German Counter-Insurgency Revisited

In recent years, some of the most enduring interpretations of World War II have been subject to revision. Indeed, military historians are using innovative and often inter-disciplinary methods to answer original questions, and offer new perspectives in established debates. With advances in Holocaust studies and departures from the evidence presented at Nuremberg, this allows German occupation policies to be reconsidered. Conditions that were specific were separated from general circumstances in occupation campaigns. New background in German experience in suppressing rebellion in World War II is presented. With the understanding that Clausewitz saw defense as stronger than offense, the author argues that this was behind a German preference for conflicts of annihilation or destruction, particularly in dealing with rebellion. This article considers: 1) Background (1831–1932)—from Clausewitz and experience up through World War I; 2) Doctrine (1933–1945)—from what was available in Germany; and 3) Practice (1942...