How to Lose a Guerrilla War: Lessons Learned from German Anti-Partisan Tactics in Russia

Europa Books ^ | June 9, 2004 | Antonio Munoz

[2banana]

All,

If you have some time, this article and commentary is worth it. Mr. Antonio Munoz is a noted and prolific historian and book writer of units and battles of the Eastern Front of WWII. He is also the president of Europa Books. I have read many of his books and they are top notch and totally historical (ie - this is not a neo-nazi web site).

Anyways, Mr. Antonio Munoz wrote an article (bottom of the page at http://www.axiseuropa.com/about.php) that in a very round about way compares Nazi tactics of the Eastern Front to American policies in Iraq.

Take a look and take a look at the commentary he published by an US Army Captain at the end of his article.

A very good read.

[2banana]

Please Comment!

[backhoe]

Link:

http://www.axiseuropa.com/about.php

[genghis]

not earth shattering
22 short pages long

here is a better link

http://www.axiseuropa.com/articles/guerrillawar.pdf

[backhoe]

That URL can be copied and read online here:

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/access_simple_form.html

[marron]

I read it. It is good history. It is also not particularly applicable to Iraq, it describes precisely what we are not doing, as Mark Wesphal's remarks at the end make clear.

The Nazis had much in common, as Wesphal says, with the very people we are fighting. The first writer talks about "perception", but perceptions are a function of the fact that we are not handling the propaganda well. The reality, though, we are handling very well. Over time, if you don't lose your courage and your focus, reality beats propaganda.

Wesphal has it right. Even a Taliban would rather fall into the hands of an American soldier than a Taliban prison. Any day. A Baathist stands a better chance by far in an American jail than in a Baathist one. Nothing in the article describes what we are doing at all, it is just a ham-handed way of besmirching our efforts by a false association.