Mobile Warfare
Encyclopedia
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 (运动战 yundong zhan), Positional Warfare (阵地战 zhendi zhan) and Guerrilla warfare
(游击战 youji zhan).
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.
The Chinese People's Volunteer Army
's first five campaigns in the Korean War
were Mobile Warfare, in which the PVA encircled the enemy through maneuvers and sought to annihilate the enemy. 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 Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
's main military methods. For the general topic of military mobility, see maneuver warfare
Maneuver warfare
Maneuver warfare, or manoeuvre warfare , is the term used by military theorists for a concept of warfare that advocates attempting to defeat an adversary by incapacitating their decision-making through shock and disruption brought about by movement...
.
The achievements of Mao and the Communists in the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
are normally referred to as Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
. But he himself made a distinction between Mobile Warfare (运动战 yundong zhan), Positional Warfare (阵地战 zhendi zhan) and Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
(游击战 youji zhan).
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
Long March
The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...
, in which Mao marched in circles in Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...
until he had confused the vastly larger armies pursuing him, and was then able to slip through Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
and Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
. A sensible comparison would be Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's surrender at Appomattox Court House
Appomattox Court House
The Appomattox Courthouse is the current courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892. It is located in the middle of the state about three miles northwest of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, once known as Clover Hill - home of the original Old 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.
The Chinese People's Volunteer Army
People's Volunteer Army
The Chinese People's Volunteer Army was the armed forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army belonged to the People's Liberation Army , the People's Volunteer Army was separately constituted in order to...
's first five campaigns in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
were Mobile Warfare, in which the PVA encircled the enemy through maneuvers and sought to annihilate the enemy. Then it entered a stage of Positional Warfare, when both the PVA and UN forces fought to a stalemate along the 38th parallel north
38th parallel north
The 38th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean...
.
Sources
- Seeking Truth From Facts: RAND 1991, page 136. The book is mostly about post-Mao developments within the Chinese military.
- See also here http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/bibs/great/mao.htm for various English-language sources using the term.