MCRP 12-10B.1, page 31

c. Commanders at all levels must understand the impact that media representation will have on the accomplishment of operational and strategic objectives. d. Maneuver warfare doctrine must be applied to the environment. e. Intelligence is imperative to success in urban warfare. f. Surprise is a combat multiplier. g. Armor, artillery, and aviation are effective at the outer perimeter of built-up areas for causing isolation or preventing reinforcement. h. Armor operating inside a built-up area must be protected by infantry. i. Artillery providing direct fire inside a built-up area can be effective in the reduction of strongpoints. j. As force ratio increases in favor of the attacker, combat duration decreases. k. Urban warfare is time consuming. l. Isolation of an urban defender ultimately ensures his/her defeat. m. Attack of an urban area is costly to the attacker in terms of resources and casualties. 1008. Necessity for Preparation. Since MAGTFs are usually forward-deployed forces, it is inevitable that MAGTFs will be tasked to deploy to urban areas and conduct military operations. Fighting in this environment will be violent, close, and personal. Fighting in villages, towns, and cities are likely to become more frequent for military forces as the United States responds to global crises. Forces will be expected to exercise adaptability in responding to a wide variety of missions in the world’s built-up areas. Marines may soon find themselves operating in the conceptual “three block battlefield” within a city grid: feeding refugees in one block, separating combatants in the adjoining block, and returning hostile fire in a third block. MOUT is infantry intensive. The remaining chapters and appendices of this publication focus on how the GCE fights and integrates supporting elements in an urban environment. Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain 1-21