2025 Symposium at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, USA, hosted online and in-person.
Riflemen “going over the top” is the iconic battle image of World War I.
But as large armies fought for mere meters of dirt and mud along the Western Front, strategists increasingly turned to finding other ways to gain advantages over enemies. WWI veteran and British military theorist B. H. Liddell Hart advanced the idea of an “indirect approach” in battle. Aviation technology, tunneling and mining, proxy fighters, insurgents and spies – these all achieved flexibility and surprised the enemy.
Explore the wide variety of battle strategies beyond trenches, including:
- Diplomatic, economic and information warfare
- Proxy forces and irregular warfare in the Age of Empire
- New technologies: aviation, tunneling and mining
- Maritime operations in support of land forces
- Environmental and geographic considerations
Speakers
Digital Summit (Thursday, Oct. 23)
- Peter Doyle: “Gallipoli”
- Anne Samson: “Africa”
- Danielle Wirsansky: “Women and Espionage”
- Fred Vogt & Chris Juergens: “Anti-Tank Mines”
- Pierre Legrand: “German Underground Warfare in Flanders”
- Nikki Dean: “Defining Indirect Approach and Irregular Warfare”
- Christine Hanna: “Economics”
- Kate Imy: “Spies, Ships, and Swamps: The Singapore Mutiny and the Fight Against Colonialism in Southeast Asia”
- Robert Feeney: “Wireless Telepathy”
- John Curatola: “The Air War”
Symposium (Friday-Saturday, Oct. 24-25)
- Mark Stout: “American Intelligence in World War I: Behind and Beyond the Front Lines”
- Sean Seyer: “Aviation Technology”
- Christopher Warren: “Naval Blockade”
- Alex Holowicki: “German Submarine Warfare in Hawaiʻi”
- Geoff Babb: “Siberia”
- Candice Millard: Keynote Dinner Lecture on her newest project.
- Phillip Dehne: “Economics”
- James LaFratta: “The Italian Front”
- David Stone: “Russia and Insurgent Warfare”
Register
The 2025 Symposium will be hybrid, hosting speakers and guests both in-person and online. In-person sessions will be livestreamed for online attendees, who can also participate in live Q&A.
Full details at theworldwar.org/symposia