Larry S Schmidt - Fire in the Jungle: A Study of One of Americas Most Successful Unconventional Warfare Campaigns

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Fire in the Jungle

The people who have not yet been conquered by the enemy will be the most eager to arm against him; they will set an example that will gradually be followed by their neighbors. The flames will spread like a brush fire, until they reach the area on which the enemy is based, threatening his lines of communication and his very existence. Clausewitz

Fire in the Jungle: A Study of One of Americas Most

Successful Unconventional Warfare Campaigns

by Colonel (Ret.) Larry S. Schmidt

edited by Paul D. LeFavor

Copyright 2018 Larry S. Schmidt

ISBN 978-0-9977434-5-6
ISBN 978-1-7329681-2-7 (e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018914967

Printed in the United States of America

Published by Blacksmith LLC

Fayetteville, North Carolina

www.BlacksmithPublishing.com

Direct inquiries and/or orders to the above web address.

All rights reserved. Except for use in review, no portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission from the publisher.

This book does not contain classified or sensitive information restricted from public release. The views presented in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the Department of Defense or its components.

While every precaution has been taken to ensure the reliability and accuracy of all data and contents, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in this book.

Contents

Chapter

To the American Guerrillas of Mindanao with whom I have corresponded and spoken. May this brief history recognize in some small manner the duty and patriotism your courageous actions have so demonstrated.

Foreword

There is another type of warfarenew in its intensity, ancient in its originwar by guerrillas, subversives, insurgents, assassins; war by ambush instead of by combat, by infiltration instead of aggression, seeking victory by eroding and exhausting the enemy instead of engaging him. It preys on unrest. President John F. Kennedy, 1962

I have been privileged to serve and defend this nation among the best, elite, and unconventional forces our nation has in its arsenal. From the 75th Ranger Regiment (Airborne) to the Special Forces (SF) Green Berets. Of my 33-year career in the US Army, 27 years were spent serving as a Green Beret, living by, with, and through foreign indigenous populations and executing all seven phases of the Unconventional Warfare (UW) framework across the SF operational continuum. It took me years to understand the history, nature, and application of UW, culminating in my last two years as the UW Manager for the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).

Throughout history, the resistance of a conquered people against the foreign invader has become one of the most romanticized of events. The term resistance movement, according to Colonel Russell Volckmann, may be used to describe collectively the discontented elements of a populace who by various methods oppose and operate against established civil and military authority. Many resistance movements have become the inspiration for national folklore and have been celebrated through the writings of novelists and historians. The Tyrolese uprising against Napoleon's armies, the legendary French Maquis, and the Yugoslav Sons of the Eagle are well-known examples. From these accounts, a researcher can derive a paradigm for a successful resistance movement. While, Americans are familiar with the resistance movements in Europe during WWII, specifically those led by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), few are aware of the resistance of the Filipinos against the Japanese. Notably, resistance operations in the Philippines were of paramount importance to the formation of US Army Special Forces and its originating doctrine. For example, Colonel Russell Volckmann, a contemporary of Colonel Wendell Fertig, wrote FM 31-20, Operations Against Guerrilla Forces and FM 31-21, Organization and Conduct of Guerrilla Warfare.

As noted, the resistance movement in the Philippines against the Japanese is largely unsung and unheard. This book was written to bring that awareness and demonstrate how the resistance against the Japanese, particularly on the Island of Mindanao, was prototypic of a successful resistance movement. Larry S. Schmidt and Paul D. LeFavor make a significant contribution to the study of resistance by telling this story. It therefore warrants my strongest recommendation to the reader. Study the past, and you will define the future.

De Oppresso Liber
Chief Warrant Officer Five Charles Moritz, USA (Ret.)

Preface

The guerrilla movement has become one of the greatest romantic themes of' subsequent Philippine history and lore because for the Filipinos, the resistance was one of the finest hours for the Philippine people. David Steinberg

After a four-month struggle, American and Filipino forces in the Philippines capitulated to the Imperial Japanese forces. After liberating the Philippines, Japan incorporated the island archipelago into the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. As the occupation commenced, a resistance movement was born among the defeated people.

The Philippine resistance was in fact the finest hour for many Americans who did not surrender but rather took to the hills, joining Filipino guerrillas to fight the Japanese. As with many guerrilla resistance groups elsewhere in World War II, many of these units were led by Americans. The Philippine resistance movement, however, gives us the first historical example of Americans, military and civilian, organizing guerrilla units on a grand scale. The movement is also prototypical of an effective, coordinated guerrilla resistance, and it is well worth studying for that reason, if for no other.

There were many guerrilla organizations operating throughout the 1,000-mile-long Philippine Archipelago. They had names like Blackburn's Headhunters, Marking's Guerrillas, President Quezon's Own Guerrillas, Lawins Patriot and Suicide Forces, and The Live or Die Unit, among the many. Some of these groups had an almost opera bouffe character, and others were complete and formal organizations, down to training camps, maneuvers, CCS, orders of battle, and the usual military red tape. In all, some 260,715 guerrillas in 277 guerrilla units fought in the resistance movement as organized, armed, and tactically employed units.

Among the many guerrilla units in the Philippines was the 10th Military District, the Mindanao guerrillas, commanded by Colonel Wendell W. Fertig. Fertig had been a United States Army Reserve officer and mining engineer before the war and had found himself in a position to lead the guerrilla resistance on the island of Mindanao in the Southern Philippines.

This book studies the Mindanao guerrilla organization for several reasons. The subordinate organizations of Fertig's 10th Military District were predominantly American led. This fact makes its study worthwhile not only because it was unique among the guerrilla organizations in the Philippines but also because it provides a good historical example to measure concepts for the support of resistance movements. Furthermore, the Mindanao guerrilla organization is generally illustrative of the growth of the other guerrilla organizations throughout the Philippine Islands, so a study of it provides clues as to how the other guerrilla organizations were established and sustained.

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