High-Intensity Urban Combat is Evolving
This short article is adapted from an earlier article and draws from our new High-Intensity Military Urban Combat book. The article discusses how high-intensity urban combat is different from low-intensity urban combat and provides several examples of urban defensive tactics from the manual. We welcome your reactions, comments and ideas on our Facebook page and if you like the article, click below to check out the book on Amazon.
Our new High-Intensity Military Urban Combat book is an abridged version of the longer Squad-Level Military Urban Combat manual published by Special Tactics in 2017 which required controlled distribution and could not be published digitally because it contained sensitive but unclassified information regarding U.S. military urban warfare tactics. This version has extracted two sections from the original manual that contain no sensitive information, making this abridged version suitable for international, digital distribution. The core value provided by this new manual is a focus on the often neglected subject of high-intensity conventional warfare. Such tactics and knowledge could prove particularly useful for allied military forces as conventional conflicts grow more common around the world.
Low-Intensity vs. High-Intensity Urban Combat
Modern military doctrine for CQB and Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) traces its origin to hostage rescue tactics. Beginning with the British 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (SAS), counterterrorist units became the experts in room clearing and CQB. Because their focus was hostage rescue, their tactics demanded a very high degree of precision and target discrimination.
After September 11, 2001, the United States and its allies found themselves embroiled in numerous counterinsurgency and low-intensity conflicts around the globe. Because these conflicts also demanded tactics that focused on precision and target discrimination, conventional military units were able to adapt counterterrorist CQB tactics to the new battlefield. However, in high-intensity conventional war many doctrinal tactics and SOPs may no longer apply. Below are six critical factors that military units need to consider when preparing for high-intensity conventional urban combat:
1) Greater Freedom for Heavy Weapons and Firepower: In a combined-arms urban fight, it is likely that civilians will either have evacuated prior to the battle or will be doing everything they can to stay out of the way. Even if civilians remain on the battlefield, accidental civilian deaths are often accepted as a tragic but unavoidable reality of high-intensity warfare. As a result, military commanders on both sides will have much more freedom in their application of heavy weapons and firepower. Tactics like tossing fragmentation grenades through windows, firing machine guns through walls and using airburst artillery to clear rooftops will suddenly become both acceptable and necessary. Units that have spent the past seventeen years learning to restrain their use of firepower, will have to break the habit quickly.
2) Increased Danger for Room and Building Clearing: When facing an adversary armed with machine guns, mines, booby traps, high explosives and artillery, the task of clearing an enemy-held room or building becomes much more dangerous. A platoon or company-sized element might clear a building successfully, only to die in a massive explosion as the enemy detonates pre-positioned demolition charges, bringing the entire building down. In many cases, units will want to avoid going into a room or building at all and instead use firepower to neutralize threats from a distance.
3) Effects of Building Damage and Rubble: The intense employment of machine guns, artillery and explosives will greatly change the urban landscape. Military units used to clearing normal rooms in a counterinsurgency fight will be surprised when they open a door and almost fall multiple stories down because half of the building is gone. Buildings may be damaged, unstable, on fire, or filled with smoke. When buildings are completely destroyed, the tangled mass of rubble can provide even more effective defensive positions. Military units might benefit from talking with firefighters about how to move and operate in heavily damaged buildings.
4) Mouse-holes and New Clearing Challenges: Enemy defensive measures will make the urban terrain even more complex. Enemies might create holes in the floor so they can drop grenades into the rooms below or cut holes in the walls to use as firing/observation ports. Enemies might booby-trap stairwells or rip out the stairs completely and instead rely on retractable rope ladders. Both sides will also avoid using doors if possible and instead use explosives, heavy shells or armored vehicles to “mouse-hole” through walls. Military units might want to study World War II battles to relearn many “dirty tricks” of urban combat that have not been used for decades.
5) Increased Importance of Underground Combat: Sewers and subway tunnels will become much more important in conventional urban warfare since they offer hidden routes to move around the city without being exposed to direct fire and artillery. However, these narrow passages can also become deathtraps if the enemy clears them using explosives or flamethrowers. Both sides will need to learn new techniques for fighting and surviving underground.
6) Dramatic Increase in Casualties: Casualties in an urban fight are typically very high. Units must prepare mentally, physically and tactically to absorb a large number of casualties and keep fighting. More importantly, the next high-intensity urban fight will probably be the first one where combatants on both sides will wear highly effective, modern body armor. This will save more lives but it may also mean that a much higher percentage of casualties will be wounded (WIA) as opposed to killed (KIA). A large number of WIA presents a far more difficult logistical challenge for evacuation than an equal number of KIA. Military forces might need to reorganize and augment their MEDEVAC and medical treatment capabilities to deal with numbers of WIA that could exceed any historical precedent.
Urban Defense Fundamentals
Urban defensive positions fall into two categories: hasty and deliberate. A hasty defensive position is established when the squad or team must immediately adopt a defensive posture without any time or resources for preparation. A hasty defensive position might be part of a larger deliberate defense, or it might be intended to buy time to treat a casualty, detain a prisoner, establish radio communications or conduct a map check etc.
When a unit has more time to prepare, it may choose to establish a deliberate defense. Many of the steps for establishing a deliberate defense in an urban environment are similar to the steps for preparing a defense in a rural environment. However, the complexity of urban terrain offers additional opportunities for deception and creative schemes.
A cunning defender can turn an ordinary building into a web of interconnected obstacles and traps, designed to draw the enemy into a vulnerable position. However, it is important to remember that making a defensive position too strong might just encourage the enemy to avoid it altogether. In some cases that might be the objective. In other cases, it can be useful to leave openings or “lures” to trick the enemy into attacking the position and walking into a trap.
Hasty Defense - Cross Coverage on Multiple Openings
In some cases, the team may need to establish a hasty defensive position in a room. This might be part of a larger deliberate defense, or it might be to buy time to treat a casualty, detain a prisoner, establish communications or conduct a map check etc. To establish a hasty defense, ideally two team members should cover each door from opposite sides, establishing cross coverage. It is best for the two team members to position themselves to see as far into the corners of the next room as possible, while keeping some distance from the door. This will help avoid the “fatal funnel” around the doorway where bullets are likely to concentrate. However, team members should still sweep around momentarily to visually check doorways or other entrances into the adjacent room. It is helpful if these doorways are closed so the team will hear them opening and have time to respond. Also, if an enemy is able to run through the door quickly, there is a risk of friendly fire. To avoid this, team members should sweep out to engage the enemy before he/she can get close to the door.
Deliberate Defense - Windows, Obstacles and Preparations
When firing out of windows, team members should stay back, away from the window or they will be easily seen and engaged from the outside. However, on upper floors this means that team members may need to stand on desks, tables or platforms in order to see down to the street. Another option is to make small holes in the wall to use as firing ports. It can be helpful to stack sandbags around these firing ports to protect against incoming fire. Cutting holes in the floor can also be useful. If enemies enter on the ground floor the team can see them and even drop grenades through the floor on top of the enemy. However, it is critical to ensure the floor is strong enough to prevent shrapnel from exploding upwards and hitting the team. The team can also set up sandbags or other improvised covered positions, like filling a refrigerator with dirt and laying it on its side. Placing debris on the ground inside the door can cause an enemy assault team to stumble as they enter and make it more difficult for them to aim accurately. Placing debris or broken glass outside the doorway can make it more difficult for enemies to approach the door without making noise. These are just a few examples of techniques a squad can use to improve an urban deliberate defensive position.
We hope you found the short article useful and once again we welcome your reactions, comments or suggestions on our Facebook page where we frequently hold constructive discussions on tactics with people from various tactical backgrounds and experience levels. Also, click below if you would like to check out the full book on Amazon.
