Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

An excellent book. The detail and examples given will benefit all with an interest in guerrilla warfare or those that are tasked to combat it. Covers not only the insurgent tactics, but also what the ESAF did to counteract these tactics and how successful the FMLN or ESAF were in their encounters. A must have to better understand the El Salvador war and how the FMLN was able to continue.

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.

I truly enjoyed reading this book! It has GREAT information concerning the weapons and tactics in this terrible war without being too political. Rare is a book about the War in El Salvador that doesn't have some kind of political spin, Left or Right. The author keeps it real by explaining in great detail tactics, weapons, and order of battle, of the Communist insurgents. It also has information about who TRULY armed the FMLN. It's intersting to know that the FMLN had American M-16 rifles BEFORE the Salvadoran military did!! I also enjoyed Mr. Bracamonte's attention to detail concerning the small,everyday events in the FMLN battlefield, particularly about the unforseen role of most FMLN female radio operators... I believe it is a great book to get if you are intrested in the actual battelfield events during the civil war in El Salvador. In my opinion, it proves that the FMLN was better off as a political organization, without resorting to violence and how a PR defeciant Salvadoran Army managed to grab victory from the jaws of defeat.The Salvadoran people have Democracy today because they refused to be intimidated by the FMLN and voted. Freedom was kept by the ballot AND the bullet. In conclusion, GREAT book!!!!!!

This is a well writen book clearly because the author did hired a good editor. But how will this guy really know the FMLN strategies when he hasn't been part of FMLN. The beutiful words used in this book and the so called documetation and interviews are not reason enough to become an expert in the matter. He just want to make some money out of this. Stay away from this book, many inocent people was murdered for this guys (and I'm talking about the salvadorean army).