Characteristics Of Guerrilla Warfare In Vietnam War

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Guerilla Warfare: A Case in Vietnam War

Introduction During the Napoleonic Wars, the term “Guerrilla Warfare” emerged as the main phenomenon that lead the interest of various thinkers such as Clausewitz, Marx and Engels to examine its importance in war. ‘Guerrilla’ means “little war”, which explain a type of warfare, fought by irregulars in a fast-paced, small scale actions against military groups and police forces. The word “guerrilla” came from “guerrilleros” which referred to Spanish and Portugese irregulars that successfully pushed back French army during the Peninsular War in 1808-1814. The practitioners of guerrilla warfare have been called rebels, insurgents and mercenaries due to the nature of “hide and seek” tactics, which designed to irritate, harass and ambush the enemy without direct confrontation. Throughout history, guerrilla warfare has become a crucial “weapon” of protest, including in modern era where this type of warfare evolved as much more complex political and military strategies. It does not solely engaged in resistance against enemy’s troops, but to obliterate their political support as well. This essay follows the articulation, significance and conceptualization of guerrilla warfare in modern era. This essay emphasize ambush and intelligence characteristics of guerrila warfare, providing an example from case study of Vietnam War in 1955. Guerrilla Warfare: Conceptualization and Characteristics Guerrilla warfare refers to a set of tactis or