Close-quarters battle
Short-duration, high-intensity combat at close range.
Close-quarters battle (CQB), or close-quarters combat (CQC), refers to a short, high-intensity fight between multiple people at very close range, using either firearms or hand-to-hand weapons. This type of conflict can happen between military forces, between police and criminals, or in other similar settings.
The practice is as old as warfare itself, appearing in ancient melee fights, the use of slings and bows at close range, and later bayonet charges. During World War I, it was a key part of trench fighting, where soldiers battled in tight spaces to seize enemy positions. Modern CQB methods trace back to Assistant Commissioner William E. Fairbairn of the Shanghai Municipal Police. After the 1925 May Thirtieth Movement, Fairbairn created a dedicated riot-control squad. He studied various martial arts and combined their most effective elements into a system he called "defendu," designed to be brutally efficient and easy to learn. Defendu covered both less-lethal and lethal tactics, including point shooting, firearm techniques, and using everyday objects like chairs as weapons.
In World War II, Fairbairn trained Allied special forces, adapting defendu into a more lethal "Silent Killing Close Quarters Combat method" for military use. This became standard training for British commandos. He also wrote a textbook, *Get Tough*. U.S. Army officers Rex Applegate and Anthony Biddle learned these methods in Scotland and brought them to Camp X in Ontario, Canada, where they trained Allied operatives. Applegate later published *Kill or Get Killed* in 1943. During the war, this training was given to British Commandos, the First Special Service Force, OSS operatives, U.S. Army Rangers, and Marine Raiders. Other military martial arts later emerged elsewhere, such as European Unifight, Chinese sanshou, Soviet sambo, and Israeli kapap and Krav Maga.
For decades after World War II, infantry tactics for urban warfare and CQB changed little. Modern firearm-based CQB tactics were developed in the 1970s by Western counterterrorist special forces after the 1972 Munich massacre. Units like the Special Air Service, Delta Force, GSG 9, GIGN, and Joint Task Force 2 created methods to quickly and precisely assault buildings while minimizing casualties to hostages and their own teams. These tactics were shared among these closely linked units, who trained together often. The Special
- field
- Military and law enforcement tactics
- known_for
- Short-duration, high-intensity close-range combat involving firearms or melee weapons
- origins
- Developed by William E. Fairbairn of the Shanghai Municipal Police in the 1920s–1930s
- modern_development
- 1970s by Western counterterrorist special forces after the 1972 Munich massacre
Lore & Background
Close-quarters battle has occurred since the beginning of warfare, in the form of melee combat, the use of ranged weaponry at close range, and the necessity of bayonets. During World War I, CQB was a significant part of trench warfare. The origins of modern close-quarters battle lie in the combat methods pioneered by Assistant Commissioner William E. Fairbairn of the Shanghai Municipal Police. After the 1925 May Thirtieth Movement, Fairbairn was tasked with developing a dedicated auxiliary squad for riot control and aggressive policing. He condensed elements from various martial arts into a martial art called 'defendu', designed to be brutally effective and easy to learn. It incorporated point shooting, firearm combat techniques, and the use of ad hoc weapons such as chairs or table legs.
Reader's Guide
During World War II, Fairbairn trained Allied special forces in defendu, expanding its lethality as the 'Silent Killing Close Quarters Combat method', which became standard training for British special forces. He published a textbook called Get Tough. U.S. Army officers Rex Applegate and Anthony Biddle adopted the program for training at Camp X in Ontario, Canada. Applegate published Kill or Get Killed in 1943. Training was provided to British Commandos, the First Special Service Force, OSS operatives, U.S. Army Rangers, and Marine Raiders. Modern firearm CQB tactics were developed in the 1970s by Western counterterrorist special forces following the 1972 Munich massacre. Units such as the Special Air Service, Delta Force, GSG 9, GIGN, and Joint Task Force 2 developed tactics to quickly assault structures while minimizing casualties. These tactics spread to police tactical units by the 1980s and 1990s. The special forces 'monopoly' on CQB was broken after urban warfare experiences in the 1990s, including the Battle of Mogadishu, the Bosnian War, and the First Chechen War. The First and Second Battles of Fallujah during the Iraq War were watershed moments for infantry CQB, leading to wider teaching of CQB to regular infantry.
Did You Know?
- The modern CQB method originated from a martial art called 'defendu' developed by William E. Fairbairn for the Shanghai Municipal Police.
- During World War II, Fairbairn's method was called the 'Silent Killing Close Quarters Combat method' and became standard training for British special forces.
- Modern firearm CQB tactics were developed in the 1970s by Western counterterrorist units after the 1972 Munich massacre.
- The First and Second Battles of Fallujah during the Iraq War were watershed moments that led to CQB being widely taught to regular infantry.
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