Page 140 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Spring 2015

Insurgents, Raiders, and Bandits:

How Masters of Irregular Warfare Have Shaped Our World

Arquilla, John. Insurgents, Raiders, and Bandits: How Masters of Irregular Warfare
Have Shaped Our World. Chicago, IL: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher: 2011. Hardcover: 336 pages.
ISBN­10: 1566638321/ISBN­13: 978­1566638326.

Review by COL (Ret) Warner “Rocky” D. Farr, MD, MPH

Dr John Arquilla is the professor of defense analysis mobilized insurgents to put his stamp on a united, inde­
at the Naval Postgraduate School and an internation­ pendent Italy. Vo Nguyen Giap, a schoolteacher turned
ally recognized military historian, defense analyst, and general, excelled at using adversary strengths against
security policy consultant. Foreign them. Indian Phoolan Devi, the only woman on Arquil­
Policy Magazine lists him as “one la’s list, was a social bandit and accomplished guerrilla
of the top 100 thinkers.” He blends who for years eluded India’s soldiers and police. What
these considerable skills together in do all these combat commanders have in common? Re­
this not only well­researched but also silience under adversity, flexible approach, and ruthless
well­written treatment of a subject execution. The author points out that irregular war has
of interest to us all: “the great cap­ a single law: win. He concludes that irregular leaders
tains of irregular warfare.” These 18 can be defeated, but such a victory’s costs are invariably
case studies show that such masters high.
of guerrilla warfare share common traits, which include
adaptive personalities, steadfastness under adversity, Other notables covered in this book who may be unfa­
and the effective use of “modern” means of warfare miliar to you include Francisco Espoz y Mina (lead Span­
suitable for small formations, such as swarming and de­ ish guerrillas against Napoleon), Denis Davydov (lead
centralized command. Many names among the 18 may Russian guerrillas against Napoleon), Abd el­Kader
be unfamiliar to you. (lead Algerian guerrillas against Charles X of France),
Christiaan de Wet (Afrikaner Boer who fought against
He covers Special Operations Forces (SOF) practitio­ the British), Charles Lockwood (lead American subma­
ners varying from behind­the­lines fighters like Nathan rine warfare against Japan), and Frank Kitson (British
Bedford Forrest, Orde Wingate, and T. E. Lawrence to counterinsurgency expert who fought against the Mau
full­scale heroes of national liberation movements like Mau, in the Malaya insurrection, and in Northern Ire­
Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz (Tito) and Vietnam’s Vo Nguyen land). I cannot finish this review without mentioning my
Giap. These unconventional warriors demonstrate re­ personal favorite among the 18: the German Paul von
peatedly how outgunned and outnumbered forces can Lettow­Vorbeck who danced the British all over south­
still prevail against overpowering conventional enemies. east Africa in World War I and was the inspiration for
His examples set insurgents and irregular warfare within the movie “The African Queen.”
a true historical context, and he then lets his narrative
unfold from hero to hero. “Insurgents, Raiders, and Bandits” is a great overview
of irregular warfare for the student, academic, and mili­
Offering 18 convincing examples, like George Crook, tary reader. It well illustrates the shared common char­
who took on powerful insurgent Native American lead­ acteristics of all: an acute appreciation for strategy and
ers, he covers a wide historical range. Dr Arquilla’s policy, the use of adaptive leadership, and continuing
battles take place in locations on the wilderness fron­ tactical innovation. The author adds to his academic
tier of the French and Indian War (Robert Rogers) to strengths enjoyableness in a book that reads less like
today’s contemporary Chechnya (Aslan Maskhadov). history and more like an SOF adventure story. If you are
Nathanael Greene combined conventional and irregu­ intellectually engaged with the problems of SOF irregu­
lar methods to frustrate a superior­sized British enemy lar warfare in the past, present, or future, you should
during the American Revolution. Giuseppe Garibaldi read this book.

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