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In this episode, John Spencer is joined again by Michael Kofman, director of the Russia Studies Program at CNA. He researches Russia and the former Soviet Union, specializing in Russian armed forces, military thought, capabilities, and strategy. In the conversation, Kofman describes his recent trip to Bakhmut, Ukraine—the scene of intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces over the past several months. He analyzes the situation for both sides in the battle, including their approaches and motivations, as well as the battle's possible outcomes. Kofman and Spencer also discuss the unique urban features that are contributing to the complexity of this battle as well as others in ongoing war.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Dr. Anthony King, a professor of war studies at the University of Warwick and the author of the book Urban Warfare in the Twenty-First Century. He talks about his book, including an important conclusion: because of discernible trends in urbanization, weapons development, and the size of modern military forces, Western militaries will be unable to avoid fighting in cities in the future.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Samuel Bendett. An analyst with the Center for Naval Analyses, he specializes in Russian unmanned military systems and artificial intelligence. In the conversation, he discusses his work tracking Russian technological advancements. He also describes various unmanned aerial and ground vehicles Russia is experimenting with for urban combat and explains how lessons learned from Russia's recent experiences fighting in Syria is impacting Russian force development.

In this episode, Canadian Army Major Jayson Geroux joins to discuss the 1943 Battle of Ortona. Sometimes called the “Italian Stalingrad,” the battle took place in the town of Ortona, on Italy's Adriatic coast, during World War II. Maj. Geroux walks listeners through the battle, which pitted a Canadian infantry brigade against German paratroopers, and highlights lessons from the fighting that should inform the way we think about urban warfare and the potential for peer conflict in dense urban terrain today.

On the morning of March 7, 1988, three members of the Palestine Liberation Organization hijacked a bus full of Israeli women traveling to work near the town of Dimona, Israel, in what has become known as the “Mothers’ Bus attack.” Maj. Gen. Avshalom Peled was at the time a platoon commander in the Yamam, an elite Israeli counterterrorist organization that specializes in close-quarters battle, and took part in the rescue operation. He joins this episode and describes his role in the now famous hostage rescue. He also shares some of the many lessons Israeli police learned from the operation.

When Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February, one of their first targets was the city of Mariupol. The battle that followed is an epic story of resistance in which a very small number of Ukrainian fighters defended the city for over eighty days against a Russian force five to eight times their size, preventing the Russians from diverting to other parts of Ukraine. In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Aiden Aslin, a British citizen who took part in that battle and was captured by Russian forces there in April 2022. His experiences offers a unique view of how the Battle of Mariupol unfolded, and the details of his captivity as a Russian prison of war for over five months offer a glimpse into an often unseen aspect of the war.

The Battle of Jenin took place in April 2002 and was a key battle in the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) Operation Defensive Shield. In this episode of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast, John Spencer is joined by Dr. Ohad Leslau, a historian in the IDF's history department and one of the world’s leading experts on the 2002 Battle of Jenin.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Michael Kofman, research program director in the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analyses and fellow at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The discussion explores the general composition and force design of the Russian military, before turning to the subject of Russia's military performance in Ukraine. Based on this foundation, Michael then offers his insights on some of the major urban battles fought during the war, including Kyiv and Mariupol. The episode concludes by highlighting lessons that researchers and observers should—and should not—be taking from the war.

In this episode, John Spencer welcomes back Brig. Gen. Robert Wooldridge, the deputy commanding general for operations of the 40th Infantry Division, California Army National Guard. In July, the division held the second iteration of the world’s only course specifically for division and brigade staff officers and noncommissioned officers, aimed at developing the skills needed to plan successful large-scale combat operations in the major urban areas. Brig. Gen. Wooldridge joins to describe the course's second round. He explains some of the changes made as the division aims to best prepare students for the unique challenges of urban warfare. He also shares lessons they learned from the latest iteration of the course and details plans for the next one, to be held in May 2023.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined by retired Colonel Liam Collins. The former director of the Modern War Institute, he also served as a defense advisor to Ukraine from 2016 to 2018. Last month, John and Liam traveled independently to Ukraine to study the Battle of Kyiv. In this first part of a two-episode conversation, John and Liam share some of their preliminary observations on how Ukraine successfully defeated a Russian assault on the capital—ultimately forcing the attackers to retreat and alter their strategic objectives in Ukraine. Together, this episode and the second part that will follow represent the most comprehensive initial analysis of the Battle of Kyiv.

Urban warfare is the hardest type of warfare any nation can ask their military to conduct. It is more difficult, more complex than any other form, fought on terrain that is not neutral. Militaries can get better at it, but they most first understand why it’s so challenging. In this episode, John Spencer highlights the particular challenges presented by dense urban terrain, sharing insights based on years of research and historical analysis, along with firsthand experience with both urban warfare and the institutional features of the US Army that make preparing for urban warfare even more challenging.

In January 2022, John Spencer traveled to the UK to observe a British Army Warfighting Experiment. The experiment was one of many that allows the British Army to partner with the innovation community and industry to explore technological possibilities to address the specific challenges of urban warfighting. In this episode, John speaks to Rob Taylor, CEO of a UK-based organization that specializes in developing immersive close-combat training facilities and opportunities. Rob describes the January experiment, which tested a unique capability to integrate combined arms into small unit urban warfare training—including incorporating snipers, mortars, JTACs, and other capabilities into a live, indoor training event.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined Brigadier General Meir Finkel. An armor brigade commander in the Second Lebanon War, he is the current head of research and former director of the Dado Center for Interdisciplinary Military Studies / IDF J3. He explains the evolution of the Israel military approach to fighting in dense urban areas and describes several of the unique organizations, tools, and tactics the Israeli military has developed specifically to meet the many challenges of urban warfare—including the critical lessons the Israeli military has learned on the essential need for a combined arms approach that brings together mechanized infantry, armor, and engineers to enter contested urban environments.

Social media has played a sizeable role during the war in Ukraine. Not only are various platforms being used for information campaigns by both sides, social media tools like Twitter are the way many people around the world are watching the war unfold. Almost immediately after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Walter Lekh, a Ukrainian doctor living in the United States, organized a Twitter Space—an audio livestream where any Twitter user can listen in—featuring news and expert commentary about the war. The Walter Report has been streaming without interruption ever since—twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. He joins host John Spencer to discuss how social media like his Twitter Space features in the character of warfare, why he launched the Walter Report, and specifically how social media overlays on and intersects with the urban component of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

In this episode, guest host Jayson Geroux is joined by retired Lieutenant Colonel Louis DiMarco, a professor of military history at the United States Army Command and Staff College. Dr. Di Marco is the author of the influential 2012 book Concrete Hell: Urban Warfare from Stalingrad to Iraq. In the conversation, he discusses how he became interested in urban warfare and describes the urban warfare history course he developed and continues to teach at the Command and Staff College. He also highlights a number of historical urban battles while also noting the themes that have consistently featured throughout urban operations history.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it has been apparent that Moscow's strategic goal is to remove the current government and replace it with a Russian-friendly regime. Because cities are the economic and political centers of power for nations, it is no surprise that the capital city of Kyiv has been the decisive objective from the very start. The fight for Kyiv is the only battle that matters in this war. In this special episode, John Spencer discusses what the battle will look like. He breaks down the key steps Russia or any other military force would have to take to achieve its objectives in this city attack and the tactics and approaches Ukrainian defenders are likely to adopt to stop the attackers from succeeding. He also provides important historical context—how past large-scale combat operations in cities might help predict the future of the battle for Kyiv.

From October 30 to November 8, 2020, a large-scale battle took place as both sides in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War fought for control of the city of Shusha. A year later, John Spencer traveled to Nagorno-Karabakh to study the war and the details of the battle—from the unique qualities of the urban and surrounding terrain to the tactics of both the defenders and attackers. In this episode, he shares a short lecture he delivered based on his research during that visit.

On November 26, 2008, ten Pakistan-based terrorists simultaneously attacked and sieged multiple sites across the megacity of Mumbai, India. The world watched in horror as the attacks terrified the city for almost three days. Often referred to as India’s 9/11, the attacks were planned and orchestrated seemingly with the precision of a military special forces unit. In this episode, host John Spencer presents a short lecture on the attacks, describing some of the features of the megacity of Mumbai and detail the planning and execution of the attacks, before highlighting the urban warfare lessons that can be extracted from the event. The lecture was recorded during a presentation to the NATO Science and Technology Office's "Basics of Complex Modern Urban Functions and Characteristics" course.

What do urban warfare experts have on their Christmas lists? In this episode, Colonel (CA) John Spencer is joined by Major Jayson Geroux and Mr. Stuart Lyle for a holiday-themed conversation about the tools and capabilities they really hope Santa brings. Maj. Geroux is a member of the directing staff of the Tactics School at the Canadian Army’s Combat Training Centre and Mr. Lyle is researcher at the UK-based Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

On the morning of March 7, 1988, three members of the Palestine Liberation Organization hijacked a bus full of Israeli women traveling to work near the town of Dimona, Israel, in what has become known as the “Mothers’ Bus attack.” Maj. Gen. Avshalom Peled was at the time a platoon commander in the Yamam, an elite Israeli counterterrorist organization that specializes in close-quarters battle, and took part in the rescue operation. He joins this episode and describes his role in the now famous hostage rescue. He also shares some of the many lessons Israeli police learned from the operation.