This is the fourth volume on the Sri Lankan War that covers the period of 1995-2002. For some background, even before Ceylon became Sri Lanka, the native Sinhalese were at odds with the Tamils, who had migrated from south eastern India. The Sinhalese were better educated and were the ones who generally got all the government jobs. Even after Sri Lanka became a nation, many Tamils were denied citizenship and so were unable to participate in government. As you'd imagine, this provided an underlying distrust of each other that frequently sparked into conflict. This turned into an intermittent insurgency against the government in 1983. Thus began a cycle of war and ceasefire that lasted over 25 years.

This volume covers the third cycle and one of the more intense times of fighting. The Tamils controlled most of the north and east of the country, while the government controlled the rest along with major military installations in the Tamil controlled territories. The government also had the military equipment advantage in terms of aircraft, armored vehicles and artillery, as well as in warships.

During this period of time, the government was able to increase the quality and number of aviation assets that were more attuned to the type of warfare they were facing. As a result, they made considerable progress in taking over what had been Tamil-controlled territory. It was not all easy and both sides suffered a considerable number of casualties during this time.

The author had done a superb job of going over available materials in order to tell the story of this time period. Each of the large campaigns during this time is quite well documented, in many cases, helped by the recollections of those who were involved. As usual, Helion provides excellent photographs, maps, and full color profiles that enhances the volume.

In all, it is an excellent companion to the earlier volumes and is one that I found very interesting. I can most easily recommend this one to you.

February 2026

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