Charles Edward Callwell

Maj Gen Sir Charles Edward Callwell (1859-1928), Anglo-Irish military writer and thinker, intelligence officer and talented linguist, author of Small Wars (1896) and Military Operations and Maritime Preponderance (1905). Interest in Callwell's work revived in the 1990s because of its relevance to peacekeeping and its treatment of asymmetric conflict. He was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery in 1878 and in 1886, as a captain, was awarded the Royal United Service Institute gold medal for an essay on British army operations since 1865 which became the basis for Small Wars, assuring his career as a military writer. It was republished in 1899 and 1906 and translated into French. In the Second Boer War (1899-1902) Callwell served on the staff of Sir Redvers Buller and then commanded a mobile column. He retired in 1909 to devote himself to writing but was recalled in 1914 to be Director of Military Operations and Intelligence.