SOMETHING should be said here of the origin of the term “Partisan,” and the Partisan method of warfare. Curiously enough, the first Partisan brigades were American, and both the word and the method came in-to being during our revolution.
Continental farmers, when the occasion arose, would take down their guns, leave their homes, and meet at an appointed spot. Then they would attack a British garrison, or an outpost or a marching column. They would appear suddenly, strike hard and quickly, and then melt away before the enemy could reorganize. When the enemy was in a position to strike back, the Partisans had disappeared, gone back to their homes, ceased to exist as an army.
That feature, the ability to assemble quickly, strike quickly, and then disappear if the need should arise, is the most striking quality of Partisan bands. You will see how, again and again in the history of Tito’s struggle, this feature was used to full advantage.