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Challenges existing interpretations of British conduct during the Cyprus Revolt of 1955-1959
Shows how the British Army proved itself capable of continual innovation and evaluates these innovations and the shortcomings of British strategy
Archival research focuses on soldiers’ accounts and explores the ‘war of words’ in press allegations of military brutality
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Table of contents (5 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
About this book
This book evaluates the prosecution of British counter-insurgency operations during the Cyprus Revolt of 1955-1959. Historians have typically cast the Cyprus Revolt as a failure, situating it within the larger pattern of the post-1945 failure of conventional armies to deal with insurgencies. By analyzing the reminiscences of British policemen, National Servicemen, and officers both junior and senior, the study provides a ground-up assessment of the British counter-insurgency effort. The work examines also the contradictions gripping Greek and Turkish Cypriot opinion, arguing that developments during this time period set the scene for intercommunal violence in the 1960s and 1970s. Military history is taken in a broad sense and includes the Cypriot government’s attempts to control its image in the eyes of international opinion. By intimately dealing with indigenous news outlets like the Times of Cyprus and Halkın Sesi, this book offers lessons for modern policymakers and civil servants concerned with the importance of sound press strategy.
Reviews
“Preston Lim delivers a study of British counter-insurgency in Cyprus that is both deftly written and original. By supplementing extensive research in the records and memoirs of British military personnel with insights from Turkish and Greek Cypriot sources, Lim has created a well-rounded account that places the British effort at counter-insurgency within the larger framework of Cypriot politics. It offers students of the Cyprus Revolt, decolonization, and counter-insurgency fresh and compelling insights.” (Professor Michael A. Reynolds, Author of Shattering Empires: The Clash and Collapse of the Ottoman and Russian Empires)
Authors and Affiliations
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Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Preston Jordan Lim
About the author
Preston Jordan Lim is a military historian. He has published several articles on British military history and counterinsurgency. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University, USA, and is currently a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Evolution of British Counter-Insurgency during the Cyprus Revolt, 1955–1959
Authors: Preston Jordan Lim
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91620-0
Publisher: Palgrave Pivot Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-91619-4Published: 05 July 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-91620-0Published: 12 June 2018
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: IX, 118
Topics: European History, Modern History, History of Military, Imperialism and Colonialism