guerrilla War redirects here. See also Guerrilla War (arcade game).

Tactics

Guerrilla tactics are based on ambush, sabotage, and espionage, and their ultimate objective is usually to destabilize an authority through long, low-intensity confrontation. It can be quite successful against an unpopular foreign regime: a guerrilla army may increase the cost of maintaining an occupation or a colonial presence above what the foreign power may wish to bear.

Related Topics:
Ambush - Sabotage - Espionage - Power

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However, guerrilla warfare has generally been unsuccessful against native regimes, which have nowhere to retreat to and are highly knowledgeable about their own people, their society and culture. The rare examples of successful guerrilla warfare against a native regime include the Cuban Revolution and the Chinese Civil War, as well as the Sandinista overthrow of a military dictatorship in Nicaragua. More common are the unsuccessful examples of guerrilla warfare, which include Malaysia, Bolivia, Argentina, and the Philippines. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), fighting for an independent homeland in the north and east of Sri Lanka, achieved significant military successes against the Sri Lankan military and the government itself for twenty years. It was even able to use these tactics effectively against the IPKF forces sent by India in the mid 1980s, which was later withdrawn due to varied reasons, primarily political. The mutual attrition on both sides in the island led to a ceasefire following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Related Topics:
Cuban Revolution - Chinese Civil War - Sandinista - Nicaragua - Malaysia - Bolivia - Argentina - Philippines - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - Sri Lanka - IPKF - September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks

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Guerrillas in wars against foreign powers do not principally direct their attacks at civilians, as they desire to obtain as much support as possible from the population as part of their tactics. Civilians are primarily attacked or assassinated as punishment for collaboration. Often such an attack will be officially sanctioned by guerrilla command or tribunal. An exception is in civil wars, where both guerrilla groups and organized armies have been known to commit atrocities against the civilian population.

Related Topics:
Collaboration - Civil war - Atrocities

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Mao Zedong during the Chinese civil war, condensed guerrilla warfare into the following points for his troops;

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The enemy advances, we retreat. The enemy camps, we harass. The enemy tires, we attack. The enemy retreats, we pursue.

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Michael Collins of the IRA, who orchestrated the Anglo-Irish war of 1919-1921 had a more succinct principal behind his campaign of intelligence, assassination, and propaganda: create "bloody mayhem." Later assasinated by forces.

Related Topics:
Michael Collins - IRA - Anglo-Irish war

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Guerrillas are often characterised as terrorists by their opponents, as part of psychological warfare. Guerrillas are in danger of not being recognized as lawful combatants because they may not wear a uniform, (to mingle with the local population), or their uniform and distinctive emblems may not be recognised as such by their opponents. Article 44, sections 3 and 4 of the 1977 First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, "relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts", does recognise combatants who, due to the nature of the conflict, do not wear uniforms as long as they carry their weapons openly during military operations. This gives non-uniformed guerrillas lawful combatant status against countries that have ratified this convention.

Related Topics:
Terrorist - Combatants - Uniform - 1977 - First Additional Protocol - Geneva Conventions

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Guerrilla warfare is classified into two main categories: urban guerrilla warfare and rural guerrilla warfare. In both cases, guerrillas rely on a friendly population to provide supplies and intelligence. Rural guerrillas prefer to operate in regions providing plenty of cover and concealment, especially heavily forested and mountainous areas. Urban guerrillas, rather than melting into the mountains and jungles, blend into the population and are also dependent on a support base among the people. When guerrilla fighters, particularly foreigners recruited and transported to the site of a conflict, have occupied a town and are coercing the population into cooperation or submission, they can be more properly characterized as terrorists, as they qualified as mercenaries.

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Foreign support in the form of soldiers, weapons, sanctuary, or, at the very least, statements of sympathy for the guerrillas can greatly increase the chances of victory for an insurgency. However, it is not always necessary.

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Maoist theory of people's war divides warfare into three phases. In the first phase, the guerrillas gain the support of the population through attacks on the machinery of government and the distribution of propaganda. In the second phase, escalating attacks are made on the government's military and vital institutions. In the third phase, conventional fighting is used to seize cities, overthrow the government and take control of the country.

Related Topics:
Maoist - Propaganda - Military

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Guerrilla Tactics were summarized into the Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla in 1969 by Carlos Marighella. This text was banned in several countries including the United States. This is probably the most comprehensive and informative book on guerrilla strategy ever published, and is available free online. Texts by Che Guevara and Mao Zedong on guerrilla warfare are also available.

Related Topics:
1969 - Carlos Marighella

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John Keats wrote about an American guerrilla leader in World War 2: Colonel Wendell Fertig, who in 1942 organized a large force of guerrillas who harassed the Japanese occupation forces on the Philippine Island of Mindanao all the way up to the liberation of the Philippines in 1945. His abilities were later utilized by the United States Army, when Fertig helped found the United States Army Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Others included COL Aaron Bank and COL Russell Volckmann. Volckmann, in particular, commanded a guerrilla

Related Topics:
1942 - 1945 - Fort Bragg, North Carolina

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force which operated out of the Cordillera of Northern Luzon, in the Philippines from the beginning of World War II to its conclusion. He remained in radio contact with US Forces, prior to the invasion of Lingayen Gulf. Banks and Volckmann, founders of Special Forces

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:Russell Volckmann, We Remained.

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Guerrilla warfare sometimes involves surrounding nations, which are affected by a popular uprising against the neighbouring government. A case in point was the Mukti Bahini guerrillas who fought alongside the Indian Army in the 14-day Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 against Pakistan that resulted in the creation of the state of Bangladesh.

Related Topics:
Mukti Bahini - Indian Army - Bangladesh Liberation War - 1971 - Pakistan - Bangladesh

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