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

ON GUERILLA WARFARE
soldier of Europe and won the war in spite of the fact that her ability
to organize guerrilla regimes was not fully developed. At times,
guerrilla groups were hindered in their operations and the supply of
equipment and arms was insufficient. If we use the Russian saying,
it was a case of a battle between “the fist and the axe” [Ivanov].
From 1918 to 1920, the Russian Soviets, because of the opposition
and intervention of foreign imperialists and the internal disturbances
of White Russian groups, were forced to organize themselves
in occupied territories and fight a real war. In Siberia and Alashan,
in the rear of the army of the traitor Denikin and in the rear of the
Poles, there were many Red Russian guerrillas. These not only disrupted
and destroyed the communications in the enemy’s rear but
FROM MARX
TO MAO
also frequently prevented his advance. On one occasion, the guer-
⋆
rillas completely destroyed a retreating White Army that had previously
been defeated by regular Red forces. Kolchak, Denikin, the
Japanese, and the Poles, owing to the necessity of staving off the
attacks of guerrillas, were forced to withdraw regular troops from
the front. “Thus not only was the enemy’s manpower impoverished
but he found himself unable to cope with the ever-moving guerrilla”
[The Nature of Guerrilla Action].
The development of guerrillas at that time had only reached the
stage where there were detached groups of several thousands in
strength, old, middle-aged, NOT and young. FOR The old men organized themselves
into propaganda groups known as “silver-haired units”; there
was a suitable guerrilla activity for the middle-aged; the young men
formed combat units, COMMERCIAL
and there were even groups for the children.
Among the leaders were determined Communists who carried on
general political work among the people. These, although they opposed
the doctrine of extreme guerrilla warfare, were quick to oppose
those who condemned DISTRIBUTION
it. Experience tells us that “Conventional
armies are the fundamental and principal power, guerrilla units are
secondary to them and assist in the accomplishment of the mission
assigned the regular forces” [Gusev, Lessons of Civil War]. Many
of the guerrilla regimes in Russia gradually developed until in battle
they were able to discharge functions of organized regulars. The
army of the famous General Galen was entirely derived from guerrillas.
During seven months in 1935 and 1936, the Abyssinians lost their
war against Italy. The cause of defeat — aside from the most important
political reasons that there were dissentient political groups,
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