Warfare has migrated into cities. From Mosul to Mumbai, Aleppo to Marawi, the major military battles of the twenty-first century have taken place in densely populated urban areas. Why has this happened? What are the defining characteristics of urban warfare today? What are its military and political implications? Leading sociologist Anthony King answers these critical questions through close analysis of recent urban battles and their historical antecedents. Exploring the changing typography and evolving tactics of the urban battlescape, he shows that although not all methods used in urban warfare are new, operations in cities today have become highly distinctive. Urban warfare has coalesced into gruelling micro-sieges, which extend from street level – and below – to the airspace high above the city, as combatants fight for individual buildings, streets and districts. At the same time, digitalized social media and information networks communicate these battles to global audiences across an urban archipelago, with these spectators often becoming active participants in the fight. A timely reminder of the costs and the horror of war and violence in cities, this book offers an invaluable interdisciplinary introduction to urban warfare in the new millennium for students of international security, urban studies and military science, as well as military professionals.

All elite soldiers know that at times our towns and cities can be as dangerous as any wilderness. That's why they train hard to defend themselves from attack, looking at ways of staying out of trouble or handling it if it happens. Explore the essential techniques of self-defense needed for an urban setting. Under elite forces tuition, you can learn how to protect yourself against physical assault by either one person or several, or even cope with a riot. Blocking, punching, grappling, and kicking are all covered, but you will also learn how to avoid trouble before it even begins. The skills covered in the book include: • How to handle an attack from someone with a knife. • How you can tell when a person will attack. • Ways of restraining someone without damaging them. • How to generate maximum power from your body. • Ways of training for self-defense situations. • The most vulnerable areas of the human body.

The process of urbanization throughout the world is making urban warfare a major aspect of future military conflicts. Past experience in such combat indicates that wall breaching is an important capability in facilitating the movement of ground units. Maneuver in strongly defended built-up areas is sometimes possible only if units move through buildings. This study attempts to determine if there is a need for a wall-breaching capability in infantry units today. The investigation is focused on an analysis of historical experience, contemporary urban areas, and the capabilities of U.S. Army weapons. Investigation reveals that a distinct need for a wall-breaching capability in infantry units does exist, and that current weapons and equipment readily available to the infantry rifle company are inadequate for this purpose. Further examination reveals that the means of satisfying the requirement are within the capability of current technology.

This volume provides the reader with the history of urban warfare and the critical insights into the ethical problems arising from various dimensions of modern urban warfare through ten chapters written by acclaimed experts in the field.

This is the 39th volume in the Occasional Paper series of the U.S. Air Force Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). Aerospace power has emerged as a primary military instrument of choice in pursuing national objectives within the complex international security environment entering the 21st century. Changes in the security landscape, the dynamics of sub-theater conflicts, and coalition imperatives combine to place new requirements on aerospace operational planning and the conduct of aerospace operations themselves. Occasional Papers 38 and 39 address, in turn, both political and operational dimensions of aerospace power application today. They are presented both for informational and educational purposes to offer informed perspectives on important aspects of contemporary aerospace operations, to generate informed discussion and to bound productive debate on aerospace power in both supported and supporting roles. In Occasional Paper 38, "Constraints, Restraints, and the Role of Aerospace Power in the 21st Century," Jeffrey Beene presents a comprehensive examination of the use of aerospace power within tightly restrained conflicts and suggests improvements in doctrine, training, and tools to more effectively employ such power within that environment. In this Occasional Paper, "Aerospace Power in Urban Warfare: Beware the Hornet's Nest," Peter Hunt examines the employment of aerospace power in the increasingly important urban operational environment. Aerospace technologies and systems offer alternatives and important adjuncts to surface forces in the urban arena, but significant obstacles and critical considerations must be brought into planning for such operations. Each of these aspects of aerospace power demands greater thought and analysis, and these two occasional papers are presented to help focus that attention.

Urban terrain presents significant tactical challenges to attacking armies, limiting weapons effects and mobility while disrupting formations and command and control. The human terrain in cities creates a tactical dilemma, placing large civilian populations in close proximity to the fighting. The issue of restraint in urban warfare has been described as a modern phenomenon, with urban warfare in World War II characterized as unlimited. In April 1945, however, the Canadian Army limited its firepower while attacking the city of Groningen, Netherlands to limit damage and civilian casualties. This thesis examines the reasons for these restraints and the methods used to balance those restraints with accomplishment of the mission. The Canadians limited their use of force for political reasons based on intent from the British. They accomplished their mission due to intelligence gained from the friendly population, local fire superiority gained by tanks and flamethrowers, and the ineffectiveness of the poorly organized and equipped German defense. This thesis provides a historical case study of the reasons for restraint in urban warfare and the tactical challenges associated with such limitations.

Paragraph 10 of the Security Environment section of the NATO Strategic Concept adopted in 2010 clearly defines terrorism as ‘a direct threat to the security of the citizens of NATO countries, and to international stability and prosperity more broadly’. Terrorist attacks in Turkey, France, Belgium, Germany, Canada and the United States have demonstrated both the vulnerability of NATO members to terrorist activity and the need to strengthen security cooperation with countries of both the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI). This book presents papers delivered at the NATO Advanced Training Course (ATC) ‘Countering Terrorism and Urban Warfare’, held in Herzliya, Israel, in November 2017. Course participants from both the military and the civilian sectors shared theoretical and practical best practice in the countering of terrorism in an urban warfare context, and the 10 papers included here cover topics such as protecting the civilian population in urban combat areas; terrorists logic behind the choice of target; what Europe can learn from its southern neighbors; countering hybrid threats in megacities and densely populated urban areas; and where will ISIS regroup? The book will be of interest to all those concerned with the countering of terrorism, particularly in urban areas.

What is Urban Warfare Urban warfare is warfare in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and the complexity of the urban terrain. Urban combat operations may be conducted to capitalize on strategic or tactical advantages associated with the possession or the control of a particular urban area or to deny these advantages to the enemy. It is considered to be arguably the most difficult form of warfare. How you will benefit (I) Insights, and validations about the following topics: Chapter 1: Urban warfare Chapter 2: Armoured fighting vehicle Chapter 3: Battle of Stalingrad Chapter 4: Blitzkrieg Chapter 5: Military tactics Chapter 6: Combined arms Chapter 7: Trench warfare Chapter 8: Battle of Berlin Chapter 9: Close-quarters combat Chapter 10: Skirmisher (II) Answering the public top questions about urban warfare. Who this book is for Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of Urban Warfare.

The urbanization of warfare has necessitated the kind of precision targeting that only small arms can deliver. Weapons not often seen on the battlefield can prove useful, even indispensible, in an urban setting. This expert reference guide examines in detail the most successful small arms in use and how changes in warfare have affected how those weapons are used and have transformed the small arms industry. Professional soldiers, law enforcement officers and students and researchers of small arms will gain a working knowledge of the most common and successful urban combat weapons (including some currently in development).