UNITY NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER-DECEMBER I967
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WHAT  IS  A  GUERRILLA?
This is a pertinent question.  Today there is a lot of talk
about guerrilla warfare and guerrilla fighters.  It therefore
becomes necessary in the interests of clarity to give some definition of what a guerrilla is.  Our definition comes from none
other than the internationally recognised leader of the guerrilla
movement, the late Major Ernesto Che Guevara,  V/e are indebted to
Granma (December 3, I967) for this article, which we publish here
in full:
"The guerrilla is a liberation fighter par excellence: elected
of the people, vanguard combatant in their struggle for liberation.
Guerrilla warfare is not, as often thought, a small-scale v/ar, a
war conducted by a minority grouping against a powerful army.  No,
guerrilla warfare is v/ar by the entire people against the reigning
oppression.  The guerrilla movement is their armed vanguard;  the
guerrilla army comprises all the people of a region or a country,
^hat is the reason for its strength and for its eventual victory over
whatever power* tries to crush it;  that is, the base and grounding of
the guerrilla is the people.
"One cannot imagine small armed groups, no matter how mobile and
familiar v/ith the 'terrain, surviving the organised persecution.; of a
well-equipped army v/ithout this powerful assistance.  The tpst is
that all bandits, all brigand gangs, eventually succumb to the central
power - and one must bear in mind that for the inhabitants of a
region these bandits often represent more than mere brigandage: they
represent a liberation struggle, though the sheerest caricature of.
one. ,      .
"Each member of the guerrilla army, the people's army par
excellence, must embody the qualities of the best of the world's
soldiers.  The army must observe strict discipline.  The fact that the
formalities of orthodox military life do not correspond to the guerrilla movement, the fact that there is no heel-clicking or snappy
saluting, no kowtowing explanations to superior officers, does not,
by any stretch of the imagination, mean that there is no discipline.
Guerrilla discipline is within the individual, born of his profound
conviction, of the need to obey his superior, not only so as to maintain the effectiveness of'the armed group of which he is a part, but
also to^defend his own life,  Any slight carelessness by a soldier
in a regular army is controlled by his nearest comrade.  In guerrilla
warfare, in which each soldier is a unit within himself, an error is
fatal.  No one can be careless.  No one can commit even .the smallest
slip, as his life and those of his comrades are at stake.
"This informal discipline is often not apparent.  For the un-
uniformed, the regular soldier, with a whole complex system for show-.
ing recognition of superior officers, seems far more disciplined than
a guerrilla, any guerrilla, following his chief's instructions v/ith
simple and stirring respect,  Moreover, the liberation army is a pure
army v/ith no room for even the smallest of man's v/eaknesses;  it has
no repressive apparatus, no intelligence service to prevent individuals from falling victim to temptation.  Self-control is the operative
force.  Rigid awareness of duty and discipline.
"Besides being a^disciplined soldier, the guerrilla is very
agile, physically and mentally.
"One cannot conceive of static guerrilla warfare.  Night is the
setting.  Depending on his knowledge of the terrain, the guerrilla
moves at night, takes position, attacks the enemy and withdraws.
/.