Better Urban Training » Wavell Room

LTC Eric Udouj Interesting article... thanks!

..." Editor’s note: This article was written before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. The shocking images of urban combat that are emerging from this war underline the need for better urban combat training.

There is a tonne of writing on why the urban environment is so important and why the Army must train for it. From David Kilcullen’s Out of the Mountains to Anthony King’s Urban Warfare in the 21st Century, there is a range of competing views.

At a basic level, we can probably just accept that cities are important. They often hold critical national infrastructure and people live there. Cities are also big. They’re getting larger with increasingly urbanised areas between densely populated areas.

I’d like to share with you my experience of training an infantry company for urban combat. This article offers my ideas about how to get the most from British urban training estate and some ideas on how to get more from your team.

What has the Army got?
The British Army has a lot of urban training areas. Whinney Hill, Copehill Down, Celini Village, Eastmere Village, Corsham Mines, Longmoor (to name a few), are all good training facilities. They offer a range of urban problems. From large dark urban areas (Corsham is often described as ‘subterranean’, but resembles an underground city, rather than a series of tunnels), to tower blocks, to rows of terrace houses. Taken together, it’s impressive. However they are separated by huge distances. And none of these sites are larger than a small village.

They are also urban deserts. The buildings rarely contain anything. Most have external doors and windows. But there’s not much in the way of furniture, clothes, bedsheets, curtains, vehicles, rubble, waste, or people (a very common feature of the urban environment). "...