USAHEC Perspectives Lectures Series (Audio)

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 engaging presentation style and meticulous research promise an insightful and thought-provoking exploration of...

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 career-long New York-based commodity and trade finance banker, has had a lifelong passion for history. The b...

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 from that tortured country.

His book, The Melting Point has three themes which are as follows.

Th...

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 the common soldiers that served in it. It will show the diversity of the army by detailing...

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 alarm about the looming threat of war.

Katherine Carter's book provides a fascinating account of 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.

While research has shown Latinos are highly patriotic, political rhetoric often questions their patriotism and residence in the United States. In his lecture, Dr. McGlynn will examine how Latina/Latino aspirations to demonstrate patriotism and belonging influences their experiences with military recruitment and service.

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 ad-hoc and improvised supply and logistical system.  

In his most recent book “Feeding Washington's Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778”, U.S. Army War Colleg...

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 ad-hoc and improvised supply and logistical system.

U.S. Army War College professor Dr. Ricardo Herrera outlines how this system catastrophically failed at Valley Forge...

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 alongside diaries, letters, and memoirs of fellow officers and enlisted men, Brown highlights how Meade's rapid advance of the army to...

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 the first place.

America's World War II military was a force of good. While saving the world from Nazism, it also managed to unify a famously fractious American people. At least that is the story the U.S. Army put forward through wartime propaganda during WW2, and remains popular today.

In this talk, historian and George Washington University associate professor Thomas Guglielmo offers a decidedly different view. This new perspective draws from more than a decade of extensive research and stitches together stories of race and the military; of high command and ordinary GIs; of African Americans, white Americans, Japanese...

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 Forgotten Wars and the Experience of Combat” analyze key takeaways hidden behind the immediate sting of failure, a...

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 Albany. When British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga with unexpected ease in July of 1777, i...

 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 Albany. When British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga with unexpected ease in July of 1777, i...

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 charismatic individuals who fought for regional control in the West in the midst of the larger military conflict.

In this lecture, Dr. Alan Allport of Syracuse University, discusses World War II’s critical first years and how the United Kingdom’s strategic and political decisions impacted the outcome of the war.

On June 22, 2022 the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, presented a lecture by Georgetown University Professor, Dr. Matthew Kroenig. In this lecture, Dr.Kroenig provided an in-depth analysis of the return to great power competition and how the democratic system of the United States is advantageous compared to the autocratic systems of Russia and China.

To learn more about the USAHEC, find education support for teachers, researchers, and soldiers, or to find more programs at the USAHEC, please visit our website https://ahec.armywarcollege.edu

April 20, 2022 – Robert D. Kaplan

On April 20, 2022 the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in

Carlisle, Pennsylvania, presented a lecture by the New York Times bestselling

author, Robert D. Kaplan. In this lecture, Mr. Kaplan provided a ground level

geopolitical primer of great power competition and the state of Europe, the

Middle East, and Asia. He also described how second phase globalization is

different than the first and the relevance of imperialism in today’s world.

To learn more about the USAHEC, find educa...

February 16, 2022 – Dr. Michael Neiberg

On February 16, 2022 the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, presented a lecture by Dr. Michael Neiberg of the U.S. Army War College based on his new book, “When France Fell: The Vichy Crisis and the Fate of the Anglo-American Alliance.”. In his lecture, Dr. Neiberg provides an in-depth analysis of the repercussions of the shocking six-week defeat of France by the Nazi regime in 1940. In panic and desperation, U.S. leaders chose to recognize the collaborationist Vichy government. Dr. Neiberg explores the resulting effects on the Anglo-American alliance, the rela...

On February 6, 2020, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania welcomed USAHEC Senior Historian Dr. Michael Lynch as he presented his talk on Edward M. Almond. Lt. Gen. Edward M. Almond was one of the more controversial leaders in U.S. Army history, but his story is more nuanced than the legends indicate. He commanded the 92nd Infantry Division—one of only two complete African American divisions formed during World War II—and led it through two years of training. He did so in a time when both the Army and American society were segregated, which pres...

On September 16, 2021 at 6:30PM EST, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania welcomed Prof. Amy Gaudion, of Penn State Dickinson Law, as she presented her lecture, Shifting the Oversight Lens on Cyberspace Operations. In this lecture, Prof. Gaudion examines the recent expansion of the U.S. government’s cyber authorities, to engage in both offensive and defensive measures, and explains how that expansion has coincided with a weakening and dispersion of congressional oversight mechanisms. Professor Gaudion proposes alternative mechanisms for plugging the gaps in the oversight structure and for ensuring appropriate limits on the use of...

On August 19, 2021 at 6:30PM EST, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania welcomed Dr. Peter Campbell, of Baylor University, as he presented his lecture, Statecraft and Cyberspace: Is the Best Cyber-Defense a Good Cyber-Offense? In this lecture, Dr. Campbell discusses the clear advantages of defensive over offensive cyber tactics and strategy, and how the power of the defense applies in cyberspace. According to Dr. Campbell, advocates of the cyber-offense do not appreciate the dangers of an offensive cyber strategy while underestimating the tactical, strategic, and political advantages of cyber-defense. These defensive insights can help the U...

August 19, 2020 – Dr. Andrew Marble

On August 19, 2020 the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, presented a lecture by Dr. Andrew Marble of Brown University based on his new book, Boy on the Bridge: The Story of John Shalikashvili’s American Success. In his lecture, Dr. Marble tells the story of John Shalikashvili, the son of immigrants who fled Europe to the safety of the United States after World War II. Despite his underprivileged upbringing, Shalikashvili clawed his way to a Bachelor’s degree before being drafted into the Army and attending Officer Candida...

November 18, 2015 - Gayle Lemmon

In 2010, the United States Army created Cultural Support Teams (CTS), a secret pilot program to insert women alongside Special Operations Soldiers battling in Afghanistan. The women of the CSTs put themselves in the line of fire to build relationships with the women of both the Afghan mountains and the tough streets of the Afghanistan cities. In November 2015, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC) in Carlisle, PA presented a lecture by Gayle Lemmon, author and Senior Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, based on her book, Ashley’s War...

April 22, 2021 – Mr. D.M. Giangreco

On April 22, 2021 at 6:30PM EST, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania welcomed author and scholar Mr. D.M. Giangreco as he presented his lecture, Berlin 1945: The Halt on the Elbe and the Redeployment to the Pacific. In this lecture, Mr. Giangreco discusses the steep increase in U.S. losses during the "casualty surge" of 1944-45 and its relationship to "the Berlin decision" to halt the U.S. Army’s drive into Germany instead of allowing them to push on to the German capital. Manpower need...

February 18, 2021 – Dr. David Danks

On February 18, 2021, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in coordination with the Army Heritage Center Foundation, welcomed Dr. David Danks, who presented a live-streamed lecture via ZOOM that explored the critically important topic of military applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the ethical questions that arise with the idea of “responsible AI." In this talk, Dr. Danks provided a short history of military AI ethics discussions and looked carefully at the nature of “responsible AI,” with a particular focus on military uses. He argued that we should fo...

March 11, 2021 – Dr. Reed Bonadonna

On March 11, 2021, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania welcomed author and scholar Dr. Reed Bonadonna to present his lecture, How to Think Like an Officer: The Officer as Visionary. In this lecture, Dr. Bonadonna argued that the military officer corps functions as a collective repository of knowledge of the nature of armed conflict, causes and consequences, and of peace and victory. An officers’ education and experience, combined with reflection, can equip them for visionary thought, a form of thinking that can enhance their role as a serving officer and a...

May 7, 2020 - Dr. Thomas Bruscino

On May 7, 2020, at 6:30 PM EST, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania live-streamed a lecture entitled Developing Strategists, Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Interwar Army War College by U.S. Army War College Associate Professor Dr. Thomas Bruscino. The lecture is based on a paper written by Dr. Bruscino in conjunction with the USAHEC Historical Services Division. General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, did not achieve his position or victory in World War II by accident. The overwhelming majority of senior leaders who led the...

April 15, 2020 - Dr. Cristian Keller

On April 15, 2020, at 6:30PM, the USAHEC welcomed Dr. Christian Keller of the U.S. Army War College to give a lecture based on his latest book, The Great Partnership: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and the Fate of the Confederacy. The unique relationship between Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson is one mired in legend, controversy, and misconception.  These great chieftains’ command styles, friendship, and even their faith, formed the Army of Northern Virginia into a fighting machine that almost won the Civil War in the Eastern Theater.   Dr. K...

March 4, 2020 - Mr. Martin King

“They’ve got us surrounded – the poor b********!” was the defiant refrain among the cold and miserable 101st Airborne Division Soldiers valiantly defending the city of Bastogne in December 1945.  Both the German and American Soldiers lost terrible casualties, but the Americans held out against Hitler’s final push west until reinforcements arrived, a crucial part of the victory in what became known as the Battle of the Bulge. On March 4, 2020, at 7:15 PM, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, hosted Emmy Award winning British military historian, author, and lecturer Ma...

August 23, 2019 - Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs

The Hello Girls is the untold story of how America’s first female Soldiers helped win World War I, earned the vote, and fought the U.S. Army for recognition. In 1918, the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France. They were masters of the latest technology: the telephone switchboard. General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, demanded female “wire experts,” when he discovered that inexperienced doughboys were unable to keep him connected with troops under fire. Without communications for even an hour, the Army would collapse. While suffragettes picket...

November 7, 2019 - Mr. Peter Stark

In the waning and bleak months of 1753, a young and naive George Washington trekked through the Ohio frontier on behalf of the British Crown to forge a diplomatic relationship with the French and Native Americans. Washington knew this mission was a considerable honor and an opportunity for advancement to a full commission in the British Army. On Thursday, November 7, 2019 at 7:15 p.m., New York Times Best Selling author Mr. Peter Stark presented a lecture based on his newest work, Young Washington: How Wilderness and War Forged America’s Founding Father. Stark discussed ho...