The first-ever war in the world’s history occurred in 2700 BCE; it was between Elam and Sumer in Mesopotamia. Since then, there have been numerous conflicts worldwide, with World War I being the first biggest war. The First World War began in 1914 and ended in 1918; it was one of the greatest battles. Numerous conflicts followed World War, including the Second World War and Cold War. Research shows that the military started many before the world war. According to Gentile et al. (2020), the first army was founded in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress. Congress formed the army to protect the colony’s freedom before it turned into a tool for war. In past decades, people associate the military with conflict because they participate in battles. The military force participates in several war events to protect their people and secure nation boundaries. However, there are army historical events where the military engages in irregular warfare. According to the United States join doctrine, irregular warfare refers to “a violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations” (Ordóñez, 2017). This paper will investigate various army historical events that involve irregular warfare. The article will further discuss how irregularly the war affected the organizational morale and readiness, and some strategies that sergeant major can address these factors.
Since World War I in 1914, several war cases have occurred in different parts of the world, including internal conflicts within a country. There are instances where the army engages in irregular warfare, either intentionally or unintentionally. Regardless of military intentions, irregular warfare affects the operations and disorient their plans.
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The United States military army center hosted the sixteenth army historians’ conference in August 2007. Various academicians from various universities and colleges across the nation and the army historians attended the conference. The meeting attended by 197 people provided personal and professional development platforms among Army historians ( Smith et al., 2019). The conference was among the most successful meetings ever held because of the high attendance and meeting outcome. Besides addressing the concerns raised by leaders, particularly concerning the current service needs, the 2007 conference also discussed the United States’ army’s involvement in irregular warfare; this topic had raised serious concerns since the army’s foundation in 1775 to 2007. During the meeting, the military presented several publications regarding the past army historical events involving warfare; the paper consisted of American non-American counterinsurgency operations concerning irregular warfare.
According to Cherney and Murphy (2016), the Islamic prophet Muhammad is one Muslim leader. They employed various methods and tactics outside the existing cultural definition of warfare. Muhammad showed that war is not about numbers; a small group unified group can easily over a bigger sophisticated group with no strictly followed unifying principles. The Military group must always have a common unifying ideology to be able to encounter their rivals. Military leadership plays a critical role in ensuring that the unit remains united and focused on upcoming uphill tasks. Based on the author’s analysis, it was challenging to know Muhammad’s movement in some of his operations; the rival group could not realize the danger he posed to their team until it was too late to change anything. Even though the author recognizes some of the prophet Muhammad’s methods and tactics, he disagreed with his ruthless use of mass executions and assassinations. He believed that such moves might have sanctioned a different belief among his militants, especially their perception of human life expandability. According to the author’s description, Muhammad participated in some irregular warfare. Most of his militants could not understand how he operated because, at some point, he engaged in irregular warfare, which had no basis. In some of his operations, Muhammad caught his militant by surprise, thus giving them no room for preparation and affecting their morale in the process. But with the kind of loyalty that his militant had, most of his operations ended up successfully despite being regarded as irregular warfare.
Another army historical event involving irregular warfare was the case of British operation in the southern colony. During the American Revolution war, the British government conducted several functions in the south of settlements, including irregular warfare. For instance, the phase IV British operation in 1780 was considered irregular warfare. Major Steven Rauch, the United States Army Signal Branch, led the process ( Chase-Levenson, 2020). The 1781 Virginia campaign conducted by the British Army General Cornwallis threatened the Virginia revolution, thus illuminating the British army’s efforts to return the three former colonies’ loyalty to the crown. The phase IV British operation focused on Virginia and South Carolina, and it occurred when the British conventional forces were considered indiscernible. Major Rauch, who led the process, regarded the operation as ineffective because they did not consider the impact of anti-British local patriot rule between 1776 and 1780. Major Rauch believed that the anti-British administration had transformed the public by ousting and outing the most loyal and vocal population and concerting them to accept patriotic dominance. The intelligence team failed to recognize the level of divided loyalties among the southern people. The British army initiated civil war by permitting loyalists’ return to revenge instead of seeking justice; they harshly treated their rebels. Due to the nature and the intensity of the civil war, the British army could not meet phase IV operation planning and objective. The people blamed British operation failure on their involvement in irregular warfare.
Another remarkable army event was the Canadian Army involvement in the South African Anglo-Boer, which occurred between 1899 and 1901. According to Wagner (2018), Canadians’ participation in the British war in South Africa gives insight into some of the counterinsurgent operations ever recorded in the world’s history. Under the direction of the British Army, the Canadians fought well. However, the British army associated the fight with replacements shortages and wastages, which significantly reduced their abilities. The nature of the war affected the readiness of the military team and their focus on the action. The Canadian government withdrew its forces by 1901. Jones (2017) argues that the British leaders only realize the existence of insurgent threat after completing conventional operations; this slowed their reaction to raids and actions carried out by Boer. Due to the inadequate response, the insurgent continued with their efforts and even gained further confidence in the army. In response, the British forced imposed more repressive and brutal pressure on the civilians. In the end, thousands of Boer populations died in operation. It was unfortunate that the war claimed thousands of innocent lives, yet it was irregular warfare.
Another historical army event is the military war involving Italy and Ethiopia. The war famously referred to as an Italian failure in Ethiopia, took place between 1936 and 1940, and the Italians initiated its urge to conquer the Ethiopians ( Perugini and Gordon, 2019). Sources revealed that after Italian soldiers had captured the country’s capital and other parts better, operation leadership assumed that the war is over because they did not carry out an initial Phase IV planning. According to Benito Mussolini, one of the senior operation leaders, Italians already had control over Ethiopia and could directly rule the nation without necessarily seeking the natives’ support. The decision separated the native elites because some were in support while others were not. The occupiers were infuriated by the attempted murder of the Italian Viceroy; they decided to isolate some of the Ethiopian elites. The Italians also imposed stricter racial disparity policies between the conquered and the conquerors. After the Italian Viceroy attempted murder in 1937, the Italian government selected another Viceroy called Duke of Aosta by the end of the year. Unfortunately, before the duke could make much progress, the conquest was reversed by World War II. The failure shows the negative impact of engaging in irregular warfare and the importance of conducting an accurate and thoughtful phase IV planning.
References
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