David Galula (1919–1967)

The subtitle of David Galula's Counterinsurgency Warfare, Theory and Practice, says it all. This is a book written by a soldier for soldiers. Galula was a French army officer who spent time on both sides of the insurgency fight.

It should be stated up front that this book deals with just one type of insurgency: revolutionary war. Revolutionary war is the use of military force by a non-governmental movement to overthrow a state's legally constituted government with the aim of becoming the government over the entirety of the state's territory. Galula's primary source of information on this type of war comes from the Communist takeover of China under Mao Zedong. While the tactics used against a revolutionary movement will be somewhat different than those used against a separatist movement or a terrorist group, the overarching strategy will be the same regardless of the nature of the insurgency.

What is that overarching strategy? The people.

It seems like common wisdom by now to say that counterinsurgency warfare is about protecting the people from the insurgents, but given how often our political and military leaders seem to forget this hard-won information (with the dire consequences that inevitably follow), it cannot be said enough.

Galula dedicates the second part of Counterinsurgency Warfare to explaining the ways in which a counterinsurgent can defeat his opponent. Because Galula focuses on only one type of insurgency the specifics of his recommendations are not going to be transferable to every counterinsurgency, but the spirit of his plan certainly is.… (more)