By Leroy Smith
[www.inewsguyana.com] – Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defense Force, Brigadier Mark Phillips has firmly stated that the GDF will not sit idly by and allow any illegal incursion of the country’s territory.
Brigadier Phillips, in an invited comment to iNews, spoke specifically about the latest position of Venezuelan President, Nicholas Maduro who signed a decree claiming Guyana’s oil rich waters – a move that was sternly rejected by the Guyana government.
The Chief of Staff is of the view that any claim to Essequibo is illegal and it must not be entertained by Guyanese, Venezuelan or international body. According to the Brigadier, the 1899 ruling in Guyana’s favour is binding and still remains legal and more so an international law that has to be honored.
Asked specifically about the ability to defend Guyana should the controversy spiral out of control, Brigadier Phillips made it clear that the nature of the GDF is to defend Guyana and it is in the psyche of the men and women who serve in the army.
He dismissed reports of lack of man power and resources, maintaining that Guyana is ready and capable to address any invasion.
Last year, heavily armed soldiers from Venezuela were found in Guyana at an area in Essequibo where they were reportedly providing protection to a group of Venezuelans who travelled by boat into Guyana and were conducting some form of survey in the same disputed area.
Even assuming a border war erupts and no country aids Guyana militarily speaking, there is a real posibility they could win if they follow tactics that have historically paid off in similar situations. The following strategic analysis is an authorized copy/paste from a great military history buff named Liam Bobyak. Read potential startegy bellow:
“Personally I would defend Guyana the same way the Finns defended Finland during the Winter War against the Russians. Although I can’t say I am intimately familiar with Guyana’s geography, a google search of a Guyanan terrain map tells me that Guyana’s terrain shares a lot in common with Finland. Both countries are dominated by vast forested areas that are largely uninhabited and have very small populations for their size and which is largely confined to a concentrated portion of the coast, as well as harsh terrain conditions. In Guyana’s case this means that essentially it’s northern shore is the only part of the country that is densely habited as it is both habitable and arable. As such, this is the region that is most vital to defend and easy to defend.
A look at the terrain map tells me that the area of the northern shore area bordering Venezuela is very swampy and so would be easily defended and the coastal area here is also very narrow, making it even easier to defend. The trickier part in this situation is the forested areas of the country as this part by far makes up the longest part of the border with Venezuela as it did for Finland bordering Russia. During the Winter War the Russians had a plan for a 4 pronged attack, designed to overstretch the Finnish defenses and force them to capitulate.
The plan called for an attack along the Karelian Isthmus, analogous for the purposes of this discussion to Guyana’s northern coast, as well as in the regions of Eastern Karelia, Central Finland, and the northern coast near Petsamo, dominated by arctic tundra. In the latter 3 cases, the first 2 being heavily forested and the last being unforgiving arctic wasteland, the Russians more advanced and larger forces foundered in the difficult terrain and were beset by smaller but more agile and knowledgeable Finnish forces who terrified the Russians with their ferocity and daring attacks.
For all the advanced equipment they had, the Russians could not use them in the dense terrain and narrow forest tracks which made them ideal targets for the Finns Motti tactics whereby Finnish forces attacked the Russian columns snaked out along these tracks at multiple points and cut the column into smaller isolated pieces and wiped them out. In this way, several Russian divisions were completely annihilated in the forests of central Finland and completely scuppered Russian plans to bisect the country.
Meanwhile, the Finns knew that the Karelian Isthmus was the vital point in the Finnish defense scheme as it was the most direct and clear route to the occupied parts of Finland. As such, every Finnish division and unit not absolutely needed anywhere else was concentrated in the defensive position known as the Mannerheim Line which defended the narrowest point of the Isthmus. Wave after wave of Russian attacks foundered on these defenses and the Russians were not able to break the defenses until 3 months later when they concentrated 1 million men, hundreds of tanks and thousands of artillery pieces for a concerted all out attack on the Finnish defenses.
As such, with the northern coast region representing the Mannerheim line and the Amazon forest areas representing central Finland, I am of the opinion that Guyana should leave the defense of the later area to smaller forces but populate these forces with as many people familiar to living and surviving in tropical forest regions as possible. Any Venezuelan attack here would be foolish but easily exploitable by skilled opponents. Any technical or numerical advantage the Venezuelans might have would be negated by the terrain and if the advance can be slowed to a crawl, it is likely that tropical diseases and and hostile environmental conditions would take a greater toll on the enemy forces than combat.
At the same time use the strung out enemy forces to Guyana’s advantage and apply the Finns Motti tactics to cut them to pieces and destroy them. If Guyana doesn’t not have any sophisticated weaponry, this is not a problem as the same problem face the Finns. They had no tanks, anti tank weapons or planes to speak of and few artillery pieces. All they really had were their rifles and machine guns as well as their infamous puukko knives which so terrified the Russians from the Finnish raids on lone Russian positions. For everything else they improvised, for instance, perfecting the Molotov cocktail as an anti-tank weapon with Heineken providing the frontline forces with over 40,000 glass bottles. Although the Finns ultimately lost the war that was largely due to over whelming Soviet military force, a kind of force that Venezuela is unlikely to match. If Guyana uses this strategy and their wits, even with a small, poorly equipped force, they could still defeat their Venezuelan opponents.”
Best of luck Guyana.
When it comes to Guyana`s sovereignty….I don`t care which party or people is ruling….Guyana`s sovereignty comes first & foremost….I hope all Guyanese respect that.
Venezuela has always been a bully & a threat in the region…it`s time to foster allies & regimes to redefine Venezuela geographically.
All Guyanese….in the 1800`s when the Prince of the Netherlands ceded Guiana to the British , it was some 90,000 square miles….it`s time now to come together and make Venezuela pay for the lost 7,000 square miles.
Venezuela military was in your territory and your toy military did nothing – no wonder!! Your military need hard core training and modern equipment of war. Stop been girly men in Guyana, be tough and defend your country, not just talk – ACTION!!!this time
It’s the USA who want a war with Venezuela so they can take over and run the Oil and
Gas and try to slow down China wait watch and see,all who think US mean In God we Trust think what they did to the Slaves and Natives and many countries in the world
Then ask your self who is Evil ones MLK knows that.
Guyanese ppl step up prepare yourself to defend your country.
The ABC countries will not intervene with military help, Venezuela has been pushing for a war with the US ever since and recently they and Russia signed a multi billion dollar arms trade, plus Cuba will stand with them so as to most other south American country because lets face it non of them really like America so i don’t see a military war taking place.And to add our military cannot fight a war even if we get all the equipment and training
Absolutely agree with you I already have written President Obama and I think every Guyanese/American should. I wouldn’t hurt to write the Republican Congress too. They like to look good in other people’s eyes.
Is this guy fo real
These ridiculous claims by Venezuelan politicians always come after they have made a mess at home. They seriously need to be put to rest with a unilateral announcement from all Nations at the UN. The time has come to tell the bus driver that he is not driving this bus!
Venezuela taking them eyes pass we. The government should start to modernize the army, provide proper equipment, recruit more man power, a lot more! (this should have been done a long time ago). And yes, we definitely needs immediate assistance from the US, Canada, Uk. Its a shame Guyana don’t have no air support.
And what happened when the “heavily armed soldiers from Venezuela were found in Guyana at an area in Essequibo” ??
lets request some assistance from US navy am sure they would be more than happy to help ,possibly join forces with Guyana army