How urban warfare in ancient China can inform today's strategists

The Battle of Hue City during the Vietnam War still weighs heavily on military planners and strategists. So much so that for quite a while, both the Marines and Army failed to do anything substantial to prepare for large-scale urban combat — other than to avoid it whenever possible.

But both services are now updating their urban operations doctrine for the first time in years, and their leaders, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller, have publicly pushed for more urban-focused efforts.

The Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu foresaw the issues that are involved in city fighting. More than 2,500 years before the Battle of Hue City, he provided this maxim about the dangers of urban warfare.

In Other News

Junior enlisted to get 20% pay bump, E5s get 13% more under House plan

House lawmakers are looking to overhaul the military's pay tables next year to dramatically boost junior enlisted pay.

Disinformation creates ‘precarious year for democracy,’ experts warn

Some of the messaging meant to sow division is reaching veterans and service members by preying on their sense of duty to the U.S.

No. 2 Marine, a pilot, insists on continued primacy of infantry

The second-in-command of the Marine Corps is a pilot. But he still sees ground combat as the core of the Corps.

The USS Carney, salty and battle-tested, is back in the United States

The warship Carney has wrapped up its unprecedented cruise in the Middle East, where it battled Iran-backed Houthi rebel barrages on a near-daily basis.

USS Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams suffers soft grounding in West Africa

The incident occurred shortly after the ship departed Libreville, Gabon.

Load More