WHAT COULD THE FUTURE HOLD FOR SYRIAN FORCES IN URBAN WARFARE?
I’m going to talk about something that might seem to be somewhat ‘ in the weeds’, but I think it’s an important topic given the real possibility of civil war in Syria.
The tactics of the Syrian military for the past four moths have been based more on a civilian law enforcement support theory than a true military, tactical engagement.
A few of the operations have had a flavor of actual urban combat tactics and that is probably the result of defecting units joining the resistance.
For the most part Syrian operations have been tactically ‘low threat’ from the standpoint of the protection required for armor.
As time goes on, especially in Hama
Let us supposed the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood decides to bring in armament that could negate the armor being used in the city sweep operations.
Do they have access to this level of weaponry?
Yes…
The support supply chains are well established and it would be foolish for the Syrian military not to assume the SMB and others will not have access to the types of weapons required.
I’ve not seen any ‘official’ reporting on Syrian armor losses, but you have to wonder if the units that ‘defect’ are simply infantry units.
Even if they are infantry, the weapons carried by these units, such as the newer RPGs, are more than a match for the light skinned vehicles Syria
Between the ‘Resistances” ability to gain access to specialized weapons and the defecting units, the threat of close order, “hunter killer” teams attacking armor in an Urban Combat environment is a distinct possibility.
If the SMB is going to pick a city to make a stand in, I would bet it is Hama
My theory is, if they decide to make a stand, they will do so with some decisive event.
Killing armor that is virtually trapped in an inner city environment with only lightly armed, dismounted infantry, is a disaster waiting to happen; for Assad that is!!
One only has to look at what happen to the Russians in Grozny
