After WWII, many historians, as well as military theorists and leaders, focused on the German ability to restore mobility to warfare, especially at the operational level, in the early years of the war. Popularized as “Blitzkrieg,” the Germans were often portrayed as the pioneers of this new form of warfare—far ahead of all other nations […]
In the late 1940s the U.S. Air Force embraced the use of space as a natural extension of its traditional air power mission. As such, they envisioned air and space mediums converging into a single operational domain. Dr. Kalic will lecture on the U.S. Air Force’s development of the Aerospace concept in the period 1946-1963. […]
Ft. Leavenworth: Pre-World War I French Military Doctrine and its Consequences Richard Faulkner October 7, 2021 | 3 p.m. In the years prior to World War I, the French military wrestled with how to defend itself against a larger, more industrialized foe. Like the Great War’s other major combatants, the French pre-war doctrine proved to be […]
Ft. Leavenworth: Vo Nguyen Giap and Le Duan: Vietnam’s Victors Martin Clemis November 4, 2021 | 3 p.m. Between 1945 and 1975, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam fought and won two major conflicts against tremendous odds: one against France and the other against the U.S. and its South Vietnamese ally. The architects of these incredible victories […]
Ft. Leavenworth: Kennan and Nitze: Early Cold War Theorists Gates Brown and Dave Mills December 2, 2021 | 3 p.m. Brown and Mills will discuss two of the most influential Cold War theoriest: George Kennan and Paul Nitze, who were exact opposites in strategy and outlook. Kennan was a realist who believed the U.S. should eliminate its […]
“France and Corsica: The Range of Military Operations” Dr. Jonathan Abel Wednesday, February 2 | 3 p.m. VIRTUAL EVENT ONLY Most students of French history know Corsica as Napoleon’s birthplace, but France’s involvement on the island stretched throughout the eighteenth century. Dr. Abel’s talk will illustrate how France conducted activities across the range of military operations […]
“Defending New York City in the Early Republic" Rich Barbuto Thursday, March 3, 2022 | 3 p.m. During the American Revolution, New York City was occupied by the British. Thereafter, the city soon became the largest port of the new republic. Threatened again as tensions with Britain reached a fevered pitch, federal, state, and local […]
The greatest challenge to peace in Western Europe immediately after World War Two was the possibility that the people themselves would vote in Communist governments, primarily due to hunger. This presentation will demonstrate the challenges and the extent to which the American government fed Germany and other nations for both humanitarian and anticommunist reasons between […]
Defense analysts have identified the emergence of “hybrid warfare” as a compelling threat to American national security and declared it one of the more notable developments of the first decade of the 21st century. Of course, while the label may be new, hybrid warfare is not new in the human experience. This talk will discuss Union […]
Many Kansans are familiar with the Bleeding Kansas era of American history in context of American westward expansion. Few, however, may know of a comparable event of British eastward expansion that occurred in modern day South Africa (British Kaffraria) during the 1850s. Dr. Mullis’s presentation assesses select American and British political and military approaches to […]
Victory At Sea was one of the most celebrated television programs of its day when it was first aired on NBC beginning in 1952 and almost weekly for 26 episodes until May of 1953. Dr. Kuehn discusses its importance not only as a documentary of naval operations at World War II, but as a reflection […]
During the Second World War, the US military interrogated over 3,000 German Prisoners of War at a secret facility at Fort Hunt, Virginia. These interrogations offer fascinating perspectives of the German situation in the final year of the war and allow us to evaluate how well American authorities knew its enemy at the time. Derek […]
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