Several underdog armies have tried to win a conventional war against world superpowers, particularly against the USA, and have lost in humiliating fashion. It is all but impossible to go up against a superpower with a third world conventional army and win. This article will go into weapons and tactics that can-and have in the past-made it possible to win against a superpower.
Winning a war in the modern age comes down to three factors. Guerilla warfare, specialized weapons and unusual tactics.
Guerilla warfare is the most effective way to grind down your enemy in a dragged out war of attrition. It doesn't matter how powerful the army is, eventually it is worn down. This was seen in Vietnam with the NVA versus the USA. It was also seen in Afghanistan against the Soviets in the 1980s and the USA in the 2000s. More recently, the Houthi rebels have worn down the Saudi led coalition in Yemen with hit and run guerilla tactics.
Specialized weapons are not always required for a victory, but they certainly do not hurt. For example, instead of the standard RPG-7, the RPG-29 is more effective. The RPG-7 is almost useless against modern tanks. The RPG-29 uses a tandem charge to defeat explosive reactive and composite armor. So if you're going up against modern tanks with guerilla tactics, an RPG-29 will almost certainly disable a tank. The RPG-29 is so effective that the USA has prevented the modern Iraqi Army from obtaining them for fear they may be used against the M1A2 Abrams tank.
The RPG-29 and its tandem charged rocket.
Unusual tactics can be used by both conventional and guerilla armies to give them the upper hand. For example, instead of stationing a battalion of T-72 tanks in the open to confront a modern army, hide them within major cities and wait in ambush. If a tank is hiding within the structure of a building or house, it will not be spotted by air and it will have the opportunity to spot and fire on enemy tanks first. This was a major mistake Saddam made during both Gulf Wars. Saddam ordered tanks be left in the open to confront the advancing US army. If he had stationed them in all major cities and had them duck in and out of structures to fire, things could have turned out differently. There at least would have been more casualties on the opposing side.
Destroyed T-72s during the first Gulf War, 1991.
Anti-Tank Guided Missiles are an integral part of winning a modern war against a conventional army, especially one that is stronger. The ATGM was proven to be effective at stopping whole armored columns in the Syrian Civil War and Yemeni Civil War. Thousands of tanks and armored vehicles have been destroyed in Syria to date by ATGMs. The Iraqi Army, for example, did not have many ATGMs during the Gulf Wars. The Iraqis only destroyed a few tanks in both wars using ATGMs because of how few there were in their inventory. If Saddam had had 1,000 ATGM launchers, such as the Konkurs and Kornet, the outcome of the war could have been very different. Modern armies, even small ones, now see the importance of the ATGM.
The Russian made Kornet ATGM.
Another key weapon that any modern war should take into consideration are drones. Small combat drones have proven difficult to shoot down and catastrophic in their effect as recently as 2020. The war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020 saw the small Turkish made Bayraktar TB2 drone destroy dozens of Armenian T-72s and artillery pieces and led to Azerbaijan gaining an advantage over Armenia. In a hypothetical war against Iran, drones would play a major role as Iran has shown itself to be a drone superpower.
The Bayraktar TB2 drone.
MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense Systems) have proven to be effective at grinding down an opposing force. This was most clearly shown in Afghanistan in the 1980s. FIM-Stinger MANPADS were supplied to Afghan militias in the 1980s by the USA to be used against the Soviet Air Force. Dozens of helicopters were shot down by MANPADS in Afghanistan, causing a logistical nightmare for the Soviet forces. MANPADS were also credited with the most Coalition aircraft kills during the 1991 Gulf War.
A FIM-Stinger in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
A key part of Guerilla warfare in the modern age is the IED (Improvised Explosive Device.) This was used with devastating effect against the US Army during the occupation of Iraq in the 2000s. The shaped charge IED became especially infamous among US forces.
Shaped charge IED components found by the US military.
Their effect on a Humvee.
In 2014 the Houthis took control of the Yemeni port city of Aden, ousting president Hadi. A coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened and initially pushed the Houthis back. However, the difficult terrain of Yemen made it a guerilla fighter's paradise. ATGMs proved to be a deciding factor in the Yemen War. The Saudis have been on the back foot now for years.
Houthis fire a Kornet ATGM.
No one mastered Guerilla warfare and unusual tactics like the NVA forces in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s. Punji stakes and land mines harried US troop throughout the Vietnam campaign. The NVA were also masters of choosing their battles. If a large convoy passed that they could not take on, they would remain hidden and wait for a smaller US force to combat. The NVA also used tanks and armored vehicles in a strange combination of guerilla and conventional warfare. At the end of the Vietnam War, as the US was withdrawing, the NVA launched a massive assault that included armor and captured Saigon. After years of grueling guerilla war, the US had been utterly humiliated and defeated in Vietnam.
Punji sticks, the bane of the US Army in Vietnam.
NVA soldiers conducting an ambush.
The NVA crashes through the gates of Independence Palace in Saigon, April 1975. This ended the war in Vietnam, a superpower humiliated.
In conclusion, it is quite possible to defeat a superpower if the correct tactics and weapons are used. This has been proven in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Yemen. Smaller armies of the world should take notice of these weapons and tactics.
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