Targan, I know next to nothing about the Anglo-Maori wars but, from what you describe, there seem to be a couple of clear parallels with the FIW. I'm interested in learning more about this. Do you have any book recommendations on the subject (preferably something still in print)?
Medic, I hadn't thought to compare the FIW and the Winter War. Thanks for bringing this up. Now that I think of it, there are a quite a few similarities. Roger's Rangers and their French counterparts were much more mobile (using snowshoes, sleds, and primitive iceskates) and active during the harsh winters of NE North America than their respective shelter-bound conventional military brethren.
I guess that these two examples bring up a larger point and that is that unconventional forces and tactics, when properly used, can be successful against both other irregulars and larger, more conventional forces. They're not a panacea, per se, but they can be an important force multiplier, especially given difficult terrain which impedes the operation of conventional forces. I think that in the T2KU, with smaller population densities (and larger areas of "wilderness"), and far fewer vehicles (and much lessfuel to run them), you've got a recipe for unconventional forces to take on a much more pivotal role in military operations than they would have when the huge, mechanized armies of the first world contested the battlefields of the planet.
|