Well, one of the intents of my little monologue was to point out the fact that in 1806, our hero, Sir Sidney Smith WAS directly conducting and supporting a "species of guerrilla war." Is there any earlier instance of an English officer doing something like this? Maybe something in India but in any case Smith's Calabrian guerrilla war is a very early example of what we now call Special Operations.

Even though the English Army entirely abandoned the local populace, that General Stuart incited to rise up, the Calabrian War was to last 4 years - a fact conveniently forgotten about in virtually all of the English histories on the subject. If anything, the English army abandonment of Calabria increased the bloodshed. The only read difference was the class of who's blood was being shed. The English Army clearly stated that they would not support the blood shed by the upper class by the lower class (bandits) But that just meant that the French army was free to bring down a reign of terror on the lower class of Calabria.

The only book that I am aware of concerning the Calabrian/Franco war is by Milton Finley "The Most Monstrous of Wars." It vividly details how the French were finally able to subdue the Calabria.