Seminar Information

                                               Twenty Years of Learning

 
Then - On July 14, 1990, the first meeting was held in a hotel room to form what later became the East Coast Chapter, and ultimately grew into the WFA-US Branch.  In the photo are: Randy Gaulke and Eric Miller (kneeling in front); and Stephen Gehnrich, Henry Spall, Raffi Gregorian, Michael Knapp, and Paul Braim (standing in back).  WFA East Coast's first formal seminar was held at the National Archives in Washington, DC on September 29, 1990.  (Photo courtesy of Steve Gehnrich) 






Now - Today, we average about 65 attendees at each seminar.  Pictured here is our spring seminar held at Fort Meade on June 5, 2010.  Our fall seminar is frequently held at the Maryland War Memorial Building in Baltimore.  We try and move have the spring seminar at other venues in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

• Ireland and the Great War: Impact and Memory - Part 3.  WFA member and Irish historian Paul Walsh returned to discuss the military, political, and social effects of WWI on Irish history and national memory.
• The Battle of Jutland: Whose Strategic Victory.  Professional archivist and WFA East Coast Branch Member Tim Mulligan provided a reinterpretation of the strategic effects of WWI's greatest naval battles to include morale, subsequent naval operations, the Allied Blockade, and Germany's decision to resume unrestricted submarine warfare.
• Inventing the Schlieffen Plan.  Author Dr. Terrence Zuber cited recent research that questions commonly accepted history of the Schlieffen plan, claiming that Imperial Germany's 1914 war plan was a post-war fabrication intended to cover up the failure of the German campaign in the West.  Based on his book from The History Press. 
  
• The Long and Short of It:  Howitzers on the Western Front.  Author and historian Dr. Bruce Gudmundsson of the US Marine Corps Command and General Staff College presented an interactive discussion about the fielding of heavy artillery by the French prior to the war.

• Ireland and the Great War: Impact and Memory - Part 2.  WFA member and Irish historian Paul Walsh returned to discuss how WWI affected Irish attitudes and loyalties and how the memory of the war has evolved for different groups within Ireland since 1918.
• Solving the Mystery of Montfaucon.  William T. Walker Jr. of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library presented the results of 15 years of research and investigation into the the U.S. 79th Division's failure to capture Montfaucon on the first day of the 1918 Meuse-Argonne Offensive in a reassessment of General Officer leadership and the 79th Division's combat performance.
• Aviation Memorials of the Western Front.  WFA and League of WWI Aviation Historians member Steve Miller presented a travelogue program of memorials to famous WWI aviators in France and Flanders and the stories behind them.
• Nexus:  Strategic Communications and American Security in World War I.  Author Dr. Jonathan Winkler of Wright State University combined diplomatic, military, technology, and business history to discuss how U.S. officials in WWI discovered the enormous value of global communications.  His presentation was based on his book from Harvard University Press.  
• Breakthrough - The Gorlice-Tarnow Campaign of 1915.  Dr. Richard L. Dinardo of the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College recounted the decisive Eastern Front campaign which saw the rise of German General  August von Mackensen as one of the Germany's most capable field commanders.  Based on his book from Praeger Publishing.

Spring Seminar - June 5, 2010, Fort Meade, MD

• Beyond Incompetence: Why the AEF Lacked Fleets of Tanks in 1918.  WFA member and tank scholar Patrick Osborn examined the complex reasons why American-built tanks didn’t make it to the Western Front.
• Ireland and the Great War: Impact and Memory.  WFA member and WWI scholar Paul Walsh discussed the connections between the Irish 'Home Front' and the Irishmen serving in the British Armed Forces in the various theaters of war.
• Bodies of War.  Historian Lisa Budreau talked on how World War I marked the first war in which the United States government and military took full responsibility for the identification, burial and memorialization of those killed in battle.
• 1919-20: When the Signal Corps Almost Died.  Historian and WFA member Dr. Karl Larew recounts how the Administration and the Congress tried to reshape the Army to take into account the lessons learned in WWI, and in the process, the Signal Corps was stripped of its direct combat support role and came close to being reduced to either an element of the Engineer Corps or simply a reserve branch of the Army.
• Tour of the Ft. Meade Museum by the Fort Meade museum staff, including a special exhibition of rarely seen WWI related objects from the museum’s storage facility.

Fall Seminar - November 7, 2009, Maryland War Memorial, Baltimore, MD

• Fortress Antwerp.   Author and fortress historian Clayton Donnell examined the history and development of Antwerp, Belgium's "National Redoubt," which was the third largest fortress in the world after Paris and its role in the October 1914 "Race to the Sea.”
• Germany’s Wonder Weapon.  The 42cm ‘Big Bertha’ Howitzer.  WFA member and scholar Marc Romanych presented the true record of this remarkable weapon which was the largest artillery piece of its kind at the start of WWI.
• Pusher Aces of World War I.  Military historian Jon Guttman presented the story of British and French aircraft aces who fought in pusher-design fighters through 1916 (based on his book from Osprey Publishing).
• Flamethrowers in the Great War: Exploding the Myths.  Scholar Robert Lembke explored the development and use of the flamethrower by both sides on the Western Front; debunking several enduring myths about the use of these weapons in trench attacks.
• Dunkirk to Vittorio Veneto: New Jersey's Aviators in the Twilight of the Great War.  WWI aviation historian and artist Mike O’Neal recounted the role of New Jersey aviators in the aerial activity on the Italian & Western fronts during the final week of October and the first week of November 1918.  

Spring Seminar - May 9, 2009, Fort Mifflin, Philadelphia, PA

• A British 'Grunt' in the Great War: The Service of Private George T. Matchett.  Author and historian Christopher George talks about his grandfather's World War I military service in the British Army.
• World War I German Naval Records at the National Archives: Access and Research Possibilities.  Archivist Timothy Mulligan from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) spoke on source material and finding records at NARA.
• Tour of Fort Mifflin and 18th Century Weapons Demonstration.  

Fall Seminar – November 10, 2007, Maryland War Memorial, Baltimore, MD

• Spirits of the Argonne: Exploring the Haunted Forests and Plains of the Meuse-Argonne Battlefield.  LTC Taylor Beattie, US Army (Ret) recounted the heroism of several unremembered soldiers of the American Expeditionary Force.
• Defining the Fighter:  The Evolution of Two-Seat vs. ‘Scout’ Fighter Aircraft During World War I.  Editor of Aviation History, Jon Guttman, described the development of fighter aircraft design and employment from 1914 to 1918.
• Remembering the A.E.F.  Historian and author Dr. Mark Snell, Shepherd College, examined how the wartime generation and those that followed have remembered or commemorated individuals, groups, and military organizations that comprised the AEF. 
• Searching for Sgt. York: New Archeological Research on an American Hero.  Dr. Michael Birdwell and Dr. Thomas J. Nolan, Tennessee Tech University, described their work and methodology used to reveal where Sergeant Alvin York killed 21 German troops and took 132 of the enemy as prisoners in the Argonne Forest.

Spring Seminar - June 2, 2007, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD

• Imperial Russia's Involvement in the Archduke's Franz Ferdinand Assassination presented by Professor Matthew Kowalski of Temple University.
• The US 27th Division under British Command 1918.
• Great War Weapons presented by Museum Director William Atwater.
• Tour of the U.S. Army Ordinance Museum.

Fall Seminar - November 4, 2006, Maryland War Memorial, Baltimore, MD

• The Forgotten History of French Aerial Bombardment presented aviation historian and author Steve Suddaby.
• CPL Freddie Stowers:  An Appointment with Eternity on Cote 188 presented by LTC Taylor Beattie, US Army (Ret).
• Science and the Great War presented by WFA member and Great War Society Member Doug Schaffer.
• AEF Balloon Service presented by author and historian Richard DesChenes.

Spring Seminar - April 01, 2006, Fort Meade, MD 

• Light Tank Operations presented by WFA member John Barry.
• Tank Procurement present by WFA member Karl Klusewitz.
• Heavy Tank Operations presented by WFA member and tank scholar Patrick Osborn.
• Wireless Communications presented by Larry Lyons.
• Tour of the Fort Meade Museum by the Fort Meade museum staff.

Fall Seminar - November 5, 2005, Maryland War Memorial, Baltimore, MD

• "Balloon Busting" Aces presented by  Aviation History magazine editor Jon Guttman.
• Investigating Canadian Expeditionary Force Soldiers in WWI.  WFA Member Neil Burns outlined the resources and methods available today to researchers.
• WWI Aircraft at the National Air and Space Museum presented by WFA member Ted Sacher of the League of WWI Aviation Historians. 
• The Chemists' War.  WFA Member Douglas Shaffer explained the role of some of the 20th Century's greatest scientists in various aspects of The Great War. 
• A Grateful heart: The History of the WWI Field Hospital.  Author Michael E. Shay gave the inside story behind the research and writing of his book. 
• Display of rare WWI artifacts and memorabilia.

Fall Seminar - November 13, 2004, Maryland War Memorial, Baltimore, MD

• Frenchman Henry Farre: The First Aviation Combat Artist in History presented by aviation artist and member of the American Society of Aviation Artists Luther Gore. 
• WWI German Picture Postcards preneted by WFA member Randy Gaulke.
• Battle of Belleau Wood on June 6, 1918 given by senior archivist at the US Marine Corps’ Gen. Alfred M. Gray Research Center, Mike Miller.
• The Schlieffen Plan.  A panel discussion by military historians Dr. Karl Larew of Towson University, Jon Guttman of Primedia Publications, and Eric Miller of WFA which separated myth from reality concerning the plan.
• Ernst Junger's “Storm of Steel.”  Book discussion moderated by WFA member Andy Hyson.
• Exhibit of WWI artifacts including German body armor and helmets, fragments from a Zeppelin brought down over England, photographs, medals and a British SMLE rifle.

Spring Seminar - April 3, 2004, Maryland War Memorial, Baltimore, MD

• The 32nd Division AEF given by WFA member John Barry.
• WWI Artifact Collecting presented by WFA member Frederick C. Maisel. 
• US Army Aerial Observation Doctrine given by author Dr. Edgar Raines of the US Army Center of Military History.
• George C. Marshall in WWI presented by Blaine Horton winner the 2003 WFA-USA Phi Alpha Theta Undergraduate Essay Award.
• The Life of War-poet Charles Hamilton Sorley given by author Dr. James Kirschke. 
• A certificate of appreciation for support of Chapter seminars was presented to Ed Maiwald.
• The East Coast Chapter also unveiled a new permanent exhibit on the 313th Infantry "Baltimore's Own" in the lobby of the War Memorial.  Sponsored by the East Coast Chapter, the display highlights the history of the 313th Infantry Regiment, 79th Division, AEF which was raised and trained at Camp Meade (MD) and later participated in the Meuse Argonne offensive of 1918. Private Henry Gunther of the 313th was the last member of the AEF to die in combat in World War I at 11:01 AM on November 11. This is believed to be the first time that a WFA chapter has directly sponsored a commemorative public exhibit.

                                                             
                                                               The Col. Paul Braim Award  

Annually, the East Coast Chapter WFA presents an award for volunteerism to an individual member. The award is named in honor of the late Col. Paul Braim, soldier, historian, and one of the primary persons involved in the creation of the US Branch WFA more than a decade ago. The award will be presented at the Chapter's fall meeting each year, and is given to an individual who, in the view of the Chapter Chairman, has given the greatest assistance to the organization in carrying out its annual goals and initiatives in the year awarded.
 
Awardees are:

• April 2004:  Alan Weatherley
• November 2004:  Werner Gruhl
• April 2006:  Chuck Frascati