Origin Story

par·​ti·​san

a member of an armed group formed to fight secretly against an occupying force

The year is 1808. For several years Napoleon has dominated much of Europe, but he’s about to make his first serious miscalculation: invading Spain. This blunder started the year before when Portugal disobeyed Napoleon’s decree to stop trade with Britain, so Napoleon sent an army to occupy Portugal to force its compliance with the blockade. To do so, he had to cross Spain, which was at the time France’s ally.

Under the pretext of guarding Spain, Napoleon stationed troops strategically around the country. The Spanish people were not happy about this, and riots started. The uprising continued to escalate, so Napoleon forced the King of Spain to abdicate, and installed his brother Joseph as puppet king, uniting the Spanish people against the occupying French. The following year the British Army would arrive, but in the meantime, a guerrilla war of independence had begun.

"Wherever we arrived, they disappeared, whenever we left, they arrived — they were everywhere and nowhere, they had no tangible center which could be attacked."
-Prussian Officer

The war would last until 1814, when the Spanish Partisans, with the help of the Portuguese, British, and the military genius of Sir Arthur Wellesley, won their independence.

Mountain Partisan Gear

Mountain Partisan gear is inspired by those brave Spanish Partisans who fought for freedom against an invading force in rugged, mountainous terrain. Our core design principles are that gear must be:

• Effective
• Rugged
• Multipurpose wherever possible

  

Partisan gear must work as well for the “militant farmer” as it does for the professional soldier. It should blend in with the environment, and hold up to harsh conditions. Partisans must use rugged terrain as their ally, often spending long periods of time in the wilderness far from the nearest resupply, and their gear must enable this use.