Who are or were the best guerrilla fighters?

How about the original Texas Rangers? Spent alot of time living in the scrub and chasing Commanches and Vaqueros, and just plain bad guys. Seems to meet the criteria.

reply to post by cw0203


The Texas Ranger were a counter-insurgency force then a paramilitary police force and had support from the gov't. They were ruthless against those who fought against them.

The Ghurkas aren't guerilla fighters, either. A guerilla fighter isn't attached to an normal army unit. Guerilla fighters operate within an enemy occupied terrority with mostly local support. The VC and Iraqi Sunnis both had and/or have tremendous outside support.

The Pashtuns and Tajiks in what is now called Afghanistan are true stand on their own guerilla forces as were most Native American tribesmen not just the Apaches.

Originally posted by crgintx
The VC and Iraqi Sunnis both had and/or have tremendous outside support.

As have many other 'modern' guerilla groups...if you are fighting an enemy equipped with modern weaponry, the only way to increase the odds against the enemy is to get access to similar tools through an 'outside source' or adapt existing technology for the same purpose.

Hezbollah should be worthy of a mention for achievements in adapting technology (such as the home-made sugar and fertilizer fuelled Qassam short-range artillery rocket) and taking on a vastly technologically superior enemy and giving them a thouroughly bloody nose


[edit on 15-12-2007 by citizen smith]

We can't forget to include one of the most famous guerillas in folk-legend

...Robin Hood and his merry men!

*twang!*

The best guerrillas would have to be Tito's partisans in occupied Yugoslavia during WW2.

Another unknown candidate would be the various communistic Puerto Rican independence movements. They began their "revolution" to "liberate" their "homeland" from the "evil imperialist gringos" in the October Revolution in 1950 and there are still occasional bombings and attacks to this day. In the 1980s they robbed a Wells Fargo bank and made off with several million $, in the mid 1980s they attacked the main Puerto Rico Air National Guard base and were able to destroy several aircraft due to almost non existent security forces.

en.wikipedia.org...

The PIRA have got to be up there. At any one time there were estimated to be only approx 80 active ASU members, as opposed to over 20'000 British troops on the streets.

i hate the b@stards, but thats some odds

Hey Guys I'm not saying gangs are any good or anything but , couldnt they be considered guerillas as well?

Hahaha. You're a bad ass.

And to hell with MAN U.

Best guerrilla fighters in the world:

Chechen mujahideen fighting the Russians for independent state.
Afghan mujahideen that ENDED the Soviets.
Kashmir mujahideen fighting the Indians for independent state.
Bosnian mujahideen who fought to stop the ethnic cleansing.
Iraqi mujahideen fighting the occupation.
Hezbollah mujahideen the bought Israel to its knees.

These guerrilla forces have destroyed and brought world super powers to their knees.
Most of them use the old AKs,RPGs.
All of them are MUSLIMS.

reply to post by kangjia57


The Muji's are definitely amazing fighters, but it's sad to think of all the issues they're subsequently inflicting on their own people because they want to "live like a lion for one day." I definitely agree that their ferocity is something to be admired.

Reply to DeadFlagBlues

but it's sad to think of all the issues they're subsequently inflicting on their own people.

Yeh I agree, They definitely messed up there.

It would appear that you are all voting and praising every group of anti-government \ anti invaders there has every been.

But IRA, Muhji's viet cong all ply a trade of kill and repeatedly kill innocent people to force their agenda. It doesn't matter what the masses want.

That's why I vote for the Gurhka's, they may have been assigned to the British Army. But they attack in small bands operating in many different lands and settings with the aim of stopping the enemy with minimum death. not indiscriminent killing. As any bunch of 1 off's can do any form of damage when there is no real target. After all what would be a diffences between terrorist and the groups you are mentioning.

Originally posted by puzzled2
It would appear that you are all voting and praising every group of anti-government \ anti invaders there has every been.

But IRA, Muhji's viet cong all ply a trade of kill and repeatedly kill innocent people to force their agenda. It doesn't matter what the masses want.

I'm certainly not glorifying the PIRA. They've killed and injured several friends and colleagues. However they were a very resourceful group who lasted for nearly 40 years against massive odds. They used complex systems to support hit and run attacks, often against numerically superior odds. Their tactics are appearing all over the world.

That's why I vote for the Gurhka's, they may have been assigned to the British Army. But they attack in small bands operating in many different lands and settings with the aim of stopping the enemy with minimum death. not indiscriminent killing.

The Gurhkas are part of the British army. They are not a guerrilla force. They have their own regiments and are often attached to other regiments to augment numbers (We have had a company of Gurhkas attached to us for several years now). They are very fit and disciplined troops with a rigorous selection procedure, but are still regular soldiers. They do specialise in jungle warfare, but that doesn't mean they're guerilla troops.

As any bunch of 1 off's can do any form of damage when there is no real target. After all what would be a diffences between terrorist and the groups you are mentioning.

No difference whatsoever. They are terrorists for the most part. Much in the same way the colonials were during the American War of Indipendance. However one mans terrorist is another mans freedome fighter. Terrorism by definition requires guerrilla tactics, hence these are the groups that are being flagged.

Punjabees are some right mean mothers. Their fighting is historical.

Sorry for my ignorance but who are the punjabee, and what did they do?

respectfully

reluctantpawn

Sorry, sp. Punjabi's 'have been principally farmers and warriors'
Linken.wikipedia.org...

I had never heard of them before. But then there is a lot that I haven't heard before.Like my wife asking if I'm interested in whopee.Thanks for the input.

respectfully

reluctantpawn

What about Robert Rogers Rangers during the French and Indian War?

I would go with the Viet Cong, even though I believe the U.S could've won Vietnam if they would've been let off their leash. My Uncle fought in Vietnam and he said it was hell.

Perhaps not true guerilla fighters but nonetheless hardcore, the Selous Scouts.

"The period in which the Selous Scouts operated was known as the Rhodesian Bush War or Second Chimurenga. This was a civil war fought between black nationalist guerrillas (ZANLA/ZANU and ZIPRA/ZAPU) and the white minority government of Ian Smith. Unlike the Rhodesian Light Infantry and the Rhodesian Special Air Service (SAS), the Selous Scouts were a mixed race force and had many black Rhodesians in its ranks including the first African commissioned officers in the Rhodesian Army.

Its members were acclaimed trackers, and the unit was responsible for 68% of all guerrilla deaths within the borders of Rhodesia."

Wikipedia

Roosevelt's Rough Riders were great at this type of fighting in their day.

And as someone else said the VC. They did a lot with a little.