Undeclared confrontations leave a thinner literature

Where should a researcher begin with military confrontations outside declared wars?

Expect a thin secondary literature and more primary-source work, because contentious undeclared episodes attract less documentation and commercial publishing.

Military confrontations outside declared wars are often poorly recorded because they remain contentious and attract less interest than a named war. No simple starter book collects the subject in one place. Researchers should expect a thin secondary literature and more work with primary sources. Controversy and the book market shape which history becomes easy to study.