Introduction
ration of guerrillas from their sources of information and food. It may require movement and resettlement of entire communities. Eradication presupposes reliable information and demands extreme operational flexibility and a high degree of mobility. Parachutists and helicopter-borne commando-type troops are essential.
The tactics of guerrillas must be used against the guerrillas themselves. They must be constantly harried and constantly attacked. Every effort must be made to induce defections and take prisoners. The best source of information of the enemy is men who know the enemy situation.
Imaginative, intelligent, and bold leadership is absolutely essential. Commanders and leaders at every echelon must be selected with these specific qualities in mind. Officers and NCO's who are more than competent under normal conditions will frequently be hopelessly ineffective when confronted with the dynamic and totally different situations characteristic of guerrilla warfare.
Finally, there is the question of whether it is possible to create effective counterguerrilla forces. Can two shoals of fish, each intent on destruction of the other, flourish in the same medium? Mao is definite on this point; he is convinced they cannot, that "counterrevolutionary guerrilla war" is impossible. If the guerrilla experiences of the White Russians (which he cites) or of Mikhailovitch are
valid criteria, he is correct. But, on the other hand, the history of the movement in Greece during the German occupation indicates that under certain circumstances, his thesis will not stand too close an examination. This sug-
