Breaking the Mold: Tanks in the Cities

Breaking the Mold: Tanks in the Cities
Title:
Breaking the Mold: Tanks in the Cities
Format:
Paperback
USA Price: 
$12.50
$6.25
Display Foreign Price
Stock:
Backordered
GPO Stock Number:
008-029-00439-9
ISBN:
0-16-076223-5
Description

Contains five case studies from World War II to the war in Iraq analyzing the utility of tanks and heavy armored forces in urban combat. Examines the use of tanks in urban warfare. Seeks to provide insight and a historical precedence on the wisdom of employing tanks in an inherently dangerous dimension of the modern battlefield, intensifying the shortcomings in technological design and the lack of crew training for city fighting. LC card 2006016027.

Breaking the Mold provides an up-to-date analysis of the utility of tanks and heavy armored forces in urban combat. The case studies in this monograph are high-intensity battles in conflicts ranging from limited interventions to major combat operations. As the intensity of the operation decreases, the second and third order effects of using tanks in cities can begin to outweigh their utility. The damage to infrastructure caused by their sheer weight and size is just one example of what can make tanks unsuitable for every mission. Even during peace operations, however, the ability to employ tanks and other heavy armored vehicles quickly can be crucial.

These cases demonstrate that tanks must do more than merely “arrive” on the battlefield to be successful in urban combat. From Aachen in 1944 to Fallujah in 2004, the absolute need for specialized training and the use of combined arms at the lowest tactical levels are two of the most salient lessons that emerge from this study. When properly employed, well-trained and well-supported units led by tanks are decisive in urban combat. The reverse is also true.

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents:
Contents
                                                                  Page
Foreword ......................................................................................... iii
Preface............................................................................................ v
Introduction ix
Chapter 1. Sherman Tanks in the Streets: Aachen, 1944....................... 1
                The Westwall .................................................................. 2
                Encircling Aachen............................................................. 9
                The Fight for Aachen ..................................................... 13
                The Final Push ............................................................... 16
                In Retrospect ................................................................. 18
             2. Pattons to the Rescue: Hue, Vietnam, 1968....................... 23
                The Attack on Hue ......................................................... 26
                Just Holding On .............................................................. 27
                Pushing Back ................................................................. 32
                Battle of the Citadel ........................................................ 36
                In Retrospect ................................................................. 41
             3. Rock the Casbah: Beirut, 1984......................................... 47
                The Israeli Defense Forces ............................................. 49
                The Palestine Liberation Organization .............................. 52
                Syrian Forces ................................................................. 52
                The First Phase .............................................................. 53
                Battle of Beirut .............................................................. 59
                Into the City ................................................................... 63
                In Retrospect ................................................................. 65
             4. Headlong into Hell: Grozny, 1995...................................... 71
                Russian Order of Battle and Planning .............................. 73
                Chechen Order of Battle and Planning ............................. 75
                The Invasion .................................................................. 77
                After Grozny .................................................................. 82
                In Retrospect ................................................................. 84
             5. Into the Maelstrom: Fallujah, November 2004.................... 91
                Coalition Forces ............................................................. 95
                The Plan of Attack ......................................................... 97
                The Assault ................................................................... 98
                The Dust Settles ........................................................... 104
                In Retrospect ............................................................... 104
            6. Conclusion .................................................................... 111
About the Author .......................................................................... 117
4Bibliography.................................................................................. 119
Index    ......................................................................................... 125
Maps
1.    The Allied limit of advance, September 1944................................ 3
2.    The plan to take Aachen, October 1944....................................... 5
3.    Aachen and vicinity, 2 October 1944............................................ 7
4.    Aachen, 4–7 October 1944 ......................................................... 8
5.    Aachen encircled, 10–11 October 1944 ..................................... 11
6.    Fight for the city center ............................................................ 12
7.    The final push, 18–21 October 1944 .......................................... 17
8.    I Corps zone of operations, 1968 ............................................... 24
9.    Hue, Vietnam, 1968 ................................................................. 25
10. North Vietnamese attack, 31 January 1968 ................................ 28
11. Fight for southern Hue, 2–10 February 1968 ............................. 31
12. US Marines—ARVN fight for the Citadel ................................. 38
13. Tactical dispositions, 24 February 1968 ...................................... 40
14. The Israeli plan......................................................................... 48
15. 6 June 1982 ............................................................................. 55
16. 7–8 June 1982 ......................................................................... 57
17. 10–11 June 1982 ...................................................................... 58
18. Beirut, 1982 ............................................................................. 61
19. Attack into Beirut, 1982 ............................................................ 62
20. The Republic of Chechnya ....................................................... 72
21. The Russian invasion, 1994–95.................................................. 78
22. The Russian advance into Grozny, 31 December 1995................. 79
23. Situation, 20 January–13 March 1995......................................... 82
24. The battle of successive cities, 1995........................................... 84
25. The Republic of Iraq ................................................................ 92
26. The city and sections of Fallujah, 2004........................................ 93
27. In position to assault, 8 November 2004 ..................................... 99
28. Initial assault, Fallujah, 9 November 2004.................................. 100
29. Fallujah, 11 November 2004 .................................................... 102
30. Fallujah, 15 November 2004..................................................... 103

Audience

Military leaders, Defense agencies, members of government, policymakers, historians and students, and anyone with an interest in, or need for information about, the use of tanks and heavy armored forces in military combat--including case studies from WWII to the present--would find this publication useful.

Product Details

Availability Details:
Backordered
USA Price:
$6.25
International Price:
$8.75
Publisher:
Defense Dept., Army, Combat Studies Institute
Author:
  • Gott, Kendall D.
Notes:
NB1315
Key Phrases:
  • Tanks in Cities
  • Urban Warfare
  • Iraq, Fallujah, Battle, 2004
  • Military History
  • Vietnam, Hue, Battle, 1968
  • Germany, Aachen, Battle, 1944
  • Lebanon, Beirut, 1984
Weight:
0.625
Quantity Price:
Discount
Cover:
Paper
Subject Bibliography:
059
Unit of Issue (US):
1
Unit of Issue (Non-US):
1
Record Creation Date:
06/14/2006
Last Status Update:
02/29/2024
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