STRIKE STRATEGY
The offensive does not mean a reckless attack, but a calculated increase in our fighting tempo and a sharp assault upon the enemy's weakest point. It may take many forms, such as a strike of additional workers, an intensification of picketing, a greater stimulation of support from the labor movement at large, aggressive publicity maneuvers, calling out of maintenance men in coal strikes, etc., based upon whatever means are in hand and what opportunities are present.
The nature of the offensive will change with the varying conditions in the strike. An offensive by the workers in Passaic now, after nine months of bitter struggle and when they are so much weakened, is a very different thing than it was in the opening months of the historic struggle when they had their full resources in hand. But the theory of the offensive is just as valid now in Passaic as it ever was.
From time to time our forces will be so defeated that we will be confronted with little Brest-Litovsks. But we must understand them as Lenin did his, as offering breathing spells during which we shall rally our shattered battallions for the next offensive.
An Effective First Blow
Especially must the strike strategist understand ho to apply the theory of the offensive in the early stages of a struggle that has the earmarks of becoming far-reaching and bitter. We must learn how to start strikes successfully. In strikes, as in many other things, "Well begun is half done." In all kinds of fights an effective first blow is often decisive. Hence, an initial shattering attack must be fundamental part of our strike strategy.
When workers are about to strike in a plant, a sort of strike fever runs among them from department to department. They are carried away with this overmastering spirit of revolt and class solidarity. They strike enthus-
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