This review has been submitted to the British Military History Journal
Title: Mountain Warfare and Other Lofty Problems
Author: Edited by Lester Grau and Charles Bartles
ISBN: 978-1-909982-07-9
Softcover
Pages: 246
Illustrations: 40
B/W, 11 maps
Publisher: Helion Publishing
Warfare requires numerous specialist elements in order
for armies to function effectively in the myriad of environments within which
they may have cause to operate. Maintenance of these skills requires equipment,
time and constant practice; resources that are usually in chronically short
supply. For this reason, it is incumbent upon leaders to look for ways to avoid
having to 'reinvent the wheel' and to ensure that doctrine and methodologies
are grounded in the expensive lessons of others.
The authors have put together an amalgamation of lessons
and articles published in a variety of international professional journals
specifically related to operations in a mountainous environment. The authors of
these articles are professional military members hailing from numerous
countries presently or recently engaged in mountain combat. Represented are
Pakistan, the US, Russia, Argentina and numerous professional ex-military
training cadres in Tashkent and Uzbekistan.
The articles themselves cover every aspect of operations
including: communications, logistics, medical, training, artillery, small arms
fire, aviation, reconnaissance, small and large unit tactics and generalized
mountain combat techniques. The authors are all writing from firsthand
experience and with the intent to pass on the valuable lessons that they have
learned. The book is replete with tables outlying such things as pre-deployment
timelines, effective lifting capacities of pack animals, soldiers and rotary
wing and images illustrating tactical positioning for mountain shooting and
movement. The information is practical and presented in a logical and useful
manner; clear and concise.
At the conclusion of the book, the editors provide a
section of additional reading resources for those interested in further
expansion of their knowledge; they also make available information relating to
the Journals within which the articles were originally printed, In addition
each article provides a footnotes section with substantial expansion on the
main themes of the body.
