Synopsis
Phantom Soldier: The Enemy's Answer to U.S. Firepower may be the best treatise on Oriental warfare ever produced in the West. Well researched and illustrated, it sheds new light on what an Eastern infantry unit can do in combat: (1) alternate between guerrilla, mobile, and positional warfare; (2) use ordinary forces to engage and extraordinary forces to beat an opponent; and then (3) run away when fighting holds no more strategic import. While what occurred in history does not change, one's perception of it does as he comes to better understand his former adversary. Well versed in the Asian arts of deception and delay, the author explains in detail what really occurred at Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, the Chosin Reservoir, Hue City, and other Vietnam battlefields. It would seem that former adversaries have used strategic retreat and tactical withdrawal not only to save their soldiers, but also to undermine U.S. resolve. By revealing how Eastern soldiers could hold their own without resupply, tanks, or air support, Phantom Soldier shows what U.S. infantrymen must do to survive the more lethal weaponry of the 21st century. This is must reading for any combat leader or concerned citizen.
Special Warfare Magazine
Although ... written prior to Sept. 11, 2001, much of its [the book's] content is prophetic for the [ongoing] battle ... in Afghanistan today.... [It] can help every infantryman ... deal ... with asymmetric conflict.