The Art of War: Urban Warfare

Imagine going about your business one week and then the next week you’re throwing Venti Molotov Lattes out of what used to be a Starbucks.

Urban combat is one beast of warfare that’s always chaotic. Fictional media always made the image of zipping through buildings/streets, street firefights, or forces leveling whole complexes to total each other exciting as a fictional setting (notably Call of Duty with Modern Warfare, or different battles seen in Star Wars). But when you get to more realistic portrayals of urban warfare in movies or to actual cases of it in the real world, a lot of that excitement goes away due to the tension of fighting in various small quarters, civilian casualties and the image of great cities being reduced to rubble and to a shell of themselves.

"The Battle of Manila should probably get its own video." Yep, you already did that one Simon lmao

Urban warfare in some way is "back to the stone age". Kill the enemy (often within arm's reach) while looking him in the eye. Each encounter gives you a good chance of getting killed yourself. That can add up to your almost certain death. Even if you survive these fights, after so many nightmarish encounters, you are lucky to get out mentally healthy.

A friend of a friend served two tours in Northern Ireland in the late 70s. He always said the msin difficulty was that the enemy didn't wear a uniform. There was no way of knowing if the man walking towards you was going to pull out a pistol, throw a hand grenade, or was just off to the shop for a newspaper and a packet of cigarettes.

Could you do an episode on how Calvary has been used throughout the history of war, its rise, its golden age, and its slow movement towards obsolescence?

When I was in the specialized training I got was called MOBA (Military Operations in Built-up Areas.) I don't know what they call it now but it was great training. It covered everything from jungle grass hut villages to downtown Chicago like environments.

I saw a short movie once, can't recall the name of it but it was about a soldier's rapid psychological decline while stationed in a very claustrophobic urban area during heavy fighting with local insurgents. I think it was in French, and the theme was set in an African country. It covered a week of time, showing something horribly jarring that happened to the soldier on each day and gradually the appearance of the video became more hazy and glitchy as the movie progressed. By the end of it, all of the dialogue is completely muffled, all the colors are extremely oversaturated and the background noise is chaotic and loud. It was something that really stuck with me, probably the most understandable representation of traumatic mental damage I've ever seen.

It took America a few years to find their groove in CQB, but Russia has a vastly different strategy: just level everything to the ground and who's left is marked as an enemy. Very effective, but also destructive. It took Vietnam and Korea to figure out that it just turns the entire population of said country against you. The more you damage the population, the bigger grudge they hold.

The first lesson to be successful in urban warfare is to acknowledge that there are no civilians in a warzone. Just unmarked, potential combatants.

Snipers can not only cover a large area with fire they can also give information back to their command to make better decision

Buildings are awesome during peace but terrifying during war.

Urban warfare is the most physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding and exhausting form of warfare without a doubt. Speaking from lots of experience.

happy to see that art of war actually became a series!

1:50 - Chapter 1 - The method 9:40 - Chapter 2 - The history 17:25 - Chapter 3 - The modern day 21:15 - Chapter 4 - Aftermath - Chapter 5 - - Chapter 6 - PS: Humbly requesting Sappers & Pioneers

The urban warfare podcast with John Spencer is fascinating about this subject. Its so much more complex than I thought. Its going to get more prevalent too bc if you want to win a war you must capture the cities.

urban warfare probably as terrifying as it can get like you have to go in buildings knowing people could be around any corner ready to shoot as opposed to frontline fighting where you know the enemy is just up ahead either is terryfying but having to go into a building to kill someone just sounds intense

Having spent 13 months fighting in Mosul, Iraq, I can tell you that dealing with foriegn nationals is challenging. The worst thing an occupation force can do is be anything but kind to them. I have seen the worst of humanity and the very best. I will say this about the middle eastern philosophy of the sanctity of life is that it is very different than ours. They will walk away from a wounded child if that child is not family. Even hardened criminals in the US will risk their own lives to help.

Urban and close quarters combat is brutal. Marines fighting in Fallujah were told to expect several casualties for every hostile house they entered. I can't imagine the balls it had to take to be the first man in.

As far as other vicious urban fights that i think could be honorable mentions here; Hue City 1968 Tet Offensive, Berlin 1945, Seoul twice during the Korean War, the 24 hours in 1993 Bakara Market in Mogadishu (black hawk down), the various urban battles in Somalia during the various civil conflicts, battle of Kigali during the Rwandan civil war and genocide in 94 etc....