In Search Of An Elusive Enemy The Victorio Campaign 1879 1880

The US Army has often been called upon to conduct operations in in-hospitable climates on rugged terrain against elusive and determined foes. Some of the more famous of these characters were Emilio Aguinaldo of the Philippines, Pancho Villa of Mexico, and in recent times Muslim terrorist Osama bin Laden. Each of these men faced the superior weaponry and materiel of the US Army but put up a persistent struggle nonetheless. All of these operations were costly in manpower, were bitterly frustrating, and took months of hard campaigning. The areas of operation were in foreign lands and often featured a porous border or areas of sanctuary for the enemy to receive logistics support and recruits. The Army also faced extreme public scrutiny and at times a hostile press. The Victorio Campaign bears many parallels to ongoing operations against Islamic terrorist movements. Victorio was a charismatic leader who many indeed considered a terrorist. On the other hand, his followers considered him a freedom fighter and gave him their unswerving loyalty. These warriors were fanatical in their support and willingly endured extreme hardship and depredation in the fight against their enemies. Victorio s band was not self-sustaining and received replenishment from fellow Apaches that remained on the reservations when operating nearby. When ranging over the mountains the band relied on its defeated enemies captured arms, ammunition, and horses. Like today s terrorist leaders, Victorio used an international border, that between the United States and Mexico, to great effect. He knew that both countries were unable to coordinate their efforts through the stifling bureaucracy and political rivalry that so often poisoned amicable relations. As a result, Victorio was able to raid into one country and avoid pursuit by simply recrossing the border.

In Search of an Elusive Enemy: The Victorio Campaign, 1879-1880 represents another in a series of military case studies published by the Combat Studies Institute (CSI) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This work examines the US Army's efforts in tracking down Victorio, the infamous Apache chief who raided large tracts of New Mexico and Texas at will, terrorizing the entire region. The key point made in this work is that it demonstrates the challenges of tracking and capturing or killing a small, irregular group of warriors in inhospitable terrain and among an alien culture.Although set in the late 19th century, this case study is still extremely relevant for today's Army. The commanders of the 9th and 10th US Cavalry Regiments faced a skilled adversary who used unconventional tactics and methods as well as an international border to seek sanctuary. However, it could just as easily have featured the stories of Osceola, Aguinaldo, Pancho Villa, or Osama bin Laden. The similarities to challenges that US and coalition forces face in Afghanistan and Iraq are striking. The commanders of the 19th century faced enormous challenges in the rugged terrain of the American Southwest as well as a skeptical and often hostile press. Again, officers and soldiers who have recently served in Afghanistan and Iraq will certainly see parallels here.As the US Army continues its efforts in combating terrorists where they live, the lessons found in this narrative are well worth revisiting.

This work examines the US Army efforts in tracking down Victorio, the infamous Apache chief who raided large tracts of New Mexico and Texas at will, terrorizing the entire region. The key point made in this work is that it demonstrates the challenges of tracking and capturing or killing a small, irregular group of warriors in inhospitable terrain and among an alien culture. Although set in the late 19th century, this case study is still extremely relevant for today Army. The commanders of the 9th and 10th US Cavalry Regiments faced a skilled adversary who used unconventional tactics and methods as well as an international border to seek sanctuary. The similarities to challenges that US and coalition forces face in Afghanistan and Iraq are striking. The commanders of the 19th century faced enormous challenges in the rugged terrain of the American Southwest as well as a skeptical and often hostile press. Again, officers and soldiers who have recently served in Afghanistan and Iraq will certainly see parallels here.

In Search of an Elusive Enemy: The Victorio Campaign, 1879-1880 represents another in a series of military case studies published by the Combat Studies Institute (CSI) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This work examines the US Army's efforts in tracking down Victorio, the infamous Apache chief who raided large tracts of New Mexico and Texas at will, terrorizing the entire region. The key point made in this work is that it demonstrates the challenges of tracking and capturing or killing a small, irregular group of warriors in inhospitable terrain and among an alien culture. Although set in the late 19th century, this case study is still extremely relevant for today's Army. The commanders of the 9th and 10th US Cavalry Regiments faced a skilled adversary who used unconventional tactics and methods as well as an international border to seek sanctuary. However, it could just as easily have featured the stories of Osceola, Aguinaldo, Pancho Villa, or Osama bin Laden. The similarities to challenges that US and coalition forces face in Afghanistan and Iraq are striking. The commanders of the 19th century faced enormous challenges in the rugged terrain of the American Southwest as well as a skeptical and often hostile press. Again, officers and soldiers who have recently served in Afghanistan and Iraq will certainly see parallels here. As the US Army continues its efforts in combating terrorists where they live, the lessons found in this narrative are well worth revisiting. The goal of this and other special studies CSI has published is to provide historical examples of battles, campaigns, and historical figures from which leaders of today's Army can draw lessons and inspiration. Although the Victorio Campaign occurred more than a century ago, the tale still yields relevant points for the modern battlefield. The lessons here are not in using black powder weapons or Napoleonic tactics but in finding the key weakness in your enemy and adapting tactics and methods to exploit it. This work does not simply prescribe solutions but helps burnish the intellectual tools with which to diagnose the unexpected and create solutions using the hard-won experience of successful commanders of the past. The story of the Victorio Campaign does this and demonstrates that even under the most arduous of circumstances the American soldier will persevere until victory is won.~

Prior to the 1960s, the term “Buffalo Soldier” was a fairly obscure one. Then, a trickle of titles became a torrent of books, articles, novels, monuments, and expanding numbers of historic sites along with museums all of which have changed the picture. Even an occasional nod from television and movies helped transform these once relatively little-known Black U.S. Army troops into familiar figures, who have taken their place in a mythic past. Indeed, powerful imagemakers from William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and his Congress of Rough Riders to Frederic Remington, the dean of frontier artists, helped lionize the Black troops whose exploits brought them to the American West, Cuba, the Philippines, Mexico, Alaska, and Hawaii in the years between 1866 and 1916. Despite a significant shift in emphasis, numerous efforts treating this element of the vital, complex story of the post-Civil War U.S. Army frequently repeated earlier studies rather than added fresh perspectives. Also, the narrative typically ended with the so-called Indian Wars or Spanish American War. Many authors likewise dwelt on military operations rather than numerous other relevant contributions and activities of these men who played a role in the nation’s complex evolution during the half century after the American Civil War. Profusely illustrated with compelling images and detailed maps, along with an array of appendices, this latest addition to the Buffalo Soldier saga represents over five decades of research by military historian John P. Langellier. Further, More Work an Glory: Buffalo Soldiers in the United States Army, 1866–1916 combines the best features of prior scholarship while enhancing the scope with new or underused primary sources. The author views the subject through the broader perspectives of race. He sets the text against the backdrop of the transition of the U.S. Army from a frontier constabulary to an international power. In the process, he highlights the staggering assortment of non-military missions including assignments to national parks and forests; road building; exploration; pioneer military bicycling; duty along the explosive border between the United States and Mexico; employment as agents of law and order, along with a litany of other contributions that enhanced an impressive combat record against formidable Native Americans and others. Langellier frames the narrative within the context of continuity and change from Reconstruction in the 1860s through the early twentieth century. Above all, he focuses on the soldiers themselves to provide a human perspective as well as challenges prevalent misconceptions that often overshadow more fascinating facts.

References to the Indian Wars, those conflicts that accompanied US continental expansion, suffuse American military history. From Black Hawk helicopters to the exclamation "Geronimo" used by paratroopers jumping from airplanes, words and images referring to Indians have been indelibly linked with warfare. In Indian Wars Everywhere, Stefan Aune shows how these resonances signal a deeper history, one in which the Indian Wars function as a shadow doctrine that influences US military violence. The United States' formative acts of colonial violence persist in the actions, imaginations, and stories that have facilitated the spread of American empire, from the "savage wars" of the nineteenth century to the counterinsurgencies of the Global War on Terror. Ranging across centuries and continents, Indian Wars Everywhere considers what it means for the conquest of Native peoples to be deemed a success that can be used as a blueprint for modern warfare.

While the role of the African American in American history has been written about extensively, it is often difficult to locate the wealth of material that has been published. African-Americans in Defense of the Nation builds on a long list of early bibliographies concerning the subject, bringing together a broad spectrum of titles related to the African-American participation in America's wars. It covers both military exploits—as African Americans have been involved in every American conflict since the Revolution—and their participation in the homefront support.