The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa: With E. D. Swinton's "The Defence of Duffer's Drift"

by Michael L. Burgoyne, Albert J. Marckwardt, John A. Nagl (Foreword)

Following the invasion of Iraq in 2003 the U.S. military found itself in a battle with a lethal and adaptive insurgency, where the divisions between enemy and ally were ambiguous at best, and working with the local population was essential for day-to-day survival. From the lessons they learned during multiple tours of duty in Iraq, two American veterans have penned The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa, an instructional parable of counterinsurgency that addresses the myriad of difficulties associated with war in the postmodern era.

In this tactical primer based on the military classic The Defence of Duffer’s Drift, a young officer deployed for the first time in Iraq receives ground-level lessons about urban combat, communications technology, and high-powered weaponry in an environment where policy meets reality. Over the course of six dreams, the inexperienced soldier fights the same battle again and again, learning each time—the hard way—which false assumptions and misconceptions he needs to discard in order to help his men avoid being killed or captured. As the protagonist struggles with his missions and grapples with the consequences of his mistakes, he develops a keen understanding of counterinsurgency fundamentals and the potential pitfalls of working with the native population.

Accompanied here by the original novella that inspired it, The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa offers an invaluable resource for cadets and junior military leaders seeking to master counterinsurgency warfare—as well as general readers seeking a deeper understanding of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just as its predecessor has been a hallmark of military instruction, The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa will draw the road map for counterinsurgency in the postmodern world.

 

Visit a website for the book here: www.defenseofJAD.com

 

 

Genres: Military Fiction, History, Nonfiction

178 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good piece of work - every American, military or civilian, who goes to represent the U.S. in Iraq (or any other developing country) should read this two or three times before going - both the first section, the new story on which the title of the book is based, and the second half, the reprint of the original book set in the Boer War at the turn of the 20th century, deserve to be used as textbooks.

For readers who aren't familiar with 'The Defense of Duffer's Drift', or its first sequel, 'The Defense of Hill 781', those stories used a plot device similar to the film 'Groundhog Day' to teach fundamental lessons about how one should successfully carry out military assignments, by having a lead character who goes through the same situation over and over, learning new lessons and doing a somewhat better job each time, until he finally gets it right. As noted above, 'Duffer's Drift' is set in South Africa at the end of the 19th century. 'Hill 781' is set in the 1980s at the U.S. Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, a huge desert training facility developed to train mechanized units to fight enemies who were using Soviet equipment and tactics.

This book does the same for a U.S. Army lieutenant leading a platoon given the task of pacifying a village in modern-day Iraq - he learns both how to keep his soldiers and himself alive, and equally important, how to do more good than harm in the village where his platoon is based (following General David Petraeus' guidance that the goal is to end each day with fewer enemies than one had when it began) and to prepare the Iraqi soldiers and police officers who will have to maintain the peace when the Americans inevitably leave.

As a retired Marine officer, I can say absolutely that if I were still on active duty, I would be giving every Marine under my command a copy of this book, teaching a series of classes based on its contents, and testing their retention and comprehension of its lessons. The first two iterations, 'Duffer's Drift' and 'Hill 781', are already on the professional reading list published for all Marines by the Commandant of the Marine Corps. I hope and trust that this third version will soon be added.

[Jur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on defense if Duffers Drift, but I had only time to read the first half, which is a pretty good introduction to urban combat in a potentially hostile environment. The story is built around six dreams of him setting up a base inside an Iraqi village during the 2003-2010 war. The author starts again fresh every time, avoiding previous mistakes (but making new ones). The learning process opens new layers of understanding every time.

The first dream mostly deals with setting up sufficient close security, then it moves on to patrolling the area and dealing with the local population. Dealing with the population involves getting rapport with the population, deescalating conflicts and then strengthening ties to build co-operation and finally, to rebuild permanent social and administrative structures to make sure the insurgents don't come back.

Not sure how useful it is to fully prepared troops going into the line (one hopes they get this during mission training) but should be useful for lower ranking leaders as a first start. And very useful to the arm chair generals community.

[Sophie Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe many of the “what not to do” aspects of counter-insurgency just seemed obvious to me because I’ve only ever lived in an Iraq War World.

[Ben Hammerslag]

I don't want to leave a star rating here, because this book wasn't even remotely aimed at me. But I do want to review it, for other curious readers.

I'd previously read "The Defense of Duffer's Drift", which is included in this volume. I found "Drift" both interesting and easy to follow, as the tactics it espouses are easy to follow and understand. Take the high ground, but don't take it if it destroys your visibility. That sort of thing. A fun and easy way to understand turn of the century infantry tactics at a very basic level.

"Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa" is (obviously) tackling a different set of problems, and so produces a different book. "Doreaa" has to cover things like the importance of understanding local customs, or the importance of handing control over to others before leaving an area.

"Doreaa" certainly gives one a good impression of the issues that are faced (were faced?) by US troops in Iraq/Afghanistan. But I found it much less "fun" to read that I did "Drift". Seeing as the book was explicitly targeted to young military officers as a teaching tool, I shouldn't complain.

[Scott Geddes · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting modernization of "The Defense of Duffer's Drift". The old lessons are applied to a new battlefield in Iraq. While the battlefield and weapons may change one can always learn from the past. I worked with the Army as an Air Force advisor. We were tasked to mobilize and go to Battle on short notice. While we practiced the plan I am sure we would have had some growing pains along the way. It would have been nice to have a few dreams and come up with the perfect plan and execution. As the saying goes... No plan survives first contact.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting AAR format - taken from 'The Defense of Duffer's Drift' format, covering the Boer War. This time, applied to a platoon in Iraq.

Not the best fit in terms of tactics and lessons towards a larger victory. However, a great attempt at teaching tactical lessons in a practical manner. Good addition to any LPD program.

[Erik Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Modern version of Duffer's Drift. Modeled after the dream sequence and focused on lessons learned for a new lieutenant deploying to OIF/OEF.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dispatches from the American Empire on our benificence to colonial subjects.

[Dylan Gurl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great modern version of “The Defense of Duffer’s Drift,” highlighting COIN strategy and tactics applicable at the company and platoon level in the context of the Middle East.

[Jackson Murray]

(Read for PHIL5423 Ethics of Peace and War)
*Did not read "Defense of Duffer's Drift"

[Timons Esaias · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a re-read for me, because I chose to teach this in my Literature of Warfare class. I really wanted to teach The Defence of Duffer's Drift, which is appended in this edition, as an example of didactic warfare Literature. But it's kinda perfect that the book led to a modern version, for exactly the same purpose.

Here's my review from my first reading, back in 2009:

My daily quota of military science reading grinds on, and the latest victim is The Defense of Jisr Al-Doreaa, by Michael L. Burgoyne & Albert J. Marckwardt. This is an update of a minor military classic, The Defense of Duffer's Drift, by E. D. Swinton. I was, in fact, trying to buy a copy of the Swinton, when this new version came to my attention. Swinton's work is included in an appendix to Jisr Al-Doreaa, and you can't beat two for the price of one.
I should explain the old book first. There are, and have been for a long time, lots of books about military tactics at the army level. But there have always been few, if any, works that discuss how a junior officer ought to handle a small unit in battle. This is particularly true when the unit is company-sized or smaller.
After his experience in the Boer War, Captain Swinton (he later rose to Major General) composed a rather simple novella, which takes his character through a succession of dreams centered around a single military problem. The premise is that he couldn't remember what happened in each dream, but he did remember the lessons he learned. The result is a series of six different efforts at wargaming a simple scenario of defending a river crossing against superior forces. Each of the first five dreams is a failed attempt, and the sixth and final dream offers a far more successful outcome.
I can see why this became a classic, and has been studied by generations of junior officers. It takes you repeatedly through the proper procedures for understanding a tactical situation; it pits you against overwhelming odds (about 10-1, and the bad guys have artillery and heavy machine guns, and you don't); and it ends with an out-of-the-box solution.
It also doesn't surprise me that two veterans of our recent deployments to Iraq decided to revive this old chestnut, and take a new officer through six dreams set at a river crossing in Iraq; a different problem, in a different war, with different solutions, but with the same ultimate point: teaching you how to see the military problem, and exposing some bad ideas before one tries them out in the real world.
I'm going to be suggesting that Swinton's work ought to be on the reading list of a writer who wants to understand the nature of small unit tactics; and when I suggest it I'll be recommending this updated edition.

[Snowfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A punchy, short, yet informative book. Also implicitly a critique / update of the original Defence of Duffer's Drift, which recommended extremely harsh measures on civilians - I like how this book shows that going too harsh on the civilians is not going to win you "hearts and minds." Its situation also properly gives the initiative to the insurgent force - whatever weakness there is in the superior force is exactly what the insurgents will hit, so it's important not just to defend against one possibility. Definitely recommended.

The one asterisk I will give is that the reprint of "The Defence of Duffer's Drift" is a sanitized edition, which edits embarrassing comments about how "lazy black men" should totally be forced into doing drudge work rather than white Christian backs. (Especially ironic since I believe the blacks of Africa were already Christian by 1902 anyway.) If I'd been publishing it, I'd have left it in the offensive 1906 phrasing, and then stuck a big footnote about racial attitudes of the period and the origin of "kaffir" (definitely NOT a "fierce tribe of South Africa") and so on to talk about it, rather than attempting to pretend it wasn't there. But it's not THAT big a deal.

[Nadir · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Iraq-war era version of the classic "Defense of Duffer's Drift." It includes the full text of Duffer's Drift for those interested in checking out that bit of British tactical training history (which is widely used in the training of US Army & Marine Corps officers and NCO's as well).

I found the approach very educational in terms of understanding the complexities of fighting a guerrilla war in the Middle East. I suspect that many of the lessons described in the text would apply reasonably well to Afghanistan and similar environs. Suffice it to say that the "Rambo" approach to counter-insurgency will create more insurgents than it will eliminate.

Highly recommended for anyone headed to SW Asia, or anyone interested in military affairs in general.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book while looking to replace my copy of Swinton's The Defence of Duffer's Drift which I appeared to have misplaced over the years. The Defense of Jisr Al-Doreaa is very similar to Swinton's work, but set in the modern counter-insurgency setting of Iraq. The 2nd half of the book contains Swinton's work. Both are a joy to read, and impart good tactical lessons.

Now to read McDonough's The Defense of Hill 781 which is similar, but set at the National Training Center in California.

[Michael Lindgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This brief primer on counterinsurgency, written by two Army captains and veterans of Iraq, is a fascinating guide to street-level tactics with a surprising "hearts and minds" conclusion. Includes the Boer War-era primer on which it is based.

[Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Univ. of Chicago Press really has some great stuff. ‘Breaker' Morant is a movie based on the events that this book was modeled after, too.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-write of a Boer War Classic tho provide platoon leaders some wisdom in the current battle in Iraq