I. Cloze
Another fundamental characteristic of the guerrilla soldier is his flexibility, his ability
to adapt himself to all circumstances, and to convert to his service all of the accidents
of the action. Against the rigidity of classical methods of fighting, the guerrilla fighter
invents his own tactics at every minute of the fight and constanly surprises the enemy. In
the first place, there are only elastic positions, specific places that the enemy cannot
pass, and places of diverting him. Frequently, the enemy, after easily overcoming
difficulties in a gradual advance, is surprised to find himself suddenly and solidly
detained without possibilities of moving forward. This is due to the fact that the
guerrilla-defended positions, when they have been selected on the basis of a careful study
of the ground, are invulnerable. It is not the number of attacking soldiers that counts,
but the number of defending soldiers. Once that number has been placed there, it can nearly
always hold off a battalion with success. It is a major task of the chiefs to choose well
the moment and the place for defending a position without retreat.
The form of attack of a guerrilla army is also different; starting with surprise and fury,
irresistible, it suddenly converts itself into total passivity.
The surviving enemy, resting, believes that the attacker has departed; he begins to relax,
to return to the routine life of the camp or of the fortress, when suddenly a new attack
bursts forth in another place, with the same characteristics, while the main body of the
guerrilla band lies in wait to intercept reinforcements.
