Mobile Warfare: Difference between revisions
Undid revision 249449116 by 81.109.106.238 (talk) |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Mobile Warfare''' is the correct English term for [[Mao Zedong]]'s main military methods. For the general topic of military mobility, see [[maneuver warfare]]. |
'''Mobile Warfare''' is the correct English term for [[Mao Zedong]]'s main military methods. For the general topic of military mobility, see [[maneuver warfare]]. |
||
The achievements of Mao and the Communists in the [[Chinese Civil War]] are normally referred to as [[Guerrilla warfare]]. But he himself made a distinction between Mobile Warfare (''yundong zhan''), Positional Warfare (zhendi zhan) and [[Guerrilla warfare]] (''youji zhan''). |
The achievements of Mao and the Communists in the [[Chinese Civil War]] are normally referred to as [[Guerrilla warfare]]. But he himself made a distinction between Mobile Warfare (''yundong zhan''), Positional Warfare (zhendi zhan) and [[Guerrilla warfare]] (''youji zhan''). For instance, the [[PVA]]'s first five campaigns in the [[Korean War]] were Mobile Warfare, then it entered a stage of Positional Warfare, when both the PVA and UN forces fought to a stalemate along the [[38th parallel north]]. |
||
Mao had a regular army that was far too big to hide, but made a point of conceding territory and avoiding battle until he was ready to fight. |
Mao had a regular army that was far too big to hide, but made a point of conceding territory and avoiding battle until he was ready to fight. |
||
Revision as of 01:54, 16 July 2009
Mobile Warfare is the correct English term for Mao Zedong's main military methods. For the general topic of military mobility, see maneuver warfare.
The achievements of Mao and the Communists in the Chinese Civil War are normally referred to as Guerrilla warfare. But he himself made a distinction between Mobile Warfare (yundong zhan), Positional Warfare (zhendi zhan) and Guerrilla warfare (youji zhan). For instance, the PVA's first five campaigns in the Korean War were Mobile Warfare, then it entered a stage of Positional Warfare, when both the PVA and UN forces fought to a stalemate along the 38th parallel north.
Mao had a regular army that was far too big to hide, but made a point of conceding territory and avoiding battle until he was ready to fight.
The most notable example was the Long March, in which Mao marched in circles in Guizhou until he had confused the vastly larger armies pursuing him, and was then able to slip through Yunnan and Sichuan. A sensible comparison would be Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, though he was never outnumbered to the degree Mao regularly was.
These military methods were part of the military-political strategy of People's war, which aims to win the support of the local population.
See also
Sources
- Seeking Truth From Facts: RAND 1991, page 136. The book is mostly about post-Mao developments within the Chinese military.
- See also here [1] for various English-language sources using the term.