Seasoned soldier and scholar of military science, Jehan Morel introduces us to the world of guerilla and counter-guerilla warfare in a captivating book that is part practical handbook and part historical examination of the major contemporary geopolitical movements.
Relying on his first-hand counter-insurgency experience in Indochina and Central Africa and on his encyclopedic knowledge of asymmetric warfare, this thoroughly researched work gives us an inner glimpse of their actual nature. A world where the strong fervor and boldness of rebels need to be supported by clarity of purpose, strategic planning and perfect execution to achieve their goals: proclaiming the independence of a country under occupation, overthrowing the country’s regime or beating a foreign invading army through a war of attrition.
Counter-guerilla warfare is also subjected to the same methodical examination that provides the ideal structural foundation of its organization and the recommended astute to eradicate an insurgency.
Its reading gives to the reader the details of the ideal organizations of guerilla and counter-guerilla alike; the infrastructure and resources needed to support their actions; as well as the minutiae of their typical operations (attack of an outpost, headquarters, a military parade, a patrol; a prison raid, a road or river convoy ambush, jungle combat, urban guerrilla, street fighting …). It takes us to the “hidden” theaters of war that play major roles in a guerrilla: funding, intelligence, deception, psychological, penetration of the enemy, cyber warfare, communications, all of them key components that affect the issue of the conflict, yet are usually overlooked in favor of the more “news-friendly” martial aspect of war. It takes us to the discovery of the true decisive factor of the success of guerilla or counter-guerilla operations: winning the heart and minds of the local population, whose support is essential and which bestows legitimacy to the “cause”. Securing that support requires outlining clear rules of engagements, having a drastic code of justice and ensuring harmonious relationships between the guerilla (or counter-guerilla) operatives and the local population.
Then, taking a step back from the day-to-day cycle of actions and retaliations, the author provides an in-depth analysis of the major geopolitical and geostrategic upheavals of our era, from the war of Indochina and the bloody “events” of Algeria, according to the official language—to today’s ISIS operations in Iraq and Syria, from the Colombian FARCs and ELN, the Indian Naxalites to the Ugandan LRA. Providing contextual analysis and historical background to each of these, he points out the failures of his own indecisive country in the regions where he was operating, brings a magnifying glass to the myriad of conflicts of local or global importance, retraces their roots (ethnic rivalries, political enmities, religious fundamentalism, money) and elucidates their stakes.
Jehan Morel give us a fascinating book that is realistic about the present and pessimistic about the future.
Genre: HISTORY / Military / StrategyAmazon France:
#835 Military Leader Biographies (Livres anglais et étrangers)
#833 Military & Spy Biographies (Livres anglais et étrangers)
#2110 Invasions et empires (Livres)
Amazon:
#7532 in Military & Spies Biographies
Book Sales: 1500 (French and English versions of this book)
My expertise in guerrilla warfare does not come from academic works written by experts behind the comfort of their scholarly desks, or even from briefs drafted by one of the countless analysts working in Intelligence Services. My knowledge was gained at the very contact of the smartest and determined guerrilla, the Việt-Minh.
During ambushes—of which I sometimes was the victim, or sometimes the perpetrator, through the traps and ruses laid by both sides during the endless fights in the mountainous jungle or the paddy fields of the Delta1, I often found myself on the opposite side of guerrilla warfare lessons in which lecturer was my intimate adversary, the Việt-Minh, such lessons having been given with great display of finesse, imagination, twisted thinking, illusions and massacres!
The same Việt-Minh that, once reinvigorated and rearmed, transformed magically into the Việt-Cộng. This very group that would finally prevail against the massively armed GIs who, caught by surprise, had to abandon their illusions, their state-of-the-art gear, and their beloved con gái.
The U.S Army took some time to recover from that setback, but then forgot these lessons that it learned the hard way and was cheerfully back to its old ways in Iraq. This book is the fruit of my counter-guerrilla experience, often conducted through means learnt from the other side, and then turned back on them, with an additional dose of sophistication. It is also the result of my intense observation of these others, a total immersion in their processes and psychology. To the extent of identifying with them on the human level, in order to be able to destroy them at the cost of my identity.
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French
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Already translated.
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Oswaldo J. Ramirez
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