Urban armed conflict has been a recurring theme throughout world’s military history. For centuries, armies faced the challenge of overcoming determined defenders, complex physical terrain and oftentimes antagonistic populations in an effort to gain control of cities and urban centres. In recent history, especially Western armed forces encountered massive difficulties and severe challenges when operating or fighting in densely populated, built-up areas. Presented with growing expectations from their own societies and political leaderships to minimise the violent and deadly consequences of war itself, Western forces repeatedly struggled to achieve their military goals and successfully fulfil their missions.

Drawing on multiple case studies ranging from the Vietnam War to the Iraqi Insurgency, this book explores the military, political, and societal factors which brought about failure and defeat in several urban operations since the late 1960’s. Reflecting upon aspects like the influence of post-heroic societies and the growing impact of modern mass media, this publication adds novel perspectives to existing takes on the challenges of modern urban warfare, carving out the dilemmas involved in conducting humanised urban operations.