Davey Crockett
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"The mind of the enemy and the will of his leaders is a target of far more importance than the bodies of his troops."
Sebastian Marshall, PROGRESSION
Guerilla Warfare (History)
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Davey Crockett
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War Books: Building a Counterinsurgency Library
Max Brooks | 11.26.18
Editor’s note: MWI Non-Resident Fellow has gathered a broad collection of books that, together, help to conceptualize the many challenges posed by insurgencies. The books he has identified are below.
Insurgencies, guerrilla warfare—whatever we chose to call this type of violence, it is, by far the deadliest threat to those who serve in uniform. Since the middle of the last century, over a quarter of a million Americans were killed or wounded in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. And those are just the big ones. As tragic as these figures might be, an even deeper tragedy might be the forgotten lessons that could prevent future casualties.
Every time America wades into a counterinsurgency, those on the ground pay, in blood, for priceless knowledge in the art of how to fight. And yet, every time, that priceless knowledge seems worthless when it comes to future study. The post–Vietnam retreat to the Fulda Gap left the post–9/11 military completely unprepared for Afghanistan or Iraq. As a senior Iraq strategist told me, “I deployed with two duffle bags; one for my gear and the other with books I had to read.” On the subject of Afghanistan, an MWI colleague confessed, “We barely knew anything about the Soviet experience.” That experience is now almost old enough to vote, and yet, despite the nearly two-decade experience with counterinsurgency, the center of strategic gravity is even now, shifting right back to conventional, set-piece combat.
What will this amnesia mean for America’s future warfighters when—not if, but when—they suddenly find themselves stuck in another massive, messy, lethal insurgency? How many casualties will be counted while future strategists hurriedly dust off the lessons of the last two decades? When it comes to guerrilla warfare, America’s military can no longer afford on-the-job training. At the very least, there needs to be a collective repository for the lessons of guerrilla warfare. That is why the Modern War Institute has begun working to compile a new COIN library.
The books on this list vary greatly, from overall theory to scalpel-thin tactics. They also include unconventional subjects such as communication, geography, and psychological analyses. This list is intended to be a seed for future submissions. Additional titles and subjects are always encouraged. All books listed below are available at the Modern War Institute library.
These titles include (*denotes an audio version):
1. John Oller, The Swamp Fox: How Frances Marion Saved the American Revolution*
An unconventional man fighting an unconventional war. Adopting Native American methods, adapting to an ever-changing battlespace, Marion fought as hard and smart as any Vietcong or mujahedeen. Marion’s story reminds us that even in large, so-called “conventional” wars, there is always room for asymmetry.
2. Mao Tse-Tung, Mao Tse-Tung on Protracted War
This is probably the most famous guerrilla of all time, and given China’s impact on the world today, he’s without a doubt the most influential. Mao doesn’t waste words because he can’t afford to. He was a peasant writing for peasants. He knew how to inspire, terrify, and manipulate them by the millions.
3. Charles River Editors , Marshal Josip Broz Tito: The Life and Legacy of Yugoslavia’s First President*
Mao may have led the biggest guerrilla campaign, but Tito arguably led the best. Unlike Mao, who waited out the Japanese, Tito faced Hitler head on. Also, unlike Mao, Tito had to unite several ethnic groups with ancient, murderous hatreds. This particular biography may be short, but it paints a broad enough picture of history’s most remarkable partisan.
4. Ernesto “Che Guevara, Guerrilla Warfare
Dilettante. Adventurer. Fraud. Che was all of those things. He liked the glamor of kicking over governments but never stuck around for the drudgery of building one. He also had the good sense to get himself assassinated before wearing out his welcome on the world stage. Like Steve Jobs, Che teaches that style can conquer substance, that a little passionate rhetoric, coupled with an iconic image (like a famous photo), can endure and inspire well beyond the grave.
5. T.E. Lawrence, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom*
This guy has a lot to teach, and not just about starting a Middle Eastern insurrection. Charismatic communicator, adroit anthropologist, Lawrence was everything you’d want in a master guerrilla fighter. And yet, he’s not the only hero in this story (although he might argue otherwise). The British Army, as an institution deserves its fair share of praise for being open enough to embrace an outlier like Lawrence.
6. Junichi Saga, Confessions of a Yakuza
While not technically an insurgent, this twentieth-century Japanese gangster has a very prophetic chapter on his beginnings at the end of World War II. When he talks about the chaos following defeat and the piles of discarded, unguarded military equipment, it’s hard not to think about Iraq.
7. Hiroo Onada, No Surrender
The autobiography of a Japanese soldier who refused to surrender, this is the profile of a fanatic, and explores the limits of human endurance.
8. Carlos Marighella, Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla
While the author of this book never personally pulled off a successful revolution himself, his book endures for two reasons. First, it inspired an entire generation of leftist guerrillas both within the United States and around the world. Second, he is one of the first partisans to focus entirely on cities. As more of our species migrate to growing megacities, we need to prepare for some of those cities to become the battlefields of the future.
9. Vo Nguyen Giap, The South Vietnamese People Will Win
The fact that this man fought the US military to standstill should be enough to put him on this list. But what should make Giap required reading is that he was not just a guerrilla fighter but an unparalleled wizard of the “grey zone.” While masterfully commanding both regular and irregular military forces, he also managed to orchestrate a global, and ultimately victorious, propaganda campaign.
10. H.K. Wachanga, The Swords of Kirinyaga
As a former Mau Mau, Wachanga outlines the anatomy of Britain’s victory in Kenya. Reading Wachanga’s honest, no-holds-barred account begs the question: What if we had a database of first-person narratives from every guerrilla, victorious and defeated, starting with the question “In your opinion, what happened?”
From the Counterinsurgents
1. David Galula, Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and PracticeOne of the first theoreticians of COIN. Like Heinz Guderian with tanks or Karl Doenitz with submarines, Galula crystalized and codified this “new” way of war.
2. David Petraeus, The U.S. Army-Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual*
This scholarly tome doesn’t just distil an ocean of research from various times and places (the bibliography alone is enough to make your head spin). FM 3-24 also represents the one key element any army—any nation—needs in order to survive: the willingness to change. The fact that this book even exists proves that America’s guardians had the courage to change course.
3. David Kilcullen, The Accidental Guerrilla*
One of the Jedi Masters of COIN, Killcullen lays out every aspect of the challenge. From the biggest to the smallest, from the overarching, geopolitical blowback of globalization to the scalpel focus of gaining an individual’s trust.
4. John A. Nagl, Learning to Eat Soup With a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam*
A contrast of America’s failed policy in Vietnam with the British success in Malaya. As Americans, it’s hard to admit that we don’t have all the answers and even harder to admit that sometimes others do.
5. US Marine Corps, Small-Unit Leader’s Guide to Counterinsurgency*
COIN at the tactical level. Short, sweet, and packed with invaluable information, including twenty-eight fundamentals by David Kilcullen.
6. Matt Zeller, Watches Without Time*
No grand strategy. Just the story of a soldier in Afghanistan. For those of us who’ve never been over there, or worn the uniform, this book has the potential to do for the “Long War” what Remarque did for the “Great War.”
7. David Hackworth, About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior
This is what happens when we don’t listen. Hackworth, who learned how to “out G the G” in the jungles of Vietnam was ignored, ostracized, and eventually, forced to leave his first love, the US Army. What might have happened if he had been taken seriously? Where would we be today if his ideas had become doctrine?
8. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, Ashley’s War*
This is what happens when we listen. America’s greatest strength has always been its willingness to change. From the Tuskegee Airmen to the Navajo Code Talkers to the introduction of women in combat, our courage to shed tradition and reinvent ourselves proves that we will never be left on the trash heap of history.
9. Bernard B. Fall, Street Without Joy*
The story of France’s defeat in Southeast Asia. A meticulously researched account of France’s trial in Southeast Asia written in the early to middle stages of America’s “long national nightmare.” There was no excuse to ignore this book in the ‘60s and there’s no excuse to ignore it now.
10. Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope*
Not the first guy you’d think of in a counterinsurgency setting, but his experience as a community organizer in Chicago mirrors those of too many platoon leaders in Afghanistan and Iraq. When it comes to fighting corruption, bureaucracy, threats to personal security, and an old guard threatened by change, the parallels are obvious. Reading Obama’s book begs the question of what other parallels are out there in nonmilitary situations, and what we can learn from them.
11. Robert M. Gates, Duty*
The memoir of a former SecDef. COIN from the top down. Gates talks about what it was like to replace Rumsfeld in the darkest days of Iraq/Afghanistan. He takes the reader through his battles with the press, the administration, the DoD bureaucracy and, finally, battlefield enemies like al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Davey Crockett
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9 Books for The Resistance!
News, Politics, Resistance, Conservative, AltNews, Technocracy, Survival, America First, MAGA
Davey Crockett
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Davey Crockett
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Total Resistance: Swiss Army Guide To Guerrilla Warfare and Underground Operations - Paladin Press : Major H. Von Dach Bern : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Total Resistance: Swiss Army Guide To Guerrilla Warfare and Underground Operations.Major H. Von Dach Bern.Paladin Press.1965.
archive.org
War of the flea, the classic study of guerrilla warfare - Robert Taber : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
“The guerrilla fights the war of the flea, and his military enemy suffers the dog’s disadvantages: too much to defend; too small, ubiquitous, and agile...
archive.org
Fry The Brain The Art Of Urban Sniping : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Fry The Brain is a detailed, original study of urban guerrilla sniping and its employment in modern unconventional warfare. Fry The Brain strives to educate...
archive.org
**Before you shell out your precious hard earned shekels for ANY book, ALWAYS check the Internet Archive
for possible FREE Download options.**
Davey Crockett
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"The mind of the enemy and the will of his leaders is a target of far more importance than the bodies of his troops."View attachment 85406
Total Resistance: Swiss Army Guide To Guerrilla Warfare and Underground Operations - Paladin Press : Major H. Von Dach Bern : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Total Resistance: Swiss Army Guide To Guerrilla Warfare and Underground Operations.Major H. Von Dach Bern.Paladin Press.1965.archive.org
View attachment 85407
War of the flea, the classic study of guerrilla warfare - Robert Taber : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
“The guerrilla fights the war of the flea, and his military enemy suffers the dog’s disadvantages: too much to defend; too small, ubiquitous, and agile...archive.org
View attachment 85408
Fry The Brain The Art Of Urban Sniping : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Fry The Brain is a detailed, original study of urban guerrilla sniping and its employment in modern unconventional warfare. Fry The Brain strives to educate...archive.org
**Before you shell out your precious hard earned shekels for ANY book, ALWAYS check the Internet Archive
for possible FREE Download options.**
View attachment 85409
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