Petty Warfare
Petty Warfare (French “petite guerre”, from German “kleiner Krieg”, literally small war), consists of operations to secure and even conceal the position and movement of the main force and includes all those engagements which aim to harm the enemy without exerting any significant influence on the large scale operations. Its purpose is to undertake activities to promote the underlying intention of the operation; elimination of the enemy‘s counteractive operations and influence of terrain conditions; promoting the ongoing activities of other military detachments concomitant to the operation. Petty warfare must therefore take into account the positions, movements, engagements of friendly forces, reconnoitre and prepare the terrain, deter the enemy, always harras them, always maintain communication between corps, secure transports, and support fortresses in their activities. It is fought by small corps, detachments, partisans, of a maximum of 2,000 to 6,000 men, which are made up of light cavalry and light infantry, especially Freikorps.
Source: Pierer’s Universal-Lexikon 4. Auflage 1857–1865
Petty Warfare, s. War, Guerillas, Grenz-Infantry, Freikorps, Freischaren.
Source: Meyers Konversationslexikon von 1888.