Within the timeline of World War II, hundreds of innovative tactics were introduced into the modern and mainstream warfare. The use of propaganda as a weapon against the mind was effective on and off the battlefield. The United States revealed the power of the atomic bomb to the world when the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki laid devastated in its wake. And while these examples and many more like them front the pages of the war's history books, many under-appreciated contributions continue to fade and become forgotten despite their significant roles in the largest war in terms of production, expenses, and lives, the world has known. Partisan Warfare is one of these forgotten contributions. It took the concepts of Marx and Mao, and shaped them into the mainstream military headache known also as "Guerilla Warfare". Since World War II, the guidelines of Guerilla Warfare have been used by hundreds of countries and thousands of small revolts. It was represented through out the entire Vietnam War, and it is currently being used by fundamental Iraqis to battle the American occupation in Iraq. Because the Soviet partisans effectively used guerilla warfare against the Germans, its popularity has grown significantly. From the origination of Partisan Warfare, to the reasons Soviets began Partisan Warfare in World War II; from the composition of a partisan band, to specific partisan objectives, and its success on the war measured from the German response; Soviet Partisan Warfare was a highly effective means of un-conventional warfare. .
"A nation, fighting for its liberty, ought not to adhere rigidly to the accepted rules of warfare. Mass uprisings, revolutionary methods, guerilla bands everywhere; such are the only means by which a small nation can hope to maintain itself against an adversary superior in numbers and equipment. By their use a weaker force can overcome its stronger and better organized opponent" (Miksche 25).
