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Taking out enenmy positions:
At first sight, urban combat is a one-sided
business: whichever side holds the 'high ground' - the buildings - has a natural
advantage. But, sooner or later during an assault on a built-up area, you'll be called on
to leave the streets and flush out the enemy from the buildings.
There are in fact a host of techniques and tricks that you can use to put
the occupiers not only on the defensive but positively on the loosing side. This second
section on urban combat skills tells you how to go in after the enemy and take out his
positions.
Entering a house:
Just because you haven't come under fire from a particular building, that doesn't
mean it isn't occupied by the enemy, or - possibly worse still - that he didn't booby-trap
it before he left.
Until you know for sure that a building has been cleared, always assume the worst. Don't go in through the doors or the ground floor windows if you can possibly avoid it. Treat as suspect any hole you havn't blown in the wall yourself.
Clearing from the top:
Although nothing to do with house clearing can be said to be safe, the best way
to do it is from the top. it's a lot easier to fight your way down than up, and it is also
gives the enemy somewhere to go! If you corner enemy forces on the top floor of a
building, they have no alternative but to try and fight their way out. If you drive them
down to the ground floor, there's a good chance that they'll try to make a run for it -
straight into covering fire from the rest of your squad.
Although entering at the top floor of a building does present some problems, they'renot as bad as you may think. Once one house is cleared, you have access to the roof of the next. It's only the first house that presents a problem, and a that can be solved easily enough if helicopter support is available. Otherwise you can use ladders, drainpipes or, at worse, ropes.
The easiest way to get a rope up to the top floor or roof of a building is with a grappling hook - three or four large metal hooks welded together and attached to the end of a rope. Don't use too thin a rope; although it will weigh less, it is much more difficult to climb than a thick one. You can knot the rope every 30 cm or so to improvise steps but, if you do, it will not pay out so easily when you throw the hook.
Watch out for snipers:
Remember that you will be extremely exposed to sniper fire while you're climbing the wall.
Take as few chances as possible, and then spend some time before the attempt in checking
any possible sniper positions - and have them cleared.
If you do have to go past windows on the way up, give them a grenade when your still below the level of the window sill, and always put a grenade through the window you're going to enter.
It is much easier to come down a rope than go up one. When you can, go up to the roof level, staying well down from the ridge so you don't present your silhouette, and rope down to the entry window.
Rappelling:
The US Army uses the French name for roping down: rappelling. It's also known as
abseiling. There are a lot of different ways of doing it, but they all rely on friction of
the rope across your body and through your (gloved) hand. A 'free' rappel, where there is
no wall to bounce off to slow your descent, is used to come down from a helicopter that
has no room to land.
Rappelling needs practice. When you're on the rope you're on your own. If you make a mistake and fall, no one can save you. Practise in a group with an experienced teacher, and start off low - from a height that won't injure you if you fall. Never try it alone, or without the right equipment.
Not all your fire team may be able to see you while you're rappelling down, so you must give them a clear signal, both when you start the descent and when you finish. Where noice doesn't matter, shout 'On rappel' and 'Off rappel'. In a situation requiring a silent approach, work out a system of tugs on the rope, and make sure everyone understands it.
Through the window:
When you come to to the point of entering the window, you can get in very quickly
by positioning yourself just above, throwing in the grenade, and then bounding the last
couple of feet. If you have to enter while climbing the rope, go up above the sill so that
the gravity helps you down through the window and into the room. Even after you've thrown
in a grenade, you have to get through the window as quickly as possible.
In house clearance, it's always a good idea to 'cook off' the grenade before throwing it in the window. Grenades have timed fuses to prevent them from exploding in your hand as soon as you pull the pin. If you don't want to throw it too far, just drop it into a room, for example - you need to use up a part of it's delay before you throw in the grenade. Pull the safety pin and let the firing clip go. Then count 'One thousand and one, one thousand and two' before throwning the grenade. This will use up two seconds of the delay and reduce the chance of someone throwing it back!
You should never throw a grenade without a secure place for you to shelter. Once a grenade has left your hand it is a very unpredictable weapon. It could take a bad bounce or explode prematurely. If you can, use a grenade launcher such as the M203 attached to the M16 rifle, or the bulkier M79 grenade launcher. These two weapons propel a grenade much further and more accurately than you can throw one.
Once again, speed means safety. After you have completed the standard tactic of throwing a grenade in first, you must be through the window as quickly as possible. If the window is above your head you will need the help of one or two members of your squad to push you into the room . Remember that it is always safer to call up armoured or RPG support if you can. Such heavy weapons can knock a hole in a wall for you to enter the building at a point the enemy could never have concidered when he set up his defences.
Seven life-saving rules of entry:
Movement in buildings:
Moving past windows:
In the stress of clearing a house of enemy troops, it's all to easy to forget
that you can be seen from outside if you walk past a window. Don't expose yourself to
danger in this way. Always stay below the level of the sill.
Entering a room:
It takes three men to enter a room safely - one to provide security and two to
actually go in. The first man throws in a grenade, and goes in after it has gone off. He
flattens himself against the wall while his partner searches the room.
Hallways and corridors:
Don't use hallways and corridors unless you must. If you can't make your way from
room to room directly, make sure you present as small a target as possible by keeping in
tight to the walls.
Mouseholes:
A 'mousehole' is a hole about 60 cm wide, blown or cut through a wall as an
alternative entrance to a room. Doors are easy to booby-trap so you should try to assault
through a mousehole, throwing a grenade in first as usual.
Throwing a grappling hook:
Stand as close to the building as possible to reduce your vulnerability to enemy fire. In your throwing hand you have the hook and a few coils of rope; the rest of the rope is in loose coils in your other hand. The throw itself should be a gentle, upward, lob. Chech that the hook has a solid hold before you begin the climb. Knotting the rope beforehand at 30 cm intervals will make it easier to grip.
Making a sling rope seat:
Ground-level entry:
Don't use the doors if you can avoid it. Here are three methods of entering a building via windows.
