David Galula
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

David Galula (10 January 191911 May 1967) was a French
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
officer and scholar who was influential in developing the theory and practice of
counterinsurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...
warfare.


Early life

Born in
Sfax Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean ...
, then part of the
French protectorate of Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (french: Protectorat français de Tunisie; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في تونس '), commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial Empire era, ...
, on 10 January 1919 into a family of Jewish merchants, Galula obtained his
baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
in
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
at the
Lycée Lyautey In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
. In 1949, Galula married Ruth Beed Morgan (1922–2011). He is survived by his only son. Daniel Frederic Galula (1959 - ) Paris France. His grandchildren: David Salvador Galula, Danielle Sophia Galula


Military career

Galula graduated from the
École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ...
in the number 126 promotion of 1939–1940. In 1941, he was expelled from the French officer corps, in accordance with the
Law on the status of Jews __NOTOC__ The Law of 3 October 1940 on the status of Jews was a law enacted by Vichy France. It provided a legal definition of the expression ''Jewish race'', which was used during the Nazi occupation for the implementation of Vichy's ideologica ...
of the
Vichy State Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...
. After living as a civilian in
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, he joined the
I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...
of the Army of the Liberation, and served during the
liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...
, receiving a wound during the
invasion of Elba The invasion of Elba, codenamed Operation Brassard, was part of the Italian campaign during the Second World War. The invasion was carried out between 17–19 June 1944 by Free French Forces supported by British and American ships and aircraft. ...
in June 1944. Galula departed for
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 1945 to work as an assistant
military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...
at the
French embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of France, excluding honorary consulates. France's permanent representation abroad began in the reign of Francis I, when in 1522 he sent a delegation to the Swiss. Despite its reduced presence following decol ...
in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. There he continued his warm relationship with
Jacques Guillermaz Jacques Guillermaz (16 January 1911 – 4 February 1998) was a French diplomat, military officer, and scholar of modern Chinese history. He served as military attaché in China from 1937 to 1943, then returned to fight for the liberation of Fr ...
, an officer from an old French military family with whom he had served in France. Galula's wife recalled that her husband went to China to follow Guillermaz, who was, "without a doubt, the most influential person in David's life." Galula witnessed the rise to power of the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
. In April 1947, he was captured by Chinese Communists during a solo trip into the interior. Though he was fiercely anti-Communist, his captors treated him well and he eventually was released through the help of the Marshall mission. In 1948, he took part in the
United Nations Special Committee on the Balkans United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
(UNSCOB) during the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
. From 1952 to February 1956, he served as a military attaché at the French consulate in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. He visited the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, and studied the
Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
without taking part in it. From August 1956 to April 1958, during the
Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
, Galula, then a captain, led the 3rd Company of the 45th Bataillon d' Infanterie Coloniale. He distinguished himself by applying personal tactics in counterinsurgency to his sector of
Kabylie Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of the ...
, at Djebel Mimoun, near
Tigzirt Tigzirt, the classical Iomnium, is a small town on the coast of northeast Algeria in Tizi Ouzou Province. It has a sleepy demeanor and attracts many tourists especially in summer from all over the country. Name Tigzirt's name derives from the ...
, effectively eliminating the nationalist insurgency in his sector and earning accelerated promotion from this point. In 1958, Galula was transferred to the Headquarters of National Defence in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. He gave a series of conferences abroad and attended the
Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...
.


Later life and death

Galula resigned his commission in 1962 to study in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, where he obtained a position of research associate at the
Center for International Affairs Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
of Harvard University. He died in 1967 of lung cancer. He is survived by his only son Daniel Frederic Galula, his wife Claudia Elena and his grandchildren David Salvador and Danielle Sophia Galula


Theory and influence

Galula described his experiences in two books, ''Pacification in Algeria'', published by the
RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
in 1963, and ''Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice'' in 1964. His books analyse his experiences in
Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
, Greece and Algeria, giving a taxonomy of favourable and unfavourable settings for a revolutionary war from the point of view of both the revolutionary (insurgent) and loyalist (counterinsurgent) forces. Galula cites
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
's observation that " volutionary war is 80 percent political action and only 20 percent military", and proposes four "laws" for counterinsurgency: # The aim of the war is to gain the support of the population rather than control of territory. # Most of the population will be neutral in the conflict; support of the masses can be obtained with the help of an active friendly minority. # Support of the population may be lost. The population must be efficiently protected to allow it to cooperate without fear of retribution by the opposite party. # Order enforcement should be done progressively by removing or driving away armed opponents, then gaining the support of the population, and eventually strengthening positions by building infrastructure and setting long-term relationships with the population. This must be done area by area, using a pacified territory as a basis of operation to conquer a neighbouring area. Galula's laws thus take at face value and recognize the importance of the aphorism, based on the ideas of Mao, that "The people are the sea in which the revolutionary swims." He contends that:
A victory n a counterinsurgencyis not the destruction in a given area of the insurgent's forces and his political organization. ... A victory is that plus the permanent isolation of the insurgent from the population, isolation not enforced upon the population, but maintained by and with the population. ... In conventional warfare, strength is assessed according to military or other tangible criteria, such as the number of divisions, the position they hold, the industrial resources, etc. In revolutionary warfare, strength must be assessed by the extent of support from the population as measured in terms of political organization at the grassroots. The counterinsurgent reaches a position of strength when his power is embedded in a political organization issuing from, and firmly supported by, the population.
With his four principles in mind, Galula goes on to describe a general military and political strategy to put them into operation in an area that is under full insurgent control:
In a Selected Area
1. Concentrate enough armed forces to destroy or to expel the main body of armed insurgents.
2. Detach for the area sufficient troops to oppose an insurgent's comeback in strength, install these troops in the hamlets, villages, and towns where the population lives.
3. Establish contact with the population, control its movements in order to cut off its links with the guerillas.
4. Destroy the local insurgent political organization.
5. Set up, by means of elections, new provisional local authorities.
6. Test those authorities by assigning them various concrete tasks. Replace the softs and the incompetents, give full support to the active leaders. Organize self-defense units.
7. Group and educate the leaders in a national political movement.
8. Win over or suppress the last insurgent remnants.Galula, David ''Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice'' Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Security International, 1964. pp. 54–56
Some of these steps can be skipped in areas that are only partially under insurgent control, and most of them are unnecessary in areas already controlled by the government. Thus the essence of counterinsurgency warfare is summed up by Galula as "Build (or rebuild) a political machine from the population upward." Galula has been considered an important theorist by contemporary defence experts. Notably, the
United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
used his experiences as examples in the context of the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
and he is often quoted in the US Army's ''Counterinsurgency Manual''. Galula's ''Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice'' is highly suggested reading for students of the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...
. Galula's work on counter-insurgency is in large part based on the experiences and lesson of 130 years of French colonial warfare, most notably the work of Joseph-Simon Gallieni and
Hubert Lyautey Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. Early in ...
. He was also influenced by
Jacques Guillermaz Jacques Guillermaz (16 January 1911 – 4 February 1998) was a French diplomat, military officer, and scholar of modern Chinese history. He served as military attaché in China from 1937 to 1943, then returned to fight for the liberation of Fr ...
, with whom he disagreed on the handling of counter-revolutionary warfare, but who gave Galula intellectual mentorship during the years following 1945 when they served in China. The older soldier imparted an intellectual approach to military and geopolitical analysis.


Works

* ''Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice''. Wesport, Connecticut: Praeger Security International, 1964, * ''Les Moustaches du tigre''. Flammarion, 1965 (under the pseudonym of Jean Caran), * ''Pacification in Algeria, 1956–1958''.
RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
, 2006,


References

Notes Bibliography * Further reading *Gagliano, Giuseppe ''La guerra rivoluzionaria nella riflessione strategica francese'', Fuoco Edizioni, 2015


External links

*Marlow, An
"David Galula: His Life and Intellectual Context"
(Sep 2010)
open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
analysis from the
U.S. Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military officer ...
Strategic Studies Institute The Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) is the U.S. Army's institute for strategic and national security research and analysis. It is part of the U.S. Army War College. SSI conducts strategic research and analysis to support the U.S. Army War Co ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galula, David 1919 births 1967 deaths Alumni of Lycée Lyautey (Casablanca) Counterinsurgency theorists Deaths from lung cancer École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni French anti-communists French Army officers French male non-fiction writers French military attachés French military personnel of World War II French military personnel of the Algerian War French military writers Tunisian emigrants to France French prisoners of war in the 20th century Guerrilla warfare theorists Harvard University people Military theorists People from Sfax People of the Chinese Civil War People of the Greek Civil War 20th-century Tunisian Jews Tunisian military personnel 20th-century French male writers Tunisian expatriates in Morocco