Operations Against Irregular Forces; FM 31-15 Department of the Army Field Manual
Washington, DC: Department of the Army, Headquarters, 1961. Presumed First printing thus. Wraps. 48 pages. Wraps. Figures. Some discoloration to edges of covers. Some writing on front cover. This manual supersedes FM 31-15, 7 January 1953, including C 1, 5 November 1954. This manual provides guidance to the commanders and staffs of combined arms forces which have a primary mission of eliminating irregular forces. The text discusses the nature of irregular forces comprised of organized guerrilla units and underground elements, and their supports; and the organization, training, tactics, techniques, and procedures to be employed by a combined arms force, normally in conjunction with civil agencies, do destroy large, well-organized irregular forces in active or cold war situations. These operations may be required in situations wherein an irregular force either constitutes the only enemy, or threatens rear areas of regular military forces which are conducting conventional operations. The material contained herein is applicable to both nuclear and nonnuclear warfare. Irregular military is any non-standard military component that is distinct from a country's national armed forces. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used. An irregular military organization is one which is not part of the regular army organization. Without standard military unit organization, various more general names are often used; such organizations may be called a troop, group, unit, column, band, or force. Irregulars are soldiers or warriors that are members of these organizations, or are members of special military units that employ irregular military tactics. This also applies to irregular infantry and irregular cavalry units. Irregular warfare is warfare employing the tactics commonly used by irregular military organizations. This involves avoiding large-scale combat, and focusing on small, stealthy, hit-and-run engagements. This updated field manual was issued at a time when the United States involvement in the Vietnam War was increasing. Modern conflicts in post-invasion Iraq, the renewed Taliban insurgency in the 2001 war in Afghanistan, the Darfur conflict, the rebellion in the North of Uganda by the Lord's Resistance Army, and the Second Chechen War are fought almost entirely by irregular forces on one or both sides. The CIA's Special Activities Division (SAD) is the premiere United States unit for creating or combating irregular military forces. SAD paramilitary officers created and led successful units from the Hmong tribe during the Laotian Civil War in the 1960s and 1970s. They also organized and led the Mujaheddin as an irregular force against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s, as well as the Northern Alliance as an irregular insurgency force against the Taliban with US Army Special Forces during the war in Afghanistan in 2001 and organized and led the Kurdish Peshmerga with US Army Special Forces as an irregular counter-insurgency force against the Kurdish Sunni Islamist group Ansar al-Islam at the Iraq-Iran border and as an irregular force against Saddam Hussein during the war in Iraq in 2003.
Irregular civilian volunteers also played a large role during the battle of Kyiv during the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Condition: good.
Keywords: Guerrillas, Intelligence, Counterintelligence, Insurgency, Civic Action, Police Operations, Propaganda, Combat Operations, Electronic Countermeasures, Military Training
[Book #8180]
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