The term guerrilla was used in English as early as 1809 to refer to the individual fighters (e.g., 'The town was taken by the guerrillas'), and also (as in Spanish) to denote a group or band of such fighters.

In correct Spanish usage, a person who is a member of a guerrilla unit is a guerrillero ( ) if male, or a guerrillera ( ) if female. The term became popular during the early-19th century Peninsular War, when, after the defeat of their regular armies, the Spanish and Portuguese people successfully rose against the Napoleonic troops and defeated a highly superior army using the guerrilla strategy. The Spanish word guerrilla is the diminutive form of guerra ('war'). Spanish guerrilla resistance to the Napoleonic French invasion of Spain at the Battle of Valdepeñas Guerrilla groups often depend on the logistical and political support of either the local population or foreign backers who sympathize with the guerrilla group's efforts.

Guerrilla tactics focus on avoiding head-on confrontations with enemy armies, instead engaging in limited skirmishes with the goal of exhausting adversaries and forcing them to withdraw. Guerrilla warfare has been used by various factions throughout history and is particularly associated with revolutionary movements and popular resistance against invading or occupying armies. The 3rd century BC Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus is also credited with inventing many of the tactics of guerrilla warfare through what is today called Fabian strategy. In the 6th century BC, Sun Tzu proposed the use of guerrilla-style tactics in The Art of War. Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics, and mobility, to fight a larger and less-mobile traditional military.Īlthough the term 'guerrilla warfare' was coined in the context of the Peninsular War in the 19th century, the tactical methods of guerrilla warfare have long been in use.

How guerrilla warfare definition