Irregular warfare in nineteenth-century Spanish military thought (1863-1898)

Authors

  • Alberto Guerrero Martín UNED

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v11i23.860

Keywords:

Valeriano Weyler, Spanish Army, Military literature, 19th Century, colonial campaigns

Abstract

This work explores, in general terms, the study of irregular warfare in Spain -a comparatively common type of warfare for the Spanish Army- during the nineteenth century. It is, however, not unusual to find a great neglect on the part of military treatises regarding both this period and the Army as an institution. Most of the manuals and teachings in military academies were devoted to regular wars such as those that had been fought in Europe for much of the century. However, if we look at the case of Spain, it becomes apparent that most of the conflicts it was involved in were irregular wars.

From this premise, this article delves into the concept of irregular warfare and its study in Spain, with the aim of finding out to what extent this combat modality was effectively understood and studied by members of the Spanish military. Who, to a certain extent, despised this form of warfare as it went against the classical values of military honour and for which they had received little academic preparation, as they were expected to prepare to fight against enemies waging regular wars -in fact, all European armies of the period were trained in this fashion- despite the fact that the main powers had territories in Africa, Asia and the American continent. It will be surprising to observe to what extent the Spanish Army was not adequately prepared to carry out colonial wars in its overseas campaigns due to lack of preparation and adequate instruments. It would only eventually prevail, after the initial setbacks, thanks to its technical and armament superiority, with outstanding figures such as General Valeriano Weyler, one of Spain's military men most concerned with guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency tactics.

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Author Biography

  • Alberto Guerrero Martín, UNED

    Doctor en Historia por la UNED. Entre sus publicaciones recientes figuran: El desarrollo del carro de combate en el ejército español hasta la Guerra Civil, en Guerra y tecnología: interacción desde la Antigüedad al Presente (Fundación Ramón Areces, 2017); El impacto de la Gran Guerra en el ejército español, Estudios en Seguridad Internacional, núm. 3-2 (2017); La Colección Bibliográfica Militar y el debate sobre la mecanización y la motorización (1928-1936), Revista Universitaria de Historia Militar, núm. 3-6 (2014).

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Published

2023-02-08

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 23 (2022): Guerra irregular en la Edad Contemporánea

Section

Dossier

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How to Cite

Irregular warfare in nineteenth-century Spanish military thought (1863-1898). (2023). Revista Universitaria De Historia Militar, 11(23), 16-39. https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v11i23.860

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