Preparing for the inevitability of urban warfare

2006

in Advanced Land Warfare (OUP) , 2023

The chapter takes on the challenges of military operations in urban terrain (MOUT). This chapter addresses the daunting challenge of urban warfare on tomorrow’s battlefield. In the first section, it provides a brief background of the urban warfare phenomenon. It approaches urban warfare by asking why the field has now emerged after a long period of relative neglect. Thereafter, the chapter outlines the different challenges to and expectations for urban operations on the battlefields of today and tomorrow. A number of key challenges are addressed: the impact of rapid urbanization, multi-domain operations, grey zone problems, the impact of technology on urban operations, and the urbanization of insurgency. Observing that urban areas will be an increasingly important arena for future land warfare, the chapter argues that urban operations and warfare should acquire a greater significance in our understanding of the operational environment. With large cities being the centre of gravity for political and economic interaction and although urban warfare is a nightmare that one reasonably hopes to avoid, it is not always possible to choose the battlefield and it is therefore better to prepare thoroughly for this eventuality. Finally, to help with the preparation, the chapter presents eleven lessons about urban warfare

2012

I n Concrete Hell, Louis A. DiMarco surveys historical trends in urban combat since World War II. Lieutenant Colonel DiMarco brings to his task both professional and personal interests. An experienced soldier and historian, DiMarco has focused his recent professional life on the problem of urban combat as a doctrine writer and teacher at the Army Command and General Staff College. DiMarco seeks to make three contributions related to understanding the urban battle space, providing insights into the nature of urban combat and its evolution-drawing from tactical, operational, and strategic considerations he believes will remain relevant. Regarding the last item, he explores the transition of urban combat from "simplistic conventional" fights in Stalingrad and Aachen to a "complex hybrid mixture" found in Chechnya and Iraq, concluding these "hybrid" fights in Chechnya and Iraq foretell the future. Generally, DiMarco makes his case effectively. He begins by noting that at the turn of the century the Army was "particularly wary" of urban combat. DiMarco is absolutely right. The Army and, for that matter, US armed forces sought to avoid fighting in cities. This tendency may have come, in part, from focusing on defending cities in Europe. The Army in Europe, in particular, gave considerable thought to how to fight in towns and cities in the context of defense but far less thought on offensive urban combat. At the end of the Cold War, few soldiers imagined the United States would find itself in any kind of urban combat. Moreover, there were a great many "defense experts" who claimed that various revolutions in military affairs precluded ground combat let alone urban ground combat. Some believed that the nature of warfare itself had changed and that "contactless" battle would result. But DiMarco's argument, at least where the US Army is concerned, would have benefited from reviewing what the Army did do. Shortly after Operation Desert Storm, General Fred Franks (commanding the Training and Doctrine Command) confronted the idea that urban combat would be among the missions the post-Cold War Army might have to undertake. He did not have the money to develop large urban combat training centers and instead focused on developing a single "world class" venue at Fort Polk. However, Fort Polk's urban combat venue was useful at the tactical level only. The absence of large venues did not prevent the Army thinking and writing about urban combat. DiMarco played an important role in this effort providing a chapter in one of several books on urban combat published by the Army. These included Roger Spillers' Sharp Corners in 2001 and William G. Robertson and Lawrence Yeats, Block By Block in 2003. These major studies were accompanied by lively arguments in journals as well. In the fall of 2002, the Army's angst over urban combat came to a head as the possibility of war with Iraq loomed. Accordingly, the Army organized Operations Group F within the Battle Command

Proceedings 2023, 2023

The general trend of urbanization at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century coincides with an increase in armed conflicts between military formations in urban areas. Weaker armed forces tend to draw stronger armed forces into the closed environment of urban areas to mitigate the effects of their weaknesses in human and material resources. Stronger armed forces express their desire to bypass and avoid the development of armed conflicts in urban areas. On the other hand, when the operational situation requires an armed conflict to develop inside urban areas, the stronger armed forces show a tendency to disproportionately use all their material and human superiority causing damage or destruction of facilities and infrastructure systems of urban areas, and this leads to the suffering of the civilian population. The characteristics of urban areas influence contemporary armed conflicts to manifest themselves differently compared to areas like forests, flat lands, mountains, and others. By applying the method of analysis of the content of the document, it was established that the basic characteristics of urban areas: built objects for housing and business, communal infrastructure, and the presence of permanent residents, have an impact on the basic characteristics of armed conflicts: multidimensionality, precision, non-linearity in time and space of execution, distributed content, simultaneity in action, integration of forces, interoperability and the need to respect international humanitarian law in the use of military force.

International Review of the Red Cross, 2010

Armies have traditionally avoided cities and siege operations. Fighting for and in cities is costly, slow, and often inconclusive. But sometimes they are unavoidable, either because they are located on main road or rail junctions or because of their value as political and/or economic prizes. Urban expansion in both north and south has made cities today the main theatres of military and humanitarian operations.Armies' structures, equipment, and doctrines are undergoing a process of adaptation. Manoeuvre has given way to fire power and protection for the troops as the decisive elements of military power. While heavy fire power does considerable damage and causes civilians to flee their homes, operations using protection techniques are only suitable for stabilization. Moreover, their success depends essentially on the willingness of troops to make sacrifices, and on support from the public.

2017

This paper provides an overview of the historical development, contemporary discourses, and challenges of the urbanization of warfare for international humanitarian law (IHL). By drawing on critical urbanism studies, official military documents, and doctrines, this paper highlights the mutually constitutive relationship between warfare and militarization, with a particular focus on the American armed forces and argues that IHL in its current form is unable to guarantee a humanitarian conduct of war in compliance with its principles of proportionality and precaution. Using the invasion of Iraq in 2003 as a case study, this paper will shed light on the decisive role of the occupying power and its deliberate transformation of the urban battlefield into a militarized zone by targeting dual-use infrastructure and employing discourse and techniques on the ground to securitize urban zones. Therefore, by arguing in favour of the application of customary IHL, which emerges from state practice rather than treaties or conventions, an attempt can be made to close these loopholes. As a more general conclusion, this paper suggests that the mutually constitutive relationship between urbanization and warfare has to become more explicit in military doctrines in order to highlight the responsibility of occupying forces.

ACTA 2023 - War and the City: The Effects of Armed Conflicts on Urban Space and Population, 2024

As the Turkish Commission of Military History and the Turkish National Defense University, we were honored to host the 48th International Congress of the International Commission of Military History in İstanbul between 3-8 September 2023. This congress had historical importance for us as it coincided with the centenary of the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye. With 140 participants from 29 countries, the congress featured an extensive academic program organized into 14 parallel sessions over four days. 53 scholars presented their research, contributing to a vibrant exchange of ideas. Beyond the academic sessions, a rich cultural program provided participants with the opportunity to experience Istanbul’s unique historical and cultural heritage, a city that has long been a crossroads of civilizations and the capital of empires. The congress’s theme, “War and the City: The Effects of Armed Conflicts on Urban Space and Population” addressed the evolving relationship between warfare and urban environments. Historically, this relationship was characterized by gradual change, but the 19th century witnessed a marked acceleration in transformation due to the increasing complexity of warfare. Technological advancements played a pivotal role in this evolution. Lind’s four-generation framework for understanding warfare is instrumental in contextualizing and analyzing these changes. The first generation, characterized by ancient battles with basic military equipment and tactics, had limited impact on civilians and cities. The second generation, with innovations such as new weapons and compulsory military service, saw increased effects on urban spaces and populations, lasting until WWII. The third and fourth generations, representing modern warfare, emerged during WWII. The advent of air power extended the battlefield beyond traditional front lines, significantly increasing the impact on civilians and urban areas. Cities and their inhabitants became direct military targets to undermine enemy morale and disrupt tactics. Unconventional tactics, including terrorism and proxy wars, further blurred lines between civilians and combatants, highlighting the profound and lasting effects of armed conflicts on urban areas. These developments underscore the profound and lasting effects of armed conflicts on urban spaces and populations.

ACTA 2023 - War and the City: The Effects of Armed Conflicts on Urban Space and Population, 2024

As the Turkish Commission of Military History and the Turkish National Defense University, we were honored to host the 48th International Congress of the International Commission of Military History in İstanbul between 3-8 September 2023. This congress had historical importance for us as it coincided with the centenary of the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye. With 140 participants from 29 countries, the congress featured an extensive academic program organized into 14 parallel sessions over four days. 53 scholars presented their research, contributing to a vibrant exchange of ideas. Beyond the academic sessions, a rich cultural program provided participants with the opportunity to experience Istanbul’s unique historical and cultural heritage, a city that has long been a crossroads of civilizations and the capital of empires. The congress’s theme, “War and the City: The Effects of Armed Conflicts on Urban Space and Population” addressed the evolving relationship between warfare and urban environments. Historically, this relationship was characterized by gradual change, but the 19th century witnessed a marked acceleration in transformation due to the increasing complexity of warfare. Technological advancements played a pivotal role in this evolution. Lind’s four-generation framework for understanding warfare is instrumental in contextualizing and analyzing these changes. The first generation, characterized by ancient battles with basic military equipment and tactics, had limited impact on civilians and cities. The second generation, with innovations such as new weapons and compulsory military service, saw increased effects on urban spaces and populations, lasting until WWII. The third and fourth generations, representing modern warfare, emerged during WWII. The advent of air power extended the battlefield beyond traditional front lines, significantly increasing the impact on civilians and urban areas. Cities and their inhabitants became direct military targets to undermine enemy morale and disrupt tactics. Unconventional tactics, including terrorism and proxy wars, further blurred lines between civilians and combatants, highlighting the profound and lasting effects of armed conflicts on urban areas. These developments underscore the profound and lasting effects of armed conflicts on urban spaces and populations.

2011

As our planet urbanizes more rapidly than ever before, a new and insidious militarism is permeating the fabric of cities and urban life. Fuelled by, and perpetuating, the extreme inequalities that have mushroomed as neoliberal globalisation has extended across the world, this new military urbanism is a constellation of ideas, techniques and norms of security and military doctrine.