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    Default French & US COIN and Galula (merged thread)

    RAND has re-issued Galula's 1963 book Pacification in Algeria, 1956-1958, with a new foreword by Bruce Hoffman.
    When Algerian nationalists launched a rebellion against French rule in November 1954, France, mired in similar wars for independence in its colonial territories, was in a poor position to cope with further upheaval. The Algerian strategy encompassed varying approaches and was more adaptable than that of the French, necessitating a rethinking of traditional counterinsurgency methods. In this volume, originally published in 1963, David Galula reconstructs the story of his highly successful command in the district of Greater Kabylia, east of Algiers, at the height of the rebellion, and presents his theories on counterinsurgency and pacification. In the process, he confronts the larger political, psychological, and military aspects of the Algerian war, and provides a context for present-day counterinsurgency operations. This groundbreaking work retains its relevancy as a challenge to traditional counterinsurgency tactics and presents approaches to predicting, managing, and resolving insurgent and guerilla conflict. The parallels between the Algerian war and modern warfare are striking, and lessons can be extracted from French successes and failures in its drive to contain and manage the Algerian uprising. A new foreword by counterterrorism expert Bruce Hoffman elucidates the relevance of this historic study in the context of modern times.

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    Default The Roots of Galula's Influence on US COIN thinking?

    I'm curious if anyone can trace the roots of Galula's influence on American COIN doctrine.

    I'm sure that having Pacification in Algeria in the files at RAND provided some accessibility (and ease of distribution given that you can download the .pdf and email it), but the first copy of Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice that I ever saw was an old copy on a friend's bookshelf which had been issued to his father for a class on revolutionary warfare at USMA back in either 1969 or 1970. Based on that, it seems that Galula had some currency back during the time of Vietnam as well for his book to have found its way into the USMA curriculum.

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    Council Member Ken White's Avatar
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    Default The book was a 'must read' for all us military

    intelleckshulls as soon as it came out in 1964. The JFK SWC Center Bookstore at Ft Bragg couldn't keep it in stock. With no Amazon, B&N, Borders and such, people were driving to D.C and Atlanta to buy it. Seriously. Now, those of us with a first edition are all old...

    Unfortunately, those who read it in those early days didn't rise to high command in Viet Nam for seven years or more...

    That being said, it was not and is not the be all and end all on the topic, just one of many decent treatises on the subject.

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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Shek
    I'm curious if anyone can trace the roots of Galula's influence on American COIN doctrine.

    I'm sure that having Pacification in Algeria in the files at RAND provided some accessibility (and ease of distribution given that you can download the .pdf and email it), but the first copy of Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice that I ever saw was an old copy on a friend's bookshelf which had been issued to his father for a class on revolutionary warfare at USMA back in either 1969 or 1970. Based on that, it seems that Galula had some currency back during the time of Vietnam as well for his book to have found its way into the USMA curriculum.
    Back on page 2 of this same "Training and Education" forum, there is a thread titled COIN: A Symposium, April 16-20, 1962. This was a RAND-sponsored syposium that brought together the most experienced professional military minds in the field to discuss all aspects of COIN. This was at a time when serious, structured efforts were ongoing to develop modern US COIN doctrine.

    Of course, Galula was one of the participants - and if you read the reprint you'll more than likely come away with the impression that he was one of the most influential of the participants. He certainly weighed in heavily in almost every area of discussion.

    If you can find a copy of USMA Revolutionary Warfare Volume V-French Counterrevolutionary Struggles: Indochina and Algeria, dated Dec 68, you'll find that Galula is mentioned not a few times as well.

    And here's a declassified TS memo from Amb. Henry Cabot Lodge to President Johnson dated 27 Mar 68 that provides an indication of the high-level influence of Galula's writing:

    ....I believe that urgent consideration be given to a shift away from "search and destroy" and the "war of attrition", in which a purely military victory appears to be, I believe, the unattainable goal, towards a strategy of using military power as a shield behind which South Vietnamese society would be organized as effectively as North Vietnamese society is organized. This last would be done by intensive and repeated scourings--that is a "comb-out" by repeated police-type methods, precinct by precinct, block by block, house by house and farm by farm, much as was done by General Massau in Algiers and which is set forth in David Galula's book "Counter Insurgency Warfare".....

    Quote Originally Posted by Ken White
    ....That being said, it was not and is not the be all and end all on the topic, just one of many decent treatises on the subject.
    Along those lines, here's a link to a COIN bibliography prepared by the CIA library for William Colby back in '64:

    Bibliography: Insurgency and Counterinsurgency Since World War II

    Aside from the cover sheets, index, etc. the 32 page pdf file has 27 pages of book listings, starting with general texts, then broken down by regions of the world.

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    Council Member Ken White's Avatar
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    Default Thanks for the link

    I'd forgotten how many of those I'd read...

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    Default

    Ken and Jedburgh,

    Thanks for the quick replies.

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    Default Reflections on the French School of Counter-Rebellion

    Reflections on the French School of Counter-Rebellion

    Entry Excerpt:

    Reflections on the French School of Counter-Rebellion:
    An Interview with Etienne de Durand
    by Octavian Manea

    Download The Full Article: Reflections on the French School of Counter-Rebellion

    How important were Charles Lacheroy and Roger Trinquier in shaping the French School of COIN compared to David Galula?

    There was much debate and opposition within the French Army regarding the proper answers to guerre révolutionnaire, and no single school of thought ever prevailed. If there is such a thing as the French School of Counterinsurgency, its founding father undoubtedly is Charles Lacheroy, and with him the proponents of DGR (doctrine de guerre révolutionnaire or French Counterinsurgency Doctrine) to include Jacques Hogard. During the French Indochina and Algeria wars, they were extremely influential towards French policy and strategy leading conferences and lectures, contributing to doctrinal manuals, and advising on day-to-day operations. Lacheroy, for instance, had high-level contacts within the government and was able to implement his views in 1957, with the creation of 5e bureaux all over Algeria and the generalization of guerre psychologique (psychwar or psychological operations).

    Roger Trinquier is at first more of a practitioner. He wrote on COIN at the end of the period and should therefore only in retrospect be included as a central, yet not foundational, figure of French COIN.

    Contrastingly, David Galula was an intelligence officer and most of what he wrote was marginal in France. Nobody knew of him.

    Download The Full Article: Reflections on the French School of Counter-Rebellion

    Etienne de Durand is director of the Security Studies Center at the Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI) in Paris. He is also professor at the Institut d’études politiques de Paris and at the Ecole de guerre. He is the author of the chapter dedicated to France in “Understanding Counterinsurgency-Doctrine, operations and challenges” (Routledge, 2010) edited by Thomas Rid and Thomas Keaney. He is contributor to the Ultima Ratio (http://ultimaratio-blog.org/) a blog focused on debating contemporary security and defense issues.



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    Default Deconstructing Galula

    Deconstructing Galula

    Entry Excerpt:

    Deconstructing Galula

    Much ado surrounds the myths of T.E. Lawrence and David Galula. So much so that academics fawn, foreign policy is derived, and military manuals preach their stories as holy works. From the practice, beautiful theory was born that enlightened westerners can deploy into the hinterlands, win hearts, minds, and souls, and unilaterally transform societies through the spread of democracy and capitalism.



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    Default Oh dear Galula failed?

    Galula's name appears in nearly one hundred threads and this meagre thread is is the result of merging three threads, plus re-titling it. Why?

    I spotted this comment by Gian Gentile and thought it valuable to capture:
    please do consider the fact that Galula, when he applied his 8 methods in Algeria (contrary to what he says in his book) actually FAILED at most of them. This argument is made in a new book by French researcher Gregor Mathias. The book is based on primary source evidence.
    Or David Ucko, who wrote the foreword to Mathias's book:
    All of this – Galula’s mixed record and his tentativeness in proposing his concept – should instill a much-needed measure of humility about what is possible in counterinsurgency operations, and through military intervention writ large. For this very reason, it is incumbent on those militaries with expeditionary ambitions to study the history of their intellectual forefathers, to learn from their experiences, and try not to repeat their mistakes.
    From the comments section in:http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts..._live_the_coin

    The book is: 'Galula in Algeria: Counterinsurgency Practice versus Theory' (Pub. Praeger Security International, October 2011), with one review to date:http://www.amazon.com/Galula-Algeria...56?afsrc=fstfx

    Looking elsewhere I found a thread 'The Roots of Galula's Influence on US COIN thinking?' and will merge that in too.
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 12-30-2011 at 01:18 AM.
    davidbfpo

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    Default David Galula Biographical Data?

    Dear SWJ,

    Can anyone recommend a biography of David Galula, or a work that has significant biographical material about his experience? The closest I've found is Ann Marlowe's book:

    http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute...cfm?pubID=1016

    While helpful, I was looking for more of a biographical root for his ideas, based on his experiences and education. Am I wrong in assuming there remains no professional biography of his efforts?

    JSR

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    Default I don't know of anything ....

    to prove your assumption wrong. Searching "David Galula" (Google Advanced Search; French only) yields only 6000+ hits; but then he was not that popular in France.

    You might try the French sources; if nothing else, we find Un gourou pour Hervé Morin - La doctrine militaire de David Galula, officier français mort en 1968, est enfin reconnue… Grâce aux Américains.:



    Ah, but my friend Lagrange will tell me that this obviously superior example of new weapons technology has been banned by the ICRC.

    Regards

    Mike

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    Default

    But has there been a comprehensive bio of him dans l'anglaise?

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    Default Your last question ...

    from Ridler
    But has there been a comprehensive bio of him dans l'anglaise?
    Your initial assumption and question:

    from Ridler
    ... Am I wrong in assuming there remains no professional biography of his efforts?
    My answer:

    from jmm99
    I don't know of anything .... to prove your assumption wrong.
    Don't know of anything means don't know of anything.

    Regards

    Mike

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    Council Member M-A Lagrange's Avatar
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    Default from a french perspective

    http://www.cdef.terre.defense.gouv.f...e_insurect.htm
    http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Galula
    http://www.dissertationsgratuites.co...ula/27267.html
    http://secretdefense.blogs.liberatio...rm%C3%A9e.html

    The book you mention is the only one about Galula up to now.
    You’ll find here some links, I believe you’ve already been consulting on article about Galula (all in French).

    The first one and the last one are the most interesting I believe as they are from the ministry of defense for the first one and the last one from a high quality blog on military affairs.
    In the first one you have the rediscover (or discover) of a French officer work by the French army and the last one reminds that Galula was first kicked out from the French army during WW2.

    Greece being, with Algeria, his first source of inspiration, I would look in that direction. If you're lucky, you might find something.

    Mike: As long as US do not ban Mac Donald, we have the right to defend ourselves...

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    Default French & US COIN and Galula (merged thread)

    Last edited by davidbfpo; 01-24-2013 at 04:59 PM.

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    Last edited by davidbfpo; 02-13-2013 at 09:42 AM.

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    Last edited by davidbfpo; 09-19-2016 at 10:52 AM.

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    Default French & US COIN and Galula (merged thread)

    Last edited by davidbfpo; 09-19-2016 at 10:51 AM.

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    Default French & US COIN and Galula (merged thread)

    Last edited by davidbfpo; 09-19-2016 at 10:51 AM.

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    Default French & US COIN and Galula (merged thread)

    Last edited by davidbfpo; 09-19-2016 at 10:51 AM. Reason: 22,073v

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