Mao Tse-tung on Guerrilla Warfare
southward, our powers of resistance here are proportionately increased. Such guerrilla action has a positive action on the enemy nation and on its troops, while, at the same time, it encourages our own countrymen. Another example of strategical cooperation is furnished by the guerrillas who operate along the P'ing-Sui, P'ing-Han, Chin-P'u, T'ung- Pu, and Cheng-T'ai railways. This cooperation began when the invader attacked, continued during the period when he held garrisoned cities in the areas, and was intensified when our regular forces counterattacked, in an effort to restore the lost territories.
As an example of tactical cooperation, we may cite the operations at Hsing-K'ou, when guerrillas both north and south of Yell Men destroyed the Tung-P'u railway and the motor roads near P'ing Hsing Pass and Yang Fang K'ou. A number of small operating bases were established, and organized guerrilla action in Shansi complemented the activities of the regular forces both there and in the defense of Honan. Similarly, during the south Shantung campaign, guerrillas in the five northern provinces cooperated with the army’s operation on the Hsuchow front.
Guerrilla commanders in rear areas and those in command of regiments assigned to operate with orthodox units must cooperate in accordance with the situation. It is their function to determine weak points in the enemy dispositions, to harass them, to disrupt their transport, and to undermine their morale. If guerrilla action were independent, the results to be obtained from tactical cooperation would be lost and those that result from strategical cooperation greatly diminished. In order to accomplish their
