Good call.

From the book:

"For our sort of war," Raspeguy muses, "you need shrewd, cunning men who are capable of fighting far from the herd, who are full of initiative too ... who can turn their hand to any trade, poachers and missionaries. "
So what do we do?

For 'our sort of war' (fill in the location here) mass produced clones are sent out who fail. Sad repetitive story.

To the credit of the Brits they identified the need way back. I quote the British manual 'Keeping the Peace' Part 2 - Tactics and Training - 1963:

332. Leadership and battle discipline.. Fighting an underground enemy probably requires a higher standard of junior leadership than any other type of warfare yet experienced. ... Command often has to be decentralized and the training of junior commanders must, therefore, be directed towards giving them the ability and confidence to make sound decisions and act on their own initiative.
But then they failed to act on their own experience. Also a sad repetitive story.


Quote Originally Posted by JPLearn View Post
Although a novel it is relevant to you interest.
"The Centurions" by Jean Lartguy

Story told through the experience of French paratroopers in Indochina and Algeria.

sample Reviewer comments:
"An excellent book which gives a good understanding of the French military mindset during the First Vietnam War. I recommend it to my students at Glasgow University as a 'must-read' for American History - Vietnam studies.
I read this book as a young Parachute Regiment officer and have remembered its lessons to this day as they have been applicable to all subsequent wars."

"I read this first when learning counterinsurgency tactics in the Marines, in 1963. It was influential because we all - second lieutenants destined, though we didn't know it then, to become platoon and company commanders in Vietnam - read it and thought it set forth truth.
Unfortunately, it seems to be out of print, and used copies go for several hundreds of dollars."