Counterinsurgency Warfare

by Galula, David

• ISBN13: 9780275993030
• ISBN10: 0275993035
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-08-30
• Publisher: ABC CLIO LTD

Summary

This book provides an analysis of how to countermine insurgency and the elements that might hinder its defeat. Inspired by his military experiences as a French military officer and attache in China, Greece, Southeast Asia, and Algeria, the author realized the "need for a compass" in the suppression of insurgency, and he set out to "define the laws of counterinsurgency warfare, to deduce from them its principles, and to outline the corresponding strategy and tactics." Written in 1964, the book in its new printing is as relevant now as it was forty years ago. Counterinsurgency Warfare provides the template for the defeat of today's insurgents and terrorists.

Author Biography

David Galula served in the French army in the North Africa campaign and during the liberation of Italy and France during World War II

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Introduction	p. xi
Revolutionary War: Nature and Characteristics	p. 1
What Is a Revolutionary War?	p. 1
Revolution, Plot, Insurgency	p. 2
Insurgency and Civil War	p. 2
Asymmetry Between the Insurgent and the Counterinsurgent	p. 3
Objective: The Population	p. 4
Revolutionary War Is a Political War	p. 4
Gradual Transition from Peace to War	p. 5
Revolutionary War Is a Protracted War	p. 6
Insurgency Is Cheap, Counterinsurgency Costly	p. 6
Fluidity of the Insurgent, Rigidity of the Counterinsurgent	p. 7
The Power of Ideology	p. 8
Propaganda-A One-Sided Weapon	p. 9
Revolutionary War Remains Unconventional Until the End	p. 9
The Prerequisites for a Successful Insurgency	p. 11
A Cause	p. 11
Weakness of the Counterinsurgent	p. 16
Geographic Conditions	p. 23
Outside Support	p. 25
The Insurgency Doctrine	p. 29
Strategic Patterns for Insurgency	p. 29
The Orthodox Pattern (Communist)	p. 30
The Bourgeois-Nationalist Pattern: A Shortcut	p. 39
Vulnerability of the Insurgent in the Orthodox Pattern	p. 41
Vulnerability of the Insurgent in the Shortcut Pattern	p. 42
Counterinsurgency in the Cold Revolutionary War	p. 43
Direct Action Against the Insurgent	p. 44
Indirect Action Against the Insurgent	p. 45
Infiltration of the Insurgent Movement	p. 46
Strengthening the Political Machine	p. 47
Counterinsurgency in the Hot Revolutionary War	p. 49
Laws and Principles of Counterinsurgency Warfare	p. 50
Strategy of the Counterinsurgency	p. 55
From Strategy to Tactics	p. 61
Command Problems	p. 61
Selection of the Area of Efforts	p. 61
Political Preparation	p. 71
The First Area as a Test Area	p. 73
The Operations	p. 75
The First Step: Destruction or Expulsion of the Insurgent Forces	p. 75
The Second Step: Deployment of the Static Unit	p. 77
The Third Step: Contact with and Control of the Population	p. 81
The Fourth Step: Destruction of the Insurgent Political Organization	p. 86
The Fifth Step: Local Elections	p. 89
The Sixth Step: Testing the Local Leaders	p. 90
The Seventh Step: Organizing a Party	p. 92
The Eighth Step: Winning Over or Suppressing the Last Guerrillas	p. 93
Concluding Remarks	p. 95
Index	p. 101
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