Hard Fighting: Israel in Lebanon and Gaza

Like Israel in 2006, the United States today is likely ill prepared for hybrid warfare. To identify lessons that the U.S. military might learn from the Israeli experience in Lebanon, the author examines the state of the Israeli military before the Second Lebanon War, the lessons it learned during that conflict, the reforms it undertook to address its deficiencies, and how it fared during Operation Cast Lead three years later.

Review :
A lucid, informative and insightful assessment of the Israeli military's struggle to adapt to the demands of hybrid warfare, from one of America's foremost military authorities. Must reading for military professionals and senior policymakers interested in anticipating shifts in the character of warfare rather than reacting to them. Andrew Krepinevich, President, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and author of 7 Deadly Scenarios: A Military Futurist Explores War in the 21st Century Dave Johnson is the only soldier-scholar I know who writes with authority on both air and ground operations. His earlier books--Fast Tanks and Heavy Bombers and Learning Large Lessons--are brilliant. Hard Fighting is as well; the best book yet on Israel's recent wars in Lebanon and Gaza and full of important insights for the U.S. joint force as it prepares for the future. Lieutenant General David A. Deptula (U.S. Air Force, retired), Former U.S. Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance David Johnson has written an analytically robust, exhaustively researched, empirically rich and illuminating account of the recent Israeli operational experiences in Lebanon and Gaza. . . . This groundbreaking research is an indispensable source of professional knowledge for armed forces seeking to maintain operational competence against the spectrum of irregular, hybrid and conventional opponents. Dima Adamksy, Assistant Professor at the School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, IDC Herzliya, and author of The Culture of Military Innovation: The Impact of Cultural Factors on the Revolution in Military Affairs in Russia, the US, and Israel David Johnson presents a thorough and in-depth study of the IDF's learning and evolution in the last/past years. This is recommended reading not only for American officers and analysts but for Israelis as well. Colonel Meir Finkel, Director, Doctrine and Concept Department, Ground Forces Command, Israel Defense Forces, and author of On Flexibility: Recovery from Technological and Doctrinal Surprise on the Battlefield Johnson offers a trenchant and informed analysis of how Israel successfully transformed its military after its disastrous performance in the 2006 Lebanon War. Hard Fighting offers lessons for the United States and other countries that must ensure that their militaries can fight across a wide range of military operations. Daniel Byman, Professor at Georgetown University, research director of the Saban Center at Brookings, and author of A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism