Attack And Defense

The Resistance must carry out two functions: attack the government, and defend both itself and the citizenry against the government. This chapter will discuss both attack and defense. Attack

The ultimate goal of the Resistance is to overthrow the government and replace it with a government that will satisfy the original reasons for undertaking armed resistance. This can be done only by attacking the government. Initially those attacks will be limited. Only as the Resistance gains strength, and the support of the population, can more extensive attacks be made. Thus initially, the Resistance must plan attacks so that the attacking force can withdraw and “disappear” before government forces can successfully counterattack.

Ambushes and raids will be discussed in more detail in subsequent chapters. They are the most important and most frequent form of attack used by Resistance forces. However, the ultimate goal is for the Resistance to grow to the point where large-scale attacks and sieges can be undertaken. Until that point is reached, the Resistance will be limited to ambushes and raids, attacking

government forces where they are weak, or are not expecting an attack. Ruses and Deceptions

Resistance forces, especially in the early phases of the Resistance, will be heavily dependent upon ruses and deceptions. These are deliberate measures to mislead government forces about Resistance intentions. Some purposes of ruses and deceptions are:

Mislead government forces about the true objective or target of an attack;

Mislead government forces about the true location of Resistance forces they are pursuing, in order to lead government forces into traps;

Enable the secure withdrawal of Resistance forces after a raid or ambush, by misleading government forces about withdrawal routes;

Mislead government forces about the true strength of a Resistance force (lure them into attacking what they mistakenly think is a weak force, or deter them from attacking what they mistakenly think is a strong force);

Mislead government forces into thinking an attack is coming at one place, when the attack is coming at another place entirely;

Draw a government force into an ambush by staging an attack on a small force, then ambushing the relief force.

The key issue is that deception is always aimed at the mind of the government force commander, and subordinate commanders. The purpose of deception is to cause the government force

leaders to do something that helps the Resistance by causing them to misinterpret the situation they are facing. If deception fails to bring about counterproductive action on the part of government forces, it has failed its purpose.

The Resistance commanders must always be thinking in terms of ruses and deceptions. Doing what the government forces expect will almost always lead to defeat. It is especially important to avoid falling into patterns of behavior that the government forces can anticipate. Every action should incorporate ruses and deceptions that cause the government forces to misdirect their responses. These should be planned as an integral part of the operation.109

As in any plan, the Resistance commander starts by deciding what he wants to do. He then decides what false image he wants to create in the minds of the commanders of the government forces he will oppose. This false image must be plausible. It must be within the range of what the government commander is willing to believe about Resistance actions. Moreover, the means of carrying out the deception must be plausible. If, for instance, the deception plan involves false radio traffic, that traffic must conform to the Resistance’s usual patterns if it is to be believed.

Once the deception is selected, then the deception plan can be devised. The plan will then specify what actions will be taken to create the deception. Depending on the nature of the true action, the Resistance commander must then allow time for the deception plan to be carried out, especially if its purpose is to cause the government forces to deploy to a place away from the true target.

Chapter XV of the book by Callwell gives some historical examples of feints by military forces engaged in “small wars.” These might be useful to the Resistance leaders both as cautionary tales of what the government forces might do, and as examples of how opponents can be misled. Night Operations

Guerrillas have traditionally operated at night. The darkness helped cover movement. Darkness made surprise easier. Darkness made it harder for defending forces to see attackers. To some extent, night vision devices have reduced these advantages of night operations. However, the advantages have not been eliminated entirely. Thus Resistance forces should be trained to operate at night, and should make use of the advantages inherent in night operations.

One important element of training deals with seeing at night. Daylight vision involves elements of the eye called “cones.” They are capable of distinguishing colors, and are located at the central point of vision. However, they are not very effective at night. Night vision involves elements of the eye called “rods.” They are located around the cones. In the daytime, we look directly at something to see it. At night, it is necessary to look beside something (right or left, above or below), to allow the rods to operate. That is, we must use “off center” vision. Resistance fighters must be trained to do this; it doesn’t come naturally.

Night movement should take maximum advantage of shadows. This is particularly true under a bright moon. Fighters must also take care not to step on anything that might make a sound to reveal their position. Twigs, loose rocks, and so on must be avoided. Again, the fighters need training in soundless night movement. In particular, all their equipment must be silenced so it doesn’t rattle or make other noise such as water sloshing in a canteen.

While sight is hampered by darkness, sound and smell are still fully capable. Fighters moving at night must listen for enemy movement, and learn to detect enemy positions by smells such as cooking. Senses of hearing and smell can be improved by training and practice.

A unit moving at night must provide for communication. Hand signals cannot be seen. Chemlights, luminous tape, even the luminous dial of a compass, can be used effectively. Moving the source vertically, horizontally, in a circular motion, etc. can be used to convey different information (halt; proceed; enemy sighted; etc.).

Navigation at night is much more difficult than in the daytime, since landmarks cannot be seen. “Shooting a compass bearing” on a landmark may not be possible. If GPS is available, it should be used. Across open ground, fighters can follow a compass bearing by watching the compass.

Terrain contours can also be used for navigation, but these must be planned in advance using a contour map (“follow this ridge, then turn right at the valley, and follow the stream”).

Use of night vision devices certainly is not limited to government forces. Commercial NVDs are now available, with prices ranging from around $200 to around $3000. As with everything else, better costs more. Even so, Resistance forces may be able to obtain NVDs that allow them to operate effectively at night. Even night vision rifle sights are available at varying prices (and corresponding performance).

Even binoculars can help at night, if they have sufficient light-gathering objective lenses. Binoculars with 40-mm lenses give fairly good vision under a bright moon. While not as good as NVDs, they are a vast improvement over the naked eye. Resistance forces should obtain them if at all possible.

Jamming Electronics

Jamming, that is, broadcasting noise on a frequency the government forces are using, can be an effective means of disrupting government communications. The jamming transmitter advertises its presence, of course, and is therefore subject to counterattack. However, jamming can be a very effective means of attacking the government’s communications at critical times. During a raid or ambush, for instance, jamming the communications of the target force can delay the government’s response. For jamming to be effective, the frequencies used by the target government units must be known, including alternate and emergency frequencies. Resistance forces should be prepared to use jamming as an adjunct to other attacks.