Guerrilla warfare is a style of fighting that focuses on small skirmishes, ambushes, and hit-and-run style attacks, utilizing dense and difficult terrain. Guerrilla warfare became popular in Vietnam since it allowed the Viet Cong to take on American soldiers—even though the Americans had far better weapons and vehicles—by keeping themselves hidden in the jungle or among villagers.
Guerrilla Warfare Quotes in If I Die in a Combat Zone
The If I Die in a Combat Zone quotes below are all either spoken by Guerrilla Warfare or refer to Guerrilla Warfare. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
On the perimeter of the village, the company began returning fire, blindly, spraying the hedges with M-16 and M-70 and M-60 fire. No targets, nothing to aim at and kill. Aimlessly, just shooting to shoot.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11
Quotes
More Combat Assaults came in the next days. We learned to hate Colonel Daud and his force of helicopters. When he was killed by sappers in a midnight raid, we head the news over the radio. A lieutenant led us in song, a catchy, happy, celebrating song: Ding-dong, the wicked witch is dead.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22
Quotes
“When you go into My Lai you assume the worst. When you go into My Lai, shit, you know—you assume—that they’re all VC [Viet Cong]. Ol’ Charlie with big tits and nice innocent, childlike eyes. Damn it, they’re all VC, you should know that.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire If I Die in a Combat Zone LitChart as a printable PDF.
Guerrilla Warfare Term Timeline in If I Die in a Combat Zone
The timeline below shows where the term Guerrilla Warfare appears in If I Die in a Combat Zone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6: Escape
...about the Vietnam War, how it’s not so different from the Korean War besides the guerrilla warfare element. O’Brien tries to explain his ethical objections to fighting, but the commander speaks over...
(full context)
