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This web page provides resources for those who are interested in the
topic of unconventional warfare. It includes definitions,
references, publications, news and magazine articles, and books on unconventional warfare.
Definition of Unconventional Warfare
(UW)
There are many definitions of unconventional warfare.
Military professionals will sometimes shorten the phrase to UW.
Depending on which country and type of institution you represent the term
means different things. Even within the U.S. Department of Defense
there are several definitions of UW - it depends which organization is
providing the definition and the time period in history when the
definition was provided.
The United States Special
Operations Command (USSOCOM) defines
unconventional warfare as:
"Activities conducted to enable a resistance movement or
insurgency to coerce, disrupt or overthrow an occupying power or
government by operating through or with an underground, auxiliary and
guerrilla force in a denied area"
For an in-depth discussion of the definition of
unconventional warfare see
"What is the Scope of UW?" by the blog "On Resistances,
Revolutions, and Insurgencies.
What
is Unconventional Warfare?
Unconventional warfare is one of the
five primary missions of U.S. Army Special Forces. The other
four are counterterrorism, direct action, foreign internal defense, and
special reconnaissance.
For an comprehensive discussion of
unconventional warfare view several articles about unconventional warfare in the Winter 2001 edition of
Special Warfare Magazine (Vol. 14, No. 1). Available for
viewing or download in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) by clicking
here, it is 1.24 MBs in size.
Sources of Information about Unconventional Warfare
Unconventional Warfare. By WikipediaA, the free encyclopedia.
Unconventional Warfare Study Center. A resource center for
military personnel, researchers, and academics providing documents on UW
to download or read online. Scribd.com.
Publications and References about Unconventional Warfare
Human Factors Considerations of Undergrounds in
Insurgencies. DA Pamplet No. 550-104. By Molnar, Andrew R.
Washington, DC: GPO, 1966. Considered a prime source when discussing
guerrilla and resistance movements. Read discussions about this book
on the Small Wars Journal blog (click
here). Download the document (3.6mb) from the Combined Arms
Research Digital Library (click
here). Find out more or buy from Amazon.com by clicking here Human Factors Considerations of Undergrounds in Insurgencies
.
Undergrounds in Insurgent, Revolutionary, and
Resistance Warfare. By Andrew R. Molnar. Washington, DC: Special
Operations Research Office, American University Press, 1963. Find
out more or buy from Amazon.com by clicking here Undergrounds in Insurgent, Revolutionary, and Resistance Warfare
.
Blogs
about Unconventional Warfare
On
Resistances, Revolutions, and Insurgencies. A blog to exchange
ideas and a repository of information.
Books about
Unconventional Warfare
Guerrilla. By Charles W. Thayer. New York:
Signet, 1965. This book is considered one of the primers for those
who study guerrilla warfare. Find out more or buy from Amazon.com by clicking here Guerrilla
.
Total Resistance. By Major H. von Dach. Paladin Press,
1992. The official Swiss manual for resistance to enemy occupation by
employing stay-behind guerrilla warfare was written by a Swiss army
officer. Find out more or buy from Amazon.com by clicking here Total Resistance
.
Modern Irregular Warfare: In Defense Policy and as a Military
Phenomenon. By Friedrich August Heydte. New York, NY: New
Benjamin Franklin House, 1986. Read about the author here -
Freidrich Heydte (Wikipedia). Find out more or buy from Amazon.com by clicking here Modern
Irregular Warfare
.
Afghanistan and the Troubled Future of Unconventional Warfare. By Hy
S. Rothstein. US Naval Institute Press, 2006. The author
examines the current state of Special Operations forces and calls for the
establishment of a new service or unconventional warfare command. In
effect, his plan would separate special operations forces that conduct
direct action and unconventional warfare. Find out more or buy from Amazon.com by clicking here Afghanistan And the Troubled Future of Unconventional Warfare
. Read a
review of the book in Air & Space Power Journal (Fall 2007).
Instruments of Statecraft: U.S. Guerilla Warfare, Counterinsurgency,
and Counterterrorism, 1940-1990. By Michael McClintock.
Random House, 1992. See
website
with book in its entirety or purchase from Amazon.com by clicking here Instruments of Statecraft
.
Magazine and Newspaper Articles about Unconventional Warfare
March 24, 2008.
"Unconventional Warfare in the 21st Century: US Surrogates, Terrorists and
Narcotrafficers". Signs of the Times. (a definite
left-wing perspective).
December 2, 2008.
"Normalizing unconventional warfare". ISN.
November 12, 2008.
"Army Rethinks Unconventional Warfare". Secrecy News.
January 15, 2008.
"Conventional vs. Unconventional Warfare". ChronWatch.
November 2007.
"Support
grows for standing up an unconventional warfare command". Armed
Forces Journal.
August 2007.
"Special Operators Criticized for Snubbing Unconventional Approaches".
National Defense.
May 2007.
"UW
Support to Irregular Warfare and the Global War on Terrorism".
Special Warfare Magazine, pg 12. (Adobe Acrobat pdf file).
April 11, 2004.
"Afghan duty offers ultimate in unconventional warfare". USA
Today.
July 1962.
"Unconventional Warfare in Communist Strategy". Foreign Affairs.
January 1962.
"Unconventional Warfare". Foreign Affairs.
Undated.
"Unconventional Warfare during the Civil War - John S. Mosby's campaign
for the Shenandoah". MilitaryHistoryOnline.
Undated.
"Guerrilla Warfare, Subversion, Espionage And The USMC".
Veterans of Special Forces.
Undated.
"The MARSOC - Should the Leopard Change His Spots?". Veterans of
Special Forces.
