PublishedCasemate, August 2018 |
ISBN9781612005744 |
FormatHardcover, 304 pages |
Dimensions22.8cm × 15.2cm |
Explores the early use of modern unconventional warfare by T. E. Lawrence behind the lines in North Africa and Arabia during World War I. Striking where the enemy is weakest and melting away into the darkness before he can react. Never confronting a stronger force directly, but willing to use audacity and surprise to confound and demoralize an opponent.
Operations driven by good intelligence, area knowledge, mobility, speed, firepower, and detailed planning executed by a few specialists with indigenous warriors - this is unconventional warfare. T. E. Lawrence was one of the earliest practitioners of modern unconventional warfare. His tactics and strategies were used by men like Mao and Giap in their wars of liberation. Both kept Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom close at hand. This book looks at the creation of the HEDGEHOG force, the formation of armored car sections and other units, and focuses on the Hejaz Operations Staff, the Allied officers and men who took Lawrence's idea and prosecuted it against the Ottoman Turkish army assisting Field Marshal Allenby to achieve victory in 1918. Stejskal concludes with an examination of how HEDGEHOG has influenced special operations and unconventional warfare, including Field Marshal Wavell, the Long Range Desert Group, David Stirling's SAS, and modern US and UK special forces. AUTHOR: James Stejskal is a military historian and conflict archaeologist who specializes in the research and investigation of irregular warfare. He is author of numerous articles and two books, including the highly praised Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army's Elite, 1956 1990 (Casemate 2016). His 35 years of special forces, special operations, and intelligence experience with the US Army and the CIA around the world, give him unparalleled insight into unconventional warfare. Most recently, he was a member of the Great Arab Revolt Project, an archaeological expedition that tracked and validated the experiences of T. E. Lawrence in the Hejaz. 16 pages of b/w photographs
