If war is about politics, it is going to be fought where people live. It will be
fought, in my opinion, in urban areas.
-U.S. Army Chief of Sta (CSA) General Mark A. Milley, 8 March 2017.
1
Introduction
The strategic environment is dened by rising peer-competitors, increased
urbanization and the amplied importance of megacities. More than half of
the world’s population lives in urban areas. A growing number of people
live in megacities, dened as metropolitan areas encompassing more than
10 million inhabitants.
2
What dierentiates megacities is not the one extra
citizen that puts them over 10 million; it is their global interconnectedness
and strategic importance. Since 2000, the number of megacities has more
than doubled to 38 and is projected to double again by 2050.
3
Since wars are ultimately decided where people live, the U.S. Army must
organize, equip and train to ght and win in megacities. It must also be able
to conduct the full spectrum of operations, including: humanitarian assis-
tance and disaster relief (HADR), stabilization, operational raids and non-
combatant evacuation operations (NEO). Multi-Domain Operations (MDO)
in megacities is critical to the joint forces’ ability to defend U.S. interests
and to achieve dominance against any threat, at any time.
4
The Evolving Strategic Landscape: The Impact of
Urbanization on Army Doctrine
In World War II, 40 percent of combat in Western Europe was in urban ar-
eas.
5
The Army preferred open terrain that advantaged maneuver and res.
6
In 1944, the Army developed its rst formal urban warfare doctrine, Field
Manual (FM) 31-50, as cities gained strategic importance.
7
House-to-house ghting in Hue, Vietnam, in 1968, demonstrated challenges
that the Army expected to face in a potential showdown with the U.S.S.R.
in the rapidly-urbanizing European theater. To prepare, the Army developed
Military Operations in Built-Up Areas (MOBA) doctrine.
8
Urbanization and
Megacities: Implications
for the U.S. Army
AUGUST 2019
ILW SPOTLIGHT 19-3
PUBLISHED BY THE INSTITUTE OF LAND WARFARE
AT THE ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY
ISSUE
The U.S. Army must adapt to compete
with, deter, and if necessary, defeat
rising peer adversaries in a strategic
landscape dened by urbanization and
megacities.
SPOTLIGHT SCOPE
• Highlights the strategic, operational
and tactical challenges for Multi-
Domain Operations (MDO) in mega-
cities.
INSIGHTS
• Megacity warfare signicantly
increases the importance of mission
command.
• Megacities planning informs each
of the Army’s six modernization
priorities.
• The Army should fully leverage re-
serve component urban expertise.
• The Army can develop techniques
and training for megacity operations
by working with industry, academia,
agencies with urban expertise and
international partners.
• Synthetic training is key to preparing
Soldiers and units at all echelons for
megacity operations.
www.ausa.org
by Jeremiah Rozman
