Small Wars pre-1914: Canadian input

Thanks to an ex-BSAP correspondent and historian for drawing attention to the 1907 book 'Bush Warfare' by General William Heneker, a Canadian who served with the British Army, more accurately the West African Frontier Force (WAFF) and explained aptly:

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The first serious analysis of the characteristics of small wars since the 1896 publication of British Army Lieutenant Colonel Calwell's Small Wars, Heneker's own study became required reading and a resource for all commanders until new doctrinal publications appeared in the 1930s.

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Link to Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Heneker

Update 2018: the next two links may no longer work, but the 'Wayback Machine' has retained a copy of the book. Hurrah!
Link:https://web.archive.org/web/20110610...ushWarFare.pdf

The book re-appeared in 2007 courtesy of the Canadian Army and is 5.47Mb, and in January 2019 this new link worked:http://publications.gc.ca/collection...0-2008-eng.pdf

Note this link no longer works: A Canadian NCO's review of Heneker and his book:http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/caj/doc...l13.1_15_e.pdf

Of late SWC has concentrated on rather dusty places, cities and not areas where 'bush' is the dominant terrain type. The book is not just about West Africa, there are sections across Africa, e.g. Somaliland and further afield. ( On a partial reading - from my "armchair" - I can see the principles of 'Small Wars' are there and so over to others to enjoy or not.

There is an old thread on Callwell's book 'Small Wars' and Post 7 states:

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The Marine Corps Small Wars Manual of 1940 owes much to this work.

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Link:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=2504

Thanks for posting that David. That is something I never would have found on my own.

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Originally Posted by davidbfpo

Thanks to an ex-BSAP correspondent and historian for drawing attention to the 1907 book 'Bush Warfare' by General William Heneker, a Canadian who served with the British Army, more accurately the West African Frontier Force (WAFF)

The book re-appeared in 2007 courtesy of the Canadian Army and is 5.47Mb, note scroll down to second item:http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/DLCD-DCSFT/monograph_e.asp

Of late SWC has concentrated on rather dusty places, cities and not areas where 'bush' is the dominant terrain type. The book is not just about West Africa, there are sections across Africa, e.g. Somaliland and further afield. ( On a partial reading - from my "armchair" - I can see the principles of 'Small Wars' are there and so over to others to enjoy or not.

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Well done to you David and your BSAP mate for that one.

(Did you know that back in the good old bad days the BSAP recruited by advertising that they were looking for "Son's of gentlemen who can ride and shoot." )

Heneker' piece is certainly not politically correct by today's standards and will probably mean that the faint hearted will give this thread a wide berth.

Not much has changed since then in terms of the principal ideas and comments he makes. Just that I suppose this has long dropped off the required reading list of officers in the Brit (and maybe also the Canadian Army) as is the case with Skeen's Passing It On.

Not sure whether you have read Harnden's Dead Men Risen and I quote from it:

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Maj Birchall quoted as follows: ‘Every time we came under enemy fire, they would blast off hundreds of rounds in every direction, often aimed at anyone outside the compound who was still around.’

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and lo and behold what do we find in Heneker's book?

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Lord Wolseley, writing about the 1874 Ashanti Campaign, says, “I found that undisciplined native troops were a positive source of danger in the bush, from the reckless manner in which they fired in all directions.” In commenting on Lord Gifford’s scouts in this same campaign, he describes how they frequently deserted him in tight places, how dangerous their shooting was to their friends, and how their commander must have borne a charmed life to survive the many perilous positions his levies placed him in.

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Nothing has changed... and Chapter Ten: Levies is a must read.

In the post-Versailles Agreement one of the disputed areas between Germany and Poland was Upper Silesia, an industrial area equivalent to the Ruhr Valley; with a mainly Polish population, but with assets managed and owned by Germans (a very short explanation). An Allied military force, mainly French, with some Italians and British were deployed - the British were withdrawn at one point. In May 1921 there was a Polish revolt and two British infantry brigades were dispatched - led by Heneker - as peacemakers trying to resolve the decision of a plebiscite, amidst "ethnic cleansing", led by a pro-Polish French general and a long way from any "friendlies" (again a summary).

Heneker encouraged his command to learn the lessons from operations in an unknown area, heavily wooded in a temperate climate and gathering intelligence - presumably difficult as so few would have spoken English! In June 1922 the allied forces were withdrawn.

See a detailed article in the Society of Army Historical Research, Vol. 95, No. 384 (Winter 2017), pp. 338-364 (27 pages), by Alun Thomas. Link (not free, except via a Library): https://www.jstor.org/stable/4487205...o_tab_contents