Total Resistance is a book that describes how to set up resistance cells and resist an invading force. The book is not a new book, and it was authored by a military officer out of Switzerland. Interesting thing is that the Swiss are generally neutral and much of their defenses are based on preparing for resisting a major invasion force. This book covers much of the ways in which a resistance force can set itself up and operate in general, whether it is in recruitment or targets for sabotage.
My general impressions of this book are that it is a creative source of information and inventive concepts. You may not be able to establish a resistance that is capable of all the mentioned forms of sabotage, but there are plenty of passive forms of resistance that you can participate in that can help out resistance cells that are more capable. The book clearly informs the reader of the obvious dangers of engaging in even passive resistance such as gathering intelligence or being sympathetic of the resistance. I think this is very good to be thorough and constantly mention the risks and possibilities for participants of a resistance movement.
War is not a pretty glory -filled event, and being a part of a resistance cell is also far from being filled with glory. The whole notion of having to be on your toes and always on the move can be a drain on morale. Plus the harsh treatment to your family and friends can be taxing on the fighting spirit of a resistance movement. It is always easier to quit and be selfish. It is not so easy to continue to fight and risk death to yourself and your loved ones. But that is a sacrifice that each member of the resistance should be aware of. This book clearly illustrates this reality, which I was pleased to see. If you didn't know, I am a man of details, and I like to get into the knitty gritty details and analyse every possible outcome in order to get ahead of them.
One thing that I think this book is missing is more tactics. As a combat veteran, I have a pretty good idea of what a conventional counter guerrilla force is most fearful of. This has led me to feel that there were a few things not mentioned in this book. Things like micro-psychology are subjects that I would have covered as it pertains to the enemy forces tasked with patrolling your territory or standing guard in certain areas. The problem I saw in this book is that the author seemed to be generally inexperienced and tended to focus on generalities and macro concepts. Though, in some areas like sabotage and demolitions, the author provided sufficient details to the reader.
Overall, i think the author did a good job discussing the general concepts behind effective resistance, but failed to get too detailed in concepts like raid strategies, training, and gear selection and standards. I think something cool to see would be a modernized and more detailed continuation of this book that gets into strategy, specific training methods, and very detailed information on tactics and how to fight in general. I think this book showed enough info to show the reader how to place explosives, but there is little in the way of how to search bodies and vehicles, prepare and mount explosives, etc.
In general, I do recommend this book, but I feel that this book should not be treated like a training manual, but as an initial source of information to encourage brainstorming the concept of resisting an invading hostile force. For preppers, this is an inexpensive and entertaining read that may help you prepare more logically.
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