Guerrilla war
By: Miyamoto de Bergerac
1) What is guerrilla warfare
- general definition
- differences to ‘conventional’ warfare: guerrilla as a tool, not a goal on itself
- historic examples: a few quick examples (broad overview) for use throughout the rest of the series to provide concrete examples for the more abstract theory, eg. the red moon rebellion.
2) guerrilla strategy
-general military strategy: a quick overview of principles that hold true in most armed conflicts of any nature. Example quote: “It is important that one carefully plans and thinks through actions and operations before committing to them. However, one cannot allow himself to be paralyzed by this. There comes a point at which one has done all the information gathering and planning that can be reasonably achieved, after which action must follow. You will never know everything there is to know, or be able to plan for every possible contingency. So, be deliberate but decisive.
Example quote: "The conventional army loses if it does not win. The guerrilla wins if he does not lose." -Henry A. Kissinger-
-The importance of propaganda and guidelines on how to employ it, with links to Lars’ and Charles’ vids.
-political aspect: Guerrilla warfare as a political continuum. Stress that there are multiple ways that can lead to independence from the UWM, and that all should be considered and employed where possible. One should try to attract both the working masses to your cause, but also the upper classes of society. For example, if the local government is a democracy, trying to install politicians into power that are loyal to your cause might buy influence and power without needing bloodshed. However, this might also mean assassinating the sitting rulers and staging a coup, gaining control without large scale actions being necessary. Point out the need to minimize collateral damage where possible, to avoid losing public support.
military aspect: a quick overview of the different levels at which the enemy can be engaged, from small scale guerrilla to larger, more organised cells, to conventional army units. Explain the differences, strengths and weaknesses of each, and emphasize that one must be flexible. These different levels of centralization can be used alongside each other, and depending on the situation some are more usable than others.
Example quote: “Consider for example the Red Moon Rebellion. It consisted mostly of guerrilla-style tactics, where the under supported UWM regulars were beaten back by dedicated insurgents. However, once the UWM decided to clean ship and was willing to gas the entire colony, the focus should have changed to a more focused, direct defense. While hit and run tactics are great for slowly sapping the strength of an enemy while preserving yours, it will not be sufficient if capturing the central air filtering system allows them to gas the entire colony. In such a case, one must at some point draw a line in the sand, for otherwise all is lost anyways.”
-General guidelines on organisation of guerrilla and army units, from urban cells hiding among the populace to those using terrain features such as mountains to cover themselves.
3) guerrilla tactics
-Field tactics: will mostly be links to tactical videos made by Hasala and Pancaek.
Emphasize that a core principle is that of ‘living to fight another day’. This will often mean avoiding large scale engagements with the enemy’s center of power, but striking at targets (be that personal, material or resources) where opposition is more easily overcome, to sap their strength.
Example quote: "The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue." -Mao Zedong-
4) closing comments
-Point out the importance of coordination among individual insurgent cells and stress that cooperation with ARM will increase their chances of success.