Guerilla Warfare Essay - 655 Words

Guerrilla Warfare The term guerrilla (Spanish, â€Å"little war†) originated in the early 19th century during the Peninsular war when, after the defeat of Spain’s regular forces, Spanish irregulars and civilians rose up against the French occupying forces. The practice of guerrilla warfare, however, dates from antiquity; for example, the Bible tells of the Israelite conquest of Canaan, led by Joshua, involving harassment and ambush of the enemy. Later Jewish resistance to foreign rule was expressed in the series of fierce guerrilla operations against the Romans in the 1st century AD; led by the Zealot sect, this revolt was climaxed by the seizure of Masada and the massacre of the Roman garrison there in AD66. Lacking the numerical strength†¦show more content†¦Guerrilla warfare has figured prominently in the history of North and South America, from the slave revolts against the Portuguese and Dutch in Brazil in the 17th century to the ranger raids behind Union lines led by the Confederate solider John Singleton Mosby during the American Civil War. In early 19th century Latin America, guerrilla actions such as those led by the South American patriot Simon Bolivar and the Mexican revolutionary Miguel Hidalgo Costilla were instrumental in throwing off the Spanish yoke. In its most general sense, guerrilla tactics involves the combination of methods used to carry out any action. Urban guerrillas wage guerrilla warfare and psychological warfare. There are five major components to guerrilla tactics: a.The specific nature of the situation; b.Designing the action to meet the specific nature of the situation; c.The objective; d.The type of action designed to meet the objective; and, e.The method for carrying out that action. Urban guerrilla tactics embody the following features: (this is how one man refers to guerilla warfare in his country)a.They are aggressive and offensive in nature. Defense means death for us. Since our firepower, resources, and manpower cannot match that of the enemy, we cannot defend ourselves against an offensive or a coordinated attack made by the quot;guerrillas.quot; So our tactics must vary, and can never be permanent, and that isShow MoreRelatedThe Tenet Of Guerilla Warfare1968 Words   |  8 PagesThe first tenet of guerilla warfare is to disregard the strategies that typically define conflicts. Disposing of these tactics, and thinking in a lateral direction, can afford a tactical advantage over a more cumbersome and habitual foe. This competitive advantage can often mean the difference between victory and defeat, and can be necessary to establish dominance within the area of conflict. Jay Conrad Levinson (2007) was the first to directly apply these concepts to the busin ess world with aRead MoreGuerilla Warfare in the Vietnam War620 Words   |  3 PagesA small country such as North Vietnam was able to win a war against a superpower like the United States of America, through, namely, tactics – such as Guerrilla Warfare -, the ignorance of their enemy, the attitude of the South Vietnamese, as well as a strong leader such as Ho Chi Minh. The Vietnam War was a major conflict (of the Cold War) which lasted from 1959 to 1975 , with US involvement from 1964 to 1973 . US reasons for their involvement in the war was their fear of â€Å"The Domino Effect† -Read MoreThe Failure Of Guerilla Warfare Methods During The Vietnam War1369 Words   |  6 Pages(1350)The Failure of Guerilla Warfare Methods in the Vietnam War: An Analysis of the Causality of the â€Å"Counter Insurgency† Governmental Policies and the Presidential Campaign of 1968 This colloquium will define the connection between various sources related to the â€Å"counter insurgency† policies of the American government throughout the 1960s that caused a slow escalation of the Vietnam War in the fight against communist expansion in Southeast Asia. The Campaign of 1968 defines the legacy of presidentRead MoreEssay about Spanish Resistance to Napoleon1703 Words   |  7 Pageswere using a new military strategy called guerilla warfare, one that Napoleon had no experience against. Guerilla warfare is the use of unconventional war tactics, such as ambush and sabotage, coined by the Spanish rebellion to Napoleon Bonaparte, resulting in an uprising that even he couldn’t put to rest. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;To understand why these tactics were so effective, you must first understand the tactics themselves. Before guerilla warfare was popularized, war was mainly a head-to-headRead MoreGeography : History And Geography1325 Words   |  6 Pagesof knowing the land and how to maneuver with it. For this country, physical geography added a natural advantage to defending their land. Guerilla warfare capitalizes these traits and uses them for an advantage; The Revolutionary War was ended at Yorktown after a guerrilla attack. was won by using guerilla tactics. In the book The Art of War, guerrilla warfare was mentioned; Chinese fighters did not create the technique, but it was also used by nomadic tribes centuries before. In his book, BattlefieldsRead MoreThe Warfare Of The Soviet Union725 Words   |  3 Pagesregional hegemon, it supported a an Islamic fundamentalist group named the Taliban, and along with weapon support and logistics. As well as discussing the va rious guerilla tactics utilized and discussed by the class through the readings such as Mao Zedong. I will also elaborate on the success and the dependency of the various guerilla tactics used and how fundamental it was in their victory against a conventional army (Soviet Union), and the outcome would not have. As well as the success of theRead MoreGray Ghosts of the Confederacy: Guerrilla Warfare in the West 1861-1865.1464 Words   |  6 PagesBrownlee, Richard S. Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy: Guerrilla Warfare in the West 1861-1865. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1986. When the Civil War started many people of this nation were not expecting the chaos, destruction, and they certainly did not expect the war to last so long. The history of the guerrilla warfare began shortly before the start of the Civil War and lasted a few years after the war. The guerrillas dominated Missouri to such an extent that the Union armyRead MoreWeapons and Tactics of WWI and WWII765 Words   |  3 Pagesthey used them against the french and it definitely worked. One of the main things that was used was aircraft. They took new ideas and turned them into weapons and new ways to get around. With the weapons came the tactics to World War One. The main warfare tactic was defensive trenches. People made many trenches and hid in them. But they also stored weapons and fought against people. They would shoot from inside the trenches, but then some people would get out and get closer to kill the enemy betterRead MoreThrough Separate Publications, Geoffrey Parker And Victor1689 Words   |  7 Pagestrue Western Way of War. Both the principal foundations by Parker and the prominent element by Hanson, while insightful, only delineate a single type of warfare that was used by the armies of Europe and the United States, however they fail to capitalize on the basis of their argument because neither man legitimately compares that type of warfare to any other method of fighting that was used, or is currently used, by other nations around the world. Hence, there is no Western Way of War; there isRead MoreEssay on Hybrid Warfare or Asymmetric Warfare?1235 Words   |  5 PagesHybrid Warfare or Asymmetric Warfare? To have a discussion on hybrid warfare, we need to have a clear idea of what are the differences between conventional and hybrid warfare are. Conventional warfare is a nonnuclear conflict with rules of engagement formed by an agreement or compact. These rules for conventional warfare are spelled out by the Law of War and cover acceptable weapons, treatment of prisoners, torture, surrender, and much more. Unconventional is best described as guerilla and covert