Guerilla Warfare (was War In Sartar)

From: ian_hammond_cooper_at_...
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 12:34:42 -0000


Gareth Martin wrote:
>
> > Spain. It took the Romans about 2 centuries to bring the
> > place to heel.
> > Some of her greatest generals cut their teeth dealing with those
> > provinces - Marius, and Pompey for example.
>
> Well that precisely an example of warfare I do not consider to
> be "guerilla" warfare. It's just irregular, opportunist and
> scattered. Full blown guerilla warfare is not really warfare but
> politics.

John Locke once said that most arguments are about the definition of words. Websters has the following to say on the matter:

"Guerrilla \Guer*ril"la\, n. [Sp., lit., a little war, skirmish, dim. of guerra war, fr. OHG. werra discord, strife. See War.] 1. An irregular mode of carrying on war, by the constant attacks of independent bands, adopted in the north of Spain during the Peninsular war.

2. One who carries on, or assists in carrying on, irregular warfare; especially, a member of an independent band engaged in predatory excursions in war time.

Note: The term guerrilla is the diminutive of the Spanish word guerra, war, and means petty war, that is, war carried on by detached parties; generally in the mountains. . . . A guerrilla party means, an irregular band of armed men, carrying on an irregular war, not being able, according to their character as a guerrilla party, to carry on what the law terms a regular war. --F. Lieder."  

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc

Guerilla warfare is combat carried out by small units who cannot face enemy forces in full-scale conflict, usually until such time until an army capable of doing so can be raised. Alfred during his darkest hours against the Vikings, Hereward the Wake these are both early historical guerilla fighters (as are mythically Arthur under the Saxons at times and Robin Hood under Prince John). That their motives are political is usually all that distinguishes them from bandits.

Note the spanish reference is probably just the first use of the term. It can be retroactively applied to irregular warfare. Guerilla warfare is a type of warfare, fought behind enemy lines. The Maquis for example waged a guerilla war against occupying German troops in WWII. It is not just associated with revoloutionary struggle.

Ian

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