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Where did the word guerrilla come from?
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guerrilla warfare
A masked Iraqi ShiÊżi militia fighter dashing across a street, carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, Baghdad, August 7, 2004.
The word guerrilla is the diminutive form of the Spanish word guerra, which means "war."123
The term originated during the Peninsular War (1808â1814), a conflict in which Spanish and Portuguese irregularsâoften referred to as guerrillerosâemployed small-scale, fast-moving tactics to resist French forces occupying the Iberian Peninsula. These fighters were instrumental in supporting the Duke of Wellingtonâs campaigns by isolating enemy convoys, intercepting dispatches, and harassing garrisons.23
While the term specifically emerged during this period, the practice of irregular warfare has been utilized throughout history by various groups to challenge conventional military forces.24