Tips for Urban Combat

By Chris Coley

 

  1. When your unit assaults a multilevel building try to work down. Attacking down adds speed to your assault. You also don’t have to worry about the chance your own grenades might roll back on you. If you work up you force the enemy against a dead-end, the sky. This reinforces their will to win. Working down you can force the enemy out of the building and to your comrades on the ground.
  2. There are two different ways to attack a room: systematic and dynamic entry. Systematic entry means to engage the enemies in the room from the outside through windows, doors, or loopholes. This reduces the danger as would be in a dynamic entry. Dynamic entry involves a fast, hard, hitting strike into the room. A dynamic entry should use maximum speed, surprise, and force. Either form of entry is effective.
  3. Before attacking a certain area you should see if anyone or how many people are in the area. Before checking out a hallway, room, or around any corner, have someone cover you. Lay down and slowly peek around the corner. This reduces the chance of being seen; most people will be looking at about head or chest height for any movement. You can also use a small dental mirror to facilitate this.
  4. For a dynamic assault stack up on the same side of the entryway. This reduces the chance that you could shoot your teammate on entry. The first man through the entryway should roll left, the second man roll right, and the third man covers them both. It also prepare the room with grenades.
  5. Always leave somebody in a captured room.
  6. When you fire at enemies lower/higher than you aim low. Paintballs and other projectiles don’t experience gravity when they are fired at different angles.
  7. Place snipers on upper levels. They can provide information and reconnaissance, as well as engage targets at long range. Their hides should be at an oblique to the kill zone, this means don’t have them dead on to the area.
  8. Watch out for stairwells. They are excellent places to put booby-traps and to conduct ambushes.