On Guerrilla Warfare (Audible Audio Edition) Mao TseTung Samuel B Griffith John Clickman BN Publishing Books
Download As PDF : On Guerrilla Warfare (Audible Audio Edition) Mao TseTung Samuel B Griffith John Clickman BN Publishing Books
The book is written in the context of China's guerrilla war against Japanese occupiers; this conflict is mentioned often by Mao. In this book Mao discusses the differences between guerrilla and "orthodox" military forces, as well as how such forces can work together for a common goal. Other topics covered include propaganda and political concerns, the formation of guerrilla units, the qualities of a good guerrilla officer, discipline in a guerrilla army, and guerrilla bases.
On Guerrilla Warfare (Audible Audio Edition) Mao TseTung Samuel B Griffith John Clickman BN Publishing Books
“When the enemy advances, withdraw; when he stops, harass; when he tires, strike; when he retreats, pursue.”This is one of the more famous quotes from Mao Zedong’s small book On Guerrilla Warfare. This book is not so much a how-to venture on the tactics of waging a guerrilla war; the reader does not get instructions, say, on how to blow up train tracks. Rather, the book explains how to create a guerrilla band, organize its members, keep them supplied, and most importantly, provide them with the proper political education so they can view the armed struggle (in this case, against the Japanese) from the proper prospective.
Although Mao writes very much about a national unity campaign against the Japanese (the combined efforts of the Chinese Communists and the Chinese Nationalists) this all important political element instilled in the fighters and the peasants who provide them with food and supplies is of obvious and overwhelming importance.
This is apparent by looking at Chinese history after World War II. Mao struggle against the Nationalists, who had superior numbers and firepower, led to his victory. This little book provided some of the ideological base for unforeseen upset.
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On Guerrilla Warfare (Audible Audio Edition) Mao TseTung Samuel B Griffith John Clickman BN Publishing Books Reviews
On Guerrilla Warfare was one of the books left by Chinese leader Mao-Tse Tung, but unlike his more famous Red Book, this one is dedicated entirely to military strategy. This was a difficult book to rate and review, because I liked reading the foreword by Samuel B. Griffith, who translated the book in the 40s, more than On Guerrilla Warfare itself.
After atomic weapons came along, conventional warfare became a lot costlier to nuclear nations. This made guerrilla the kind of “low key” conflict that defined the 20th century, and promises to continue to shape the 21th. What the preface shows is how guerrilla it is a lot more powerful that one may think.
“It is often said that guerrilla warfare is primitive. This generalization is dangerously misleading and true only in the technological sense. If one considers the picture as a whole, a paradox is immediately apparent, and the primitive form is understood to be in fact more sophisticated than nuclear war or atomic war or war as it was waged by conventional armies, navies, and air forces. Guerrilla war is not dependent for success on the efficient operation of complex mechanical devices, highly organized logistical systems, or the accuracy of electronic computers. It can be conducted in any terrain, in any climate, in any weather; in swamps, in mountains, in farmed fields. Its basic element is man, and man is more complex than any of his machines. He is endowed with intelligence, emotions, and will. Guerrilla warfare is therefore suffused with, and reflects, man’s admirable qualities as well as his less pleasant ones. While it is not always humane, it is human, which is more than can be said for the strategy of extinction.”
Mao pretty much updates the thoughts of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, emphasizing speed, stealth and the surprise factor. The preface also shows very well the particulars of Chinese thought in Mao’s text.
“An important postulate of the Yin-Yang theory is that concealed within strength there is weakness, and within weakness, strength. It is a weakness of guerrillas that they operate in small groups that can be wiped out in a matter of minutes. But because they do operate in small groups, they can move rapidly and secretly into the vulnerable rear of the enemy.”
“It is often a disadvantage not to have heavy infantry weapons available, but the very fact of having to transport them has until recently tied conventional columns to roads and well-used tracks. The guerrilla travels light and travels fast. He turns the hazards of terrain to his advantage and makes an ally of tropical rains, heavy snow, intense heat, and freezing cold. Long night marches are difficult and dangerous, but the darkness shields his approach to an unsuspecting enemy.”
On Guerrilla Warfare is a fascinating read in which it shows how sheer human determination can knock whole empires down. Griffith even suggests it is impossible to be beaten by a conventional army after about one forth of the population is converted to the cause. The basic element of a guerrilla is man, and man is more complex than any of his machines.
Mao really out does himself in this bush whacking guide to insurgency and small war tactics which when waged well, provide large war strategic outcomes - spoiler alert - spoiler - win over the rural population and alienate them from the enemy and you'll be able to hide everywhere while their forces will not be able to rest anywhere. Authors reflection on the value and proper timing of liquidations of uncooperatives was insightful as well.
Never mind the "Why"; in this book Mao Zedong explains the "How" very clearly and concisely, and it should convince any unprejudiced mind that Mao has earned his reputation as one of the twentieth century's great generals. After all, he won his war and he did so against incredible odds.
The book is short yet detailed. In just seven chapters, Mao explains what guerrilla warfare is, how guerrilla operations relate to other war operations, guerrilla warfare's place in history, how guerrilla warfare contributes to victory, how guerrilla forces should be organised, the crucial political element required in guerrilla forces, and how this all comes together in a strategy of guerrilla resistance.
The first chapter describes what guerrilla warfare is and lists its chief characteristics. The political elements come first arousing the people (which for Mao meant getting the support of the peasantry) and giving them a common purpose around which they can unite (fighting the Japanese). Other features of guerrilla warfare include the absence of a front or a rear for guerrilla forces, mobility and speed of deployment, decentralized command, and the opportunity to choose where and when to engage the enemy.
Mao does not claim China invented guerrilla warfare and he cites numerous instances when guerrilla pressure made a difference, for instance by the Russians against Napoleon in 1812. But Mao is probably the first commander to fully recognize its importance *relative to and in conjunction with* other elements of warfare. Mao can also be credited with understanding that without education and political indoctrination, guerilla warfare cannot be used to achieve a goal. The ideal conventional soldier fights for his brothers in arms and he values professionalism; guerrilla soldiers fight for an ideal. This was true of Mao's Red Army but it was also American revolutionary Francis Marion, on whom the film The Patriot was loosely based.
One final note this 1961 translation comes from Samuel B. Griffith, a retired Marine officer who learned Chinese while attached to the US embassy in Beijing between 1935 and 1938. He also wrote a short introduction explaining that because Mao's Communist party was allied to Chiang Kai-Shek's Kuomintang party, he wrote of fighting the Japanese rather than fighting the Chinese landed gentry. But that changes nothing to the "How".
Vincent Poirier, Quebec City
“When the enemy advances, withdraw; when he stops, harass; when he tires, strike; when he retreats, pursue.”
This is one of the more famous quotes from Mao Zedong’s small book On Guerrilla Warfare. This book is not so much a how-to venture on the tactics of waging a guerrilla war; the reader does not get instructions, say, on how to blow up train tracks. Rather, the book explains how to create a guerrilla band, organize its members, keep them supplied, and most importantly, provide them with the proper political education so they can view the armed struggle (in this case, against the Japanese) from the proper prospective.
Although Mao writes very much about a national unity campaign against the Japanese (the combined efforts of the Chinese Communists and the Chinese Nationalists) this all important political element instilled in the fighters and the peasants who provide them with food and supplies is of obvious and overwhelming importance.
This is apparent by looking at Chinese history after World War II. Mao struggle against the Nationalists, who had superior numbers and firepower, led to his victory. This little book provided some of the ideological base for unforeseen upset.
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