Historical Lessons from the British and Germans: The Case for Integrated Indigenous Forces

This aim of this article is to demonstrate through example how the employment of integrated indigenous forces within the British and German armies in past counterinsurgency (COIN) operations substantially increased the quality and quantity of local intelligence, extended their pacification capabilities, and leveraged an untapped manpower pool to provide resources to conduct economy of force operations. The British and German historical experiences show that indigenous forces integrated within their force structures produced better intelligence and operational performance than purely local government forces with advisors. These historical experiences of utilizing indigenous forces to augment intelligence capabilities and manpower allow the militaries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to glean potential ideas for use in their pacification duties in Iraq, Afghanistan, and future battlefields.