Vietnam War: Combat in Cities Reports and Studies

Vietnam War: Combat in Cities Reports and Studies

This collection includes 1,250 pages material. The reports and studies include:

Combat in Cities Report Volumes I, II & III (1972)

445 pages of studies, reports and instruction concerning combat in cities and built-up areas, produced in 1972 by the United States Army Infantry School.

Volume I & II

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to validate and expand existing combat in cities doctrine by identifying voids and weaknesses for the promulgation of doctrinal changes applicable throughout the spectrum of urban warfare. The report group considered urban conflict in Europe and the Pacific during World War II, post-war European uprisings against the Soviet Union, the battle for Seoul during the Korean conflict, and the recent battles for Saigon and Hue. On the lower end of the combat in cities spectrum, the urban unrest and the attendant civil disturbances that have occurred in the United States during the last decade were examined.

Volume III

Abstract: This annex describes historical examples concerning the use of infantry weapons in city fighting and the characteristics and capabilities of current infantry weapons when employed in combat cities. Each type of infantry weapon is covered in detail in this annex, to include description, characteristics, technique of fire, maintenance methods, problems, and tips on training and specific guidance for fighting with these weapons in built-up areas. This annex also outlines penetration data on most infantry weapons and their ammunition when employed against various types of targets and material found in city fighting.

The first chapter of this annex contains extracts from historical documents showing examples of the weapons and techniques used and some capabilities and limitations of these weapons in fighting 1n cities and built-up areas from World War II through the present-day fighting in Vietnam. Some of the extracts exhibit weapons which are not in the Army's current inventory of weapons; however, they give the reader insight in the use of today's sophisticated weapons.

 
Combat in Built-up Areas Handbook (1973)

A 91-page handbook published in 1973 by the United States Army Infantry School.

Abstract: Successful combat operations in a built-up area depend heavily upon the proper employment of the rifle squad. The squad itself is successful only when each and every member of the squad is skilled in the techniques of combat in built-up areas. The training in these techniques is the responsibility of all leaders. The purpose of this booklet is to assist you in developing a program by which to train the individual soldier in the tactics and techniques of combat in built-up areas. The instruction outlined in this booklet is designed to be conducted at individual stations each concerned with an isolated technique peculiar to fighting in built-up areas. Instructional areas include: methods of building entry, top and lower level; use of hand grenades; search party techniques selection of firing positions, both individual and crew-served; techniques of movement; defense against armor; weapons effects and capabilities or boobytraps; use of demolitions and a tactical exercise.

 
Shaping the Battlespace to Win the Street Fight (2000)

A 194-page master of military studies thesis by Major Norman Lee Cooling, USMC, produced at the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Marine Corps University, Quantico, VA.

This study covers the urban fighting aspects of three conflicts, HUE CITY Vietnam (1968), Operation Restore Hope in Somalia (1992-1994), and Russia’s Campaign for Chechnya (1994-1996).

The section on Hue City covers the subjects Strategic Setting, Conflict History, Analyzing the American Campaign Plan, Analyzing the North Vietnamese Campaign Plan, Campaign Execution, Operational Level Assessment, Command & Control, Intelligence, Maneuver, Fires, Logistics, Force Protection, and Lessons Learned.

Abstract: The preponderance of recent national security studies all describe an emerging threat that will increasingly require regional Commanders-in-Chiefs (CinCs) to meet challenges across the spectrum of conflict while operating within the world's cities. Yet, all current doctrine concerning urban warfare deals almost exclusively with high intensity operations that are part of a "Fulda Gap style" major theater war. Moreover, this doctrine tends to address urban warfare solely at the tactical level, apparently assuming that no operational level differences exist between urban operations and those in other environments. Last year, the Department of Defense designated the Marine Corps as the lead service for the development of joint doctrine for urban operations. I began this monograph in hopes of assisting with this effort by identifying potential operational level considerations that are unique to, or are of enhanced importance in, the urban environment. I found that while many of the operational considerations for urban conflict are the same as those for other physical environments, the unique nature of cities requires joint force commanders to consider a number of special factors while planning and conducting urban operations. 

 
Block by Block - the Challenges of Urban Operations (2003)

An anthology on the history of urban combat, including a study on the Battle of Hue 1968. The study on Hue, "The Battle for Hue, 1968," is by James H. Willbanks, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Retired, professor of joint and multinational operations at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

This 481-page book begins with a general overview of urban operations from ancient times to the midpoint of the twentieth century. It then details ten specific case studies of U.S., German, and Japanese operations in cities during World War II and ends with more recent Russian attempts to subdue Chechen fighters in Grozny and the Serbian siege of Sarajevo. Operations range across the spectrum from combat to humanitarian and disaster relief. Each chapter contains a narrative account of a designated operation, identifying and analyzing the lessons that remain relevant today.

 
Breaking the Mold: Tanks in the Cities (2006)

A 146-page monograph by Kendall D. Gott, published by the Combat Studies Institute Press, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This work examines the use of tanks in urban warfare. One of the case studies covers the combat related to Hue City, Vietnam.

Abstract: (This work) seeks to provide insight and a historical precedence on the wisdom of employing tanks in an inherently dangerous dimension of the modern battlefield, intensifying the shortcomings in technological design and the lack of crew training for city fighting.  The case studies in this monograph are high-intensity battles in conflicts ranging from limited interventions to major combat operations.  From Aachen in 1944 to Fallujah in 2004, the absolute need for specialized training and the use of combined arms at the lowest tactical levels are two of the most salient lessons that emerge from this study.