Alec Wahlman has been an analyst for fourteen years at the Institute for Defense Analyses, a Federally Funded Research and Development Center that works primarily with the Department of Defense. He earned his PhD in military history from the University of Leeds (UK) and lives in Falls Church, Virginia, USA.
"Outstanding. . . . Wahlman's ability to concisely provide readers
with a synopsis of each battle is very impressive. . . . He has
provided readers with a volume which is highly informative and
thought provoking. He has also provided readers with a context and
background to examine urban warfare in the present and the
future."--Infantry
"Wahlman's thorough and thoughtful analyses hold appeal for
military leaders as well as academic readers. What will stand out
to an Army staff officer in particular are the frameworks used by
Wahlman to examine each battle. . . . When showing the comparison
of the strengths and weaknesses of each battle through the
warfighting functions, the criteria are listed within charts that
are identical to course of action comparisons in the military
decision-making process. For this and other reasons, any combat
arms staff officer will surely appreciate Wahlman's work."--US
Military History Review
"Understanding and applying [Wahlman's] model to recent battles
fought in Iraq and Afghanistan would not only aid historians, but
would prove useful for current or future planning efforts,
supporting increased command and staff effectiveness during the
run-up to urban fighting and possibly resulting in fewer military
and civilian casualties and with less collateral damage to urban
area infrastructure."--Marine Corps History
"Narratives of each battle are engaging, offer excellent context
for the specific episodes amidst the wider conflicts, and flow
seamlessly into analysis on dimensions of U.S. forces' performance
in command, control, and communications; intelligence and
reconnaissance; firepower and survivability; logistics; and dealing
with the population."--Journal of Military History
"Alec Wahlman is right to stress the benefits of modeling and
simulations in grasping the intricacies of urban warfare. Still,
the record of American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan makes it
painfully clear that, despite their adaptability to conditions of
urban terrain, such combat should be kept to a minimum."--Michigan
War Studies Review
"Alec Wahlman has rendered an important contribution to our
understanding of the problems involved in U.S. forces fighting in
cities. Given the increasing move of the world's population into
urban environments, this is an important book for policy makers and
soldiers alike."--Williamson Murray, author of The Path to Ruin and
co-author of A War To Be Won, Fighting the Second World War
"The United States is slowly coming to grips with the changing
nature of military operations. The romantic image of battles in
wide-open plains and deserts is being shattered by the new reality
of urban combat. Wahlman comprehensively evaluates each case study
and then considers them in total--a solid study. Military officers
and cadets will all find this work informative and helpful in
understanding the changing nature of military operations. I expect
to find this on several recommended reading lists among military
branches and services. Political decision makers also need to
understand the complexity of fighting in an urban
environment."--Stephen A. Bourque, co-author of The Road to
Safwan
"This is a very serious and well executed work. The quantity of
knowledge packed into these pages is immense, with conclusions
closely tied to the declared purposes of this study and strongly
supported by abundant evidence; this book has real value."--Anthony
James Joes, author of ResistingRebellion and Victorious
Insurgencies
"At a moment when urban conflict has replaced maneuver battles and
decisive victories in the field as the dominant form of war, Alec
Wahlman's insightful study of city-fighting throws new light on a
much-neglected aspect of the past and opens up a loop-hole through
which we can peer into a likely future."--John Gooch, author of
Mussolini and His Generals
"An unexpectedly readable, interesting, and well-written
examination of exactly what the subtitle imports. . . . . [T]he
book examines how 'transferable competence' and 'battlefield
adaptation' were key in capturing each city--and how the ability of
the military to accomplish this has degraded over time. . . . The
writing is excellent, economical, tactical, and, amazingly,
readably technical."--Library Journal
"For a study focusing on the relatively recent advent of American
forces fighting in built-up urban areas, this is a needed
contribution, given the many cities, particularly in Iraq, which
have been devastated in an attempt to win people's hearts and
minds."--Journal of America's Military Past
"It is a text for everyone, from general war buff, cadet, grunt,
military enthusiast, or military professional--the author's
research results adding copiously to our knowledge on how to fight,
if necessary, from room to room in an enemy city."--Leatherneck
Magazine
"Should be required reading for anyone concerned with the future of
warfare in the 21st century. . . . Urban warfare has increased
steadily in importance, and yet has traditionally been neglected
with respect to developing doctrine. This book is a welcome
contribution toward shedding more light on the subject."--Defense
Media Network
"This is an excellent book and it should be read by doctrine
thinkers and people that think all city fights are slow motion
slugfests with an invisible enemy as has been the contemporary
norm. . . . A great book that I highly recommend."--Battles and
Book Reviews
"Wahlman's research claims to undermine two myths about urban
warfare. First, the attacking force's 'traditional' three-to-one
manpower advantage was proved unnecessary. Americans had only a
three-to-two advantage in Manila, and at Aachen the Germans
actually outnumbered Americans by three-to-one. The second myth is
that urban fighting is an infantry job. Wahlman challenges that by
saying that infantry 'is most effective when part of a combined
arms team, ' which relates to his transferable competence
argument."--VVA Books
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