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

ON GUERILLA WARFARE
The amount of such activity is the best proof of the foregoing statement.
The more such bands there are, the better will the situation
be. Each district, each county, should be able to organize a great
number of guerrilla squads, which, when assembled, form a guerrilla
company.
There are those who say: “I am a farmer”, or, “I am a student”,
“I can discuss literature but not military arts.” This is incorrect.
There is no profound difference between the farmer and the soldier.
You must have courage. You simply leave your farms and become
soldiers. That you are farmers is of no difference, and if you have
education, that is so much the better. When you take your arms in
hand, you become soldiers; when you are organized, you become
military units.
FROM MARX
TO MAO
Guerrilla hostilities are the university of war, and after you have
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fought several times valiantly and aggressively, you may become a
leader of troops and there will be many well-known regular soldiers
who will not be your peers. Without question, the fountainhead of
guerrilla warfare is in the masses of the people, who organize guerrilla
units directly from themselves.
The second type of guerrilla unit is that which is organized from
small units of the regular forces temporarily detached for the purpose.
For example, since hostilities commenced, many groups have
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COMMERCIAL
been temporarily detached from armies, divisions, and brigades and
have been assigned guerrilla duties. A regiment of the regular army
may, if circumstances warrant, be dispersed into groups for the pur-
pose of carrying on guerrilla operations. As an example of this,
there is the Eighth Route Army, in North China. Excluding the periods
when it carries on mobile operations as an army, it is divided
into its elements and these carry on guerrilla hostilities. This type
DISTRIBUTION
of guerrilla unit is essential for two reasons. First, in situations of
mobile warfare, the co-ordination of guerrilla activities with regular
operations is necessary. Second, until guerrilla hostilities can
be developed on a grand scale, there is no one to carry out guerrilla
missions but regulars. Historical experience shows us that regular
army units are not able to undergo the hardships of guerrilla campaigning
over long periods. The leaders of regular units engaged in
guerrilla operations must be extremely adaptable. They must study
the methods of guerrilla war. They must understand that initiative,
discipline, and the employment of stratagems are all of the utmost
importance. As the guerrilla status of regular units is but tempo-
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