Urban Warfare - In the Battle for the City

11/28/2014By Redaktion

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Kobane, Aleppo, Donetsk - city names of recent times that have dominated the news. Fighters have defended themselves within their walls, others have attacked through streets. Tanks were seen as support tools for urban terrain, RPGs ubiquitous as defense and offensive weapons. The city is more contested than ever when conflict arises. SPARTANAT author Udo Lücken explains why "Urban Warfare", fighting in built-up areas, is the primary method of conflict in the future:

The global phenomenon of rural flight, i.e. the mass migration from rural areas to a country's metropolises, has been observable for decades. The reasons are complex, but essentially involve the concentration of distribution centers in prominent metropolitan areas. Here, infrastructure is also concentrated: transportation hubs such as highways, motorways, and waterways, as well as bus/train stations and airports, are clustered. All this implies an expectation and hope for the population of secure supplies, permanent jobs, and ultimately general prosperity. However, for the "Organs of Internal Security", this concentration of masses of people also entails a high potential for conflicts and unrest. In the event of a military threat from the "outside," these urban areas, as central points for political and economic control, are logical prime targets for strategic attacks. For the past twenty years, military actions have increasingly shifted towards densely populated residential areas.

Several military institutions within NATO estimate that by the year 2025, around 75 percent of the world's population will live in cities, preferably in coastal regions. Fighting in cities is much more complex than often assumed and is deliberately avoided by military tacticians for good reason. This new spectrum of tasks, on this scale, presents all armed forces with an unfamiliar tactical challenge. In urban combat scenarios, the infantry platoons and companies will increasingly become the main carriers of the battle in the expected "Urban Operations" of the future and must therefore be comprehensively prepared tactically and in terms of equipment for this focus task.

Infantry combat at close range is often conducted with rocket-propelled grenades and surprisingly efficiently.

The high technical progress in anti-tank weapons makes traditional tank formations increasingly ineffective. More likely, combat or infantry fighting vehicles are part of a small combat group - below a GoPro video of an operation of such a mixed unit in Syria - supporting reconnaissance units, assault, and cover groups from a distance with their long-range day/night-capable optronics. The conflicts in 1991 in Iraq and in July 2014 in the Gaza Strip already showed this rapidly changing operational picture. Experiences from these military conflicts prove a great improvisation talent and willingness to sacrifice of the unconventionally fighting opponents. Thus, they often use their RPG series rocket-propelled grenades unexpectedly efficiently, even at very short distances in direct infantry combat.

In a typical urban combat scenario (MOUT-Military Operations in Urban Terrain), the main threat comes from defense weapons directed directly at in the virtually invisible hidden alleys of the buildings, sniper teams, and a high number of scattered explosive devices (IED's). Classic infantry tactics of the last decades are no longer sufficient to deal with such threats. In response, the NATO armed forces' army units are currently countering these threats by assembling an individual mix of modern close combat weapons and adapted combat tactics.

The Panzerfaust is a tool in urban combat. It can not only be used as a weapon but also to breach holes and loopholes.

This "wheel has not been reinvented," but the multitude of past conflict experiences has simply been consistently implemented into new guidelines. The dismounted infantry forces now roam the target area, secured by focal point weapons combined on elevated positions or by following armored group vehicles. The rows of houses and building complexes to be searched are no longer entered through the original entrances, but only through breaches and loopholes blown into the walls. For this purpose, the German Armed Forces are equipped with the multifunctional Panzerfaust 3 from Dynamit Nobel Defence (DND). With this multi-purpose weapon, the soldier, in addition to the basic ability for long-range anti-tank warfare, is able to act against fortified positions or bunkers as needed. The adjustable warhead is capable of blowing man-sized openings in house walls and coverings, even from rooms, in the HEAT or HESH mode.

Especially the rapid commando units of the special forces - as pictured, a KSK unit during training - with their high initial striking power but only limited staying power require light but powerful firearms. In this regard, the lighter version of DND, the RGW 90 - pictured below during an exercise - is considered the most powerful portable weapon system. Its overall length has been reduced and the warhead has been moved into the barrel. This makes it easier to transport in helicopters or tight vehicles and quickly bring into operational readiness. Due to their multi-functional deployment and a wide range of ammunition, modern anti-tank weapons and 40mm grenade launchers will gain greater tactical importance in the upcoming conflicts.