![]() ![]() ![]() In 1755 the tensions between England and France escalated and Robert Rogers recruited 50 frontiersmen to the British cause, building the foundation for what would officially become Rogers’ Rangers when England declared war in 1756. The dense foliage and mountainous terrain of New England and Canada were not conducive to this type of warfare and the French and the natives who rallied under their flag gained a foothold in the New World. Due to the protracted process of reloading and the close proximity of the engagements that often ended in savage bayonet charges, casualties could be astronomically high. The prevailing tactics practiced by the British at the time involved lining up rows of men, 2–3 lines deep, and advancing within 100 meters to unleash a hail of concentrated lead from large caliber smoothbore (read: inaccurate) muskets. Army Rangers of today derive both their name and their role on the battlefield from Major Robert Rogers’ Rangers who, in the time that they were active (1755–63) relentlessly harassed and demoralized the enemy during the French and Indian War. These are Rogers’ Rangers of the French and Indian War, Francis “The Swamp Fox” Marion’s Militia and Daniel Morgan’s Sharpshooters. The godfathers of unconventional American warfare are many, but three particular-and peculiar-units in early American history, along with the men that led them, helped define the face of irregular warfare as we see it today. military typically shies away from such unconventional tactics, guerrilla warfare is alive and well within the special operations community. The history of United States of America is interwoven with guerrilla actions, from the “shot heard around the world” at Lexington, to the lessons hard learned in the sweltering jungles of Southeast Asia, to Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (SF-ODA) 555, the 12-man team responsible for creating the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.Īlthough the conventional U.S. While guerrillas have often been characterized as dishonorable, cowardly and contemptuous, the efficiency effectiveness of such tactics cannot be denied. Subjected to lighting fast hit-and-run raids, ambushed supply lines, officers picked off by snipers and an enemy that blends in with the civilian populous, larger forces have succumbed to small mobile units of irregulars (often comprised of civilians) time and again. From the Special Forces of today back to the legendary Sun Tzu of ancient China, guerrilla warfare has been the great equalizer of armed conflict. ![]() Throughout history, the guerrilla fighter and the war that he wages have been surrounded by a certain measure of fascination, disdain and even romance. By: Daniel Kelly From the October, 2013 issue of SOF ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |