How effective and influential was guerilla warfare in aiding communist victories in the 20th century?
A. Plan of InvestigationHow effective and influential was guerilla warfare in aiding communist victories in the 20th century? The scope and subject of this investigation is to identify the importance and effectiveness of guerilla warfare in helping the communists attain victory over their opponents. I have chosen to intimately deal with the Chinese Civil War (1930 – 1949) where we had the communists under Mao Tse Tung fighting the Nationalists under Chiang Kai Shek, and also the Vietnamese War (1964-1975), where the USA challenged the communist North Vietnamese under Ho Chi Minh, as both these areas greatly intrigue me as a historian. My investigation will involve reading and analyzing material concerning the guerilla campaigns in both China and Vietnam i.e. I will use the research method of investigation.B. Summary of Evidence Mao Tse Tung and his communist faction became deeply involved in a civil war with the Nationalists under Chiang Kai Shek from the year 1926 up to 1949. Mao adopted four simple tactical mottos:[1]When the enemy advances, we retreat.When the enemy halts and camps, we trouble himWhen the enemy seeks to avoid battle, we attackWhen the enemy retreats, we pursue These are the principles encompassed in Mao’s theory of guerilla warfare which each of the soldiers had to adopt. Mao realized the necessity of guerilla warfare, as he says; “Our forces were small, exceeded from ten to twenty times by the enemy…and only by skillfully combining the tactics of maneuvering and guerilla warfare could we hope to succeed.”[2] In 1930 Chiang launched the ‘extermination campaigns’ which sought to remove the communist threat. All went well for the Nationalists until the fifth campaign. Having suffered some early defeats under General To-Chiang and Li The (German general), the communists under the Red leaders set out on the Ch’ang Cg’eng-The Long March, in 1934. During this march which lasted 368 days and covered 6000 miles, the Reds numbering ninety thousand crossed eighteen mountain ranges, twenty-four rivers, twelve provinces, ten of which were under War Lord Control, having to endure almost a skirmish a day against numerous opposing groups, finally arriving a Shensi with 7,000 men.Maoist theory of guerilla warfare also involved targeting infrastructure, i.e. Winning the support of the population (peasants) by destruction of the government machine and by the spread of pro-communist propaganda, increasing attacks on vital military installations and government institutions and full on conformist attacks are carried out, the government is
overthrown and major cities are taken over,[3]. This is exactly what happened. Mao began with spreading pro-communist propaganda through out the country especially during the Long March of 1934. Most of the propaganda focused on land reform. After Mao set up his new base at Shensi in 1935 he began to carry out escalating guerilla attacks against the Nationalists and in 1945 after the defeat of the Japanese, began a full conventional attack on the Nationalists as Mao had a sufficient number of well equipped troops, and had also by this time gained considerable support form the USSR.After the defeat ...
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overthrown and major cities are taken over,[3]. This is exactly what happened. Mao began with spreading pro-communist propaganda through out the country especially during the Long March of 1934. Most of the propaganda focused on land reform. After Mao set up his new base at Shensi in 1935 he began to carry out escalating guerilla attacks against the Nationalists and in 1945 after the defeat of the Japanese, began a full conventional attack on the Nationalists as Mao had a sufficient number of well equipped troops, and had also by this time gained considerable support form the USSR.After the defeat of the French at Dienbienphu in 1945, the Vietminh under Ho Chi Minh proclaimed independence for Vietnam. But after the Geneva agreement of 1954, Vietnam was to be administered by a foreign power, which Ho Chi Minh greatly detested. This caused bitter resentment to surface and resulted in the formation of a primarily communist faction in North Vietnam which alarmed the ‘Domino theory’ obsessed USA who was by now practicing containment. Thus the Vietnam War broke out in 1964 and lasted up to 1975. The Vietcong under Vo Nguyen Giap[4], the famous military general and Ho, adopted similar tactics to those of Mao’s Red Army. Also as seen in the case of the communists in China against the nationalists, the Vietcong towards the end of the war were able to carry out full conventional attacks against the USA. The Vietcong were brilliant at executing the guerilla campaign, successfully embracing its technicalities and method. Part of thier guerilla tactics, included the creation of a tunnel system in the province of Cu Chi. This tunnel system spread over a length of 200 miles. It contained everthing from arm silos to operating rooms of hospitals. It served as a solid defence during the Operation Crimp and other such operations where there was extensive air bombing by B-52’sAlthough when placed in the context of Maoist theory, one can argue that the Vietcong effort was not really an effort synonymous with guerilla warfare as they did not exactly ‘live of the land’ and instead acquired their supplies and equipment from the Ho Chi Minh trail[5]. They also were able to acquire tanks and artillery later on. But as mentioned earlier, before a group can attain the capability to carry out conventional attacks, they must resort to guerilla tactics which the Vietcong did. C. Evaluation of SourcesThe two sources used are;Todd, Olivier, Cruel April: Fall of Saigon, W.W. Norton & Co Ltd, New York, 1991 From the date of publish, we can immediately identify some value in this article, as the author would have hoards of information to refer to and analyze, thus would provide a detailed account.Todd is also a world renown journalist having worked for the London times and Newsweek. This would be of some value as one would expect an objective and detailed account. And this book has also received brilliant critiques from reputed sources, thus making for a safe choice for analysis. More often than not, one should not expect balanced and objective views. At times he does commend American efforts in trying to ‘free’ the Vietnamese people from the communist scourge of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War, which as we may no was really not the case. However, the scope of this source has been limited, making it a more in depth and precise account of unfolding events in Vietnam at the time. He has also provided well weighted and balanced points accrediting the Vietcong guerilla campaign ably led by Ho Chi Minh and general tactics adopted by the communists in Vietnam, as well as having acknowledged certain American weaknesses in terms of technical, tactical and diplomatic aptitude. He exposes certain chinks in the American armor at the time of the Cold War and at the present moment. Snow, Edgar, The Other Side of The River, Red China Today, 1961, Random House, Inc., New York.With reference to the author and the content, this is quite a valuable source. Snow worked as a correspondent for many leading newspapers around the world, already giving you a semblance of valid and in depth research which is evident in this book.The content meticulously deals with many aspects concerning Mao and his life, showing depth of research, which is very valuable to a historian. Having gathered first hand information and having conducted interviews with Mao, he has been able to present first hand information and analysis, thus adding value as one could treat this as a primary source. However throughout the book, there is evidence of communist sympathies fro some reason, which can lead to bias in his attempt of being objective and thus the information presented may present limitations during the analysis stage. D. Analysis In making an objective analysis on the effectiveness and influence of Guerilla warfare in China and Vietnam, certain problems arise such as the reliability of the sources due to their limitations. As certain material on communist history are subject to strong censorship, especially if the source has originated from the West. But with the emergence of post revisionist theories, there are historians with communist sympathies. This poses a problem in making steadfast judgments concerning the issue. In the case of Mao and his communist faction, guerilla warfare was tremendously influential to their cause. Based on Mao’s principals of guerilla warfare, which sought to attain support, he managed to gain the support of the peasant population (the majority) and effectively grow to strength which was imperative for the success of Mao’s guerilla campaign. Mao’s guerilla tactics were influential during Nationalist encirclement campaigns, as it allowed for his escape from Hunan to Shensi in what came to be known as the Long March (1934). This has been revered as one of the greatest triumphs of man against nature and man.[6] Once at Shensi, Mao had to continue his guerilla campaign as he had a mere 7,000 men. And placed in the highlands this campaign proved effective in defeating the Nationalist insurgency and was influential in strengthening their position both psychologically and on the technical basis.On the contrary, towards the end of the war (1945) the communists abandoned guerilla warfare to a large extent as they had enough well armed men to carry out conventional warfare. Mao’s tactics were also influential and effective against the Japanese. This won him great support from the Chinese masses and the USSR. Clearly guerilla warfare was influential and effective for Mao and the communists more specifically during the teething stages of the civil war.Not only was guerilla warfare a way of fighting, it was a tool of survival for Mao and the communists, as was seen during the Long March of 1934. Had it not been for Mao’s technical brilliance against the Nationalist encirclement campaigns and other military campaigns, the communist question would have ended in Hunan in 1934 In Vietnam, the Vietcong under Ho Chi Minh effectively embraced guerilla warfare against the French and the USA during the Vietnam War (1964-1975). In the large forests and hilly terrain of Vietnam, guerilla tactics proved to be not only an effective tool but a necessary one as the Americans came to realise late on in the campaign. The Chu Chi tunnels enhanced their guerilla campaign in terms of defense and attack. The local population created primitive yet effective weapons such as the ‘Punji traps’ – sharp contaminated spikes hidden in the ground. With supplies constantly arrving via the Ho Chi Minh trail, effective guerilla warfare was possible. With famous campaigns such as the Tet Offensive[7]( February 1968), one can testify to the effectiveness and of guerilla warfare and its influnce in aiding the Vietcong in defeating the USA. As in China, guerilla tactics won the hearts of many Vietnamese and communists alike. With this emergent support, the Vietcong were able to by the late carry out conventional warfare against the Americans. Guerilla warfare involved the drafting of young men, who as part of their training they received political instruction thus instilling the communist ideal.This method was both effective and influential as it willed on the guerillas, it gave them a sense of belonging and pride, like they had something to die for. Guerilla warfare was extremely effective and influential in the initial stages of the war, when the Vietcong could not pose much of a threat, and thus was influential in their survival in those early stages. Although conventional warfare was undertaken in the latter stages, guerilla warfare still had a small but influential role all the way to victory.E. Conclusion I would like to bring to your attention the in depth analysis of guerilla warfare and its reciprocating influence and effectiveness in the communist efforts in China and Vietnam. Observing from any angle, its is lucid that the guerilla campaigns were effective in one way or another in aiding the communist cause, if it was not winning them support, it was demoralizing the opposition and so on. For both efforts it can be said that guerilla warfare was exercised more during the initial stages and much less during the latter stages of the war. In both cases guerilla warfare and tactics were highly influential and effective in helping the communist factions to defeat their adversaries, be it during the initial stages or at the end. However, one must also identify weaknesses in the opposition, amongst other factors such as tactical blunders and how it aided the communist cause within the relevant contexts. As it could have also carried some weight in influencing a communist victory.F. List of SourcesArticle by Lard, Melvin, Foreign Affairs, Volume 84, Number 6 (November/December 2005), Council on Foreign Relations (publisher), New York, 2005.Snow, Edgar, The Other Side of The River, Red China Today, Random House, Inc., New York, 1961.Todd, Olivier, Cruel April: Fall of Saigon, W.W. Norton & Co Ltd, New York, 1991Top of FormBottom of Form [1] Pg. 137, Snow, Edgar, The Other Side of the River, Random House, Inc., New York, 1961 [2] Pg. 138, Snow, Edgar, The Other Side of the River, Random House, Inc., New York, 1961 [3] Information obtained and edited from, Snow, Edgar, The Other Side of the River, Random House, Inc., New York, 1961 [4] Pgs 38,75 and 125, Todd, Olivier, Cruel April: Fall of Saigon, W.W. Norton & Co Ltd, New York, 1991 [5] Pgs 83-84, Todd, Olivier, Cruel April: Fall of Saigon, W.W. Norton & Co Ltd, New York, 1991 [6] Information obtained and edited from Pg. 142, Snow, Edgar, The Other Side of the River, Random House, Inc., New York, 1961 [7] Pgs. 118,208 and 214, Todd, Olivier, Cruel April: Fall of Saigon, W.W. Norton & Co Ltd, New York, 1991
