Urban Warfare Project

Written by: John Spencer
  • Summary

  • As the world is increasingly urbanized, military forces must be prepared for cities to become battlefields. The Urban Warfare Project Podcast, from the Modern War Institute at West Point, features insightful discussions with scholars and practitioners as it sets out to explore the unique characteristics of urban warfare.
    © 2019
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Episodes
  • Militaries' Operational Approaches to Cities
    Oct 18 2024

    Cities' complex man-made terrain, the presence of civilian populations and infrastructure to support those populations, a complicated information environment, and a range of political and other factors make planning for brigade and division urban operations extremely difficult. Too often, militaries rely on a limited set of options—such as the deliberate assault or an effort to bypass cities completely. But history yields lessons on how to overcome the unique challenges of urban warfare. Chief among these lessons is that developing operational approaches to major urban areas requires planners to account for unique, environment-specific considerations. In this episode, Dr. Jacob Stoil—the chair of applied history at the Modern War Institute, an associate professor of military history at the US Army School of Advanced Military Studies, and a senior fellow at the 40th Infantry Division Urban Warfare Center—explores these considerations and details several operational approaches for brigades or divisions in the offense, drawing on historical case studies to illustrate their value.

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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Underground Warfare 101
    Sep 27 2024

    From ancient Jerusalem to today's urban battlefields in Ukraine and Gaza, we can find many examples of urban conflicts that have been heavily influenced by their underground components. But how should military forces categorize subterranean spaces and consider the different functions of underground structures? How does this subterranean dimension influence the conduct of military operations? What about the unique hazards of sending soldiers underground? And what are some of the planning considerations for attacking or defending subterranean positions? This episode addresses those questions and more in a comprehensive overview of underground warfare.

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    50 mins
  • Urban Strongpoints
    Aug 2 2024

    A strongpoint is a heavily fortified battle position tied to a natural or reinforcing obstacle. It is used to create an anchor for the defense or to deny the enemy decisive or key terrain. Throughout the history of urban warfare, buildings turned into strongpoints have played an outsized role. Multiweek battles have even been fought over single buildings used by the defender as strongpoints. In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Major Jayson Geroux, an urban warfare historian assigned to the Canadian Army Doctrine and Training Centre, and Mr. Stuart Lyle, the urban operations research lead for the UK-based Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, to discuss strongpoints on the urban battlefield.

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    1 hr and 5 mins

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