Urban Warfare
By Matt Nielson mattn@uni.edu
Introduction and Background:
The concept of urban warfare is nothing new in
today’s world. While historically
commanders sought to destroy an enemy’s ability to wage war on the open
battlefield; the rising tide of terrorists and third world conflicts has forced
many modern armies into the tight confines of urban warfare. In fact urban
warfare has become the battlefield of choice for the majority of conflicts from
1990 onwards. During the height of the Cold
War, NATO battle plans typically hinged on the ability to defeat the enemy at
long range; before the numerical superiority of the Soviet Bloc could be
brought to bear. Now, with the chances
of a full scale armed conflict slipping from this world, a new enemy has
appeared. Rising to take the place as
the foremost threat to stability in the world of today are the third world
dictators and terrorists. Despite the fact that they lack superior numbers and
are mainly limited to small arms and leftover Cold War military hardware; these
untrained, increasingly fanatical soldiers have become a foe to be reckoned
with.
This new generation of soldier changes the
tactical scope of warfare. Realizing
that their chances of standing up to a modern army are negligible they have
sought means to counteract standard military tactics. The only environment that they can achieve
parity to a modern force is the urban environment. Utilizing the ability to move freely among
the local population and attack targets only when factors play into their favor
is one of the foremost advantages gained. Another advantage is that the killing
ability of small arms increases as the range decreases. This, coupled with the
ability to readily obtain small arms has proved to be a major hindrance in the
peacekeeping process in urban areas such as
Moving into a new century we are faced with a
new crisis. As the majority of conflicts move into the hazy streets of urban
warfare, we find ourselves lacking in effective means to counteract this
threat. The enemy of
today is one that refuses to adhere to the rules established by the Geneva
Convention. While the war trials after the Yugoslavian conflict succeeded in
the conviction of several individuals of war crimes. We need stricter rules and better definitions
of urban warfare so that we can more effectively deal with those suspected of
war crimes. And looking ahead…
What Has Been Done:
The Geneva Conventions have been ratified by
188 states (only two UN Member States are not parties) and Additional Protocol
I has been ratified by 153 states. In addition to this The Hague Convention has
been established as customary international law. All of the above are ratified
documents and are binding. In addition to this the UN has promulgated
multiple resolutions aimed at resolving various facets of urban warfare;
including small arms, international terrorism, war crimes, land mines,
prisoners of war, and peacekeeping forces. Unfortunately these still do not
cover every aspect of the current problem.
Possible Solutions:
The largest problem by far is that third world
dictators and terrorists continue to gain the support of dissidents due to
foreign policy of larger countries; this coupled with a while slightly reduced,
none the less still flourishing illicit arms trade creates a potential quagmire
for any peace process in any part of the world. While the UN cannot guarantee
peace with factors such as these; the continued support for all of the afore
mentioned resolutions; as well as new resolutions and sanctions designed to
curtail various aspects of urban warfare, along with unified global support of
them will provide an effective foundation from which continue the pursuit of a
more peaceful world.
Study Questions
References
Magazine Articles:
The Christian Science
Monitor
Guerrilla Tactics vs. US War
Plan
The Economist (US)
The Last
Journal Of
Electronic Defense
Boulevards Of
Steel September 2002 p57
Knight Ridder/Tribune
News Service
Tanks Could Pave The Way In
Urban Warfare
Urban Warfare May Present New
Challenges To Troops
Military Thought
Using Underground Facilities In Urban Warfare (date of article unknown)
National Defense
More Training Needed To
Handle Car Bombs April 2004 p9
People Who Flee Come Home To
Find Booby Traps In The Basement Or Landmines In The Garden. Casualties Of An Underhand War
Time
How To
Squeeze A City;
Web Pages:
Geneva Convention Related
Sites
http://www.palestine-un.org/tenth/paper.html
UN Conference on Small Arms
"Small Arms"
http://www.worldrevolution.org/
United Nations Website
United States Department of
Defense
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Sep2004/n09142004_2004091403.html
URBAN WARFARE: OPTIONS,
PROBLEMS AND THE FUTURE
http://web.mit.edu/ssp/Publications/confseries/urbanwarfare/urbanwarfare.html
Books:
Keith William Nolan, The
Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down: A
Story of Modern War (New York: Grove Atlantic Press, 1999) Note: the
writer of this book went to great lengths to interview both the American soldiers
and the Somalis that participated in this event, this book can help you to
understand the true complexities of combat in a urban environment. This is also
the pre-movie publication, not the post movie novel.
Additional Sources:
These are historical conflicts that were
fought in an urban environment. I have provided these as possible sources to
better understand the problems faced and devastation caused by extended
conflicts in urban environments.
Warsaw, Poland 1943, Stalingrad,
Russia 1943, Arnhem, Holland 1944, Hue, Vietnam 1968 Mogadishu, Somalia 1993, Baghdad, Iraq 2004
This site has a tremendous
amount of publicized material regarding urban warfare. While it contains no
links in itself; using your copy/paste function will lead you to numerous
military oriented magazines.
http://www.nwc.navy.mil/library/3Publications/NWCLibraryPublications/LibNotes/liburbanwar.htm
This is a 65page thesis on guerrilla warfare tactics
in an urban environment written by PATRICK D. MARQUES, MAJ,