Jungle warfare can take place in two situations, counterinsurgency operations or where regular armies are obliged to fight an unconventional war in a forest environment for long. This book has been written to address the requirements of both. In the Indian context, jungle warfare is of great importance and consequence in anti-naxal operations and in counterinsurgency operations in the hilly forests of the north-east. Both problems have flummoxed us for nearly half a century. The nation could have fared better had the security forces been better trained in the science of jungle warfare.
Jungle warfare has hitherto received only anecdotal treatment with an eye on the sensational. That's how you get books which only highlight the exploits of individual soldiers, leaders or elite forces like the British SAS. They might be interesting stories but they do not, cannot deal with the science of jungle warfare. Stories also lead to the propagation of myths which nobody questions critically. Myths are anathema to science. It is necessary to learn the science because of foolish attitude of claiming to know without knowing always leads to miscalculations and more losses. Those in the American establishment, who refused to learn from the lessons of Vietnam, paid the price for it in Afghanistan in Vietnam they had to fall back on artillery and airpower to salvage the men on the ground in Afghanistan they fell back on the drones. But other armies or paramilitary forces such as ours, fighting in their own countries may not have the luxury of calling in the artillery and air support the moment the going got tough. That's why they must devise operations tactics techniques and procedures that are tailored for their specific needs and conditions. |
