Comandante Che: Guerrilla Soldier, Commander, and Strategist, 1956-1967 [Paperback]

Paul J. Dosal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 2004

The victory of Fidel Castro's rebel army in Cuba was due in no small part to the training, strategy, and leadership provided by Ernesto Che Guevara. Despite the deluge of biographies, memoirs, and documentaries that appeared in 1997 on the thirtieth anniversary of Guevara s death, his military career remains shrouded in mystery. Comandante Che is the first book designed specifically to provide an objective evaluation of Guevara's record as a guerrilla soldier, commander, and strategist from his first skirmish in Cuba to his defeat in Bolivia eleven years later. Using new evidence from Guevara's previously unpublished campaign diaries and declassified CIA documents, Paul Dosal reassesses Guevara's impact as a guerrilla warrior and theorist, comparing his accomplishments with those of other guerrilla leaders with whom he has been ranked, including Colonel T. E. Lawrence, Mao Tse-Tung, and General Vo Nguyen Giap. This reassessment reveals that Guevara was often underrated as a conventional military strategist, overrated as a guerrilla commander, and misrepresented as a guerrilla theorist. Guevara achieved his greatest military victory by applying a conventional military strategy in the final stages of the Cuban Revolution, orchestrating the defensive campaign that held off the Cuban army in the summer of 1958. As a guerrilla commander, he scored impressive victories in ambush after ambush in Bolivia, but in winning the battles he lost the war. He violated most of his own precepts during the Bolivian campaign, compelling analysts to question the validity of both his strategies and his command skills. Though he is credited with developing foco theory, Guevara never attempted to advance a new theory of guerrilla warfare. He was a fighter, not a theorist. He wanted to defeat American imperialism by launching guerrilla campaigns simultaneously in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, but his tricontinental strategy resulted in failures first in the Congo and then in Bolivia. Comandante Che presents the full record of Guevara's successes and failures, separating myth from reality about one of the twentieth century's most controversial revolutionary figures.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This outstanding work is the first comprehensive, objective, and truly professional study of the contribution of Che Guevara to the theory and practice of revolutionary guerrilla warfare in the twentieth century. It is based on a thorough and careful reading of the relevant primary sources - principally, Che's voluminous campaign diaries, along with recently declassified CIA documents on his operations in the Congo and Bolivia. --Neill Macaulay, University of Florida

This is a solid, realistic study of a man, not an icon. As the title suggests, Paul Dosal portrays the complete Che Guevara, but, above all, he is unsurpassed in revealing Che the guerrilla soldier--the grunt, the guy in the mud, facing death and killing ruthlessly. --Charles Ameringer

Before Osama bin Laden, there was Che Guevara. If one thinks this is hyperbole, meet the real Che in this outstanding book and contemplate what might have been had America's cold war foes adopted Che's 'tricontinental strategy.' --Charles Ameringer, Penn State University

From the Inside Flap

"This outstanding work is the first comprehensive, objective, and truly professional study of the contribution of Che Guevara to the theory and practice of revolutionary guerrilla warfare in the twentieth century. It is based on a thorough and careful reading of the relevant primary sources-principally, Che's voluminous campaign diaries, along with recently declassified CIA documents on his operations in the Congo and Bolivia."-Neill Macaulay, University of Florida

The victory of Fidel Castro's rebel army in Cuba was due in no small part to the training, strategy, and leadership provided by Ernesto Che Guevara. Despite the deluge of biographies, memoirs, and documentaries that appeared in 1997 on the thirtieth anniversary of Guevara's death, his military career remains shrouded in mystery. Comandante Che is the first book designed specifically to provide an objective evaluation of Guevara's record as a guerrilla soldier, commander, and strategist from his first skirmish in Cuba to his defeat in Bolivia eleven years later.

Using new evidence from Guevara's previously unpublished campaign diaries and declassified CIA documents, Paul Dosal reassesses Guevara's impact as a guerrilla warrior and theorist, comparing his accomplishments with those of other guerrilla leaders with whom he has been ranked, including Colonel T. E. Lawrence, Mao Tse-Tung, and General Vo Nguyen Giap.

This reassessment reveals that Guevara was often underrated as a conventional military strategist, overrated as a guerrilla commander, and misrepresented as a guerrilla theorist. Guevara achieved his greatest military victory by applying a conventional military strategy in the final stages of the Cuban Revolution, orchestrating the defensive campaign that held off the Cuban army in the summer of 1958. As a guerrilla commander, he scored impressive victories in ambush after ambush in Bolivia, but in winning the battles he lost the war. He violated most of his own precepts during the Bolivian campaign, compelling analysts to question the validity of both his strategies and his command skills.

Though he is credited with developing foco theory, Guevara never attempted to advance a new theory of guerrilla warfare. He was a fighter, not a theorist. He wanted to defeat American imperialism by launching guerrilla campaigns simultaneously in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, but his tricontinental strategy resulted in failures first in the Congo and then in Bolivia. Comandante Che presents the full record of Guevara's successes and failures, separating myth from reality about one of the twentieth century's most controversial revolutionary figures. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 335 pages
• Publisher: Pennsylvania State Univ Pr (July 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0271022620
• ISBN-13: 978-0271022628
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,017,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Honest Military Assessment, October 23, 2003

By 

andrew huse (Tampa, Fl. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Comandante Che: Guerrilla Soldier, Commander, and Strategist, 1956-1967 (Hardcover)

A historical figure like Che Guevara can easily become enshrouded in myth and legend. Much of the material written on him focuses on Che the revolutionary or Che the theorist, but they miss the real point. Guevara was first and foremost a soldier and tactician, and that is the emphasis of Paul J. Dosal's level-headed assessment of Guevara as a military figure.

Dosal takes a hard, honest look at Guevara's contributions to history, eschewing image for substance. When one probes beyond Guevara's vitriolic words against capitalism and imperialism, we find a man impatient with debate and theory, and anxious for decisive action and violence. Instead of a live-saving man trained in medicine, Guevara cast himself as a dealer of death in combat.

The Cuban Revolution is examined, from the first disastrous engagement after landing to the deluge of victories over Batista's tottering regime. Dosal supplies helpful and detailed maps of specific engagements and campaigns (some as small as squad-level) to illustrate the action for his readers. I found the maps to be a welcome addition that allowed me to visualize the engagements as they happened. They also made other engagements easier to imagine, because Che's ambushes usually followed a fairly set pattern.

It is refreshing to read a book that is so solidly concerned with Guevara's actions. While Dosal dwells on the development of Guevara's revolutionary philosophy, he also illuminates his record as a commander. Guevara was a superior tactician among his comrades in the Cuban revolution, but he had no subtlety or finesse in the political arena. This shortcoming steadily hindered his efforts after the victory over Batista: first by angering the USSR and China while ostensibly seeking their support for Third World revolution, and second by alienating any Bolivian allies during his ill-fated campaign there.

Che's modest theoretical efforts are reviewed in detail as well, and Dosal makes no effort to portray these contributions as especially original. Instead he points out that Mao Tse-Tung's writings, as well as those of Lawrence of Arabia, originally covered the field of Guerilla Warfare in more detail. Dosal also highlights how the conditions of the Cuban Revolution were unique. Batista's army was well equipped with weapons, but not with the will to fight. Guevara wrongly assumed that every other undeveloped capitalist/authoritarian regime would crumble just as easily. In fact, many of Guevara's theories are based upon this mistaken belief, and explain his awful performance in Bolivia.

The focus is kept tight throughout, and Dosal's findings are not always flattering. Fidel's miscalculations, especially at the beginning of the campaign, are highlighted. Guevara's bravery and natural tactical abilities in conventional and guerilla warfare are never questioned. But his impulsive, arrogant, impatient, and fatalistic traits come to the fore after the Cuban victory. Dosal covers his ineffectual fiasco in Congo. While the results were not entirely his fault, his naïve belief that African nationalists would embrace an Argentine as their leader was the root of his failure there. Dosal reveals how Guevara persisted long after failure seemed certain, and how it almost cost him his life when he refused to leave.

Special attention is paid to the disastrous Bolivian campaign. Many historians hint that Castro had a hand in Guevara's death, but Dosal effectively argues against the notion. Che's own shortcomings as a politician and planner proved to be the root of his failure and death. His tryst with a possible double agent, lack of planning for an urban support network, and insulting behavior toward Bolivian communist leaders all contributed to Guevara's doom. Guevara also violated most of the principles he articulated in his writings. Dosal's honesty about Guevara's character flaws ultimately make Che a more human, compassionate, and tragic figure than a lionizing biography would have.

Overall, Dosal's work rounded out my already considerable knowledge of this remarkable man. It penetrated through the myths to the man and his actions. I was impressed by the detail of the book. If I could name any fault, it is that events at the end of the Cuban campaign seemed to pass too quickly, without the detailed treatment of other battles. But in Dosal's defense, events did unfold in a virtual landslide pace, and the final military collapse of Batista's regime took little more than a month. Commandante Che is a must-read for anyone interested in Che Guevara as a soldier, tactician, and human, with as many flaws as dreams.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Honest Military Assessment, October 23, 2003

By 

andrew huse (Tampa, Fl. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Comandante Che: Guerrilla Soldier, Commander, and Strategist, 1956-1967 (Hardcover)

A historical figure like Che Guevara can easily become enshrouded in myth and legend. Much of the material written on him focuses on Che the revolutionary or Che the theorist, but they miss the real point. Guevara was first and foremost a soldier and tactician, and that is the emphasis of Paul J. Dosal's level-headed assessment of Guevara as a military figure.

Dosal takes a hard, honest look at Guevara's contributions to history, eschewing image for substance. When one probes beyond Guevara's vitriolic words against capitalism and imperialism, we find a man impatient with debate and theory, and anxious for decisive action and violence. Instead of a live-saving man trained in medicine, Guevara cast himself as a dealer of death in combat.

The Cuban Revolution is examined, from the first disastrous engagement after landing to the deluge of victories over Batista's tottering regime. Dosal supplies helpful and detailed maps of specific engagements and campaigns (some as small as squad-level) to illustrate the action for his readers. I found the maps to be a welcome addition that allowed me to visualize the engagements as they happened. They also made other engagements easier to imagine, because Che's ambushes usually followed a fairly set pattern.

It is refreshing to read a book that is so solidly concerned with Guevara's actions. While Dosal dwells on the development of Guevara's revolutionary philosophy, he also illuminates his record as a commander. Guevara was a superior tactician among his comrades in the Cuban revolution, but he had no subtlety or finesse in the political arena. This shortcoming steadily hindered his efforts after the victory over Batista: first by angering the USSR and China while ostensibly seeking their support for Third World revolution, and second by alienating any Bolivian allies during his ill-fated campaign there.

Che's modest theoretical efforts are reviewed in detail as well, and Dosal makes no effort to portray these contributions as especially original. Instead he points out that Mao Tse-Tung's writings, as well as those of Lawrence of Arabia, originally covered the field of Guerilla Warfare in more detail. Dosal also highlights how the conditions of the Cuban Revolution were unique. Batista's army was well equipped with weapons, but not with the will to fight. Guevara wrongly assumed that every other undeveloped capitalist/authoritarian regime would crumble just as easily. In fact, many of Guevara's theories are based upon this mistaken belief, and explain his awful performance in Bolivia.

The focus is kept tight throughout, and Dosal's findings are not always flattering. Fidel's miscalculations, especially at the beginning of the campaign, are highlighted. Guevara's bravery and natural tactical abilities in conventional and guerilla warfare are never questioned. But his impulsive, arrogant, impatient, and fatalistic traits come to the fore after the Cuban victory. Dosal covers his ineffectual fiasco in Congo. While the results were not entirely his fault, his naïve belief that African nationalists would embrace an Argentine as their leader was the root of his failure there. Dosal reveals how Guevara persisted long after failure seemed certain, and how it almost cost him his life when he refused to leave.

Special attention is paid to the disastrous Bolivian campaign. Many historians hint that Castro had a hand in Guevara's death, but Dosal effectively argues against the notion. Che's own shortcomings as a politician and planner proved to be the root of his failure and death. His tryst with a possible double agent, lack of planning for an urban support network, and insulting behavior toward Bolivian communist leaders all contributed to Guevara's doom. Guevara also violated most of the principles he articulated in his writings. Dosal's honesty about Guevara's character flaws ultimately make Che a more human, compassionate, and tragic figure than a lionizing biography would have.

Overall, Dosal's work rounded out my already considerable knowledge of this remarkable man. It penetrated through the myths to the man and his actions. I was impressed by the detail of the book. If I could name any fault, it is that events at the end of the Cuban campaign seemed to pass too quickly, without the detailed treatment of other battles. But in Dosal's defense, events did unfold in a virtual landslide pace, and the final military collapse of Batista's regime took little more than a month. Commandante Che is a must-read for anyone interested in Che Guevara as a soldier, tactician, and human, with as many flaws as dreams.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor, April 3, 2011

By 

Not Mee "drowsy" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Comandante Che: Guerrilla Soldier, Commander, and Strategist, 1956-1967 (Paperback)

This book is very poor. The author clearly has some mental issues,
going in circles and saying the same thing over and over and over again.
The whole book is a giant collection of repetitions. Do not buy!

Also, some 5* reviews here are repeated several times. Beefing up the ratings?