Guerrilla Warfare and Special Operations Handbook

This is Field Manual 31-21, the U.S. Army's core doctrine text on unconventional warfare. First issued in the late 1950s and revised in 1961, FM 31-21 was written to give Army commanders and Special Forces staff a shared framework for guerrilla operations, at the same time the Army was expanding its Special Forces role for the unconventional conflicts of the Cold War.

It defines the terms that still anchor the field today, unconventional warfare, resistance, and guerrilla warfare, and lays out how the Army organizes, trains, and directs partisan forces operating behind enemy lines.

Across 257 pages, the manual covers the fundamentals of resistance and guerrilla warfare, control of operations, theater support, logistics, intelligence, and infiltration. It's illustrated throughout with the original charts, diagrams, and maps used to teach the doctrine, covering everything from how a resistance movement forms to how Special Forces personnel coordinate with it once it exists.

The audience for this one splits pretty evenly between people studying the history and people using it as a reference. Military historians and Cold War researchers read it for the primary-source doctrine itself.

Wargamers, tabletop strategy players, and authors writing military fiction use it to get period-accurate detail on how Special Forces actually thought about infiltration and resistance operations. One customer joked it turned them into an expert at a very literal skill: hide and seek. As with our other field manuals, we don't promote using anything in this book for illegal purposes.

The Short & Sweet:

• Field Manual 31-21, U.S. Army doctrine on unconventional warfare
• First issued late 1950s, revised 1961
• 257 pages covering resistance, guerrilla operations, logistics, intelligence, and infiltration
• Illustrated with original charts, diagrams, and maps
• For historical reference and study only; not a guide to unlawful activity