Probably the most difficult type of warfare involves fighting in urban areas. Commanders will often try very hard to not have to send troops into a town, preferring to bypass it or move so swiftly that defenders do not have time to set up barriers and other blocks.

Yet towns do have to be taken in war and until WWII, there was little in the way of a standard approach to taking or defending a town. Oddly enough, it was the British Home Guard who, in the early days of the WWII, came up with a standardized plan for defending in an urban setting. The Germans, once they had stalled out in their attack on the Soviet Union, also had to come to grips with street fighting and learned much during the long and bitter struggle for Stalingrad. Despite having access to the tactical manuals of both the British and captured German documents, the US Army seemed to have learned little from them and it was during the Italian campaign that American doctrine was established for this type of warfare.

In his book, author Stephen Bull, covers the variety of methods used by the major combatants in Europe when fighting in an urban environment. He shows how the tactics changed with the introduction of new weapons and as new things were learned. Illustrator Peter Dennis uses his talents to provide a look at how these tactics were carried out, both offensively and defensively. This is further amplified by period photographs of some of the defensive and offensive operations of the time.

Overall it is a fascinating read and can highly recommend this one to you.

October 2008

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