Keep on Truckin’: The Toyota Hilux

We explore the modern history of putting big guns on wheels, then dive into the history of Chad and its border dispute with Libya to learn how a humble pickup truck became a quintessential weapon of war.

If you enjoyed this episode: – Support Blood Work via Patreon – Leave a rating or review on your podcast app – Follow us on Bluesky / Instagram / Twitter

Image: A Nigerien military convoy on a counter-terrorism patrol in the Sahara Desert (UNICEF)

Blood Work is a Scam Goldin Production This episode was produced by Thomas O’Mahony Our theme song is ‘Dream Weapon’ by Genghis Tron Our artwork is provided courtesy of KT Kobel

THIS WEEK IN VIOLENCE: Tatmadaw’s Shiny Happy People Committee for Lo-Fi Beats to Study To ALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIO This week, we’re in Southeast Asia, jumping just over Thailand’s north-western border to Myanmar, where the ongoing civil war between the country’s military dictatorship and numerous armed groups across the country is showing slithers of hope that a resolution might be on the horizon, nestled amidst a morass of repression and violence which has persisted, practically uninterrupted, for over sixty years.

Sources:

Mario J. Azevedo (1998), Roots of Violence: A History of War in Chad BBC News (July, 2006), ‘Profile: Chad's Hissene Habre’, available at BBC News Antony Beevor (2006), The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 Michelle L. Burgis (2009), Boundaries of Discourse in the International Court of Justice: Mapping Arguments in Arab Territorial Disputes Carla Chahrour (October, 2020), ‘The arrival of Toyota in Saudi Arabia’, available at Arab News Japan Michael Ellmer (April, 2021), ‘The Great Toyota War: Birthplace of the Technical’, available at Grey Dynamics Human Rights Watch (September, 2005), ‘“Africa's Pinochet” Faces Extradition and Trial for Crimes Against Humanity’, available at Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (June, 2016), ‘Enabling a Dictator: The United States and Chad’s Hissène Habré 1982-1990’, available at Human Rights Watch Frank Jacobs (November, 2011), ‘The World’s Largest Sandbox’, The New York Times, available at The New York Times Archive Roy May (1988), ‘Internal Dimensions of Warfare in Chad’, Cambridge Antropology (13:2), pp. 17-27 Jack Mulcaire (February, 2014), ‘The Pickup Truck Era of Warfare’, available at War on the Rocks Le Monde (March, 1987), ‘TCHAD: le conflit avec la Libye Les nouvelles inquiétudes de Paris et de N'Djamena’, available at archive.today Le Monde (March, 1987), ‘TCHAD: N'Djamena affirme que 1 269 soldats libyens ont été tués à Ouadi-Doum’, available at archive.today Leigh Neville (2018), Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to Modern Special Forces Lodi News-Sentinel (April, 1987), ‘How Libya lost the battle for Wadi Doum’, available via Google News Los Angeles Times (April, 1987), ‘Chad Troops Used Pickup Trucks to Foil Libyan Tanks’, available at Los Angeles Times Archives LRDG, Long Range Desert Group, available at lrdg.hedgewisch.net

Michael Maren (1997), The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity Sam C. Nolutshungu (1996), Limits of Anarchy: Intervention and State Formation in Chad Pierre Péan (March, 2001), ‘Les preuves trafiquées du terrorisme libyen’, Le Monde Diplomatique, available at archive.today Bryan Perret (April, 1979), ‘Ford Model T Patrol Car’, Airfix Magazine, available at Landships II Kenneth M. Pollack (2002), Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948-1991 Kenneth M. Pollack (2019), Armies of Sand: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness Nathaniel K. Powell (2021), France’s Wars in Chad: Military Intervention and Decolonization in Africa Reuters (March, 1987), ‘Chad is Said to Capture Strategic Air Base’, The New York Times, available via archive.today Geoff Simons (2003), Libya and the West: From Independence to Lockerbie Ravi Somaiya (October, 2010), ‘Why Rebel Groups Love the Toyota Hilux’, available at Newsweek Chandra Lekha Sr