THE DAWN OF GUERRILLA WARFARE: Why the Tactics of Insurgents Against Napoleon Failed in the US Mexican War

1-241510

Chronicles the emergence of guerrilla warfare during the Mexican-American War. Demonstrates how the Napoleonic War in Spain influence the US Army's 1847 campaign in the heart of Mexico, romantic perceptions of the war among both Americans and Mexicans, the disparate resistance to invasion and occupation, foreign influence on the war from monarchists intent on bringing Mexico back into the European orbit, and the danger of disastrous imperial overreach exemplified by the French in Spain. Examines how Winfield Scott and Henry Halleck used the knowledge from the Peninsular War to implement an innovative counterinsurgency program designed to conciliate Mexicans living in areas controlled by the US Army.