INSURGENCY ACCORDING TO MAO

Mao Tse-tung is often viewed as the father of modern insurgency. His treatise, Guerrilla Warfare, provides detailed philosophy and principles for the conduct of war by the people for reasons of nationalism and ideology. To come to an understanding of guerrilla warfare in general and the war in Vietnam specifically, it is important to review the principles that Mao advocates. These principles are the key to guerrilla strategy and can serve as a basis for highlighting the strategy of counterinsurgency.

Guerrilla Warfare was written in 1937 as a guide for the communists in China to wage a war against the Japanese. Mao considers this to be a war of national liberation from the oppression of the Japanese and generally avoids the usual communist rhetoric. He does , however, emphasize that a guerrilla war cannot be prosecuted separately from politics.

Everyone must understand that the goal is political-freedom for the Chinese people. This is important because the guerrillas come from the people and are supported by the people. To gain their support and active participation they must see and accept the political goal for which they are fighting.

In his introduction to Mao Tse-tung on Guerrilla Warfare, S.B. Griffith provides some of his own insights into Mao's guerrilla philosophy. Griffith says that there are three phases in a guerrilla war, phases which are which are fairly indistinct, flowing and intermingling among one another. Phase one is a period of establishing the movement and developing its viability. It seeks to develop the support of the people who can provide it with men, intelligence and logistical support. Phase two is more military oriented, with guerrillas seeking to covertly eliminate opposition, spread the movement's influence and attack government outposts for arms, ammunition, and other military necessities. Local militia units are also organized to eliminate resistors at the local level. In phase three the guerrillas begin to band into more conventional military units to attack and destroy the enemy and achieve victory for the movement. (13:20-23)

Mao says that the guerrillas are formed into two basic units: combatant and self-defense units. Combatant units are organized from platoons up to regiments. At the company level and above each has a military and political hierarchy. The units are located within military areas which are divided into districts which are further divided into counties. Several platoons or companies exist within each county. Additionally a battalion is also formed at the county level. These units generally function and are controlled at their county level but may be tasked to assist in operations in other counties. Regiments are formed from these county battalions and brigades are occasionally formed from these regiments. Although Mao does not address it, one can assume that the regimental hierarchy exists at the district level and brigade hierarchies at the area level. The second type of unit is formed for self-defense. They operate at the local level for defense, local intelligence collection, and police, and they may occasionally provide combat service support for the combatant units.