COUNTERINSURGENCY AND BERNARD FALL
Continuing its evolution as a superb resource and site for discussion on military history and policy issues The Small Wars Journal has put up a transcript of an address by Bernard Fall entitled ” Counterinsurgency: The French Experience” (PDF). An excerpt:
“…There is a hard fact of military life which is very often forgotten, and that is you usually learn much more from defeat than from a victory. Victories are particularly dangerous in terms of lessons. For example, the French came out of World War I absolutely persuaded that the key to victory is a strong, deep, defensive system. The Germans, who lost World War I. precisely against the deep defensive system, came out perfectly persuaded that the way to win the war is with deep, air-supported, armored penetrations. It took us five years of bitter fighting to beat them at their own game. “
Hat tip to Jedburgh.
December 8th, 2005 at 7:20 pm
Excellent pdf. I’m reading through it now. Like a French Boyd/Hammes – fascinating.
One thing to note is his emphasis on parallel hierarchies. Very un-Global-Guerrilla
December 8th, 2005 at 7:40 pm
Ho Chi Minh ran a Stalinist style Communist Party ( as he should, having been a 1930’s Comintern member who survived the Purges) which emphasized rigid discipline
December 8th, 2005 at 9:03 pm
Yup. And this was recognized as the most dangerous part — I wonder if al Qaeda’s emphasis on shura councils are a good analog?
Fall seems pretty dismissive of nihlist terror, which would imply that to the extent this is done in Iraq, it’s just a nuisance. Very interesting stuff.