Planning Insurgent Actions

General. Careful and detailed planning is a prerequisite for successful insurgencies.

Intelligence. The basis of planning is accurate and up-to-date intelligence. Prior to initiating an insurgent action a detailed intelligence collection effort is made in the projected target area to gather information about the enemy as well as about potential sympathizers with the revolutionary cause. This effort supplements the regular flow of information. Efforts are made to keep the target area under surveillance up until the time of action. Following the action, insurgent intelligence operatives assess the impact of the action on the target, as well as the area surrounding the target.

Surprise. The planning of all insurgent actions relies on the element of surprise. Actions are planned for unexpected times and places. Set patterns of action are avoided. Maximum surprise advantage is gained by attacking the enemy during periods of low visibility and adverse weather. Surprise may also be enhanced by concurrent diversionary activities.

Political Strategy. All operations are planned in a manner that will create a favorable political environment for the revolutionary movement, on the one hand, and a destabilizing political environment for capitalism and the state, on the other. Furthermore, media is created to communicate with enemy forces, active resistance elements, and segments of the population that support, oppose, or are indifferent to the insurgency.

Target Selection. The important factors related to the target which influence its final selection are:

  1. Criticality. A target is critical when damaging it will exercise a significant influence upon the enemy’s ability to support political and economic stability.
  2. Political Impact. The political effects of revolutionary operations should outweigh the material effects. Insurgents select targets that produce maximum political effects that are favorable to the revolutionary cause.
  3. Vulnerability. Vulnerability is a target’s susceptibility to attack by the means available to the revolutionary forces. Vulnerability is influenced by the nature of the target, i.e., location, type, size, disposition, and composition.
  4. Accessibility. Accessibility is measured by the ability of the insurgents to infiltrate into the target area without suspicion. In studying a target for accessibility, surveillance around the target area, location of the target, and logistics are all considered.
  5.  Adverse Effects. Insurgents must consider possible adverse effects on their forces and the general populace when selecting a target. An improperly selected target may provoke counteraction and repression that the insurgents are unprepared to respond to. Revolutionaries should take every precaution to insure that non-combatants are not needlessly subjected to danger or harsh enemy reprisals.

These factors are variables. As such, each target is constantly reevaluated for selection. The criticality of a target, or the political impact of attacking it, may change. The vulnerability of a target can shift with the number of insurgents available to attack it. A target may become less accessible if the enemy has additional security personnel to guard it.

Contingency Plans. Plans must be thorough and flexible enough to allow insurgents to adopt alternate predetermined courses of action when contingencies arise.

Organization of the Tactical Force.

  1. Assault Team. The assault team is organized and trained to accomplish the objectives of the tactical action. It consists of a main group to execute the action and may include personnel detailed to execute special tasks.
  2. Intelligence Team. The intelligence team supports the assault team by monitoring the target area before, during, and following the action. The size of the intelligence team depends upon the enemy’s capability to intervene in the operation.

Movement to Target. Movement to the target area is planned and conducted along a preselected route in order to allow the tactical force to approach the target undetected. Movement of the entire tactical force may be over a single route or multiple routes. The intelligence team is deployed before the assault team. Signals, codes or designated times may be used to coordinate movement.

Withdrawal. Revolutionaries avoid capture by having a rigorous withdrawal route, including multiple contingency routes, planned out ahead of time. The insurgents must know the withdrawal route in detail, and, in this manner, should go through the route ahead of time as a training, to avoid entering streets, alleyways, or buildings that have no exit, or running into enemy strongholds. Rehearsals of the withdrawal are conducted under similar conditions of visibility as those expected during the action. Insurgents should also have a contingency plan in place to deliberately disrupt a potential police chase with seemingly casual inconveniences that obstruct the streets.