Go Back   Professional Soldiers ® > UWOA > Insurgencies & Guerrilla Warfare

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-14-2004, 09:55   #1
NousDefionsDoc
Quiet Professional
 
NousDefionsDoc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
Some Thoughts I Found Interesting on Guerrilla Warfare

1. Geography has historically been very important. Guerrilla movements have usually preferred regions that are not very accessible. Areas in which they are difficult to locate and the enemy can not deploy his full strength. Such areas are ideal in the organization periods.

However, the hardships go both ways.

Also, if relegated to remote areas, it is hard for the guerrillas to be effective at other than attacking remote out posts.

Geography is less important now. Technological advances have made the guerrillas easier to locate.

Urbanization has reduced the political importance of rural areas.

Guerrilla movements need bases and a steady flow of supplies.
__________________
Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.

Still want to quit?
NousDefionsDoc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 09:57   #2
NousDefionsDoc
Quiet Professional
 
NousDefionsDoc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
2. Guerrilla wars very often occur in areas in which such wars have occurred before.

This may be due in part to geographical factors.

May also be due to the hold of central governments being weak or non-existent in these areas.

Cultural traditions also play a role.
__________________
Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.

Still want to quit?
NousDefionsDoc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 09:59   #3
NousDefionsDoc
Quiet Professional
 
NousDefionsDoc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
3. There is a negative correlation between guerrilla warfare and the degree of economic development. There have been few peasant guerrilla wars in modern times in which acute agrarian demands constituted the central issue.
__________________
Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.

Still want to quit?
NousDefionsDoc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 10:03   #4
NousDefionsDoc
Quiet Professional
 
NousDefionsDoc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
4. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries there have been three main types of guerrilla wars.
Yjey have been directed against foreign occupants. Guerrilla warfare has been the favorite tactic of separatist, minority movements fighting the central government. Guerrilla warfare against the native incumbents has been the rule in Latin America and in a few other countries.

But the national, patriotic element has always been heavily emphasized even if the domestic rulers were he target; they were attacked as foreign hirelings by the true patriots fighting for national unity and independence.

Most guerrilla wars are nationalist/separatist, not Marxist/Leninist
__________________
Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.

Still want to quit?
NousDefionsDoc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 10:06   #5
Roguish Lawyer
Consigliere
 
Roguish Lawyer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland (at last)
Posts: 8,765
Good stuff. Thanks. Where'd you find it?
Roguish Lawyer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 10:15   #6
NousDefionsDoc
Quiet Professional
 
NousDefionsDoc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
Guerrilla Warfare: A Historical & Critical Study Walter Laquer

Its pretty good. He keeps drifting off into terrorism. My guess in an attempt to keep it relevant and because the difference is hard to distinguish. He wrote a companion study on terrorism that I also have and apparently one of the two together.

Also over looks or barely mentions movements I consider to be good examples - the FARC as case in point. Original edition was 1956, the one I have has a new introduction and is from 1986. Some of the movements he discusses in the past tense are still active - jumped the gun I guess.

Good history though. In both the Guerrilla Warfare and Terrorism books.
__________________
Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.

Still want to quit?
NousDefionsDoc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 10:26   #7
Solid
Guerrilla Chief
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: NC
Posts: 995
My copy keeps getting delayed. Damn Amazon.co.uk; typical British service.

Are Guerrilla Warfare strategies becoming larger in scale? Looking at certain groups in the middle east, it seems that Guerrillas are increasingly state-sponsored not only in supplies etc, but also in location. This may be because borders in these areas were artificially created during the Days of the Empires, and do not reflect cultural boundaries. This facilitates cross-border activity.

Does that hold water?

Solid
Solid is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 10:33   #8
NousDefionsDoc
Quiet Professional
 
NousDefionsDoc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
I would say they are getting smaller. Mostly because they have to move into more urban areas to survive and be affective.

The state sponsorship has always been there. Where would the Vietnamese have been without the Soviets and Chinese and safe havens (except from SOG) in Laos and Cambodia?

Very few movements have survived without the ability to seek safe haven in a country with ajacent borders.

Also, the white side political party is usually outlawed and forced to work externally. These parties are important for maintaining relationships and raising funds. IRA, PLO, etc.
__________________
Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.

Still want to quit?
NousDefionsDoc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 14:56   #9
Jack Moroney (RIP)
Quiet Professional
 
Jack Moroney (RIP)'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Vermont
Posts: 3,093
At the risk of starting a philosophical discussion, I think it is, IMHO, important not to use guerrillas and guerrilla warfare interchangeably. Guerrilla forces are the overt arm of guerrilla warfare but may not be the most important aspect of the movement and may not surface until all the conditions are right for their employment. The underground is usually the controlling aspect for the operation and is normally in place to provide support, direction, intelligence and C2 for the effort long before folks may even be aware that their is a guerrilla force in existance. Also do not be too hasty to rule out the effectiveness of urban guerrilla operations. While their organization would be highly cellular and more like underground operations they still could be supported by an outside underground operating clandestinely in another country and calling the shots as to when to strike and when to remain dormant. I think that should be evident with what is going on in the world today.

Jack Moroney
Für die Sicherheit
Jack Moroney (RIP) is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 15:05   #10
NousDefionsDoc
Quiet Professional
 
NousDefionsDoc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
Quote:
At the risk of starting a philosophical discussion,
I can practically guarantee it. LOL But nothing wrong with that!

Well said sir. However, I am not sure if I believe in the concept of the urban guerrilla or operation. I tend to think of urban guerrillas and operations as terrorism.

Could you provide an example of an outside underground operating clandestinely in another country? Are they clandestine to the target country or clandestine to the host country?
__________________
Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.

Still want to quit?
NousDefionsDoc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 15:33   #11
The Reaper
Quiet Professional
 
The Reaper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,779
Quote:
Originally posted by NousDefionsDoc
Could you provide an example of an outside underground operating clandestinely in another country? Are they clandestine to the target country or clandestine to the host country?
U.S. OSS in Occupied France, WW II?

TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
The Reaper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 16:29   #12
Solid
Guerrilla Chief
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: NC
Posts: 995
If the government police infrastructure functions adequately, can't urban guerrilla cells be prevented from growing to an unmanageable size? It seems that all the successful ones (Iraq etc) the Government forces either lack policing ability or the guerrilla movement has existed previously.

Solid
Solid is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 19:50   #13
Jimbo
Guerrilla
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: East Coast
Posts: 438
Re: Some Thoughts I Found Interesting on Guerrilla Warfare

Quote:
Originally posted by NousDefionsDoc
1. Geography has historically been very important. Guerrilla movements have usually preferred regions that are not very accessible. Areas in which they are difficult to locate and the enemy can not deploy his full strength. Such areas are ideal in the organization periods.

However, the hardships go both ways.

Also, if relegated to remote areas, it is hard for the guerrillas to be effective at other than attacking remote out posts.

Geography is less important now. Technological advances have made the guerrillas easier to locate.

Urbanization has reduced the political importance of rural areas.

Guerrilla movements need bases and a steady flow of supplies.
This is a little bit of the chicken and egg, but geography is likely not the root cause in these cases, but rather the lack of infrastructure that would facilitate the development of a common identity between a more accessible and more geographically isolated groups.
Jimbo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 19:55   #14
Jack Moroney (RIP)
Quiet Professional
 
Jack Moroney (RIP)'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Vermont
Posts: 3,093
<<Could you provide an example of an outside underground operating clandestinely in another country? Are they clandestine to the target country or clandestine to the host country?>>

Not in this forum, but I think that it would not be too far off the mark to expect the Cubans in Miami, any number of African nations that are fostering uprisings in countries from which the ruling elite has been displaced, and I am sure we have some communist organizations from the newly liberated eastern European countries that haven't given up trying to get back into power. The old Yugoslavia comes to mind.

Jack Moroney
Jack Moroney (RIP) is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-14-2004, 20:12   #15
NousDefionsDoc
Quiet Professional
 
NousDefionsDoc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
Cubans in Miami - great choice. Never occurred to me. Thank you sir.
__________________
Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.

Still want to quit?
NousDefionsDoc is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Some articles I found interesting NousDefionsDoc PT/ H2H 4 08-08-2004 20:42



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:36.



Copyright 2004-2022 by Professional Soldiers ®
Site Designed, Maintained, & Hosted by Hilliker Technologies