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.