Guerrilla Warfare
and Terrorism
Stes de Necker
The strategy and tactics of guerrilla warfare tend
to involve the use of a small, mobile force, against a large, unwieldy one. The
guerrilla force is largely or entirely organised in small units that are
dependent on the support of the local population. Tactically, the guerrilla
army makes small, repetitive attacks far from the opponent's centre of gravity
with a view to keeping its own casualties to a minimum and imposing a constant
debilitating strain on the enemy. This may provoke the enemy into a brutal,
excessively destructive response which will both anger their own supporters and
increase support for the guerrillas, ultimately compelling the enemy to
withdraw.
In most cases, the use of terrorism is
an aspect of guerrilla warfare.
Terrorism is used to focus international
attention on the guerrilla cause, kill opposition leaders, extort money from
targets, intimidate the general population, create economic losses, and keep
followers and potential defectors in line. As well, the use of terrorism can
provoke the greater power to launch a disproportionate response, thus
alienating a civilian population which might be sympathetic to the terrorist's
cause. Such tactics may backfire and cause the civil population to withdraw its
support, or to back countervailing forces against the guerrillas
This situation occurred in Israel, where three Israeli
youths were killed by Muslim extremists encouraging Israeli opinion to take a
harsh stand against the Palestinian backed Hamas group.
In the Philippines and Malaysia, communist terror strikes
helped turn civilian opinion against the insurgents. In Peru and some other
countries, civilian opinion at times backed the harsh countermeasures used by
governments against revolutionary or insurgent movements.
Modern Guerrilla Warfare came to its fullest expression in
the operations of Mao Zedong in China and Vo Nguyen Giap in Vietnam. In between
Ancient Guerrilla Warfare and Modern Guerrilla Warfare are a large variety of
situations - from the wars waged against Israel by Palestinian irregulars in
the contemporary era, to Spanish and Portuguese irregulars operating with the
conventional units of British General Wellington, during the Peninsular War
against Napoleon.
Guerrilla warfare resembles rebellion, yet it is a completely
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. Typically, the organization has political and military wings, to
allow the political leaders "plausible denial" for military attacks.
The most fully elaborated guerrilla warfare structure is by the Chinese and
Vietnamese communists during the revolutionary wars of East and Southeast Asia
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