Irregular Warfare: Tactics and Strategies for Modern Conflict

By Fouad Sabry

What is Irregular Warfare

Irregular warfare (IW) is defined in United States joint doctrine as "a violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations." In practice, control of institutions and infrastructure is also important. Concepts associated with irregular warfare are older than the term itself.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: Irregular warfare

Chapter 2: Guerrilla warfare

Chapter 3: Information warfare

Chapter 4: Unconventional warfare

Chapter 5: Insurgency

Chapter 6: Irregular military

Chapter 7: Counterinsurgency

Chapter 8: Directorate of Operations (CIA)

Chapter 9: Colombia-United States relations

Chapter 10: Partisan Ranger Act

(II) Answering the public top questions about irregular warfare.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of Irregular Warfare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: May 27, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Irregular warfare

According to joint doctrine from the US, irregular warfare (IW) is a violent battle between state and non-state actors for legitimacy and control over the relevant populations. Even before the phrase irregular warfare was coined, there were ideas linked with it. The word Irregular, which appears in the book's English title, appears to relate to non-regular armed forces as defined by the Third Geneva Convention.

A 1996 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) paper by Jeffrey B. White contains another early use of the phrase.

IW is a type of conflict that seeks to undermine or legitimize the relevant political power by attacking its credibility and/or legitimacy. Although it may use the complete range of military and other assets to pursue asymmetric strategies in an effort to weaken an adversary's power, influence, and will, IW favors indirect measures.

IW is characterized as a bloody conflict between state and non-state actors over legitimacy and control over the pertinent population (s)

IW refers to conflicts in which the opposing sides are not nation-states' conventional armed armies.

In contrast to industrial war, war among the people is what IW is (i.e., regular war).

Most contemporary wars contain at least a small portion of irregular warfare. Approximately 80% of fighting since Napoleon's reign has been sporadic in nature. But the following conflicts could be cited as examples of irregular warfare::

Afghan Civil War

Algerian War

American Indian Wars

American Revolutionary War

Arab Revolt

Chinese Civil War

Cuban Revolution

First Chechen War

Sudan's initial civil war

Iraq War

Kosovo War

Lebanese Civil War

Portuguese Colonial War

Rwanda Civil War

Second Boer War

Second Chechen War

Sudan's second civil war

Somali Civil War

American War in the Philippines

The Troubles

Vietnam War

Civil War in Libya (2011)

Syrian Civil War

Civil War in Iraq (2014–2017)

Second Civil War in Libya

Conflict in Yemen (2015–present)

Activities and conflict patterns covered by IW include:

Asymmetric warfare

military-civilian operations (CMO)

Colonial war

internal defense of foreign (FID)

Guerrilla combat (GW)

Insurgency/Counter-insurgency (COIN)

The primary goal of law enforcement was to combat irregular enemies.

actions involving military intelligence and counterintelligence

Operations for stabilization, security, transition, and reconstruction (SSTRO)

Terrorism/Counter-terrorism

International crime rings that aid or maintain IW:

narco-trafficking

Illicit arms trafficking

illegal financial transactions

unconventional conflict (UW)

There are five primary IW activities, per the DoD:

Counter-insurgency (COIN)

Counter-terrorism (CT)

unconventional conflict (UW)

internal defense of foreign (FID)

Operation for Stabilization (SO)

Following the DoD Directive 3000.07, There have been a number of military wargames and drills connected to IW, including:

Unified Action

Unified Quest

Tri-Service Maritime Workshop in January 2010, wargames from the Joint Irregular Warrior Series, series of wargames called Expeditionary Warrior, and

a Naval War College maritime stability operations game played in December 2011 was specifically concerned with stability operations carried out by the Naval Service in the marine domain.

{End Chapter 1}

Chapter 2: Guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare is a type of irregular warfare wherein small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary members, armed civilians, or irregulars, employ military techniques like ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics, and mobility to battle a more powerful and immobile traditional military.

Although the phrase guerrilla warfare was first used in relation to the Peninsular War in the 19th century, the tactical strategies have been in use for a very long time. Sun Tzu suggested the employment of guerrilla-style tactics in The Art of War in the sixth century BC. Many guerilla warfare techniques are assigned to the Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, who developed what is now known as the Fabian strategy. Throughout history, guerrilla warfare has been employed by a variety of groups. It is notably connected to revolutionary movements and public resistance to occupying or encroaching armies.

Due to often weaker weapons or forces, guerrilla tactics emphasize avoiding direct clashes with enemy armies in favor of small-scale battles intended to wear down foes and force them to withdraw. Guerrilla techniques are therefore typically only employed for defense. Organized guerrilla groups frequently rely on funding from the local populace or from supporters abroad who share their objectives.

The Spanish word for guerrilla is guerra, which is short for war.; hence, ‘little war’.

During the Peninsular War in the early 19th century, the phrase gained popularity, when, after their regular armies were routed, The guerilla tactic was used by the Spanish and Portuguese people to effectively revolt against the Napoleonic forces and thwart a much stronger army.

Using proper Spanish, a person who is a member of a guerrilla unit is a guerrillero ([geriˈʎeɾo]) if male, or a guerrillera ([geriˈʎeɾa]) if female.

As early as 1809, the term guerrilla was used in English to refer to both individual warriors (e.g., The town was taken by the guerrillas) as well as groups or bands of such fighters. The term guerrilla still refers to a certain kind of warfare in the majority of languages. The diminutive evokes the disparities between the guerrilla army and the formal, professional army of the state in terms of size, breadth, and composition.

Tribal fighters in the prehistoric era probably used guerrilla strategies to combat rival tribes. Contrarily, the first signs of conventional combat did not appear in Egypt and Mesopotamia until 3100 BC. One of the first to advocate the use of guerilla warfare was the Chinese military and strategist Sun Tzu, who did so in his work The Art of War (6th century BC).

Guerrilla warfare was utilized against the Normans during their many invasions into Wales. The Normans were unfamiliar with the area's mountains, so the Welsh used them to launch surprise attacks.

Ideologies like nationalism, liberalism, socialism, and religious fundamentalism have all contributed significantly to molding insurgencies and guerrilla warfare since the Enlightenment.

Between 1790 and 1805, Kerala Varma (also known as Pazhassi Raja) waged guerrilla warfare in India against the British East India Company. In 1809, Arthur Wellesley translated the Spanish word guerrilla into English, The Moroccan military leader Abd el-Krim (c. 1883 – 1963) and his father unified the Moroccan tribes under their control and took up arms against the Spanish and French occupiers during the Rif War in 1920.

first time ever in history, Tunnel warfare was combined with contemporary guerrilla techniques, It severely wounded both of the colonial armies in Morocco.

engaged British soldiers in significant combat, often for 10 to 30 minutes.

Barry's flying columns are best known for their role in the Kilmichael Ambush in November 1920 and the Crossbarry Ambush in March 1921, both of which resulted in significant casualties for the opposing forces.

A small group of Algerian militants launched the 1954 Algerian Revolution. The insurgents fought the French for more than eight years with simple weapons. This still serves as a model for contemporary forms of asymmetric warfare, terrorism, torture, and insurgency and counterinsurgency.

The Mukti Bahini (Bengali: মুক্তিবাহিনী, literally means freedom fighters, Liberation Army, etc.),