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During the US Civil War (aka American Civil War), guerrilla warfare (especially in the beginning of the war) was almost looked upon as a crime (much like spying, sabotage, raiding, etc.). In fact, some officers refused to acknowlege guerrilla actions, lest they be accused of condoning them. For general purposes, without at least "stringing them up" (hanging them), guerrilla warfare was at least considered "ungentlemanly like warfare."

This was akin to submarine warfare which occurred in WWI; surface officers (battleships, cruisers, destroyers, etc.) considered sub crewmen to be nearly pirates and wanted them (or at least brought the issue up) hanged as criminals.

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Q: Guerrilla warfare in the final union war strategy?
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What was the criteria set forth by military theorist Clausewitz on the proper conditions for a guerrilla war?

During the US Civil War, Confederate raiders with the aid of Southern sympathizers waged guerrilla warfare in Missouri and Kentucky. They sought to raid Union arms depots and cut communication lines. When the tide of the war turned against them, some Southerners entertained fighting a guerrilla war in the South.Military theorist Carl Von Clausewitz wrote about guerrilla warfare and indentified five criteria for it to be successful. They were:1. The war must be fought in the interior of the country;2. It had to be recognized by the guerrilla fighters that small battles over a number of years was required;3. The theater of operations had to be fairly large;4. The national character had to be suited for this type of warfare; and5. The country had to have plenty of rough terrain, inacessible due to mountains, forests, swamps and marshes.How well this would have worked for the South is questionable.


What was the US strategy in the early period of the Cold War for dealing with the Soviet Union and its allies?

containment strategy


What happened to the Confederate leaning guerrilla forces in Missouri in 1865?

After all the official surrenders of Confederate troops, Confederate guerrilla groups remained active well into the Summer of 1865. These groups feared that the Union would take revenge on them.


What was the name of the Union strategy in which the Union wanted to blockade the Confederate coast and take control of the Mississippi River?

The Anaconda Plan


What might have been the advantage for the Confederacy if they had used an almost exclusive guerrilla type of war against the Union?

In my opinion the advantage would have been very little one if no one at all, but a self-defeating one. The reasons: 1 - It would have turned against the South the "sympathy" of France and Great Britain, since from the early stage of the war, because a guerrilla warfare always triggers an escalation of reactions which lead to harsh retaliations well beyond of the law of war. That means that all European countries, especially their military, would have considered such kind of warfare as outrageous. The question of the slavery would have then definitely taken a crucial aspect thus condemning the "promoting party" (the Confederacy) as unworthy of joining the class of the civilized nations. 2 - It would have anticipated the strategy of "total war" the Union started in 1864, whose consequences upon the civilians needs no comment. 3 - The war would probably have been longer, but the aftermath, especially for the South, would have been surely more disastrous than the one it was.

Related questions

What was Lee's final act as the general for the confederates?

Surrendering to the Union General-in-Chief U.S.Grant at Appomattox - and incidentally, ordering his army not to scatter and take to the hills for guerrilla warfare, as some officers were urging.


Was Missouri part of the union or confederacy?

The Union - give-or-take some powerful Confederate sentiment and inter-sectional guerrilla warfare that continued to the end.


Was the Confederate battle unit called Mosby's Raiders a guerrilla organization?

When Union General in Chief, Henry Halleck had to write Union policy on guerrilla warfare, the Confederate unit under the command of Colonel John S. Mosby was not easy to define with regards to guerrilla warfare. Colonel Mosby's organization were raiders that usually operated independently of higher Confederate commanders, and often behind enemy lines. After a raid, they would scatter and resume their civilian lives. However, unlike the guerrilla bands in Missouri, these men had Confederate commissions and lines of command. When operating as soldiers they wore Confederate uniforms. They were mostly cavalry soldiers that operated in northwestern Virginia.Also, unlike the Missouri guerrillas, Mosby's men took Union prisoners. As halleck wanted to form a "legal" Union policy on all guerrilla warfare, Mosby's raiders were difficult to describe.


Was guerrilla warfare a possible strategy to prevent the Union from claiming a total victory over the Confederacy?

Just before General Lee's surrender at Appomattox, some Southern generals believed that the possibility for an extensive strategy of guerrilla warfare might be able to avoid a total defeat in the war. Confederate General E. Porter Alexander proposed that Lee's remaining troops retreat into the vast interior of the South. Leaders of the guerrilla forces would also return to their native states and work with the governors to bargain for the best possible surrender "deal".The guerrilla forces could and would convince the North to settle an agreeable cease fire with the South. General Alexander saw only a total Southern defeat if his plan was not at least tried.


Did the state of Kansas part of the US Civil War?

Kansas joined the Union in January of 1861. It fought as a Union state in the US Civil War. There was a good deal of guerrilla warfare there as many people were sympathetic to the South.


Was missouri a southern state in the civil war?

No. It was one of the slave-states that had narrowly voted to stay in the Union. But it was deeply divided all the same, and the scene of much guerrilla warfare.


In the US Civil War in West Virginia why was there so much guerrilla warfare?

Because it was occupied by Union forces and West Virginians were about equally divided on which side their loyalty should be pledged to.


What does the word guerrilla?

a person who engages in irregular warfare especially as a member of an independent unit carrying out harassment and sabotage Please use the correct form of the word "does". The definition of guerrilla is a member of a small group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger forces. Examples of guerrilla warfare would include the American Colonists fighting the British Redcoats in the Revolutionary War, the Confederates fighting the large Union army in the Civil war, or the Viet Kong fighting against the U.S.A. in the Vietnam War.


How did south plan to defend it homeland?

they held on to as much territory as possible until the north tired of fighting


What Union general took on the task of formulating Union policy on fighting Southern guerrillas?

In 1863 the Union's general in chief, General Henry W. Halleck took on the task of formulating policies on dealing with Southern guerrilla fighters. It was a complicated issue and Halleck relied on a warfare legal scholar named Francis W. Lieber.


Why did the mujahideen win the Soviet afghan war?

The Stinger Missle System was a major element in the Soviet defeat.


What factors aided the Confederate guerrilla war efforts in the US Civil War?

The Confederate guerrilla warfare efforts led to them winning many small battles that mainly effected the supply and communications lines of the Union. Based on the criteria set forth by military theorists Jomini and Clausewitz, the setting of the US Civil war was almost perfect for guerrilla warfare. The main elements of a successful guerrilla war depended on the following:* The war had to be fought in the interior of the guerrilla's country; * Battles should never reach the point where a single battle determined the ultimate success of the guerrillas; and * The terrain had to be rough, marshy, and difficult for large enemy forces to operate effectively. The South was relatively successful because the factors stated above all fit the Southern countryside.