Flag of Mozambique — independent since 1975, with the kalashnikov as symbol of the armed struggle against the Portuguese empire, the book as symbol of instruction and a farm instrument as symbol of economic growth. As of 2006, this display of the kalachnikov currently makes the object of a debate between the FRELIMO independantist party, who wants to keep it in memory of the national liberation war, and the conservative RENAMO party who wants to take it out.

Wars of national liberation are conflicts fought by indigenous military groups against an imperial power in the name of self-determination, thus attempting to remove that power's influence, in particular during the decolonization period. They are often founded in guerrilla warfare or asymmetric warfare. Such guerrillas, which may include acts considered as "terrorism" by the opposing state, could hardly win without substantial outside help from another state ^[1]. According to political scientist Gérard Chaliand, all guerrillas aimed against European colonial powers were always a political success, although they may have been in some cases a military defeat. However, according to Gwyne Dwyer, the tactics and strategies used against colonial powers were almost invariably failures when used against indigenous regimes. Image File history File links Flag_of_Mozambique. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Mozambique. ... Look up Kalashnikov in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Guerrilla War redirects here. ... Maximum extent of Portuguese colonial possessions in the 16th century. ... Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon, 1902. ... An instruction is a form of communicated information that is both command and explanation for how an action, behavior, method, or task is to be begun, completed, conducted, or executed. ... Accumulated GDP growth for various countries. ... The Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO, pronounced fray-LEE-moo; Portuguese: Frente de Libertação de Moçambique) is a political party that has ruled Mozambique since independence in 1975. ... The Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO; Portuguese: Resistência Nacional Moçambicana) is a conservative political party in Mozambique led by Afonso Dhlakama. ... The word indigenous is an adjective derived from the Latin word indigena, meaning native, belonging to, aboriginal; and has several applications: Indigenous peoples, communities and cultures native or indigenous to a territory; Indigenous (band), a Native American blues-rock band; In biology, indigenous means native to a place or biota... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Self-determination is a principle in international law that a people ought to be able to determine their own governmental forms and structure free from outside influence. ... Colonialism in 1945 Decolonization is the process by which a colony gains its independence from a colonial power, a process opposite to colonization. ... Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Asymmetric warfare describes the potential for an optimal interaction between the respective strengths and weaknessess of two belligerents. ... This article is becoming very long. ... A state is a set of institutions that possess the authority to make the rules that govern a society, having internal and external sovereignty over a definite territory. ... See colony and colonisation for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism. ...

Bangladesh, which became independent in 1971 due to India's intervention in the war against Pakistan could be considered an exception to this rule. The Bangladesh Liberation War (two other names are also used occasionally) refers to an armed conflict between West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) that lasted for roughly nine months, from 26 March until 16 December 1971. ...

Strategies and tactics

Wars of national liberation are usually fought using guerilla tactics. The main purpose of these tactics is to increase the political cost of occupation of the colonial power past the point where the colonial power is willing to bear, thereby creating a political settlement. Wars of national liberation generally depend a large amounts of popular support, with ordinary civilians providing crucial intelligence and logistic support. Finally, wars of national liberation are often embeded in a larger context of great power politics and are often proxy wars. Guerrilla (also called a partisan) is a term borrowed from Spanish (from guerra meaning war) used to describe small combat groups. ...

These strategies explain why they are quite successful against colonial regimes and quite unsuccessful against indigenous regimes. Colonial regimes usually have a threshold beyond which they would perfer to go home rather than to fight the war. By contrast an indigenous regime has no place to go to, and will fight much harder because of the lack of alternatives. Moreover, colonial regimes usually have relatively few active supporters, who can often be easily identified, making it possible for guerrilla armies to operate. By contrast, indigenous regimes often have much more popular support, and their supporters are not as easily recognized, making it much harder to conduct guerilla operations.

Decolonization of the Americas

Main articles: Decolonization of the Americas and South American Wars of Independence

Following the American War of Independence (1775-1783), the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), which led to the proclamation of Haiti as the first independent black republic in 1804, and the wars of independence led in the 1810-1820s by famous Libertadores such as Simón Bolívar in the North and José de San Martín in the South, led to the decolonization of most of the Americas. Brazil's independence was declared in 1822 by Dom Pedro I. Decolonization of the Americas refers to the process by which the countries in North America and South America gained their independence. ... The South American Wars of Independence were fought in the 1810s and 1820s by colonies of Spain and Portugal that desired to break free from the nations that ruled them. ... Combatants American Revolutionaries, France, The Netherlands, Spain, American Indians Great Britain, German mercenaries, Loyalists, American Indians Canadian Indians Commanders George Washington, Comte de Rochambeau, Nathanael Greene, Bernardo de Gálvez William Howe, Henry Clinton, Charles Cornwallis (more commanders) The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War... The Haitian Revolution was the first and only successful slave rebellion in the Western Hemisphere and established Haiti as a free, black republic, the first of its kind. ... Libertadores or Liberators in the Spanish language, refers to the leaders of the revolutions which gained the nations of Latin America independence from Spain. ... Simón José Antonio de los Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios y Blanco (born July 24, 1783 in Caracas, Venezuela; died December 17, 1830 in Santa Marta, Colombia) was a South American revolutionary leader. ... José Francisco de San Martín (25 February 1778 – 17 August 1850) was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the successful struggle for independence from Spain of the southern nations of South America. ... Pedro I of Brazil (pron. ...

National liberation wars of the decolonization period

Further information: Decolonization and Colonialism

The First Indochina War (1947-54), the Algerian War of Independence (1954-62) and the Vietnam War (1963-75) were some of the most famous national liberation wars. The African National Congress (ANC)'s struggle against the apartheid regime is also part of these wars. These wars were in part supported by the Soviet Union, which claimed to be an anti-imperialist power. In fact, since the 1917 October Revolution, the revolutionary objectives of communism were shared by many anticolonialist leaders, thus explaining the objective alliance between anticolonialist forces and Marxism. The concept of "imperialism" itself had been which had theorized in Lenin's famous 1916 book, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism. For example, Ho Chi Minh — who founded the Viet-Minh in 1941 and declared the independence of Vietnam on September 2, 1945, following the 1945 August Revolution — was a founding member of the French Communist Party (PCF) in 1921. In January 1961, three years before the Gulf of Tonkin incident which would mark the United States' increased involvement in the Vietnamese conflict, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev would pledge support for "wars of national liberation" throughout the world. In the same decade, Cuba, led by Fidel Castro, would support national liberation movements in Angola and Mozambique. The Portuguese colonial wars finally led to the recognition of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau as independent states in 1975, following the April Carnation Revolution. Colonialism in 1945 Decolonization is the process by which a colony gains its independence from a colonial power, a process opposite to colonization. ... See colony and colonisation for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism. ... Combatants French Colonialists Việt Minh Strength 500,000  ? Casualties 94,581 dead 78,127 wounded 40,000 captured 300,000+ dead 500,000+ wounded 100,000 captured The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War, the French War or the Franco-Vietnamese War) was fought in Indochina... Combatants FLN MNA France Pieds-noirs Harkis OAS The Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) was one of the most important colonial wars. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~520,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead... The African National Congress (ANC) is a centre-left political party, and has been South Africas governing party supported by a tripartite alliance between itself, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) since the establishment of majority rule in May 1994. ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... Anti-imperialism is a current within the political left advocating the collapse of imperialism. ... The October Revolution, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution or November Revolution, was the second phase of the Russian Revolution of 1917, the first having been instigated by the events around the February Revolution. ... It has been suggested that Revolutionary be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Marxism refers to the philosophy and social theory on one hand, and to the political practice based on Marxist theory on the other hand (namely, parts of the First International during Marxs time, communist parties and later states). ... Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires. ... Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин  listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) ( April 22 (April 10 ( O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism. ... Official portrait of Hồ Chí Minh Hồ Chí Minh (May 19, 1890 – September 2, 1969) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, who later became Prime Minister (1946-1955) and President (1955-1969) of North Vietnam. ... The Vietminh (abbreviated from Việt Nam Ðộc Lập Ðồng Minh Há»™i, League for the Independence of Vietnam) was formed by Hồ Chí Minh in 1941 to seek independence for Vietnam from France as well as to oppose the Japanese presence. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... On August 19, 1945 Vietnamese Communist forces led by Hồ Chí Minh began the August Revolution (Vietnamese: Cách mạng tháng Tám). ... The French Communist Party (French: Parti communiste français or PCF) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. ... Chart showing the US Navy’s interpretation of the events of the first part of the Gulf of Tonkin incident The Gulf of Tonkin Incident was a pair of alleged attacks by North Vietnamese gunboats on two American destroyers, the USS Maddox and the USS , in August of 1964 in... (Russian: , Nikita Sergeevič Hruščëv; surname commonly romanized as Khrushchev, IPA: ; April 17, 1894 – September 11, 1971) was the leader of the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. ... For more information on this current event, see 2006 Cuban transfer of presidential duties. ... The Carnation Revolution (Portuguese, Revolução dos Cravos) was an almost bloodless, left-leaning, military-led revolution started on April 25, 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a liberal democracy after a two-year process of a Left-wing semi-military...

On-going wars of national liberation

Polisario Front's struggle since 1975 for the independence of Western Sahara, still on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, is an on-going national liberation war, more or less frozen since James Baker's 2000 UN Plan, which hasn't been applied yet but led to the Polisario's abandon of armed struggle against Morocco. The First and Second Chechen Wars are also considered to be wars of national liberation against Russia. According to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), founded in 1964, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a case of national liberation struggle ongoing since decades, with the main revendication being the return of the territories occupied since the 1967 Six-Day War. The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro) is a Sahrawi movement working for the independence of... // The United Nations maintains a list of territories that do not govern themselves. ... James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930), American politician and diplomat, was Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagans first administration, United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1985 to 1988 in the second Reagan administration, and Secretary of State in the administration of President George H. W... The Baker Plan A United Nations plan to grant Western Sahara self-determination. ... Guerrilla War redirects here. ... Combatants Russian Federation Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Commanders Pavel Grachev Aslan Maskhadov Strength Peaking at 45,000 3,000 regulars, thousands of irregulars The First Chechen War (Russian: первая чеченская война) occurred when Russian forces attempted to stop the southern republic of Chechnya from seceding in a two year period lasting from 1994... now. ... The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (Arabic: ‎; or Munazzamat al-Tahrir al-Filastiniyyah) is a political and paramilitary organization regarded by Arab states as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. ... Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip are at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ... The term Green Line is often used to refer to the 1949 Armistice lines established between Israel and its opponents (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt) at the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. ...

Conflicts

Conflicts commonly thought of as wars of national liberation:

• Explicit wars of decolonization:
  • In Vietnam, by the Viet Minh against France (also, during World War II, against Japan). Arguably, the Vietnam War was a continuation of this war of national liberation.
  • the Indonesian National Revolution
  • The Madagascar revolt against the French in 1947
  • In Algeria, by the FLN against France
  • In Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau against Portugal
  • In Cameroon, by the UPC against France
  • In South Yemen by various nationalist organizations against Britain
  • the Mau Mau revolt in British-ruled Kenya
  • the Second Chimurenga in Zimbabwe, led by ZANU and ZAPU
  • In Western Sahara, by the Saharan Liberation Army against Spain and by the Polisario Front against Morocco
  • In Namibia, by SWAPO and SWANU against apartheid South Africa
• In Nicaragua, by the Sandinistas against the United States-backed govenment.
• In Chad, by FROLINAT against the Tombalbaye dictatorship
• In South Africa, by Umkhonto we Sizwe
• In the United States, by the Continental Army under the Continental Congress against England
• In China, the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War is generally portrayed in official histories as a war of liberation against imperialism and feudalism. This is reflected in the current name of the PRC military, the People's Liberation Army.
• the Bangladesh Liberation War
• the Eritrean War of Independence against Ethiopia

Colonialism in 1945 Decolonization is the process by which a colony gains its independence from a colonial power, a process opposite to colonization. ... The Viet Minh (abbreviated from Việt Nam ộc Lập ồng Minh Hội, League for the Independence of Vietnam) was formed by Ho Ngoc Lam and Nguyen Hai Than in 1941 to seek independence for Vietnam from France. ... This article is becoming very long. ... This article describes the events that led to Indonesian independence from the Netherlands in the late 1940s. ... The Madagascar revolt was an attempted revolution against the French by nationalists on the island of Madagascar between 1947 and 1948. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... The National Liberation Front , (Arabic: Jabhat al-TaḩrÄ«r al-WaÅ£anÄ«, French: Front de Libération Nationale aka FLN) is a socialist political party in Algeria. ... The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (French: Union des Populations du Cameroun) is a political party in Cameroon. ... National motto: ??? Official language Arabic Capital Aden Area 287,680 km² Population  - Total (1973)  - Density 1,590,275 5. ... The Mau Mau Uprising was an insurgency by Kenyan rebels against the British colonial administration from 1952 to 1960. ... The Second Chimurenga was a conflict in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) between the white minority government of Ian Smith and the black nationalists of the ZANU and ZAPU movements, led by Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo respectively. ... The Zimbabwe African National Union was a political party during the struggle for Rhodesias, ultimately Zimbabwes, independence, formed as a split from ZAPU. It won the 1980 elections under the leadership of Robert Mugabe, and eight years later merged again with Joshua Nkomos ZAPU to form Zanu... The Zimbabwe African Peoples Union was a political party in Zimbabwe. ... The Ifni War, also known as the 1957 Invasion of Spanish Sahara and, in Spain, the Forgotten War (la Guerra Ignorada), was a series of armed incursions into Spanish West Africa by Moroccan insurgents and indigenous Sahrawi rebels that began in October 1957 and culminated with the abortive siege of... The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro) is a Sahrawi movement working for the independence of... The South-West Africa Peoples Organisation (SWAPO) was founded, along with a number of other groups, as a liberation organisation: following the first world war, South-West Africa — formerly a German colony — was turned over to South Africa to rule as a mandate for the British. ... Petty apartheid: sign on Durban beach in English, Afrikaans and Zulu Apartheid, which means separateness or apart-ness in Afrikaans, was a system of racial segregation that operated in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. ... Sandinista! is also the name of a popular music album by The Clash. ... This article is currently being translated from an original article in Catalan. ... François (Ngarta) Tombalbaye (June 15, 1918 - April 13, 1975) was the first president of Chad. ... For other uses of Umkhonto, see Umkhonto (disambiguation) Umkhonto we Sizwe (or MK), translated Spear of the Nation, was the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC). ... Illustration depicting uniforms and weapons used during the 1779 to 1783 period of the American Revolution by showing four soldiers standing in an informal group General George Washington, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army on June 15, 1775. ... The Continental Congress is the label given to three successive bodies of representatives: The First Continental Congress met from September 5, 1774 to October 26, 1774. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi   - Water (%) Population... Combatants Republic of China Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Tse-Tung, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, Zhu De, He Yingqin Hideki Tojo, Matsui Iwane, Jiro Minami, Kesago Nakajima, Toshizo Nishio, Yasuji Okamura. ... Combatants Chinese Nationalist Party Chinese Communist Party Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 3,600,000 circa June 1948 2,800,000 circa June 1948 The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: 國共内戰; Simplified Chinese: 国共内战; Pinyin: guógòng neìzhàn; literally Nationalist-Communist Civil War) was a conflict in... Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Bangladesh Liberation War (two other names are also used occasionally) refers to an armed conflict between West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) that lasted for roughly nine months, from 26 March until 16 December 1971. ... The Eritrean War of Independence started in 1962 when Emperor Haile Sellassie of Ethiopia unilaterally dissolved the Eritrean parliament and annexed the country. ...

References

1. ^ See for example Gérard Chaliand various books; French interview here

See also

• Clausewitz's On War (1832) ("war is the continuation of politics by other means")
• colonialism & chronology of colonialism
• civil war
• independence
• guerrilla warfare
• insurgency
• List of active autonomist and secessionist movements