Revolution Cannot Succeed by Military Means Alone[1]
(May 25, 1964)
Revolution cannot succeed by military means alone. Without establishing base areas, without close ties with the masses, without building a correct party, and without correct united front work, having an army alone and only knowing how to fight battles will not do. There is no great mystery in fighting wars; to put it simply in two phrases: when you can win, fight; when you cannot win, move away. Winning means concentrating superior forces to destroy the enemy—concentrating five fingers to chop off one of his fingers. Chop one off, and he has one less. Things can be divided; later, when the opportunity arises, you can chop off another, and he will have one less still, leaving only eight. Then, when another chance comes, chop off yet another. In short, you must keep chopping them off. By chopping off fingers, we mean winning over the enemy—apart from killing or wounding some, capturing their officers and soldiers, rifles, and ammunition. This is what is meant by "when you can win, fight." And when you cannot win? Then move away, move far enough so that the enemy does not know where you have gone.
What is important is politics, base areas, the masses, the party, and united front work. Only those who know how to do political work can fight wars; those who do not understand politics cannot fight wars. The proletarian revolutionary army is different from the bourgeois army; it is the army of the people.

[1] This is part of Mao Zedong's conversation with two study delegations from the Communist Party of Peru (Marxist) and the Communist Party of Ecuador (Marxist-Leninist).