I plan to do a research project with several case studies on guerrilla conflict, and I'm looking for some suggestions for research material. The cases I will pick from are thus:
France vs FLN
USSR vs Mujahideen
US vs Vietcong
UK vs MLRA (Malaya)
Portugal vs FRELIMO (Mozambique)
Portugal vs PAIGC (Guinea-Bissau)
US vs AQI (Iraq)
I am specifically looking for things that tell me a lot about the insurgent group itself, its strategy and tactics, and its goals. Also, information about the Great Power's strategy and goals would be helpful as well.
Thanks in advance
Alright, let's see. First of all, it is perhaps a good idea to recognize the fact that in most of the conflicts you mentioned, the forces fought more than one insurgency group. For example, the French fought the FLN, the MNA as well as communist groups in Algeria. The US fought both the armed wing of the FLN and the People's Army of Vietnam (etc.).
But here are my recommendations:
France vs FLN
A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 by Alistair Horn.
Algeria: France's Undeclared War by Martin Evans.
French Imperial Warfare 1945–62 by Professor Douglas Porch in Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare (ed. Daniel Marston & Carter Malkasian.
USSR vs Mujahideen
The Soviet-Afghan War 1979-89 by Gregory Fremont-Barnes.
The Soviet-Afghan War: how a superpower fought and lost by the Russian General Staff (translated and edited by Lester W. Grau, Michael A. Gress).
The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan by Lester W. Grau.
The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War by Ali Ahmad Jalali and Lester W. Grau.
US vs Vietcong
Counterinsurgency in Vietnam: American Organizational Culture and Learning by Lieutenant Colonel John A. Nagl in Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare (ed. Daniel Marston & Carter Malkasian.
Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam by John A. Nagl.
Inside the VC and the NVA: The Real Story of North Vietnam's Armed Forces by Michael Lee Lanning and Dan Cragg.
Grab Their Belts to Fight Them: The Viet Cong's Big Unit-War Against the U.S., 1965-1966 by Warren Wilkins.
UK vs MLRA
Hearts and Minds in Guerilla Warfare: The Malayan Emergency 1948–1960 by Richard Stubbs.
Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam by John A. Nagl.
From Search and Destroy to Hearts and Minds: The Evolution of British Strategy in Malaya 1948–60 by Dr Richard Stubbs in Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare (ed. Daniel Marston & Carter Malkasian.
Portugal vs FRELIMO (Mozambique)& Portugal vs PAIGC (Guinea-Bissau)
Counterinsurgency in Africa: The Portuguese Way of War 1961-74 by John P. Cann.
Portugal's Guerrilla Wars in Africa: Lisbon's Three Wars in Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea 1961-74 by Al Venter.
General works:
Modern Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies: Guerrillas and their Opponents since 1750 by Ian F.W. Beckett.
War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In History by Robert Asprey. Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare (ed. Daniel Marston & Carter Malkasian)
I'd recommend that you avoid larger popular history works, like those written by the likes of Max Boots and so on.