The term "petty warfare" (German: "Kleinkrieg" or "kleiner Krieg"), was first adopted in the early modern period by German people, and was later on used in 18th- and 19th-century Russian literature to refer to a particular form of warfare in which small units, avoiding collisions with larger military forces, attack communication and small fortified posts, enemy convoys, armories, etc.
The term “little war” was created at the time of a cumbersome system of arsenal supply during the early modern period, when the main means of transport were horses and carts.
Similarly around the same time, a Prussian garrison surrendered because Serbian hussars under the command of Peter Tekeli intercepted their convoy that went from Stettin to Kolberg (now Poland), which was full of gunpowder stocks and bombs.
King Frederick II of Prussia considered those ground forces to be one of the main advantages of Russian army during the early modern period.
Naval petty warfare tactics included rapid surprise attacks on ground enemy units from shores with the support of the air forces and the coastal artillery.