Strategy and Tactics of the Salvadoran FMLN Guerrillas: Last Battle of the Cold War, Blueprint for Future Conflicts (Hardcover)

by Jose Angel Moroni Bracamonte (Author), David E. Spencer (Author) "The story of the guerrilla forces of El Salvador begins in 1932, when the Communist organizer and agitator, Farabundo Marti, led an uprising of the..." (more)
Key Phrases: strategic mobile forces, tubeless artillery, special select forces, United States, San Salvador, San Vicente (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“...If the authors are correct in their assessment of the Salvadoran insurgency as a "blueprint for future conflicts," then this book can provide us both the schematics and marginal notations of that blueprint. ...it is worthwhile to have a threat doctrinal and operational model for someone besides the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.”–Armor

Product Description
This book examines the military organization, strategy, and tactics of the Salvadoran FMLN guerrillas during their efforts to overthrow the government. It is largely based on the authors' personal collections of guerrilla documents captured in the war, interviews with former and captured guerrillas, and personal combat experience during one of the fiercest wars fought in the Western hemisphere in the 20th century. The book describes the guerrilla tactics from a technical point of view, and their evolution during the war in El Salvador.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Publishers (May 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275950182
• ISBN-13: 978-0275950187
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #720,598 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb study of an effective insurgency, February 24, 2005

By	J Michael Waller "www.iwp.edu" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This is the best study of the strategy and tactics of one of the most effective, albeit unsuccessful, modern guerrilla movements. The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) was a tough fighting force with a brilliant political warfare component.

I spent a lot of time in El Salvador during the war to help the Salvadoran army and saw the FMLN firsthand, and can verify many of the book's findings from my own experiences in the field. The FMLN was a worthy opponent, and well deserving of respect and serious academic study. Jose Angel Moroni Bracamonte and David Spencer have faithfully and incisively dissected how the FMLN operated, and they draw lessons to apply to future conflicts.

This book is to the FMLN what Douglas Pike's landmark book "Vietcong" (MIT Press, 1966) was to the North Vietnamese-run insurgency in South Vietnam. Spencer's companion volume, "From Vietnam to El Salvador: The Saga of FMLN Sappers and Other Guerrilla Special Forces in Latin America" (1996) rounds out the most complete picture yet, in English, of the once-formidable guerrilla group.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars informative yes but too bias, August 14, 2008

By	hux (Australia) - See all my reviews

I found this book very informative and well set out, however I found it way too bias. Its funny how the writers try over and over to justify why the death squads in El Salvador had no choice but to use heavy handed techniques and at the same time blaming it on the FMLN. I think this book is very informative if one is to ignore their political agenda.
I give it 3 out of 5 because no one else seems to have any information on this subject.
So yeah I would recommend this book perhaps with a bit of caution on its political biasness.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Largely ignores the real reasons of the conflict, December 16, 2001

By	Juan Gomez (USA) - See all my reviews

This book is a very good at describing the strategies and tatics of the Salvadoran FMLN freedom fighters, but it ignores the real reasons why Salvadorans had no choice but to fight the government. They blame it on 'communist aggression', but this was a civil revolution; these were people who had been denied their right of self-determination as peoples through democratic elections. If Salvadorans wanted communism, so be it: it's their right and duty as peoples to determine their own political, social, and economic future. The authors weakly defend the small elite class that violated non-deregable human rights through state terrorism for centuries. If you choose to read this book, read it along with: Revolution in El Salvador by Tommie Sue Montgomery.