Preparing a opposition point in the city and effectively resisting an opponent who tries to occupy it – that was the main subject of the pilot course developed by the Training Centre of Territorial Defence Forces in Toruń. The training was attended by platoon commanders and teams – a full of respective twelve soldiers. The task is the consequence of an analysis of the situation in Ukraine.
The CSWOT “Fighting Course in the City” is an authorial task instructors from Toruń center. “The program was arranged on the basis of an analysis of the fighting fought in Ukraine and experiences of armed conflicts in the last 3 decades,” explains Colonel Przemysław Żukowski, Commandant of the Centre for Training of the Territorial Defence Forces. Classes themselves started a twelve days ago. They included platoon commanders and teams from all OT brigades – a full of respective twelve soldiers. – The course was divided into 2 modules. The participants first learned the explanation of fighting in urbanized areas. Then they performed applicable tasks – informs Colonel Piotr Lewandowski, an teacher at CSWOT. The first was to make a defence concept, implemented by plutonium in a urbanized area, then to check it during tactical simulation. The commanders had at their disposal mock-ups faithfully modeling training buildings located on CSWOT. The second task was done in the field. – Here besides they prepared reinforced opposition points. To this end, they had to plant a multi-storey building, strengthen the ceilings and forge holes in the walls, in order to draw fresh communication lines within it," said Colonel Lewandowski. – This was achieved by a fire station device and fortification of approaches to the building. In its neighbourhood, trenches and engineering dams from mines were to be created. Soldiers must besides guarantee communication with another sub-chapters – he adds. But that is not the end. “We tried to tell the students that even leading the defence must affect advanced maneuverability. We cannot fill the building with all soldiers, due to the fact that in the age of reconnaissance and impact drones they will become an easy mark – said Colonel Lewandowski. – The division of actions should be divided into zones. The soldiers operating in them are afraid with observation, consequence to threats, delaying the actions of the opponent. They should keep flexibility and frequently change their positions so as to avoid being tracked by unmanned aircraft while making it as hard for the opponent to scope the defended buildings," he explains.
– The thought of organizing specified a course is absolutely right. We all see what is happening in our neighbours in Ukraine. The defence of the city became a key issue there – emphasizes a soldier from the 11th Małopolska OT Brigade who took part in the course. In a akin speech his colleague SONDA Sub-Office Schoolwho educates the officers for WOT purposes. – During the training we had the chance to learn many fresh elements related to fighting in the city. These were, for example, about the preparation of engineering dams," he says.
The course ended in the last days of June. – His usefulness will be analysed by the WOT Command. If the evaluation is successful, it is likely to be introduced into the training strategy permanently. I hope that in the future our work will be utilized not only by light infantry units, but besides by soldiers of another types of armed forces – concludes Colonel Żukowski.
