Why Defenders Dominate Urban Combat: Insights from a Battle-Hardened Colonel
Every rotational training brigade that comes to the National Training Center is pitted against a premier opposing force-the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment "Blackhorse." Among the challenges each brigade is put through, one of the most difficult is a battle to seize Razish-a dense, multistructure city defended by a highly adaptive Blackhorse enemy. In this episode of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast, John Spencer is joined by the commander of the opposing force regiment, Colonel Kevin Black. He explains how Blackhorse replicates a near-peer threat by using repetition, terrain mastery, and decentralized execution to consistently defeat rotating units.
The conversation then expands beyond Razish to examine how the character of warfare is changing and what that means for urban combat. It explores the emerging concept of a battlefield dead zone, where persistent surveillance and precision fires make movement lethal, and the notion of an empty battlefield, on which dispersion hides forces even as combat intensifies. The episode concludes by highlighting common mistakes made by attacking units-from overcomplicated planning to failure to mass at decisive points, and emphasizes the enduring advantages of the defense in urban terrain.
You can listen to the episode below or find it on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, or your favorite podcast app. Be sure to subscribe, and if you're enjoying the Urban Warfare Project Podcast, please take a minute and leave the podcast a review or give it a rating!
