Fighting Isis in Syria
Operation Euphrates Shield and the lessons learned from the al-Bab Battle
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5724286 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ömer Faruk Cantenar (0000-0002-7509-1045, International War Studies Programme, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany, corresponding author), Cyprian Aleksander Kozera (0000-0001-8620-9849, Institute of Strategic Studies, War Studies University, Warsaw, Poland, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 350-381 |
| Publication date | 2022-04-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Small Wars and Insurgencies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0959-2318 • E-ISSN: 1743-9558 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09592318.2021.1875308 |
| OpenAlex | W3127214939 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 7 |
This paper analyses the Operation Euphrates Shield (OES) al-Bab battle and presents the lessons learned. OES started with a mixed force of Free Syrian Army, Turkish special forces and armoured units. During the operation, the aims and the force structure gradually changed, yet not the command structure. When OES aimed to capture al-Bab, ISIS employed conventional active defence strategy. The OES commander’s insistence on employing special forces increased own casualties and al-Bab was seized only after resorting to a conventional urban attack. OES presents tactical and operational lessons for the militaries on structure and execution of operations against an irregular adversary employing conventional means
Adversary · Aeronautics · Ammunition · Ancient history · Archaeology · Battle · Computer security · Political science · Shield · Turkish · Computer Science · Engineering · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · History · Peacebuilding and International Security · Philosophy · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence · Geology
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |