Thursday, June 30, 2016

The End of Empire by Martin Bell (Five Stars)



End of Empire is a fascinating look at counterinsurgency warfare towards the tail end of the British Empire, as told by Martin Bell, who ended up in Cyprus as a National Serviceman. National Service was the British equivalent of the Draft, was almost universally disliked and was discontinued not long after Mr. Bell left the British Army.

Bell served in Cyprus while the Greeks residents of the island were clamoring for "unification" with Greece. This idea was not liked by the British, who ran the island as part of the Empire, or the Turkish residents of Cyprus, who were not interested in living in Greece. As a consequence, the Greeks launched an insurgency which aimed at getting the British out. he British responded by trying to hunt down the insurgents, to make it difficult for them to get support from the local populace, and to fight pro-insurgent riots when they broke out. Bell's observations, both from a headquarters standpoint and operationally as a patrol leader are fascinating, not to mention his life with other young National Servicemen who were interested in skiffle music and sports.

Bell also devotes much attention to a book called Flaming Cassock, written during the insurgency but declared secret before it could be published. he book was apparently very objective and as such was not appreciated by the government at the time.

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