Urban Warfare Project

During the recent outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, many of the Israeli strikes targeted Hamas tunnels. That raises a range of important questions. What advantages do subterranean environments lend to combatants? What military challenges do tunnels pose? More broadly, why is underground warfare occurring increasingly frequently? Dr. Daphne Richemond-Barak—author of the book Underground Warfare and creator of the International Working Group on Subterranean Warfare—joins this episode to discuss these and other questions about the subterranean dimension of urban warfare.

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.

In this episode, John Spencer speaks to retired Colonel Leonard DeFrancisci. In 2004, he was a civil affairs detachment commander for the Marine Corps' Regimental Combat Team 1 during the Second Battle of Fallujah, Iraq. He describes the role of civil affairs in the lead-up to that battle and the activities undertaken by civil affairs forces during the fighting. His story highlights the special capabilities civil affairs soldiers and Marines can bring to even a high-intensity urban battle.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Major General Ross Coffman, director of Army Futures Command's Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross-Functional Team. He describes the team's objectives and the projects it has underway as it works toward a replacement for the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle—actually a family of manned and unmanned robotics that will shape the future battlefield. He also discusses the different environments in which future combat vehicle capabilities are tested—from open areas to the most complex urban terrain.

Thanks to Cadet Ben Phocas for post-production editing.

The Army has three "dirt" combat training centers that are focused on training units at the brigade combat team level and below. A fourth, the Mission Command Training Program, is geared toward training higher echelons—Army divisions, corps, and component commands. In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Col. Shane Morgan, commander of the MCTP, who described the MCTP mission and how they work to train units at these echelons for the challenges of the future operational environment—including the unique challenges posed by dense urban terrain.

Thanks to Cadet Ben Phocas for post-production editing.

In this episode of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast, from the Modern War Institute at West Point, John Spencer is joined by Col. Rich Creed, director of the Army’s Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate.

In this episode Dr. Charles Knight joings John Spencer to discuss the Battle of Marawi. A senior lecturer in terrorism, asymmetric conflict, and urban operations at Charles Sturt University and a senior researcher at the University of New South Wales, Dr. Knight has researched and and written about the 2017 battle, in which the Philippine Army fought against Islamic State fighters over the course of five months. With the two sides fighting through the streets, alleys, and buildings of Marawi, it was one of the biggest and most high-intensity urban battles of the modern era.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Rob Taylor, company director of 4GD, a UK-based organization that specializes in developing unique close-combat training facilities—what the company calls "SmartFacilities." He describes those training facilities, how the physical aspects of training can be integrated into synthetic, "integrated reality" environments, and more.

In this episode, Dr. Louis DiMarco, a professor of military history at the US Army Command and General Staff College, presents a short lecture on the 2006 Battle of Ramadi, Iraq. He describes the context of the fighting and many of the key players involved. He also explains the concepts that were used to turn the city of Ramadi, widely known as the “the deadliest city in Iraq,” into a comparative model of stability that guided the way counterinsurgency operations were conducted across the country.

Special thanks to the Dole Institute of Politics, where this talk was originally delivered.

Why are subterranean environments so uniquely challenging for military forces? And why is underground warfare occurring increasingly frequently? Dr. Daphne Richemond-Barak—author of the book Underground Warfare and creator of the International Working Group on Subterranean Warfare—joins this episode to discuss these and other questions about the subterranean dimension of urban warfare.