Small Wars: Their Principles and Practice

Rating:
Summary: Wealth of detail
Review: Colonel Callwell's book is a "must" for any student of military history and also practicing members of the armed forces. The wealth of detail and the numerous references to actual events and the ability to clearly convey the concept of how to manage such operations. I return to this volume constantly.

Rating:
Summary: Wealth of detail
Review: Colonel Callwell's book is a "must" for any student of military history and also practicing members of the armed forces. The wealth of detail and the numerous references to actual events and the ability to clearly convey the concept of how to manage such operations. I return to this volume constantly.

Rating:
Summary: A long book enlivened by a few interesting examples
Review: I bought this book because it appeared to fill in the void of my knowledge on colonial wars. The author has clearly stated that all of his examples used to illustrate his principles will be that of properly formed armies versus irregular native troops (the Boers are an exception). Thus, the American War of Independence is excluded but surprisingly, several examples from the European Vendee rebellion are also included. The author's style is to state principles, followed by a litany of examples to illustrate his point. He cites many unknown engagements as examples but many of these examples lack firm details. A textual description apparently suffices as examples. The same examples could be used to illustrate other points. I found this approach rather boring and it began to read like a manual to me. On the plus side, there were some examples with more details given, including a sketch map which livened the proceedings somewhat. Douglas Porch provides a neat introduction into the background of Col Callwell, including the fact that he had numerous entries selected for the Encyc. Brittanica. Except for the one on Guerrilla warfare for which the editors selected TE Lawrence. I can see why - Callwell wrote from the perspective of the formed troops - Lawrence wrote from that of the guerrillas.

Rating:
Summary: Still a classic
Review: More than a century later, it is still a classic detailed study of irregular warfare. It is interesting and instructive with insights into modern warfare years ahead of the 4th generation warfare proving grounds of the 20th and 21st century. For the case study approach to real conflicts, this book is worth the price and worth keeping to re-read on later occasions.

Rating:
Summary: For Armchair Kitcheners
Review: Written early in the 20th Century to teach British officers how to wage war against non-European armies in Asia and Africa, "Small Wars" retains its fascination at century's end. In fact, many of its lessons could well be applied to conflicts today.

The author served in the Second Afghan and both Boer Wars, was an assiduous student of warfare around the globe and retired as a Major General after heading the British Army's Intelligence division during the Great War. The breadth of his knowledge is shown by the range of examples that illustrate the principles laid down in his book. The chapter on "Feints", for instance, draws on actions from the Zulu Wars, the Indian Mutiny, the 1821 Wallachian insurrection against the Ottoman Empire, the Second Afghan War, the Kaffir War of 1878, the French occupation of Algeria, the British expedition against Abyssinia in 1868, the siege of Khartoum, the suppression of Riel's revolt in Canada, the war against the Mahdi and a couple of Indian campaigns. Elsewhere, we are presented with the Russians in Central Asia, the French in Tonkin, Dahomey and Madagascar, the U.S. cavalry against the Indians of the Great Plains, the British and French in China, and many more now-obscure imbroglios.

The first several chapters lay down broad strategic principles, most of them flowing from the key insight that regular armies enjoy great tactical advantages over forces inferior in organization, arms, training and discipline but suffer equally great strategic handicaps. In a "small war", therefore, the more "advanced" power can easily lose, due to ignorance of the enemy, failure to formulate clear objectives or, worst of all, the pursuit of military objectives that do not contribute to the conflict's political goal. Erroneous strategy, Callwell warns again and again, leads to desultory, defensive war that exhausts the regulars' resources while merely exasperating rather than subduing their enemy. (The reader may draw his own contemporary parallels.)

After the strategic foundation come discussions of operations and tactics from multiple perspectives: the character of the action (attack, defense, pursuit, retreat, feint, etc.), the terrain on which it is fought, and the types of troops that fight it (including such exotica as camel corps and the not-yet-dominant machine gun). The commander who mastered Callwell's course was prepared to force a mountain pass, assault a Boer laager or Sudanese zeriba, maneuver through a jungle or carry out any of the other varied tasks that circumstances might demand.

Aside from the inherent interest of its variegated subject matter and its appeal to wargamers, "Small Wars" will prove illuminating to the reader who wishes to understand more fully what happened in colonial warfare and how and why European forces won and lost. It is one of those rare works that makes concrete the challenges and achievements of a bygone era.

Rating:
Summary: A long book enlivened by a few interesting examples
Review: Written early in the 20th Century to teach British officers how to wage war against non-European armies in Asia and Africa, "Small Wars" retains its fascination at century's end. In fact, many of its lessons could well be applied to conflicts today.

The author served in the Second Afghan and both Boer Wars, was an assiduous student of warfare around the globe and retired as a Major General after heading the British Army's Intelligence division during the Great War. The breadth of his knowledge is shown by the range of examples that illustrate the principles laid down in his book. The chapter on "Feints", for instance, draws on actions from the Zulu Wars, the Indian Mutiny, the 1821 Wallachian insurrection against the Ottoman Empire, the Second Afghan War, the Kaffir War of 1878, the French occupation of Algeria, the British expedition against Abyssinia in 1868, the siege of Khartoum, the suppression of Riel's revolt in Canada, the war against the Mahdi and a couple of Indian campaigns. Elsewhere, we are presented with the Russians in Central Asia, the French in Tonkin, Dahomey and Madagascar, the U.S. cavalry against the Indians of the Great Plains, the British and French in China, and many more now-obscure imbroglios.

The first several chapters lay down broad strategic principles, most of them flowing from the key insight that regular armies enjoy great tactical advantages over forces inferior in organization, arms, training and discipline but suffer equally great strategic handicaps. In a "small war", therefore, the more "advanced" power can easily lose, due to ignorance of the enemy, failure to formulate clear objectives or, worst of all, the pursuit of military objectives that do not contribute to the conflict's political goal. Erroneous strategy, Callwell warns again and again, leads to desultory, defensive war that exhausts the regulars' resources while merely exasperating rather than subduing their enemy. (The reader may draw his own contemporary parallels.)

After the strategic foundation come discussions of operations and tactics from multiple perspectives: the character of the action (attack, defense, pursuit, retreat, feint, etc.), the terrain on which it is fought, and the types of troops that fight it (including such exotica as camel corps and the not-yet-dominant machine gun). The commander who mastered Callwell's course was prepared to force a mountain pass, assault a Boer laager or Sudanese zeriba, maneuver through a jungle or carry out any of the other varied tasks that circumstances might demand.

Aside from the inherent interest of its variegated subject matter and its appeal to wargamers, "Small Wars" will prove illuminating to the reader who wishes to understand more fully what happened in colonial warfare and how and why European forces won and lost. It is one of those rare works that makes concrete the challenges and achievements of a bygone era.