Battle of Uhud

The description is quite good but since this battle is well-known it is not as interesting. A point to note that even though Muslims had only 50 horses and 650 infantry vs 200 horsemen and 2,800 infantry for Quraysh but even these 50 horses was put in reserve.  The other interesting point Col Qureshi makes is that when the hypocrite Abdullah b. Ubayy walked off with 300 of his men that actually may have been strategically permitted by the Prophet (PBUH) as it provided a reserve safeguarding Medina.

 

Battle of Yarmuk

Gives great outline of Khalid’s crossing of the desert of 500 miles with 8,000 men.  A full division operating as a mobile guerilla force deep behind enemy lines gave the Muslims breathing room to withdraw and concentrate their forces at Yarmuk. Even though the ratio of forces was 30,000 Muslims vs 66,000 Romans yet Khalid reduced the odds further by pulling 4,000 cavalry as an armoured mobile reserve.

The writing is great with simple one line sentences giving significant biting summary of the action. After 4 days of heavy fighting and back and forth the battle is ended with a succinct summary

Great Quotes:

“A great army ceased to exist”. 

“Of course the Muslims were better motivated (or fanatical as the fanatical European historians prefer to put it)”

 

Qadisiyah

This is the only strange chapter in the book. It seems that this chapter was strongly influenced by some Iraqi Baath mentality. The reference to Muslims and Persians is changed to Arabs and Persians.  In fact in some places he even mentions Iran whereas Iran is a modern name that did not exist at the time. The technical description is still quite thorough and worthwhile.

 

Wadi Bakkah

Tariq bin Zyad faced a Spanish Army of 90,000 with 12,000 Muslims.  Even given these odds Tariq further tilted the balance by pulling 4,000 cavalry as a mobile reserve. Col Qureshi though challenges the old myth of Tariq burning his boats behind him.  Col Qureshi’s contention is that Tariq’s force was mainly a force to establish a bridge head or base of operations for the main army to follow.  Tariq’s masterful speech given to his hesitant and scared army is a great read.

Great quote “Before Roderic had fully realized the significance of that mad gallop, his head was rolling on the ground”.

 

Hattin

You are there with Salah-ud-Din as he has to deal with the petty rulers and Sheikhain who would easily sell out to the crusaders if their thrones were safeguarded (Actually exactly like many of today’s Arab and Muslim petty leaders!)

 

How Salah-ud-Din dealt with the treachery and laziness of the Arabs is also useful to review.  As far as the army was concerned with all the native Muslim/Arab population he still had only 18,000 versus the same amount for the crusaders. Col. Qureshi makes a telling remark that the spirit of Jihad was quite lacking among the population (Maybe because of the misrule of the Sheikhain as nowadays).

Acerbic quotes: The Pope’s speech proclaiming the crusade “The Vicar of Christ was perhaps also the first great exponent of starting an aggressive war abroad to divert the attention of his ever-feuding followers from civil wars at home.

 

Upon getting Jerusalem “these followers of the Prince of Peace celebrated their achievement with indiscriminately butchering every inhabitant, man or woman, young or old, Muslim or Jew.”

 

Mansurah

This a great read on Muslim engineering and counter engineering.  A war of engineering in the marshes of the Nile. Also builds on how the Mamluks were formed.

 

Ayn Jalut

This is a remarkable battle by a remarkable soldier.  It is where the Muslims after repeatedly losing and getting destroyed by the seemingly invincible Mongols finally checked the Mongols. In many ways it is similar to the battle of Stalingrad where the Russian defenders finally broke an all conquering Nazi Army. Col Qureshi outlines the full power of the Mongols who if they could get Egypt would have completely dismantled Islam.  It is indeed interesting to read how well the Mamluk king Qutuz and his commander Baybers used  a weak, defeatist and cowardly Muslim Arab army.  And using such a yellow and cowardly army defeat the undefeatable Mongols

.

Biting quotes “Then he had the first and last rude shock of his long military career”.

 

Nicopolis

This is a great review of the last “official” crusade. One of the keys to Ottoman military power was a mobile force called Akinji. This was a mobile guerilla force which was part of the army.  Its job was to harass, locate and pin down the enemy.  The main specialty of the Akinji force was its ability to retreat under fire in good order.  Thus as we see Muslim guerilla movements it is interesting to note that the Ottomans used the jihadi spirit of the Muslims in forming the Akinji’s and they were critical in the destruction of the “Final” Crusade.  Although western military tradition looks down on guerilla warfare it is interesting to note that Muslims have always been involved in irregular guerilla and mobile warfare. Although it is doubtful that any other army has gone to the extent that the Ottomans did in creating the Akinji.  In fact given today’s military situation a Muslim commander would be severely remised if he did not create a guerilla reserve force to screen his main force and to harass the enemy rear.

 

Great quote

“The Christians found that whereas fighting with the Turks was an expensive and hazardous affair, trading with them conferred sure and ready advantages”

 

There are four key points that military and defence theorists may extract out of this book.

 

1. Each and every victory given in it includes a mobile reserve. Even when the Muslims were severely outnumbered as in Spain but still the Muslim generals compounded the outnumbering by pulling key veterans from the line into a mobile reserve.  It is similar to Stalin letting the Germans beat their heads into Stalingrad against paltry Soviet forces while the reserves were built up in the flanks.

 

2. The second key point that comes from reading this book is that Muslims have generally with the exception of the Ottomans always had a problem with facing a European Army in the open field. This problem was always solved by the Muslims greater mobility and their use of mobile reserve. For example Salah-ud-Din did not close with the Crusader knights till they had been thoroughly exhausted by his irregulars and guerillas who kept attacking the Crusaders in the back and the rear.

 

3. The third is mobile guerilla warfare has been systematically  used by Muslim nations and armies.  It is only now under the influence of western training that Muslim generals have shied away from guerilla forces.

 

4. The fourth is the greatest weakness of Muslims is their inability to transfer political power in a peaceful way.  A great leader would come and safeguard the Muslims but he was unable to turn over the reigns to someone to continue after him (Except for the Ottomans who had to kill their own brothers upon becoming Sultan definitely un-peaceful!). The problems of petty leaders and Sheikhain who would invite the crusaders and give them bases is not a 20th century occurrence.

 

Summary: The great beauty of Col Qureshi’s book is that it shreds the romantic history of the Muslims. The impression that one mujahid came swung a sword and killed thousands of kafir and conquered the land is quickly put to the sword. The reader is taken inside the battle, inside the antagonists heads and sometimes even the speeches they gave to remobilize a crumbling army to regroup and eventual victory. Our forefathers gave a lot of sweat and blood to defend Islam and establish it. We are Muslims because they gave their wealth and their lives to defend and establish this Deen.  There was nothing easy or simple about it. Col Qureshi’s book is highly recommended to read and in fact reread. 

The book may be found at the local bookstore. Off the web I found the following sources

 

http://dar-ut-tazkeer.com/Publications.htm 
Lt. Col. M.M. Qureshi Landmarks of Jihad Rs 87

 

http://islamicbookstore.com/b3099.html
Landmarks of Jihad Lt. Col M.M. Qureshi 367 pg HB B3099$6.95

 

http://www.islambook.com/ibadaah.htm
Landmarks of Jihad by M. M. Qureshi $6.95

.