DunDraCon War College 2012

Salon C

Dana Lombardy – historian, author, editor, game designer – brings his War College of fascinating seminars and presentations to DunDraCon! Here is the schedule of speakers and topics:

SATURDAY, February 18

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM The Battle of Kursk, the Real Story
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM Wargame Design as a Tool for Historical Writing
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM Seven Secret Turning Points That Led to the Napoleonic Wars
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM Secret Turning Points of the American Civil War

SUNDAY, February 19

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Shooting the Front
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM How America Learned to Fight a Modern War
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM LUNCH BREAK
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM World War I, the Versailles Treaty and Why Germany Lost World War II
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM The Devil's in the Details: North Africa 1941
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM Alternate Histories

MONDAY, February 20

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Civil War What-Ifs
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Hitler's Lost Opportunity 1942

Seminar Descriptions

The Battle of Kursk, the Real Story

Saturday 3:00 PM in Salon C for 1 1/2 hours
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Group: Dana Lombardy
Type: War College

In July 1943 both the Germans and Soviets believed that the panzers would always break through. The Battle of Kursk proved this to be both right and wrong. Little known pieces of the background story and battle are revealed that help explain why this was the last German blitzkrieg of World War II. New and much more accurate figures on tank strengths and casualties at Kursk provide surprising data to be considered.

Wargame Design as a Tool for Historical Writing

Saturday 4:30 PM in Salon C for 1 1/2 hours
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Group: Christopher Perello
Type: War College

Like historians, wargame designers do research to learn details of events. Unlike historians, designers also need to know the mechanics of how those events took place. This talk will focus on how elements of wargame design lead to a different way of writing history based on the presenter's book The Quest for Annihilation.

Seven Secret Turning Points That Led to the Napoleonic Wars

Saturday 6:00 PM in Salon C for 1 1/2 hours
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Group: Dana Lombardy
Type: War College

Famous battles from 1805-1815 such as Austerlitz, Borodino, Waterloo, etc., have been the subject of numerous books and even movies. Seven little known turning points in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte were critical to his career without which there may have never been an Age of Napoleon. Dana Lombardy, former publisher of Napoleon Journal, presents these seven secret turning points, and also why Waterloo was such a close run thing despite the Prussian-Allied manpower advantage of nearly two-to-one at the battle.

Secret Turning Points of the American Civil War

Saturday 7:30 PM in Salon C for 1 1/2 hours
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Group: Dana Lombardy
Type: War College

Dana Lombardy, designer and editor of the battlefield guidebook The First Battle of Bull Run: Campaign of First Manassas, presents one his popular series of “secret” turning points lectures with a look at the decisions (and non-decisions) that have been overlooked or downplayed in most books written about America’s Civil War. What nearly happened in 1862 that could have crippled or stopped President Lincoln's war plans? What act of disobedience enabled the Union army to stay and fight at Gettysburg after its initial defeat on July 1? These topics and more will be explored.

Shooting the Front

Sunday 10:00 AM in Salon C for 1 1/2 hours
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Group: Terrence J. Finnegan
Type: War College

World War 1 aviation achieved prominence in most part to the role played by aerial reconnaissance. Key to understanding how battles were shaped was due to the information acquired through aeroplanes and observation balloons. This WW1 Influence is reflected today in the impressive legacy that exists through aerial photography, analyzing the intelligence, and disseminating to battlefield commanders in a very short time span. In addition to a brief overview of the art of aerial reconnaissance, the presentation will provide an explanation of the process taking the audience through a collection of missions accomplished by the French during the Meuse-Argonne offensive.

How America Learned to Fight a Modern War

Sunday 11:30 AM in Salon C for 1 1/2 hours
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Group: Michael Hanlon
Type: War College

The Meuse-Argonne was the largest battle ever fought by the United States in terms of ground troops committed and their casualties. History books usually present it as a "comedy of errors" fought by inexperienced soldiers and inept generals and focus on its sputtering opening and apparently pointless attack on the final night of the war. Yet, it was a strategic victory, won in six weeks over highly defensible ground that had been fortified for four years. In the final breakthrough, launched on 1 November 1918, four future U.S. Army chiefs-of-staff and two Marine Corps commandants played key roles in the operation that defined the American way of war for the 20th Century.

World War I, the Versailles Treaty and Why Germany Lost World War II

Sunday 2:30 PM in Salon C for 1 1/2 hours
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Group: Dana Lombardy
Type: War College

The "sudden" cease-fire in November 1918 was later used by Nazi propaganda as proof that Germany's "unbeaten" armies were "stabbed in the back" by their political leaders. In addition, the 1919 Treaty of Versailles worried many important people at the time that the treaty's harsh terms would only lead to another war. But what was the treaty's real impact on World War II? Did it fatally cripple Nazi Germany's war effort? The answers may surprise you.

The Devil's in the Details: North Africa 1941

Sunday 4:00 PM in Salon C for 1 1/2 hours
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Group: Christopher Perello
Type: War College

The hard part of historical writing is not determining what to include, but deciding what to leave out. Almost every sentence will include a summation of many extant facts; almost every sentence could be contradicted by a single detail. This talk will study events during the successful relief of the siege of Tobruk by Operation Crusader in November of 1941 to examine the story behind the perceived history of the battle.

Alternate History

Sunday 5:30 PM in Salon C for 1 1/2 hours
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Group: War College Panel
Type: War College

A panel discussion with authors and game designers Dana Lombardy, Christopher Perello, and Ken Hite who look at possible alternate histories and what their impact might have been. Audience participation is encouraged.

Civil War What-Ifs

Monday 10:00 AM in Salon C for 1 1/2 hours
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Group: Christopher Perello
Type: War College

History tells us the story that was; equally interesting are the stories that might have been. This discussion will examine the procedures and pitfalls of examining variable outcomes of historical events focusing on alternate starting dates for the US Civil War.

Hitler's Lost Opportunity 1942

Monday 11:30 AM in Salon C for 1 1/2 hours
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Group: Dana Lombardy
Type: War College

The battle of Stalingrad was one of the greatest turning points of World War II. This seminar offers insights into the strategic options, operational flaws, and tactical developments using translated war diaries, photos and maps to help explain how the city combat evolved over two months (September to November 1942). Was German defeat inevitable, or could operational brilliance overcome strategic blunders?

Speakers

Terrence J. Finnegan is a veteran with 40 years of military and government service. His career primarily covered military intelligence in a number of theaters, including NATO, Pacific Command and Central Command during Desert Storm. In the past seven years Colonel Finnegan has served as a senior advisor to National Guard headquarters supporting states in the western United States. The second, expanded edition of his latest book, Shooting the Front - Allied Aerial Reconnaissance in the First World War, was published by The History Press in the United Kingdom.

Michael Hanlon is a former U.S. Air Force Weather and Operations Officer who spent much of his working career managing large projects for corporations and federal, state, and local government. Today, he publishes and edits a series of World War One-oriented online and print periodicals. He is also the creator the award-winning Doughboy Center website, the largest Internet site dedicated to the American experience in the Great War.

Dana Lombardy was an Associate Online Editor for Armchair General and now does research, writing and design through Lombardy Studios. Dana is best known for his multiple award-winning Streets of Stalingrad board wargame (three separate editions since first released in 1979), and for his nearly twenty television appearances, including multiple episodes of The History Channel’s Tales of the Gun series. He has contributed as an editor, cartographer, graphic artist and designer on many books, games and magazines, and was Publisher of Napoleon Journal from 1996-2000.

Christopher Perello served for 12 years on the editorial board of Command Magazine, one of the most successful military history publications of the 1990s, and is a current contributor at Decision Games. His numerous articles and wargames, plus the 2009 book The Quest for Annihilation, focus on his primary interests: battlefield mechanics and the inner workings of organizations. His past experience includes US Army/National Guard service as an Armor officer, the practice of law, and practicing attorney, and teaching business law at the college level.