Reading List
The American War for Independence provides some good examples of the fundamentals of COIN & Stability Ops (how not to do them), Small Wars, and Insurgency, with out all the clutter of high tech because the fundamentals of human nature in these situations has not changed.
Operations in the Southern Department i.e. Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia from 1779-1783 have many of the elements of small wars, stablility ops and insurgency. Much of the fighting in the South was actually a brutal sometimes uncontrolable civil war between Americans and presented quite a challenge to leaders on both sides.
The tactics and strategies of Gen Nathaniel Greene and BG Francis Marion influenced North Vietnamese leaders. Gen Cornwallis learned enough from his experience in the Carolinas and Virginia to be able to successfully resolve an Irish rebellion then go on to be high respected as the Gov of India. The use of "Information Warfare" by the US leaders played a big role in turning the tide against the British in the South after the overwhelming and seemingly decisive US losses at Charleston and Camden.
Some suggested readings include:
"A People Numberous & Armed" by John Shy
"Swamp Fox: The Life and Campaigns of General Francis Marion" by Bass, Robert D.
"From Savannah to Yorktown" by Lumpkin, Henry
"A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens" by Babits, Lawernce E.
"Calendar and Record of the Revolutionary War in the South: 1780-1781" by Sherman, William Thomas (can be downloaded from the internet as a PDF or RTF file)
There are other books on my "to read" list that are also of interest
"The Partisan War" the South Carolina Campaign of 1780-82" by Weigley, Russell Frank
"The Life and Correspondence of Nathanael Greene" Johnston, William reprint 1973
"A History of the Campaigns of 1780 and 1781 in the Southern Provinces" by Tarleton, Banastre reprint 1968
Bookmarks