User:Dhatfield/Sandbox

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[edit] 21st century

In the post Cold War era, where conventional warfare between states with comparable military technology and resources is unlikely, recent conflicts have been assymetric and unconventional in nature. Assymmetric warfare has been waged since antiquity[1], but the current global geo-political environment dictates it's predominance for the foreseeable future. Difficult terrain such as urban, mountainous or heavily wooded terrain can act as a force multiplier for the less powerful and a force inhibitor for the more powerful combatant. Since the less powerful combatant generally employs guerilla tactics, and thereby selects the battlefield, and cities present many of the conditions necessary to establish such an advantage, urban combat has become a key feature of asymmetric conflict in this century[2]. As a result, the role of tanks in assymetric warfare, while not fundamentally different from its role in conventional warfare - namely destruction of enemy tanks and fortifications, overwatch and fire support for infantry assaults and shock and intimidation of enemy combatants - these are altered by the nature of the terrain in which the conflict is fought.

[edit] Tanks in urban warfare

The firepower and protection advantages of a tank relative to infantry is reduced in an urban warfare relative to its performance in open terrain. None the less, tanks remain an integral component of successful urban operations for combatants that can afford to field them in this demanding environment.

The characteristics of urban combat most important for tank performance are:

  1. Short sight lines and short engagement ranges
  2. Increased ammunition consumption and difficulties in damaged vehicle recovery, increasing logistical requirements [3]
  3. Increased stress on combat troops
  4. Rubble increases the mobility of tracked vehicles relative to that of wheeled vehicles
  5. Increased numbers of infantry are required to protect tanks from enemy infantry anti-tank weapons
  6. Urban combat is highly three dimensional combining attacks from ground level with those from second and third story windows, basements and sewers
  7. Tank ammunition optimised for tank hunting operations is frequently ineffective against combatants in buildings
  8. Radio communications can be hindered by intervening buildings hindering coordinated action [4]


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TO BE REINTEGRATED: As of 2005, there were 1,100 M1 Abrams used by the United States army in the course of the Iraq War, and they have proven to have an unexpectedly high level of vulnerability to roadside bombs.[9] A relatively new type of remotely-detonated mine, the explosively formed penetrator has been used with some success against American armoured vehicles (particularly the Bradley fighting vehicle). However, with upgrades to their armour in the rear, M1s have proven invaluable in fighting insurgents in urban combat, particularly at the Battle of Fallujah, where the Marines brought in two extra brigades.[10] Britain deployed its Challenger 2 tanks to support its operations in southern Iraq.

[edit] Video test

Example 4
Example 4