Printable View
Hey all,
I'm looking for numbers for troop deployments in a variety of small wars in the 20th and 21st century (approx. # of counterinsurgents vs approx.# of insurgents). Unfortunately military history encyclopedias seem to fall short on this, RAND doesn't seem to have anything and the USMC small wars center seems shut down. Does anyone know of a site or spreadsheet with basic deployment information for small wars?
Any insight would be appreciated.
Barclay,
I am sure that several well known books on COIN refer to the ratio between insurgents and counter-insurgents, so there must be some examples - probably Malaya, French Indo-China and Vietnam?
There are a number of threads within the linked website, which list troops deployed and some scurrying around will find the number of suspected insurgents:http://www.britains-smallwars.com/main/index1.html
From the British experience I'd pick out: Malaya, Kenya, Cyprus, Oman: Dhofar mainly, Sierra Leone and there are forty other operations to look at, some with less than a company deployed to a division; some lasting days and others years.
You may find that our 'Advanced Search' will bring back some responses: ratio + insurgency. I have not tried that option.
This sort of thing is going to be difficult to find in some instances based on the sort of conflicts we're discussing. In addition, it's always difficult to confirm the number of insurgents involved in a conflict with any precision. Vietnam will be especially difficult for you since there were really a number of conflicts (if you will) going on within that time frame.