Talk at Air Force Academy
by Brig. Gen. E. G. Lansdale, USAF
25 May 1962

# THE INSURGENT BATTLEFIELD

## I.

This is a little talk on some "facts of life." It's not the usual one about the bees and the flowers. It concerns some hard facts you should know for your life, as an American military man, on today's Communist insurgent battlefield. You'll need your eyes wide open when you get there.

Today's battlefield is the result of a strategic flanking movement. For some time now, the Communist leaders have made it plain that they expect to conquer the world. The short road to conquest could only be taken by making full use of military power. Our own great and alert strength has served as a military deterrent, which has forced the Communists to take the long way around in trying to reach their goal.

This "long way" is conquest by subversion in all of its aspects, supported by guerrilla forces when needed. The Communist guerrilla operations increasingly have involved American military men. Our military advisors, in assisting the armed forces of free foreign nations, simply have had to learn how to give practical advice on fighting Communist guerrillas, or else. The "or else" is the penalty of seeing an ally go under.

Our military effort along these lines, in what we now call "counter-insurgency," has been greatly heartened by the personal interest of President Kennedy. The U. S. military establishment is responding with tremendous vitality. The top echelon, including Secretary McNamara, Deputy Secretary Gilpatric, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General LeMay definitely, are dedicated to making our effort succeed. You probably have noted that they get out to the critical areas, in person, to make it count most where it's needed most. Further, in "counter-insurgency," we have new military doctrine, new staffs in the Pentagon, new command structures in the field, special units, and new courses on the subject in our military schools and colleges.

All of this splendid effort, its organization, its training, its equipment, are working towards having what it takes to win . . . at the point of decision . . . on the insurgent battlefield. It boils down to a pretty lonely spot. At some place, on the insurgent battlefield, it comes to a unit of an allied military force, with an American military advisor, right up against the enemy. That American had better know his stuff. One day, that American might be you.

You'll be key man, on the spot.

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In case it is you, let me help you get prepared for that moment. The best start I know is to get oriented to the insurgent battle and to its battlefield. When you locate your own vital part in these surroundings, all your heritage, and training, and equipment will start clicking into place.

What, then, is this battle?

What does the insurgent battlefield look like?

## II.

The battlefield is a whole country, when Communist guerrillas are active.

If we were to map it truly, to show what it really looks like as a Communist insurgent battlefield, we would have to put in all the *people* in the land. They are the dominant feature of this battlefield, above all else. We would see the battle for what it is: to win these *people*. When the people are won, along with them go the terrain, the wealth of the land, the whole existence of the nation.

The strategy and tactics which take place on this battlefield are based on winning the people. As long as they are, the battle starts getting won. When strategy and tactics are used which don't contribute to winning the people, the battle starts getting lost.

Thus, on our true map of the battlefield, we would see a nation's entire population. Among the people, from one side, we would see the Communists hard at work, attracting and coercing, to gain control of this population. Among the population, from the other side, the government side, we would see the adherents of the government at work to maintain the loyalty and support of the people. When these two polarizing forces are thus competing, it's the one that can build up and maintain the strongest attraction force that wins. If the force on the government side is weakened, by diffusing the polarization, by shutting off vital parts of it, the government loses.

On a Communist insurgent battlefield, the military man is most often the government representative who is out among the people. The armed forces usually are the largest organization in the government. When the shooting's on, they're out in the countryside where the enemy is. Their uniforms tell the people plainly that these are government men.

Magsaysay gave a dynamic role to the Philippine citizens in uniform during the Huk campaign. This dynamic role was called "civic action." In it,

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the soldier citizen became the brotherly protector of the civilian citizen. Meaningful help to the people, a regard for the dignity of man, and true military courtesy were the essential elements. Civic action formed a bond of brotherhood between soldiers and civilians. When the soldiers and the people joined together, the Communist guerrillas could no longer hide among the people, and were defeated.

This polarizing force is not new to warfare. Those of you who crack your books will recognize it as Sun Tzu's first "constant factor" in the art of war. This practical soldier of 2,000 years ago called it the Moral Law. Mao Tse Tung put this into a code for the 8th Route Army. The code was known as the "Three Rules and the Eight Remarks." Essentially, this code implemented the concept of the people as the water where live the troops as the fish. In Communist North Vietnam, this same forceful principle is used. It is known as the "three recommendations" and is Point 9 of the Military Oath of Honor. General Giap, the Communist commander, stressed the "profound significance" of this code in the defeat of the French.

### III.

The Communists put a lot of patient, long work into preparing the insurgent battlefield. Thay have a lot of resources in place, by the time they field a guerrilla force. Not all of these resources are surfaced when the insurgency is initiated. Significant action elements have a clandestine role, to weaken the government side, up close. Thus, the location of Communist forces would look quite different on a Communist operation map from the Communist order of battle seen on the usual government intelligence map. It's only when a massive intelligence effort is made by the government that the two maps start looking the same.

The Communist preparation of the battlefield in Vietnam began about 40 years ago. That is, it took about 20 years of preparation before the Communists started to field guerrilla forces.

The Japanese invasion and occupation gave the Communists the popular resistance cause they sought. However, the Japanese mostly behaved themselves in Vietnam, due to their deal with Vichy. So, the anti-Japanese war wasn't much of a Communist guerrilla effort, except in gaining experience which paid off after that war in organizing and leading a later guerrilla war for a more dynamic popular cause, freedom from French rule. Many non-Communist Vietnamese fought for their country's freedom from the French, under Communist leadership, without being aware that the leadership was Communist. When they caught on that they weren't fighting for freedom, but to impose Communism

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on their country, they quit the Communist guerrilla ranks by the thousands. Many of the hardest fighters against the Communists in Vietnam today were once on the other side. A million of them moved South, when North Vietnam was given to the Communists.

If these Vietnamese sound naive, remember that there were many people who once believed that the Chinese Communists were only "agrarian reformers." Even closer home and more recently, remember the people who thought Fidel Castro was merely a liberal reformer. The Communists run an expert confidence game.

Incidentally, in Vietnam, the preparation of the battlefield began with the entry of a tiny handful of Communist agents in the 1920's. They joined in with laborers brought from Singapore by French plantation owners, to build the railroad in Central Vietnam. The U.S. Army Special Forces now have a camp in Vietnam, close to where the first Communist cells were located. As these first Communist agents recruited local Vietnamese cadres, they picked up Ho Chi Minh, who received his higher Communist training later in Paris and Moscow.

The Communist insurgent battlefield in the Philippines got its first preparations at about the same time. The first agents were Malay-Chinese. Later, there was help not only from the Chinese Party, but considerable help from the American Communist Party. The American Communists were mostly merchant seamen in the early days. During the Huk campaign, one of the American Communists -- his name was William Pomeroy -- sneaked up into the hills to join the Communist guerrillas. They wouldn't have him as a fighting man. Instead, they assigned him to teach in one of their jungle schools, which they called "Stalin Universities." As he prepared to teach a class in local Communist history, he found that all reference to help from the American Party had been deleted in the local history given him. When he protested that there wouldn't have been a Philippine Party unless the American Party had helped so generously, he was disciplined. The enemy, the newly independent Philippine Republic, was being smeared as the puppet of the United States. It would hardly do to have the Philippine Communist history vulnerable to the same charge! In reality, the hard driving force behind Communism in the Philippines has been Chinese right along.

## IV.

In the years of building an organized force below the surface, the Communists use patience and masterly guile, supported by a highly effective international system. The system was originated by Lenin. It is the well-known complex of international and national "fronts," which Lenin thought of as "transmission belts," running power and resources from the international to the national.

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Most people don't recognize one of the hard-core Communist cadre when they see him. Sometimes, the disguise is helped by overly enthusiastic anti-Communists, unwittingly. As part of the enthusiasm, Communists are portrayed as having a Stalin mustache, if not Krushchev's bald head. They are given the look of a crafty "muzhik." Helpfully, they wear red stars on a cap or peasant blouse. Some of them are even said to eat babies for breakfast.

So, when a softly-spoken person, looking much like one of the neighbors, moves in on a social structure, as a Communist agent, it is small wonder that he is hard to recognize. He uses local issues in his persuasion, as he carefully recruits and readies others to be as he. In some countries, the Communist cadres even praise U.S. aid - - when it is popular to do so.

In Vietnam, some of the mountain tribes file their teeth. So, when the Communist agents were selected to work with the tribes a few years back, the first ones in had their own teeth filed.

We have noted, then, that the battlefield is prepared by the Communists over a long period. This is going on today, in nation after nation. If you are assigned to one of our 40-odd MAAGs and military missions in friendly countries, you would do well to be concerned about what your opposite number among the Communists is doing. The chances are more than good that there is such a person, quietly teaching proletarian military science to the cadre, or quietly running a secret logistics system. Will you be doing a better job for the Free World than he is for his?

V.

With the Communist apparatus in place on the battlefield -- which is a nation, remember -- the Communists then play the breaks for a chance to win that nation. They are set to use political action, or military action, or a combination of both, to win their goal. War has been declared all along, from the time the first cadres were in place.

The political action is known as "the legal struggle." It has all the legality of an Al Capone running for mayor of Chicago, plus skilled use of inflammatory local issues. Some artful murders, with the victims usually meeting "accidents," some skillful character assassinations, applied terror, loud noises from "front" organizations, and a timed coup to seize the key spots -- these are the ingredients of "the legal struggle" at its climax.

If the political action doesn't go too well, then the military action is added, to apply naked power to the campaign. Or, if a really patriotic national rebellion gets started, the Communists move in fast with their military cadres, to capture its leadership.

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VI.

When the Communists surface their guerrillas on the battlefield, we come to the "counter-insurgency" phase with which our military establishment is rapidly becoming so familiar.

The practices of Communist guerrilla warfare are varied enough for days of talk. To give you a "feel" for this enemy, here are some brief comments on three topics: population control, fiscal support, and troop discipline.

**Population control:** Communist guerrillas control the population by using both salesmanship and intimidation. The political officers with the guerrilla units are usually younger men. They use the "hard sell," reminiscent of our brasher door-to-door salesmen. They sell the joys of Communism, including the joy of bumping off the landlord, along with the sureness that Communism is coming anyhow, so join now.

The guerrilla unit's political officer has a primary aim. He needs a secret organization within the village, to help support his unit. He usually establishes means for justice, policing, and the collection of supplies and intelligence.

In an insurgency, when it is said that the Communists rule the village at night, it is this apparatus at work. The magistrate holds a court. Marriages are performed. Sentences are carried out. Taxes and other supplies are collected. It becomes the village secret, often totally unknown to the government.

When there isn't time for the political officer to work in the village, or when the village is hostile, terror is used. A quick, brutal lesson is given to the villagers. Senior villagers are often the victims. They are kidnapped from their homes at night. The next morning, their severed heads adorn poles on paths to the village. Next time the Communist guerrillas come around, the scared people give help. A villager who assists the government troops is sure of some punishment. If a village has a police force which is too active in patrolling the neighborhood, hunting guerrillas, it is lured out into the countryside. While the police are out of the village, the guerrillas slip in and murder the police families. Other police, in other villages, get the idea, and are afraid to go out on patrol and leave their families unprotected.

**Fiscal support:** Although the Communist agent apparatus is supported largely by outside, or international funding, the Communist guerrilla lives off the land. At times, he grows his own food. Mostly, however, he depends on the systematic collection of food and supplies in the villages. At harvest time, a farmer is told what share of his crop must be put aside for Communist collection. Villages

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not only provide funds and food, but also boats, vehicles, and cargadore labor.

Crime pays, for the Communist guerrillas. One method they use is kidnapping, for ransom. Another is highway robbery, although it is more normal for them to collect toll. They set up a check point, stop busses, trucks, and private vehicles, and collect a head tax. If any of their victims look suspicious to them, they are apt to be taken prisoner or killed on the spot.

Bank robbery is resorted to, at times. However, it is easier to collect money for "protecting" the bankers, gangster style. In Asia, the banker or money-lender out in the countryside is usually the local Chinese merchant. Paying "protection money," for him, is just a normal way of life, a form of "squeeze."

Kidnapping, highway robbery, and squeezing the money-lender are all current practices of the Communist guerrillas in Vietnam. In the Huk campaign in the Philippines, the Communist guerrillas staged some melodramatic train robberies, in real Jesse James style. In Vietnam, the Communist guerrillas simply blow up the tracks, wreck the train, and strip the bodies of the victims.

**Troop discipline:** When a village youth is recruited by Communist guerrillas, there is a romantic appeal to it. He is going to get away from daily chores and live a roaming life of fun and excitement.

The youth quickly finds that the Communist guerrilla unit is run with iron discipline, political indoctrination, and conditioning through "self-criticism." Once in, the only sure way of leaving the unit is death. If captured by government forces, he can be sure that he will have to answer for it to his Communist masters, later.

"Iron discipline" means prompt and severe punishment for any infraction of the rules. Death is as common a punishment as it was in the Middle Ages. A new recruit is often taught the rules dramatically. He is given the assignment of dealing out the punishment. I recall one case. Two village boys joined a Communist unit which was passing through. A few days later, it returned to the neighborhood of this village. One of the boys sneaked off to say hello to his parents. When this was discovered, the other boy was ordered to go to his friend's house and kill him in front of his parents. He did so. If he hadn't, he would have received the same punishment. This act, of course, cut him off from family, friends, and village. All he had left to him was his guerrilla unit and the Communist leaders. He had taken a big step forward, towards becoming one of the "hard core."

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Political indoctrination is a Communist guerrilla strength. It is "troop I&E" that never stops. There is at least one formal session every day. During the day, there are quick, informal sessions. The political officer conducts these sessions, and goes right along with the troops on all operations. If you watch a Communist guerrilla unit on the march, when it stops to "take ten," you will see the political officer use the time to give a lecture.

The political officer also is responsible for the "self-criticism" sessions. The French have given the name "auto-intoxication" to the act of "self-criticism," and this is quite descriptive. It's an act in which the military man publicly confesses his weaknesses, particularly any form of selfishness.

For example, after a successful raid, the guerrillas return to their base tired but jubilant. After they've had their rest, the political officer conducts a "self-criticism" session on the raid. The commander must state where he had a wrong or selfish thought -- in the planning and during the action. The key is, he must see himself as imperfect, state these imperfections openly in public, and vow to overcome impurity of thought or behavior next time. Each of the men goes through the same procedure, publicly. Serious deviations, of course, are punished.

The steady, day-in, day-out psychological conditioning of the "self-criticism" process makes the Communist guerrilla a fanatic. He automatically starts thinking of the group _first_, himself _last_.

## VII.

Admittedly, this "guided tour" of the Communist insurgent battlefield has been a quick one. I hope the main points will stick with you. They are:

1. The enemy's objective is to win control of the _people_ living on the battlefield. When he wins them, he wins all else.

2. The enemy prepares the battlefield carefully, over a long time. His battle line probably looks different than the government's.

3. Although the enemy tries to give his guerrillas a local appearance, often they have international strengthening. Cut off this outside support, and they would start failing.

4. The Communist guerrilla is a tough, resourceful, and fanatic enemy. He trains long and hard. He is conditioned psychologically.

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VIII.

It is only natural, when describing a tough enemy, to picture him as a
little larger than life size. He will picture you the same way, when you are
out on the battlefield yourself and become effective.

If you recall, I pointed out earlier that all of our massive effort finally
comes down to some small, lonely point on the Communist insurgent battlefield.
This is where the final decision comes. This is where the American, when he
is true to the spirit of his heritage, is more than a match for the fanatic Commu-
nist.

What is it, really, that you, and I, and other Americans find so precious
to defend? What we defend are the principles of free men. These principles
are clearly set forth in the Bill of Rights in our Constitution, to fulfill the pro-
mise in our Declaration of Independence. So, we have man the way we see him --
an individual, born to be free, endowed by the Creator with "certain unalienable
Rights." And, we have man the way the Communists see him -- a cipher, a zero
man, born to be one of the mass slaves of the State.

One final story. A true one. It happened several years ago in Vietnam,
before we had MAAG advisors out with the Vietnamese units. President Diem
saw one of the MAAG advisors and asked him to go out and stay for some days
with a Vietnamese general. The general was commanding an operation against
insurgents, near the Plaine des Joncs.

President Diem pointed out that the Vietnamese general was a good fighting
man. He needed little advice on how to fight and win. But, said President Diem,
this highly moral soldier is an aloof man. So, please teach him how to love the
people. You know, the way you do, as an American.

I appreciate that this sounds highly idealistic and, perhaps an unusual
chore for a military man. However, even President Diem's enemies admit that
he is a tough and practical realist. He was right on the vital dynamic beam of
successful counter-insurgency, when he asked this American's help.

Similar stories are being lived every day in Southeast Asia, by Americans
who are giving of themselves, not just doing another tour of duty. Each place
these Americans are, the cause of freedom grows. One of them is worth a
hundred others who don't live up to the American spirit.

When your turn comes, be like them. Serve in the spirit of American princi-
ples. As you do so, you will be right in the forefront -- of giving the Communists
a memorable licking -- of helping the cause of freedom, everywhere!

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