ABSTRACT
‘Hybrid warfare’ is a modern term for an ancient practice that has become more prevalent in recent centuries: the combination of regular and irregular forces to menace an enemy. The origins of hybrid warfare can be traced to sometime in the last 5,000 years, before which there were no conventional armies. Until approximately 3000 BCE, all war was irregular, waged by tribal warriors without a bureaucracy to clothe, feed, arm or discipline them. Hybrid warfare was made possible by the rise of city states and their armies, which fought not only against guerrillas but also, on occasion, alongside them. The British soon learned that the best way to counter hybrid warfare was to engage in it themselves. They commissioned Rangers to fight ‘like the Indians’ against French settlers. Hybrid warfare was almost as potent a weapon when wielded by Filipino insurrectos fighting against American rule, and Boer farmers fighting against British rule.
