Lessons of Our People’s War: The Political and Military Relationship
(An adaptation of the Part 2 and 3 of the articles penned by Khumalo Migwe – Jabulani “Mzala” Nxumalo – on the on-going debate regarding the focus of Umkhonto we Sizwe on driving the armed struggle towards a completely developed people’s war, February 1982).
Since by definition guerilla warfare is that form of warfare adopted by the strategically weaker side to give it the capability of taking the tactical offensive at chosen times and places, it generally stands to reason that, from the point of view of military science it can never be decisive on itself, but is the initial phase developing towards mobile and positional conventional warfare. Practical experience, however, has demonstrated that given certain political factors, guerilla warfare can of itself, without developing into higher stages of military deployment, bring down an oppressive state.
It is this political dimension, that is, this popular will as the key to military strategy, which renders it possible to overthrow even the most economically and militarily powerful government by means of guerilla tactics alone.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE POLITICAL AND THE MILITARY
The history of all hitherto guerilla struggles indicates that their successes or failures depended very much (but not solely) on the relationship that is created between the political and the military; nevertheless, this question needs to be understood even mu
