Guerilla

__**RISE: Shrewd Leadership**__


 * 1956-1959
 * use terrain to hide (sierra maestra mountains)
 * means 'little war'
 * the use mobile tactics to fight a larger army
 * 'hit and run'
 * ambush
 * enemy was unfamiliar with the terrain thus it was an advantage to those who hid in it
 * employed by Castro to overthrow Batista's regime

The word guerilla means 'a little war.' Guerilla warfare is a small group of combatants use mobile tactics to fight a larger army. The small group would use things such as the terrain of their area as a way to hide themselves from their enemy and then ambush/attack their enemy. Since the enemy was unfamiliar with the terrain of the area its a great advantage to those who hide in it.

Shortly before Castro's rise to power, he and his supporters used guerilla warfare as a strategy to overthrow Batista's regime. In 1953, he led a attacks on army barracks so that he could acquire arms to use against the Cuban dictator. Later that decade, with numbers that were far less than Batista's, Castro hid out in the Sierra Maestra mountains to gain strength until they could march on Havana. He publicized his message to become a national hero and gained a large enough following to take power.