On Guerrilla Warfare
'One of the most influential documents of our time, Mao Tse-tung's pamphlet on guerrilla warfare has become the basic textbook for waging revolution in underdeveloped and emergent areas throughout the world. Recognizing the fundamental disparity between agrarian and urban societies, Mao advocated unorthodox strategies that converted deficits into advantages: using intelligence provided by the sympathetic peasant population; substituting deception, mobility, and surprise for superior firepower; using retreat as an offensive move; and educating the inhabitants on the ideological basis of the struggle.This radical new approach to warfare, waged in jungles and mountains by mobile guerrilla bands closely supported by local inhabitants, has been adopted by other revolutionary leaders from Ho Chi Minh to Che Guevara. Mao wrote On Guerrilla Warfare in 1937 while in retreat after ten years of battling the Nationalist army of Chiang Kai-shek. Twelve years later, the Nationalist Chinese were rousted from the mainland, and Mao consolidated his control of a new nation, having put his theories of revolutionary guerrilla warfare to the test. Established governments have slowly come to recognize the need to understand and devise means to counter this new method of warfare. Samuel B. Griffith's classic translation makes Mao's treatise widely available and includes a comprehensive introduction that profiles Mao, analyzes the nature and conduct of guerrilla warfare, and considers its implications for American policy'.
On Guerrilla Warfare Accessories
On Guerrilla Warfare Reviews
There is no doubt about the value of the information in this pages. It worked for Mao Tse-Tung and serves, even under today's Political scenery, not only as a great source (of basic) strategy but as an eye opener for all those who dare to dream about change.
Yet, my addition is for praising this edition in particular for it contains outstanding notes from the translator, a Marine Corps Officer. The price of the text is well worth the notes themselves.
Well worth buying even if you already read it before.
A concise blueprint for what it takes to mount and sustain an effort of this nature. This is from early documents before the time that becoming 'Emperor in situ' took it's effect on him. This is the writings of a man engaged in a desparate struggle. His problems emerged when he won. There was never anything of communism with this struggle - it was for power and dominion over China
Key concepts from "On Guerilla Warfare" include:
Ch 1: What is Guerilla Warfare? Guerilla Warfare "derives from the masses and is supported by them, it can neither exist nor flourish if it separates itself from their sympathies and cooperation" (p. 44).
Ch 2: The Relation of Guerilla Hostilities to Regular Operations: "The concept that guerilla warfare is an end in itself and that guerilla activities can be divorced from those of the regular forces is incorrect" (p. 55).
Ch 3: Guerilla Warfare in History: "Guerilla operations alone cannot produce final victory" (p.62).
Ch 4: Can Victory Be Attained By Guerilla Operations? "The establishment of innumerable anti-Japanese bases behind the enemy's lines will force him to fight unceasingly in many places at once, both to his front and his rear" (p. 68).
Ch 5: Organization for Guerilla Warfare. Seven types of guerilla units are described, but the "fountainhead of guerilla warfare is in the masses of the people" (p. 73). He also describes self defense units and youth organizations.
Ch 6: The Political Problems of Guerilla Warfare. "Military action is a method used to attain a political goal...it is impossible to separate one from the other" (p. 89). The stated `Three Rules and Eight Remarks' are as applicable today as they were 70 years ago.
Ch 7: The Strategy of Guerilla Resistance Against Japan. "The primary functions of guerillas are three: first, to conduct a war on exterior lines, that is, in the rear of the enemy; second, to establish bases; and, last, to extend the war areas" (p. 95).
Mao's first few chapters defend "guerilla operations" from detractors and reinforce that the communist guerilla fighters needed to work with the "traditional" military to defeat the Japanese invaders. The final chapter borrows maxims from Sun Tzu's Art of War to include an emphasis upon speed, knowing one's enemy, and using an indirect approach. U.S. leaders should read and apply lessons to our operations in Afghanistan.
Dr. B Leland Baker, author of Tea Party Revival, The Conscience of a Conservative Reborn
Tea Party Revival: The Conscience of a Conservative Reborn: The Tea Party Revolt Against Unconstrained Spending and Growth of the Federal Government
I had no idea what I was getting into when I bought this book but it was truly great and informative. Mao puts things in a very disciplinary way and makes things very easy to understand. Its after reading this book that my respect and interest in Mao Tse-tung and the people of China grew. This is a must read for anyone interested in military history. The book is short and its a very quick read. It mirrors Che Guevara's On Guerilla Warefare, although I find Guevara's version more like an instructional action book, whereas Mao's book is dry but informative. After reading this book, one will understand how a single man was able to not only unite China and overthrow the Nationalist government at the time, but also the invading Japanese imperialists. Highly recommended!
In the midst of seemingly perpetual conflicts, it's interesting to understand the nuanced nature of war and the variety of views that are used to justify action that steps beyond non-violent resistance. On Guerilla Warfare vividly illustrates the desperation that leads a group of people to resort to guerilla tactics. Rather than simply demonizing guerilla fighters as a disruption to efforts in attaining some form of global tranquility, Mao Tse-tung explains the mindset of the guerilla fighter.
Translated by Samuel B. Griffith II, On Guerilla Warfare provides a concise venture into the mindset of a guerilla fighter. Extending beyond a simple explanation of tactics, Mao Tse-tung explains the delicate balance between the guerilla as a soldier and the guerilla as an activist/organizer. Although brief in nature, the book manages to explain the realities of guerilla warfare rather than perpetuating the stereotype of the hardened, professional traipsing through the jungle.
Tse-tung explains the many facets of guerilla warfare including organizational structure, overarching strategy, methods of resupply, and recruitment. In addition Tse-tung delineates the varying methods through which guerillas can be utilized alongside regular military troops. Although On Guerilla Warfare is full of information on the technicalities of military insurgency, it also peppered with inspirational and philosophical knowledge regarding the nature of resistance.
Personally, I think On Guerilla Warfare is useful information for any soldier. It explains the mindset of the guerilla fighter (or the insurgent fighter) and illuminates the similarities in tactics between traditional and non-traditional soldiers. Tse-tung brings a certain sense of relevance in showing that war is not simply a one-sided endeavor.
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