The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue.
Mao Tse-tung.
For many years now (decades even) I have had an interest in irregular warfare. The flame of interest was kindled by stories of operations against the Mau Mau, and those of one friend who fought against the Simbas. As the operations against the Mau Mau were being expedited, the British were also committed to the defeat of the Malayan Communists and later, as the Simbas ran amok in the Congo, the British were busy deterring the Indonesians from mounting a full scale war against the embryonic federation of Malaysia. But it was Africa which first captured my imagination followed by the Cuban revolution and the colourful Che Guevara, followed, then, as more information became available, the events of South East Asia.
We (in Britain) have recently witnessed much on our TV’s regarding Mao and his communist revolution in China, but it was the Spanish who gave Guerrilla warfare its name. Indeed, Mao’s writings became the tenets of the guerrilla fighter, but even Mao had his influences, not least among them was Sun Tsu on the art of war. Later, Vo Nguyen Giap would apply the ingredients of both Sun Tsu and Mao, with a little spice of his own, to defeat both the French and the Americans in Vietnam.
A word from Sun Tsu to whet the appetite:
All warfare is based on deception.
Therefore, when capable, feign incapacity; when active, inactivity.
When near, make it appear that you are far away; when far away, that you are near.
Offer the enemy a bait to lure him; feign disorder and strike him.
When he concentrates, prepare against him; where he is strong, avoid him.
Mao lists the following points of insurgent strategy:
1. Attack dispersed isolated enemy forces first; attack concentrated strong forces second.
2. Take small and medium cities and extensive rural areas first; take big cities second.
3. Make wiping out the enemy’s effective strength our main objective; do not make holding or seizing a city or place our main objective. Holding or seizing a city or place is the outcome of wiping out the enemy’s strength, and often a city or place will be held or seized for good only after it has changed hands a number of times.
4. In every battle, concentrate an absolutely superior force (two, three, four and sometimes even five and six times the enemy’s strength), encircle the enemy forces completely, strive to wipe them out thoroughly, and do not let any escape from the net. In special circumstances, use the method of dealing the enemy crushing blows, that is, concentrated all-out strength to make a frontal attack on one or both of his flanks, with the aim of wiping out one part and routing another so that our army can swiftly move its troops to smash other enemy forces. Strive to avoid battles of attrition in which we lose more than we gain or break even. In this way, although inferior as a whole (in terms of numbers), we shall be absolutely superior in every part and every specific campaign, and this ensures victory in the campaign. As time goes on we shall become superior as a whole and eventually wipe out all of the enemy.
5. Fight no battle unprepared, fight no battle you are not sure of winning; make every effort to be well prepared for each battle, make every effort to ensure victory in the given set of conditions as between the enemy and ourselves.
6. Give full play to our style of fighting – courage in battle, no fear of sacrifice, no fear of fatigue, and continuous fighting (that id fighting successive battles in a short duration of time without rest).
7. Strive to wipe out the enemy when he is on the move. At the same time, pay attention to the tactics of positional attack and capture enemy-fortified points and cities.
8. Replenish our strength with all the arms and most of the personnel captured from the enemy. Our army’s main sources of manpower and material are at the front.
9. Make good use of intervals between campaigns to rest, train, and consolidate our troops. Periods of rest, training, and consolidation should not be very long, and the enemy should so far as possible be permitted no breathing space.
The formula for a successful guerrilla campaign is described in three phases:
Land, Time and Will.
Land is sacrificed to gain time. The more the enemy holds, the more he has to defend and the wider the guerrillas target area.
Time is required to create, train and arm the force and instil the will to win in the people.
Will is needed to win a protracted campaign. The enemy’s will to continue must be broken.