The recent attack on the bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine, purportedly carried out by Ukrainian forces possibly employing a truck bomb, caused some rumblings on social media about Ukraine’s supposed use of “terrorist” tactics. This is an absurd claim, as the attack was clearly aimed at an infrastructure target being used in Russia’s illegal war effort. Nor did the attack aim to terrorize the civilian population through the indiscriminate killing of noncombatants or destruction of civilian targets.
The focus on these types of targets in war by “irregular” means — saboteurs, guerrillas, covert action forces, or small SOF units — is not new, nor should it be surprising to anyone. These are tactics as old as warfare itself and they can be highly effective in degrading an invading enemy’s capabilities and morale.
It is important to understand what makes for a successful sabotage operation against an invading and occupying force, which targets should be prosecuted, and how such tactics employed by irregular forces can do maximal damage to the enemy. The goal of such operations is protracted harassment of the invading enemy through a combination of surprise, cunning, and deception. These operations at their most effective use a small unit to conduct hit-and-run attacks during a long campaign. Flexibility is key, and a successful unit of saboteurs must not prioritize holding territory so much as making it painful for the invading enemy to hold his.
These sabotage units should focus their efforts on the following types of targets, in order to maximize the physical and psychological damage they do to the invading enemy.
1) Infrastructure targets
These include the transportation and communications systems underpinning a society, such as: rails; roads; bridges; telecommunications towers and relay stations; electrical power stations; water mains, pumps, and reservoirs; ports; hubs on which rail, road, and sea transport lanes intersect; and the factories that might be used to aid in the enemy’s war effort. Allowing this infrastructure to remain in operation must be prevented at all costs so it doesn’t aid the enemy in his campaign.
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2) Supply lines
These include any and all routes involved in supplying arms, ammunition, food, fuel, water, and other necessary materiel for the enemy’s war effort. They include: enemy supply convoys on road and rail; storage depots; fuel tanks and trucks; ports of entry; supply ships at port and at sea; and warehouses. If your enemy cannot supply his invading force, then he cannot defeat you.
3) Morale targets
These are less well-defined targets, the prosecution of which will deal a blow to the enemy’s morale and will to fight in your country. They can include all manner of targets, depending on the circumstances inherent in a particular conflict. Examples might include: barracks structures; headquarters buildings; base galleys or gymnasiums; informal gathering places where the enemy might congregate; and temporary enemy camps.
The goal of attacking these targets is to make the invading enemy feel insecure anywhere and everywhere within his sphere of operations, as well as behind his lines if possible. You should make him fear for his life every second that he remains an invader within your land.
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4) Collaborators
Those within an invaded territory who actively aid the enemy force in its effort to invade and occupy should face the wrath of those defending their homeland. This might seem harsh, or “too far” for some who have never known the horror that an invasion can unleash on a population, but there can be no clemency for those who work to undermine their own people in service of an enemy force.
One should not advocate extreme measures such as the killing of a collaborator’s family, for example, but the individual collaborators themselves should understand that they face grave consequences for their actions. These possible consequences should include execution by sabotage elements, as sanctioned by local resistance authorities.
Always keep in mind the local population
One of the keys to a successful resistance campaign of this nature is to keep the local non-combatant population on the side of the defenders, so care must be taken regarding all of the above operations.
It is important to use the population as a force multiplier and to avoid demoralizing it through your actions. Maintaining the support of your fellow citizens should be considered when choosing targets, the method and timing of an attack, and the level of force used.
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