Defensive Alliance, Offensive Training

NATO still teaches WWII-style urban assault—room clearing and trench breaching—while modern conflicts will likely force its units to hold and delay in cities first. Drones with thermobarics, loitering munitions, and precision fires punish outdated offensive playbooks, and sterile training sites hide the realities of counterattack, civilians, and destructive fire effects. — If NATO doctrine and training are misaligned, deterrence and early-war outcomes in Europe could hinge on shifting investment toward layered urban defense and mobile delay.