Urban Warfare - Close-quarters Battle

Close-quarters Battle

The term close-quarter battle refers to fighting methods within buildings, streets, narrow alleys and other places where visibility and manoeuvrability are limited.

Both close-quarters-battle (CQB) and urban operations (UO) are related to urban warfare, but while UO refers mainly to the macromanagement factor (i.e. sending troops, using of heavy armoured fighting vehicles, battle management), CQB refers to the micromanagement factor—namely: how a small squad of infantry troops should fight in urban environments and/or inside buildings in order to achieve its goals with minimal casualties.

As a doctrine, CQB concerns topics such as:

• Weapons and ammunition most suitable for the mission
• Extra gear, such as bulletproof vests and night vision devices
• Accurate explosives
• Routines and drills for engaging the enemy, securing a perimeter, clearing a room, etc.
• Team maneuvers
• Methods and tactics

It should be noted that military CQB doctrine is different from police CQB doctrine, mainly because the military usually operates in hostile areas while the police operates within docile populations.

Armies that often engage in urban warfare operations may train most of their infantry in CQB doctrine.