Page:On Guerrilla Warfare (United States Marine Corps translation).djvu/42



N JULY, 1941, the undeclared war between China and Japan will enter its fifth year. One of the most significant features of the struggle has been the organization of the Chinese people for unlimited guerrilla warfare. The development of this warfare has followed the pattern laid out by Mao Tse-tung and his collaborators in the pamphlet Yu Chi Chan (Guerrilla Warfare), which was published in 1937 and has been widely distributed in "Free China" at 10 cents a copy.

Mao Tse-tung, a member of the Chinese Communist Party and formerly political commissar of the Fourth Red Army, is no novice in the art of war. Actual battle experience with both regular and guerrilla troops has qualified him as an expert.

The influence of the ancient military philosopher Sun Tzu on Mao's military thought will be apparent to those who have read The Book of War. Sun Tzu wrote that speed, surprise, and deception were the primary essentials of the attack and his succinct advice, "Sheng Tung, Chi Hsi" ("Uproar [in the] East, Strike [in the] West"), is no less valid today than it was when he wrote it 2,400 years ago. The tactics of Sun Tzu are in large measure the tactics of China's guerrillas today.