Underground Strategy

In this first of a two-part series, we unpack the political collapse and brutal realities behind one of the most significant conflicts of the 20th century—the Spanish Civil War.Séan Scullion joins us to trace the long arc leading to war: empire in decline, broken reforms, class fractures, and military coups recycled from the 19th century. From the fall of the monarchy to the Popular Front’s last stand, we walk through the key players, failed power grabs, and shifting momentum between Republican and Nationalist forces between 1936 and 1939.We also get into Franco’s rapid rise, foreign intervention, and why Madrid never quite fell—even when the war was lost.Part one ends just before the reckoning. In part two, we turn to Franco’s legacy and how Spain still wrestles with its memory.Séan’s workEspañoles contra el nazismo (June 4 release) – https://amzn.to/3ROJXFIChurchill’s Spaniards – https://amzn.to/4j2bsqAInstagram – https://www.instagram.com/sean.scullion/X – https://x.com/sean_f_scullionMore from Underground StrategyDiscover Number 788 – https://amzn.to/3BQGmm7Join the mission – https://undergroundstrategy.com

Last episode, we met Rooseboom and the Radleys—Germany’s early spy recruits in South Africa, whose operations leaned more chaotic than covert.This time, the spotlight’s on a man with a much better spy name: Felix. Real name—Lothar Sittig. The one the British couldn’t quite pin down. After escaping internment, he linked up with the Trompke network in Mozambique and was smuggled back into South Africa to help build a direct radio line to Berlin.Evert Kleynhans walks us through how the Ossewabrandwag backed the effort, how the transmitter was built using stolen medical gear, and why British intelligence already knew what was coming. We also get into the kind of intelligence they passed along—some of it credible, some of it questionable, and some of it just… potatoes.Part two of a three-part series on Nazi espionage in South Africa.Evert’s workHitler’s South African Spies by Evert Kleynhans – https://amzn.to/43u79jpMore from Underground StrategyDiscover Number 788 – https://amzn.to/3BQGmm7Join the mission – https://undergroundstrategy.com

We're back with Ben Zweibelson for part two of our deep dive into Reconceptualizing War. This episode goes even further into the deep end: war paradigms, doomsday ideologies, radical structuralism, and the philosophical divide between Ukraine vs Russia and Israel vs Hamas.Ben lays out why some conflicts can't be understood through the same lens. We get into social paradigms, interpretivism, and how even Clausewitz is being bent to fit frames he never intended. From AI to Marxist theory, this is war philosophy at its most dangerous and thought-provoking.We also ask the important stuff: which war theorist would Ben grab a drink with? And what does strategic success actually mean in a world of flawed assumptions?If part one cracked the surface, this one digs through the foundations. It might leave you with more questions than answers—and that’s the point.Ben's WorkReconceptualizing War – https://amzn.to/4jFUZZYTwitter - https://x.com/BZweibelsonMore from Underground StrategyDiscover Number 788 – https://amzn.to/3BQGmm7Join the mission – https://undergroundstrategy.com

What if the problem isn’t that we misunderstand war—but that the frameworks we use to understand it are broken?In this episode, we sit down with Ben Zweibelson—veteran, theorist, and design troublemaker—for a deep dive into his massive new book Reconceptualizing War. This isn’t about doctrine tweaks or buzzword bingo. Ben takes a sledgehammer to the foundations, arguing that modern military thinking is stuck in rigid, outdated paradigms that can’t explain how war really works.We talk about how childhood art projects shaped his career, why veterans struggle with identity, and what happens when you tell your boss in Kabul that their beloved center of gravity is nonsense. From Clausewitz to Sun Tzu, Marx to Mao, Ben tears into war theory with philosophical tools most strategists are too scared to touch.This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. If you're tired of the same recycled thinking, you’ll want to hear this.Ben’s WorkReconceptualizing War – https://amzn.to/4jFUZZYTwitter - https://x.com/BZweibelsonMore from Underground StrategyDiscover Number 788 – https://amzn.to/3BQGmm7Join the mission – https://undergroundstrategy.com

In this episode, we focus on Hans Rooseboom and the Radley couple—three key figures in the early days of German espionage efforts in South Africa during the Second World War. From smuggling messages across borders to setting up radio links, their stories are strange, chaotic, and often reckless.Historian Evert Kleynhans returns to break down how Rooseboom ended up running a rogue spy ring out of Johannesburg, how the Radleys got pulled into German intelligence from a radio station job in Berlin, and why none of it went according to plan.Part one of a three-part series on Nazi espionage in South Africa.Evert´s workHitler’s South African Spies by Evert Kleynhans – https://amzn.to/43u79jpMore from Underground StrategyDiscover Number 788 – https://amzn.to/3BQGmm7Join the mission – https://undergroundstrategy.com

We’re back with military historian Jack Bowsher for part two of our deep-dive into the Burma campaign. If you haven’t listened to part one yet, start there.In this episode, Jack walks us through the final stages of the campaign and gives us a preview of his upcoming book Thunder Run, focused on the dramatic Allied push through Meiktila in 1945. We talk about jungle logistics, Japanese tactics, forgotten battles, and why Burma remains one of the least understood fronts of the Second World War.We also unpack the significance of multicultural forces, the evolution of Indian armoured regiments, and how post-war memory continues to shape the story of this campaign.Jack’s workForgotten Armour: Tank Warfare in Burma – https://amzn.to/4ctduydThunder Run (pre-order) – https://www.chiselbury.co.uk/coming-soon/p/thunder-run-meiktila-1945-by-jack-bowsherA War of Empires by Rob Lyman - https://amzn.to/3GgPfapInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/historybowsh/The Forgotten War Podcast: Burma Campaign WW2 - https://shows.acast.com/the-forgotten-war-podMore from Underground StrategyDiscover Number 788 – https://amzn.to/3BQGmm7Join the mission – https://undergroundstrategy.com

We’re heading deep into the jungles of Southeast Asia to unpack one of the most overlooked and misunderstood campaigns of the Second World War—the Burma campaign. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, military historian and author Jack Bowsher joins Max and Tony to break down the brutal terrain, Japanese tactics, and the challenges faced by the multinational Allied forces in Burma.We explore the strategic importance of Burma to the Allied war effort, the jungle’s deadly environment, and why tanks—despite everything you might assume—played a critical role in the campaign’s outcome. Jack also explains how the British and Indian armies functioned as distinct yet overlapping forces, and why the Japanese military was both fanatically aggressive and operationally effective—until they weren’t.This is a masterclass in the forgotten mechanics of jungle warfare, full of rich detail, wild stories, and some very human lessons from the world’s most unforgiving terrain.Jack Bowsher’s WorkForgotten Armour: Tank Warfare in Burma – https://amzn.to/4ctduydThunder Run (pre-order) – https://www.chiselbury.co.uk/coming-soon/p/thunder-run-meiktila-1945-by-jack-bowsherA War of Empires by Rob Lyman - https://amzn.to/3GgPfapInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/historybowsh/The Forgotten War Podcast: Burma Campaign WW2 - https://shows.acast.com/the-forgotten-war-podMore from Underground StrategyDiscover Number 788 – https://amzn.to/3BQGmm7Join the mission – https://undergroundstrategy.com

This episode is part of a special collaboration with Durham University’s School of Government and International Affairs. This student-led episode was created as part of the postgraduate module “Contemporary Challenges of United Nations Peacekeeping (SGIA48815)” for the Class of 2025.In Part 2, we’re joined by veteran UN official and former Assistant Secretary-General Peter de Clercq, who shares deep insights into the evolution of peacekeeping, regional coalitions, accountability, intelligence, and reform. Drawing from decades of experience in Haiti, Somalia, and the DRC, Peter offers a masterclass in the current and future challenges facing peacekeeping operations.Durham SGIA X - https://x.com/durham_sgiaDurham Module Handbook - https://apps.dur.ac.uk/faculty.handbook/2022/PG/module/SGIA48815Recommended Reading Does Peacekeeping Work? by Virginia Page Fortna – https://amzn.to/3XK5CCl Understanding Peacekeeping by Paul D. Williams – https://amzn.to/4iV0SlSMore from Underground Strategy Discover Number 788 – https://amzn.to/3BQGmm7 Join the mission – https://undergroundstrategy.com