History glossary
guerrilla warfare
irregular warfare using mobility, local knowledge, ambushes, and political support.
- Category
- Military term
- Region
- Global
- Date range
- Varies
What it means
Guerrilla warfare is irregular fighting by small groups that use ambushes, mobility, local knowledge, and civilian support rather than formal battlefield confrontation alone. In the Peninsular War, guerrilla resistance helped make French occupation costly and unstable.
Related terms
Stories using this term
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The Pacific War
From imperial expansion in Manchuria to surrender in 1945, the Pacific War remade Asia through conquest, occupation, naval warfare, and devastating defeat.
Origins of the Cold War
From the Grand Alliance to the Truman Doctrine, this story traces how the United States and Soviet Union shifted from wartime cooperation to global confrontation.
