Episodes

Dr. Robert F. Williams, Army University Press Research Historian & author, delivers his lecture titled “The Airborne Mafia: Organizational Culture and Institutional Change in the Cold War US Army” at the United States Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC). The lecture explores how a small group of World War II airborne officers took control of the US Army after World War II. Dominating institutional thought and imparting their values, beliefs, and norms throughout the service they enjoyed...

Major Brennan Deveraux a U.S. Army strategist serving as a national security researcher at the US Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, delivers his lecture, "Strike Cell: Exterminating ISIS during Operation Inherent Resolve". The lecture will explore Major Deveraux’s 2016 deployment to Iraq as the theater-level rocket artillery liaison in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. The presentation covers critical themes of, employing emerging technologies, airspace deconfliction on a moder...

The General Omar N. Bradley Memorial Lecture, Patton's Finest Hours, explores how Third Army commander George S Patton performed at his very best during the deadliest battle of WW2 for the US Army. Alex Kershaw is a journalist and a New York Times bestselling author of books on World War II. Born in York, England, he is a graduate of Oxford University and has lived in the United States since 1994.

Presenting the first Perspectives in Military History Lecture of the 57th Season! This month we welcome Dr. Michael Neiberg, Chair of War Studies and Professor at the U.S. Army War College. The best way to understand the crises in Europe today is through rigorous study of European history since at least 1914.This presentation uses the War College's "Historical Mindedness" methodology to better understand where Europe is today, where it might go in the future, and the options open to Americans a...

The U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center is excited to present a special American Revolution lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rick Atkinson. The lecture focuses on his book, “The Fate of the Day,” the second volume in his Revolution trilogy.

Dr. Robert F. Smith, Provost of Valley Forge Military College, delivers a lecture titled "Washingtonburg Arsenal and its Role in Military Manufacturing in the American Revolution" at the United States Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC). The lecture explores the critical role played by the Washingtonburg Arsenal in providing munitions and artillery for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Dr. Smith, a noted historian of the period, will draw upon his extensive research and...

Presenting a lecture by Dr. Daniel Krebs, titled "From Trenton to Carlisle: Hessian Soldiers in American Hands, 1776-1778." The American Revolution was a complex conflict involving soldiers from across Europe, including thousands of German troops hired by the British Crown. Dr. Krebs' lecture will delve into the often-overlooked experiences of these Hessian soldiers who were captured during the pivotal early years of the war. Dr. Krebs is a leading expert on the American Revolution and his eng...

Presenting the kick off of the 56th year of our annual Perspectives in Military History Lecture series with author Mr. Ted Aldrich. Mr. Aldrich will discuss his new book, The Partnership: George Marshall, Henry Stimson, and the Extraordinary Collaboration That Won World War II, that captures the insightful revelations regarding the major roles played by General George C. Marshall and Henry L. Stimson to prepare America for war and ensure the Allies’ victory in World War II. Ted Aldrich, a caree...

As the Commander of U.S. Central Command, General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., USMC (Ret.), oversaw some of the most important — and controversial operations in modern U.S. military history. He had direct operational responsibility for the strikes on Qassem Soleimani and two successive leaders of ISIS, the many months of deterrence operations against Iran and its proxies, and the methodical drawdown in Iraq. He directed the noncombatant evacuation operation in Afghanistan, and our final withdrawal f...

Who were the British soldiers who fought in the American Revolution? What sort of men filled the ranks of the regiments that fought for the King? Far from ruffians or conscripted criminals, the British army of the era was largely a force of career soldiers who had voluntarily enlisted after trying their hands at other trades. This talk will look at the demographics of a typical British regiment serving in America during the war, presenting the nationalities, ages, background and experience of th...

During the 1930s, as Europe was teetering on the brink of crisis, Winston Churchill found himself out of government and with little political influence. In these years, his country home in Kent, England, “Chartwell”, became the center of his campaign against the rising threat of Nazi Germany. Churchill invited a diverse group of trusted advisors and informants, including Albert Einstein and T. E. Lawrence, to provide him with valuable intelligence and support as he tirelessly worked to sound the...

Author, historian, and veteran Michael S. McGurty discusses one of the last critical moments of the Revolutionary war based on his book "George Washington Versus the Continental Army: Showdown at the New Windsor Cantonment, 1782-1783 (2023).

Noted Civil War Historian and US Army War College Professor, Dr. Christian B. Keller, discusses his analysis of the failure of Confederate strategic leadership during the American Civil War based on his two books, "The Great Partnership (2019)" and "Southern Strategies: Why the Confederacy Failed (2021)."

Presenting USAHEC's General Omar N. Bradley Memorial Lecture to kick off the Fall 2024 season of the Perspectives in Military History with Civial War historian D. Scott Hartwig. Mr. Harwig will discuss the Battle of Antietam and his book I Dread the Thought of the Place: The Battle of Antietam and the End of the Maryland Campaign.

Supply and logistics are an integral component of military operations, which influences every aspect of military planning, operational art, and strategy. Among the many challenges faced by the fledgling Continental Army was establishing secure sources of supplies. That challenge came on top of developing effective and efficient lines of communication, creating functional and reliable transportation systems, finding reliable and secure logistical bases, and successfully managing what was often an...

Although he took command of the Army of the Potomac only three days before the first shots were fired at Gettysburg, Union general George G. Meade guided his forces to victory in the Civil War's most pivotal battle. Commentators often dismiss Meade when discussing the great leaders of the Civil War. In this lecture historian, Kent Masterson Brown draws on an expansive archive to reappraise Meade's leadership during the Battle of Gettysburg. Using Meade's published and unpublished papers alongsid...

Military expert Dr. Michael O’Hanlon examines America’s major conflicts since the mid-1800s: the Civil War, the two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. O’Hanlon addresses profound questions. How successful has the United States been when it waged these wars? Were the wars avoidable? Did America’s leaders know what they were getting into when they committed to war? And what lessons does history offer for future leaders contemplating war? —including the prospects for avoiding war in...

Defeat is a possibility in almost any undertaking. Understanding how to turn failures into lessons learned is a key contributing skill to bringing about future success. In two of his recent books, Dr. David L. Preston, the General Mark W. Clark Distinguished Professor of History at The Citadel, provides a framework of how to draw constructive criticism out of defeat. Both “Braddock’s Defeat: The Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution” and “The Other Face of Battle: America’s Forgo...

This lecture was recorded at the open house for the USAHEC's newest exhibit, “Ka-Pow Boom! Understanding the Soldier Experience through Comic and Illustrative Art.” Writer, former military strategist, and U.S. Army veteran Steve Leonard delivered a presentation on his comic series “The Further Adventures of Doctrine Man” In his presentation discussed the origins and inspiration for the iconic comic strip, and the impact it’s had on the U.S. Army.

In her award-winning novel “I Will Die In A Foreign Land”, author Kalani Pickhart offers an opportunity to connect with the human aspect of the conflict. The novel, winner of the 2022 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, lets readers experience the complex, and often intensely personal, circumstances leading up to the conflict through the stories of its main characters.

The harrowing experiences of Major Dick Winters and Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Spiers, along with their abilities to successfully lead solders, provide deep insights for anyone interested in leadership and small unit dynamics. Frederick explores the specific elements, personal and professional, which enabled Winters and Spiers to become legendary leaders.

Lecture at the USAHEC with U.S. Army War College professor Dr. Kevin J. Weddle: In the late summer and fall of 1777, after two years of indecisive fighting on both sides, the outcome of the American War of Independence hung in the balance. Having successfully expelled the Americans from Canada in 1776, the British were determined to end the rebellion the following year and devised what they believed a war-winning strategy, sending General John Burgoyne south to rout the Americans and take Alban...

In the lecture Dr. Nolan will discusses the misconception that major battles determine clear-cut outcomes of wars, questioning the decisive power of even the most lopsided battles and debunking the concept of prodigies and geniuses of military strategy.

On September 14, 20022 the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, presented a lecture by Pulitzer Prize nominated author Dr. Megan Kate Nelson. In this lecture, Dr. Nelson discussed the American Civil War by introducing the national conflict’s impact on Indigenous peoples in the West and analyzing the strategic connections between the Civil War, Indian War, and western expansion. In highlighting the Civil War in the West, Dr. Nelson points attention to nine charismati...