UKRAINE: 3 QUESTIONS - 3 ANSWERS, PART 13: Battle underground?

03/16/2022 By Redaktion

Austrian Armed Forces Fragen Conflicts War

The war in Ukraine is increasingly focused on the country's major cities. Both the population and defenders seek refuge underground.

Our expert, Colonel Peter Hofer, heads the Institute for Officer Training at the Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt. One of his projects deals with operations in underground facilities.

Statement from the Bundesheer Expert:

What special circumstances need to be considered when fighting underground?

The operating conditions in underground infrastructures are among the most difficult. Extensive facilities with many kilometers in length, a multitude of factors, absolute darkness, and challenging environmental conditions. Along with armed opponents and the presence of civilians, this creates a highly complex operational environment that quickly pushes operational forces to their limits. This can lengthen the duration of the operation and significantly increase logistical demands.

Given the diverse nature of transportation infrastructures (road tunnels, railway tunnels, subways), water supply (water pipelines, sewers), energy supply (power lines, pipelines, nuclear waste storage, gas storage), as well as military structures like bunkers or civil defense facilities, operational forces are confronted with a variety of dangers and various types of construction of facilities.

The more underground infrastructure there is, the greater the likelihood of combat operations shifting there – and the greater the technical superiority of an actor on the surface, the greater the desire of their opponent to go underground.

For many days, the residents of Kyiv have been seeking shelter in subway stations and basements. Are they safe there?

Generally, subway stations and basements - depending on the cover and construction quality - provide good protection against weapon effects from above. However, existing sources of danger (such as fire-prone materials, electricity, or water leaks) must always be considered and adequate fresh air supply is important.

When combat operations shift underground, projectiles, pressure and gas from explosions, and their effects on infrastructure become additional sources of danger. The protective space can quickly become a hostile environment.

In urban combat, defenders often use underground facilities to their advantage. What opportunities does this offer? Why are underground operations so challenging?

Whoever first uses this operational environment for their purposes has a step ahead of the opponent. The urban operational space extends over three inseparably interconnected movement levels, the so-called "Triple S" (Supersurface - Surface - Subsurface). Therefore, underground and above-ground actions must be closely coordinated.

In addition to protection against weapon effects, underground facilities offer opportunities for stealthy and rapid troop movements. Fighting underground, however, is a special challenge: highly confined and channeling, in case of a power outage, there is absolute darkness and air masses only follow natural currents. Collapse danger, dangerous substances, and water can be additional sources of danger. Opportunities for observation, movement, seeking cover, and employing weapons are limited, orientation and communication are extremely difficult.

Operations in such an environment require highly qualified soldiers, advanced equipment, and efficient civil-military cooperation supported by current expert knowledge. The assessment of environmental conditions by specialists is of immense importance for underground operations.

BUNDESHEER on the Internet