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Guerrilla warfare resembles rebellion, yet it is a different concept. Guerrilla organization ranges from small, local rebel groups of a few dozen guerrillas, to thousands of fighters, deploying from cells to regiments. In most cases, the leaders have clear political aims for the warfare they wage.
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians including recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism, raids, petty warfare or hit-and-run tactics in a rebellion, in a violent conflict, in a war or in a civil war to ...
Guerrilla, member of an irregular military force fighting small-scale, limited actions, in concert with an overall political-military strategy, against conventional military forces. Guerrilla tactics involve constantly shifting attack operations and include the use of sabotage and terrorism.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- History
- Purpose and Motivation
- Guerrilla Warfare Tactics
- Guerrilla Warfare vs. Terrorism
- Guerrilla Warfare Examples
- Sources
The use of guerrilla warfare was first suggested in the 6th century BC by Chinese general and strategist Sun Tzu, in his classic book, The Art of War. In 217 BC, Roman Dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus, often called the “father of guerrilla warfare,” used his “Fabian strategy” to defeat the mighty invading army of Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca....
Guerrilla warfare is generally considered a war motivated by politics—a desperate struggle of common people to right the wrongs done to them by an oppressive regime that rules by military force and intimidation. When asked what motivates guerrilla warfare, Cuban Revolution leader Che Guevara gave this famous response: History, however, has shown th...
In his 6th century book The Art of War, Chinese General Sun Tzu summarized the tactics of guerrilla warfare: Reflecting General Tzu’s teachings, guerrilla fighters use small and fast-moving units to launch repeated surprise “hit-and-run” attacks. The goal of these attacks is to destabilize and demoralize the larger enemy force while minimizing thei...
While they both employ many of the same tactics and weapons, there are important differences between guerrilla fighters and terrorists. Most importantly, terrorists rarely attack defended military targets. Instead, terrorists usually attack so-called “soft targets,” such as civilian aircraft, schools, churches, and other places of public assembly. ...
Throughout history, evolving cultural ideologies such as liberty, equality, nationalism, socialism, and religious fundamentalism have motivated groups of people to employ guerrilla warfare tactics in efforts to overcome real or imagined oppression and persecution at the hands of a ruling government or foreign invaders. While many battles of the Ame...
Guevara, Ernesto & Davies, Thomas M. “Guerrilla Warfare.”Rowman & Littlefield, 1997. ISBN 0-8420-2678-9Laqueur, Walter (1976). “Guerrilla Warfare: A Historical & Critical Study.”Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-0-76-580406-8Tomes, Robert (2004). “Relearning Counterinsurgency Warfare.” Parameters.Rowe, P. (2002). Freedom fighters and rebels: the rules of civil war. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.- Robert Longley
Sep 26, 2024 · guerrilla warfare, type of warfare fought by irregulars in fast-moving, small-scale actions against orthodox military and police forces and, on occasion, against rival insurgent forces, either independently or in conjunction with a larger political-military strategy.
Sep 26, 2024 · Guerrilla warfare - Tactics, Unity, Command: The tactical organization of guerrilla units varies according to size and operational demands. Mao called for a guerrilla squad of 9 to 11; his basic unit was the company, about 120 strong.
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants use ambushes, sabotage, raids, and mobility to fight a larger and less-mobile traditional military.
