Guerrilla Warfare What is Guerrilla Warfare
Types of Guerrilla Warfare Detailed List of Guerrilla Wars Definition of Guerrilla Warfare Styles List of Successful Guerrilla
Wars and Campaigns in History
Guerrilla Warfare and Guerrilla War
(Guerrilla
is Spanish for "little war")
Guerrilla means small war, the diminutive of the Spanish word guerra (war). The Spanish word derives
from the Old High German word werra and from the middle Dutch word warre; adopted by the Visigoths in A.D.
5th century Hispania.
"Defensive Guerrilla Warfare" is fighting an enemy on your terrain
and on your terms, while "Offensive Guerrilla Warfare" is fighting an enemy on its terrain.
Defensive Guerrilla Warfare:
A common Defensive Guerrilla Warfare goal is to convince
the enemy that the war is futile. Consequently, the enemy's political and civilian elements become demoralized
and seek a resolution to end the conflict, e.g., Vietnam War. During the American Civil War, the South did not need to win; it only needed a draw or stalemate.
Defensive Guerrilla Warfare tactics are based on intelligence, ambush, psychological
warfare, psychological operations, sabotage, espionage, friendly civilian populace, strong and localized logistical support,
and undermining an enemy through long, low-intensity confrontation. These tactics are useful in demoralizing an enemy, while
raising the morale of the guerrillas. In many protracted conflicts, guerrilla tactics allow a small force to resist a much
larger and better equipped enemy.
It can be very successful as demonstrated during the American Revolutionary
War, Vietnam War, Soviet-Afghan War, Russia’s Second Chechen War, and the Iraq War (a.k.a. 2nd Gulf War).
During
the American Civil War, since the Union army typically outnumbered the Confederate army by more than two-to-one, Defensive
Guerrilla Warfare proved to be effective for the Confederacy, particularly in the Smoky Mountains.
Offensive Guerrilla Warfare:
A common Offensive Guerrilla Warfare goal is
to overthrow a government. Although similar to Defensive Guerrilla Warfare, Offensive Guerrilla Warfare,
however, often exposes the guerrillas to an unfriendly and uncooperative civilian populace, greatly extends and stretches
its logistics and supplies, and it loses familiarity of terrain (home field advantage).
It can, however, be very successful against an unpopular regime.
When the South conducted Offensive
Guerrilla Warfare in the North during the American Civil War, it had limited supplies and was met by an unfriendly civilian
populace.
