Urban Operations, Untrained On Terrain

By: Major Paul S. Burton

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Synopsis: This thesis traces the development of urban operations from World War II to the present to examine the evolution of doctrine, training, organization, and equipment. Four specific operations/battles are examined, including Stalingrad in World War II on the eastern front, Belfast in Northern Ireland from 1968 to the present, Beirut in Lebanon in 1982, and an illustrative future model in Seoul in Korea in 2012.The historical examples are compared to the U.S. scenario in Seoul, Korea, in 2012 to determine similarities and differences. Future lessons learned are extrapolated from these similarities and differences.The study concludes that the U.S. Army has weaknesses in doctrine, training, organization, and equipment in war and military operations other than war at the tactical and operational levels. This study recommends an updated, integrated doctrine, a training facility and training plans at the unit level, a more flexible organization, and procurement of new equipment.