28 - Constantly Improve Organisation of Our Armed Forces
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 February 2020
Summary
Act and continually strengthen our action
To carry on the victorious development of our struggle, we must:
A. Reorganise our armed forces in accordance with the demands of the struggle in the new phase we have reached. Re-define the role of the guerrilla force and the People's Army.
1. The guerrillas are the principal force for armed struggle, must operate within the region or zone to which they belong, in constant close cooperation with the people and with the People's Army. The guerrilla warfare in each area is led by the party's leadership body for that area. So in the zone it is the zone committee which leads the guerrillas whose bases have at the forefront as responsible workers a base chief and a political commissar. For a region, all the guerrillas of the zones are led by the party Regional Committee, which is subordinate to the Inter-regional Committee.
2. The army must be constituted by units with their own commands and in this phase we must not form units bigger than the bigroup. Each bigroup must have a commander and a political commissar and comprises two groups. Army units are directly under the orders of the Party Inter-regional Committee, which co-ordinates the action of the army with that of the guerrillas, through the intermediary of the Regional Committees or the special military commands which will be increased to the extent that this becomes possible. The People's Army must operate wherever necessary, not being permanently tied to any region or zone in the country. It must have clear, precise and programmed missions to accomplish.
3. In the liberated areas there are guerrilla forces and there may be army forces whenever needed. In regions as yet unliberated army units operate with the purpose of engaging the enemy, liberating new stretches of the country, implanting guerrilla warfare and carrying out work of mobilisation and political organisation of the population. In conjunction with the guerrilla force, the army must ensure the defence of the population against enemy forces.
4. Increase the number of the guerrilla force and the number of men in each base in all areas where it is necessary to do this. Cut out the non-essential bases to avoid a broad spread of weak bases, but concentrate the guerrilla forces in strong bases, well cited and in close liaison with each other.
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- Unity and StruggleSelected Speeches and Writings, pp. 279 - 282Publisher: University of South AfricaPrint publication year: 2004