K. This is the 1st working draft of vol. VI. It still ... - From Marx to Mao

BASIC TACTICS
rection, we should send a small body of troops in advance of the
action to the route where the reinforcements may arrive, so as to
obstruct their advance, or report this peril to the main force.
6. At the time of a surprise attack, the choice of the point on
which the brunt of the attack will fall, and the geographical distribution
of our forces (in general, two-thirds of our men are used for
the principal direction of attack, and only one-third for the auxiliary
directions of attack) must absolutely be such as to prevent the
enemy forces from spreading out or receiving reinforcements and to
make it possible for us to smash them one by one.
7. The various task groups making up a guerrilla unit should
divide their forces within a very short distance of the point where
FROM MARX
TO MAO
the attack is to be made, and from there make a separate but coordi-
⋆
nated advance. The best place for this is the point from which the
charge will be made. In this way, we can avoid such misfortunes as
losing our way, or the premature division of our forces, and we can also.
guard against the danger of surprise attacks by the enemy. For the farther
apart are the various independent columns or groups, the more likely they
are to be separated by the terrain, and the more difficult it will be to expect
them all to strike at the same moment.
NOT FOR
COMMERCIAL
6. THE SUCCESS OF A SURPRISE ATTACK.
In general, we charge the enemy when he is not prepared, in circumstances
where he is frightened and flustered. If we really want
to strike when the enemy is not expecting us and attain success, the
following points should be attended to:
(1) We must act rapidly and secretly and not allow our plans to
be revealed prematurely. DISTRIBUTION
(2) We must strike at a time when the enemy’s warning system
is not very alert.
(3) We must make an empty display, and attack in several places
at once, so that the enemy’s reaction is confused, his forces are
frightened and hamper one another, and he cannot use all his strength
to resist us stubbornly.
(4) In carrying out the surprise attack, we must attack at the
appointed hours; there must be no noise; no shots must be fired;
there must be no battle cries. We must make every soldier understand
the use of the arms employed in a surprise attack, which are
171