Skip to page content

Urban Warfare

Featured

Urban warfare can take many forms, from guerrilla attacks to militia patrols to gang violence, but fighting in cities and towns—where civilians are at risk and combatants can hide more easily—is markedly different from combat in a more open or defined theater of operations. Determining how to assess enemies, mount a defense, and protect civilians is a focus of urban warfare research at RAND.

Report
Lessons Learned from the Battle for Baghdad
A review of the U.S. Army's efforts in the Iraq War, especially in Baghdad, offers insights and recommendations that could help leaders avoid the same mistakes in future conflicts. One important lesson is that DoD war plans need to include actions to ensure long-term stability.
Jun 12, 2019
Essay
Civilian Casualties: Lessons from the Battle for Raqqa
The United States' emphasis on minimizing civilian harm in Raqqa, Syria, was quite clear and strong up and down the chain of command. But the way in which the U.S. military waged war in Raqqa too often undercut that commitment. The Pentagon asked RAND to find out what happened.
Jul 1, 2022

Explore Urban Warfare

Journal Article
"Killing Rats in a Porcelain Shop": PLA Urban Warfare in a Taiwan Campaign
This chapter considers the dedicated efforts the PLA has focused on since the late 2000s to develop an urban warfare capacity that appears to be directed at the capture of Taipei in a Cross-straits contingency.
Oct 19, 2022
Blog
Gun Storage, the Dangers of Replacement Theory, War in Ukraine: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how Americans store their guns, why
Jul 15, 2022
Blog
Employing Insurgency in Ukraine, U.S. Hospital Prices, Reaching the Middle Class: RAND Weekly Recap
This week, we discuss the potential value of an insurgent campaign in Ukraine; addressing L.A.’s housing crisis; lessons from the 2017 battle for Raqqa; a look at U.S. hospital prices; Americans’ options for reaching the middle class; and how to help single mothers get out of poverty.
Apr 8, 2022
News Release
Efforts to Avoid Civilian Casualties in Raqqa, Syria, in 2017 Were Considerable but Insufficient
U.S. strategic choices in the battle to liberate Raqqa, Syria, from ISIS in 2017 likely increased civilian harm despite considerable efforts to avoid civilian casualties by both U.S. and coalition forces.
Mar 31, 2022
Report
Efforts to Avoid Civilian Casualties in Raqqa Were Considerable but Insufficient
The 2017 battle to liberate Raqqa, Syria, from ISIS is a cautionary tale in 21st-century conflicts. U.S. strategic choices likely increased civilian harm despite considerable efforts to avoid civilian casualties by both U.S. and coalition forces. What lessons can be applied to future operations?
Mar 31, 2022
Research Brief
The Battle for Baghdad: Institutionalizing Army Lessons for Urban Combat
This brief recounts the U.S. Army's efforts in the Iraq War, especially in Baghdad, and offers lessons learned and recommendations to enable leaders and soldiers to be better prepared in future conflicts.
Jul 3, 2019
Blog
Hong Kong, Education Reform, Baghdad: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on lessons for state education reform, retaining women in the U.S. Coast Guard, recounting the Battle for Baghdad, and more.
Jun 14, 2019
Commentary
Urban Legend: Is Combat in Cities Really Inevitable?
Future combat will take place in dense urban areas and likely in megacities. These are the new “truths” that are taking hold in the U.S. military. But before going all-in on optimizing for urban operations, the U.S. military should take a deep breath and think carefully about future operations within the context of the National Defense Strategy.
May 7, 2019
Commentary
Five Thoughts on Jerusalem, Gaza, and What's in Between
Dozens of people have been killed and over 2,000 injured in protests in the Gaza Strip along the border with Israel. Continued clashes are expected until the fundamental problems of the strip are solved, including the governance vacuum, the Palestinian Authority-Hamas rift, and the conflict with Israel.
May 15, 2018
Research Brief
Lessons from Israel's Wars in Gaza
This brief summarizes a RAND report that explores lessons that the U.S. Army and the Joint force can draw from Israel's military operations in Gaza from 2009 to 2014 and how Israel adapted to hybrid adversaries in complex urban terrain.
Oct 18, 2017
Commentary
Five Lessons from Israel's Wars in Gaza
After a decade of operating against Hamas in Gaza, the Israel Defense Force has learned many lessons about urban warfare against hybrid adversaries. The last confrontation teaches five basic lessons that apply well beyond Gaza.
Aug 3, 2017
Report
Lessons from Israel's Wars in Gaza
The Israel Defense Force had to evolve to meet an adaptive and determined hybrid adversary during its wars in Gaza. The U.S. Army and the joint force can learn from the IDF's challenge of balancing intense international legal public scrutiny and the hard operational realities of urban warfare.
Jul 26, 2017
Report
Reimagining the Character of Urban Operations for the U.S. Army: How the Past Can Inform the Present and Future
Provides a historical analysis of how militaries have deployed light and mechanized infantry with armored forces during close urban combat, to identify the comparative advantages and costs of this warfighting approach and lessons learned.
Mar 13, 2017
Commentary
A New Kind of Battlefield Awaits the U.S. Military — Megacities
Megacities are urban areas that seep into one another and have more than 10 million inhabitants. To counter violent non-state actors operating in megacities in the future, the U.S. military will have to be able to piece together a comprehensive and actionable intelligence picture, and under enormously challenging circumstances.
Apr 6, 2016
Report
The 2008 Battle of Sadr City: Reimagining Urban Combat
Coalition forces' defeat of an uprising in Sadr City helped consolidate the Government of Iraq's authority, contributing significantly to the attainment of contemporary U.S. operational objectives in Iraq.
Jan 15, 2014
Blog
Gaza: Hard Fighting Looms Without a Broader Peace Strategy
The United States and Israel should capitalize on Egypt's active role in mediating a cease-fire and thus revisit initiatives like the Arab Peace Initiative, which in the new regional strategic environment may be the best hope of reviving the moribund peace process before it is too late.
Nov 20, 2012
Research Brief
Urban Warfare: The 2008 Battle for Sadr City
The authors identify factors critical to the coalition victory over Jaish al-Mahdi in the 2008 Battle of Sadr City and describe a new model for dealing with insurgent control of urban areas.
Apr 9, 2012
News Release
Israeli Mistakes Against Hybrid Adversaries Serve as Cautionary Tale for U.S. Military
A review of recent Israeli military conflicts indicates the United States may be ill-prepared for "hybrid" warfare against state-sponsored adversaries who have a modicum of training and small force numbers, but possess advanced weapons and enough expertise to challenge the U.S. military.
Jan 19, 2012

1
2
3
4
Next

RAND Topic:
Urban Warfare

Research conducted by