Guerilla Warfare Movie Anthology: a Recap

Flame and Citron

This film is loosely based on the True Story of two members of the Danish Resistance in World War II who assassinated high ranking members of the Gestapo and SS. The student of modern Guerilla Warfare should study and take this film to heart as it represents, at least in my opinion, one of the founding principles of insurgent/guerilla warfare in the 21st century and that is assassination and sabotage operations, which I feel will be a FOUNDATIONAL aspect of the upcoming  festivities in FUSA in the next few years.

 

 

Michael Collins

I have read half a dozen books on the “Big Fellow” and this is a really well-done Biopic of one of the Founding members of The Irish Republican Army. This movie begins where the rebellion of Ireland against Great Britain began, The Easter Uprising of 1914. Collins was responsible for virtually writing the book on Guerilla Warfare and Counter-Intelligence Operations used by the IRA for decades to come. You should watch this and The Wind that Shakes the Barley together, as the two mesh on the historical timeline of the IRA, as the assassination of Collins was in relatiation to the Peace Agreement he made with Great Britain, thus, being branded a “traitor”.

 

 

The Liberator

This movie documents the life and exploits of Simon Bolivar, quite possibly, one of the most influential figures in the history of the South American continents struggle to be free of the Spanish Empire in the 19th Century. Although this movie is not so much about Guerilla Warfare per se, I included it because I feel it is important for the student of Military History and GW to understand how the struggle to be free of COLONIAL powers all across the globe was the “spark” that often ignited Guerilla insurgencies, such as The Boer War, The Malaysian Emergency and the Algerian Civil War. I was actually surprised at how good this movie was overall.. although most of it is in Spanish or French and is sub-titled, the scenery, historic detail and action scenes are top notch.

 

 

Che

No doubt about it, Che Guevara was a solid gold Commie POS but like it or not, Guevara also represents an integral part of the history of the evolution of Guerilla Warfare. His manual, Guerilla Warfare, published in 1969 and mostly drawing from his experiences during the Cuban Revolution, was one of the first published manuals on the subject. The movie goes into detail into the actual ground work (by showing the early years of the Cuban Revolution) that had to be laid for a Guerilla insurgency to function, not with standing the military and tactical aspect, the Guerilla army first had to be disciplined so as to be able to sway the local populace to their side. They did this by not putting any hardship on the peasant families (such as stealing food or supplies) and offering any services they could easily provide (Guevara was a trained Physician, so they offered free medical care to all the peasant villages).

 

 

The Wind that Shakes the Barley

This is a MUST SEE for the student of Guerilla Warfare; not just because it is an awesome movie, but it is also very accurate in it’s historical detail. An early study of the beginnings of the IRA in the 1920’s, it shows in graphic detail the brutality the Irish faced at the hands of their British taskmasters and attempts to validate why, the Irish, were in turn, often so harsh in their retaliations against the British. It tracks the evolution of the formation of early IRA “brigades” which conducted raids, ambushes and political assassinations and eventually ends up going into the Irish Civil War which broke out over disagreements over the “Peace” treaty with England, which continued to rage on for another 70 years. This movie is considered a classic in Ireland, kind of the way we view Saving Private Ryan; it is a piece of Ireland’s vital, living history.

 

 

The Battle of Algiers (Courtesy of American Partisan)

You cannot be a student of Guerilla Warfare and not be familiar with this classic. I watch it at least once a year.

 

Intimate Enemies

A French Film with sub-titles, this movie tracks the Algerian War of Independence, which in terms of studying Guerilla Warfare is a red letter date event. When studying how Guerilla Warfare has changed over the centuries, one of the re-occurring themes you will come across again and again is the REBELLION AGAINST COLONIAL POWERS, namely Spain, England and France. Besides the study of the Boer War, The French Algerian War offers some of the best hindsight in WHAT NOT TO DO when fighting a counter-insurgency, namely:

• The torture of prisoners and mistreatment of the indigenous populace.

•  Not educating your military force on the local religion and culture (islam) can be a severe detriment in knowing how to earn peoples respect and trust.

While on this subject, one needs to also study how France, before Algeria, fought an uphill and eventual losing battle in French Indochina, a pre-cursor (and harbinger as it were) to America’s long and bloody struggle in Vietnam.

Carlos

Although this movie is not a direct study of GW, it offers an informative if not disturbing look at Middle Eastern and European Political Terrorism in the 1970’s, namely the so-called “Palestinian Struggle” and one of the most ruthless and notorious terrorist and hired killers of that time, Carlos the Jackal. This is a foreign made film with some sub-titles, but don’t let that discourage you. It is very well made with excellent screenwriting and acting.

For further reading I highly recommend the book “Hunting the Jackal” by Billy Waugh.