First use of Air Power in a counterinsurgency (Nicaragua, 1926-27)
Airpower in Small Wars: Fighting Insurgents and Terrorists
by James S. Corum and Wray R. Johnson
Reviewed by LTC Lester W. Grau, USA (Retired), Military Review, Nov/Dec 2004
Despite catchy phrases like "surgical strike" and "precision bombing," airpower remains a blunt instrument in unconventional and small wars. Air strikes against guerrillas fail when guerrillas cannot be precisely located. Bombing civilians in retaliation (or error) is ineffective and counterproductive. The pre- World War II aviation concept of "air control," in which aviation occupies and controls a small country by airpower alone, is clearly outmoded and wrong. What then is the role of airpower in small wars?
James S. Corum and Wray R. Johnson have a clear vision of this role and have written extensively on air and ground power. Corum is a reserve army officer and a distinguished historian and professor at the U.S. Air Force (USAF) School of Advanced Airpower Studies. Wray R. Johnson is a retired USAF colonel who spent a career in special operations and is now professor at the U.S. Marine Corps University.
Airpower has been a player in small wars and counterinsurgencies since French aviators bombed Moroccan rebels in 1913. Sometimes airpower has been a key player; at other times, it has promised much more than it could deliver. In the case of French Indochina, airpower's failure to deliver as planned at Dien Bien Phu lost the war for the French. Air Power in Small Wars, the first comprehensive history of the subject, analyzes numerous conflicts with guerrillas, bandits, rebels, and terrorists in colonial wars, police actions, counterinsurgencies, and expeditions.
The book's pre-World War II section describes General John J. Pershing's expedition into Mexico; U.S. Marine Corps expeditions into the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nicaragua; British Colonial expeditions in Somaliland, Aden, Transjordan, Iraq, and the Northwest Frontier Province of India; Spanish Colonial expeditions in Spanish Morroco; French Colonial expeditions in French Morocco and Syria; and Italian Colonial expeditions in Libya and Eritrea.
The post-World War II section includes the Greek Civil War; the Philippine Anti-Huk campaign; the French Colonial wars in Indochina and Algeria; the British Colonial wars in Malaya, South Arabia, and Oman; the war in South Vietnam; southern African insurgencies in Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, Rhodesia and Malawi; Latin American insurgencies in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Columbia; the Egyptian expedition in Yemen; the Soviet War in Afghanistan; and the Israeli excursion in southern Lebanon. While it is an ambitious undertaking, it succeeds.
Among the book's key findings are that in small wars, the political and economic instruments are often more important than the military instrument. Reconnaissance and transport are usually the most important and effective aviation missions in guerrilla war. Airpower's ground attack role becomes more important as the war turns conventional. Aviation high-tech and low-tech systems might play an important role in small wars. Joint operations are essential for the effective use of airpower. Small wars are long and intelligence-intensive. Training for major wars does not translate into readiness for small wars.
This is an important book and, hopefully, one on which ground power and airpower advocates can agree. Insurgencies, expeditions, and other small wars might occupy the attention of the U.S. Armed Forces in the near term. The time to prepare is now, and getting the air and ground component to work together harmoniously is part of that preparation. This book should be a basic component of that preparation and of that harmony.
First use of Air Power in a counterinsurgency (Nicaragua, 1926-27)
Hey all. I've come a long way from my first post back in 2007ish. I've finished up the application process to the Air Force for a pilot slot on the upcoming rated boards. I just want to be selected for anything as an officer.
Anyways... I'm finishing up my history degree, and I finally am able to write about something other than the revolutionary war for my thesis paper. I've been wanting to do a lot more research on counterinsurgencies but haven't had an excuse too until now. I wanted to do something on the use of air power in counterinsurgencies due to (hopefully) being selected by the boards, and the first use that I came across was in Nicaragua against Sandino by the Marines. I have about 10 secondary sources on it, a few magazine articles and news paper accounts, but scant else.
Any suggestions on primary sources, or where to find any reports from those battles? First hand accounts? Possibly any review of the efficiency by the war department? Or any other suggestions?
I'm hoping to use this down the road when I go back for a masters as a launching pad for something better, maybe even a book that is really only read by people like those on this site/
