Overview

Explores the early use of modern unconventional warfare by T. E. Lawrence behind the lines in North Africa and Arabia during World War I. Striking where the enemy is weakest and melting away into the darkness before he can react. Never confronting a stronger force directly, but willing to use audacity and surprise to confound and demoralize an opponent. Operations driven by good intelligence, area knowledge, mobility, speed, firepower, and detailed planning executed by a few specialists with indigenous warriors - this is unconventional warfare. T. E. Lawrence was one of the earliest practitioners of modern unconventional warfare. His tactics and strategies were used by men like Mao and Giap in their wars of liberation. Both kept Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom close at hand. This book looks at the creation of the HEDGEHOG force, the formation of armored car sections and other units, and focuses on the Hejaz Operations Staff, the Allied officers and men who took Lawrence's idea and prosecuted it against the Ottoman Turkish army assisting Field Marshal Allenby to achieve victory in 1918. Stejskal concludes with an examination of how HEDGEHOG has influenced special operations and unconventional warfare, including Field Marshal Wavell, the Long Range Desert Group, David Stirling's SAS, and modern US and UK special forces. AUTHOR: James Stejskal is a military historian and conflict archaeologist who specializes in the research and investigation of irregular warfare. He is author of numerous articles and two books, including the highly praised Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army's Elite, 1956–1990 (Casemate 2016). His 35 years of special forces, special operations, and intelligence experience with the US Army and the CIA around the world, give him unparalleled insight into unconventional warfare. Most recently, he was a member of the Great Arab Revolt Project, an archaeological expedition that tracked and validated the experiences of T. E. Lawrence in the Hejaz. 16 pages of b/w photographs

Full Product Details

9781612005744

Table of Contents

Reviews

While a fair deal of the stuff coming out of the centenary has left me cold, books like this restore some of the balance. Mr. Stejskal has done much the same by taking the story beyond Lawrence to include the men who did so much to achieve victory in 1918. Their remarkable story can be found here and you will not be disappointed with the telling. * War History Online *

Mr. Stejskal has done much the same by taking the story beyond Lawrence to include the men who did so much to achieve victory in 1918. Their remarkable story can be found here and you will not be disappointed with the telling. * War History Online * As Lawrence put it in his 27 Articles 'The Hejaz confounds ordinary tactics.' Masters of Mayhem provides an excellent basis for an understanding of why this was, and it, the case, and how the Allied forces at the time set about developing a new style of warfare to cope with it. * Military History Monthly * ... James Stejskal provide[s] excellent, authoritative source material that is as useful for intelligence and Special Operations practitioners as it is for historians of the Great Arab Revolt. * CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence 11/02/2019 * this new work by James Stejskal offers an interesting and valid take on the campaign for whom Lawrence became such a talisman. * War History Online * ... offer(s) plenty of quotes from Lawrence and details of his escapades. * The Armourer 21/02/2019 *

Mr. Stejskal has done much the same by taking the story beyond Lawrence to include the men who did so much to achieve victory in 1918. Their remarkable story can be found here and you will not be disappointed with the telling. * War History Online * As Lawrence put it in his 27 Articles 'The Hejaz confounds ordinary tactics.' Masters of Mayhem provides an excellent basis for an understanding of why this was, and it, the case, and how the Allied forces at the time set about developing a new style of warfare to cope with it. * Military History Monthly * this new work by James Stejskal offers an interesting and valid take on the campaign for whom Lawrence became such a talisman. * War History Online *

Author Information

James Stejskal, after 35 years of service with US Army Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency, is a uniquely qualified historian and novelist. He is the author of Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army’s Elite, 1956–1990; Masters of Mayhem: Lawrence of Arabia and the British Military Mission to the Hejaz; No Moon as Witness; and The Snake Eater Chronicles.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available