Guerrilla Warfare Leaders of the 20th Century

Historical interpretations relating to small wars in the post Napoleonic period in relation to insurgent guerrilla warfare in urban and agrarian societies across the globe share universal themes. These commonalities will be explored relating why combatants in guerrilla warfare fight. Moreover, what objectives guerrilla leaders wanted to achieve with their theories of social revolution. The works discussed are Mao Tse-tung, On Guerrilla Warfare, Ernesto Che Guevara, Guerilla Warfare, and Carlos Marighella, Minimanual of The Urban Guerrilla. All three of these historical leaders were well-educated men who were social reformers. All concerned with inequalities among their people. All devised ways to wage class warfare within their society and around the world.

Small wars in the post Napoleonic period are important to study because of social relevance relating to international relations on a global scale. Small wars or conflicts have the ability to drain the resources of major powers. Unnecessary loss of life occurs due to these conflicts. Eliot A. Cohen states in Constraints on America’s Conduct of Small Wars, “A small war has the following distinct characteristics: It involves sharp military asymmetry, and insurgents that fights guerrilla war, and an incumbent that used ground forces for counterinsurgency warfare. The incumbent can be an indigenous government that fights on its own or with the external participation, or a foreign power that imposes itself on the population (1984).

Mao, Che, and Marighella were followers of Marxist doctrine, which encompassed economic and sociological theory, philosophical method, along with a revolutionary view of social change. Authors, Melvin Small and J. David Singer quantitative study R...

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... confuse, distract, wear down and demoralize the military regime and other repressive forces that stand in their way.

Historical Significance:

In the later part of the 20th century, various factions employed urban guerrilla tactics cited in Marighella’s book. The Weather Underground Organization, generally known as the Weather Underground or Weathermen attacked government buildings and banking institutions in the United States. Their goal was to overthrow the U.S. government.

Historical Significance (cont.)

IRA leader, Michael Collins used tactics similar to Marighella by forming an assassination unit called the “Squad” to kill police in Dublin, Ireland to overthrow the British rule. The Red Brigades in Italy used kidnapping and assassination. In 1978 former Christian Democrat Prime Minister Aldo Moro, along with five assistants were murdered by the Red Brigades.