Guerrilla warfare is irregular combat waged by small, mobile bands using ambush, sabotage and the support of a sympathetic population to wear down a stronger conventional force rather than confront it in open battle. The word itself, meaning little war, was coined during the Peninsular War of 1808 to 1814, when Spanish irregulars harassed Napoleon Bonaparte's occupying forces, but the underlying tactics are far older and have been used by irregular forces across many eras and traditions, from ancient raiding warfare to twentieth-century revolutionary and anti-colonial movements such as the Viet Cong's campaign in the Vietnam War. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core ClaimAvoid direct confrontation with a stronger conventional force; use small, mobile, irregular units, ambush, sabotage and the support of a sympathetic population to wear the enemy down over time rather than defeat it in open battle. 1 Classification
Domain (Land, Sea, Air, Cyber) Connections
Associated With
Source Wikipedia: Guerrilla warfare
Source Wikipedia: People's War
Source Wikipedia: Guerrilla warfare
Source Wikipedia: Guerrilla warfare
Developed By
Source Wikipedia: Guerrilla warfare
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Guerrilla warfare
WikipediaLead section
Guerrilla warfare is a type of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians 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 fight against regular military, police or rival insurgent forces.
Theoretical works section
Mao Zedong's On Guerrilla Warfare, Che Guevara's Guerrilla Warfare, and Lenin's Guerrilla warfare were all written after the successful revolutions carried out by them in China, Cuba and Russia, respectively.
Domain attribute (guerrilla-warfare)
Guerrilla warfare is irregular combat waged by small, mobile bands using ambush, sabotage and the support of a sympathetic population to wear down a stronger conventional force rather than confront it in open battle.
- Associated With: Napoleonic Wars
- Associated With: Vietnam War
Associated With: Sun Tzu, History section
In the 6th century BC, Sun Tzu proposed the use of guerrilla-style tactics in The Art of War.
Developed By: Mao Zedong, article text
Mao Zedong argued that guerrilla insurgency, or what he referred to as a war of revolutionary nature, can be conceived of as part of a continuum.
View the Source Wikipedia: People's War
WikipediaAssociated With: People's War, Lead paragraph, guerrilla warfare mentionQuote, Associated With: People's War, Lead paragraph, guerrilla warfare mention
the basic concept behind people's war is to maintain the support of the population and draw the enemy deep into the countryside (stretching their supply lines) where the population will bleed them dry through guerrilla warfare and eventually build up to mobile warfare.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the word "guerrilla" come from?
Coined during the 1808 to 1814 Peninsular War, when Spanish irregulars fought Napoleon's occupying army.
"Guerrilla" means "little war" in Spanish. The term was coined during the Peninsular War of 1808 to 1814, when Spanish irregular fighters harassed Napoleon Bonaparte's occupying forces. The underlying tactics, small mobile bands avoiding open battle in favor of ambush and sabotage, are far older and have been used by irregular forces across many eras, but the word itself dates from that conflict.
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