Wow its been a while since I last posted! I've spent much of break doing non-school related stuff and catching up with friends and family. Right before break I checked out a lot of books related to Oman, the UAE, the Arab Legion and British military involvement in the Middle East. I'll be honest, I haven't researched or read as much as I wanted. In fact I'm reading about book right now about the Moro war in the Philippines in an attempt to see how the US handled a Muslim insurgency over a hundred of years ago. I've also been doing some reading about the British in Sudan. Usually my interest in certain conflicts comes from seeing or shooting certain firearms. I have a great interest in the British Martini Henry rifles and early Enfield SMLE's since they have been used by a majority of Arab armies since the 19th century. The proliferation of those weapons aided fighters in many conflicts since the British left their old domains in the region.
Anyway, the book about the Moro war is interesting. It's really the first foreign conflict with a large drawn out insurgency. The conflict is what I call an intermediate conflict because it took place between two other conflicts that had doctrine bleed over. What I mean by this is that the US military doctrine first used in the Moro conflict was left over from the Indian Wars. However the military leaders soon found out that killing everyone really didn't work like it did in the Western US. Many famous US Army officers,such as General Pershing, cut their teeth in the Philippines and would use their experience to change Army doctrine in time for World War One. The Moro conflict also took place during a time when the US military was developing its technology. Obsolete rifles like the 1898 Krag would be replaced by the much more reliable and powerful 1903 Springfield while machine guns started to be more reliable and faster firing. Artillery increased in power and range while the US Navy grew as well. Although those two changes might seem small they can make a huge difference in battlefield tactics, especially in a place like the Philippines where the Navy, Army, and Marines worked hand in hand.
Pershing talking to tribal elders
http://www.morolandhistory.com/09.PG-Camp%20Vicars/camp_vicars_p4.htm
high casualties resulted in battles between sword wielding fighters and their rifle and machine gun armed enemies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moro_Rebellion
Pershing and other US army officers meet with Moro Elders
http://www.morolandhistory.com/09.PG-Camp%20Vicars/camp_vicars_p4.htm
I decided to read this book because situations where a colonial power dealt with an insurgency after asserting control over a territory happened previously with the British in Egypt and Sudan, not to mention the other conflicts in Africa like Boer War and the Zulu wars preceding it. I also wanted to gain some knowledge of how the US handled this insurgency and then look at how we have handled Iraq and Afghanistan. I know no two conflicts are alike and that the people, culture, and history of the places fought in is different but I want to focus on the attitudes of the military leaders and how it affected decision making. I believe the approach of leaders and their doctrines in these conflicts and use of the resources at hand are the major differences.
