World War II History Roundtable: The 82nd Airborne Division in the Battle of the Bulge

Historic Fort Snelling, St. Paul MN

Dates: Dec. 10, 2009

Time: 7 p.m.

Fee: $5, free for students.

The German counteroffensive in the Ardennes was not broken

at Bastogne, as popularly thought, but farther north. There, in the Salm

River Valley, the 82nd Airborne Division turned back the German main effort

and ended Hitler’s plans to turn the tide of war. Join Guy LoFaro, author of an upcoming book on the 82nd Airborne, and Division Veterans, for a lecture on the Battle of the Bulge.

World War II History Roundtable: Soviet Military Leadership in World War II

Historic Fort Snelling, St. Paul MN

Dates: Jan. 14, 2010

Time: 7 p.m.

Fee: $5, free for students

Join Roger Reese, author of numerous books on World War II Soviet military history, along with Russian veterans, for a lecture on Soviet soldiers’ leadership. Reese will discuss how recruitment and training from platoon level up to Marshal of the Soviet Union, determined performance in battle despite the effects of Stalin’s terror purges on leadership cadres.

World War II History Roundtable: The Role of Bombers Against Germany The Role of Bombers Against Germany

Historic Fort Snelling, St. Paul MN

Dates: Feb. 11, 2010

Time: 7 p.m.

Fee: $5, free for students

Author Williamson Murray will be joined by Army Air Forces Veterans for a lecture on the European Theater air war. The presentation will cover early struggles to the strategic developments that ensured the destruction of the Luftwaffe and Nazi war industry. Also, hear about the large numbers of Fort Snelling inductees who became trained flyers and crews.

World War II History Roundtable: The New Guinea Campaign

Historic Fort Snelling, St. Paul MN

Dates: March 11, 2010

Time: 7 p.m.

Fee: $5, free for students

The much overlooked campaign in the Southwest Pacific and New Guinea landing were part of the Allies’ successful island hopping strategy. Many of the troops who fought this war in the jungles were from the 32nd Infantry Division, a Wisconsin National Guard unit. Join James Campbell, author of Ghost Mountain Boys, with Southwest Pacific Campaign Veterans for a lecture about the campaign.

World War II History Roundtable: The Invasion of Anzio

Historic Fort Snelling, St. Paul MN

Dates: April 8, 2010

Time: 7 p.m.

Fee: $5, free for students

Author, H. Paul Jeffers will be joined by Veterans for a presentation on the Invasion of Anzio. Despite early success of the surprise landing in late January 1944, savage fighting soon developed on the narrow 15-mile-long Anzio Beachhead south of Rome. By the breakout four months later, the Allies had lost nearly 30,000 men.

World War II History Roundtable: Air Operations in the CBI: The Hump, Air Commandos and Air Cargo

Historic Fort Snelling, St. Paul MN

Dates: May 13, 2010

Time: 7 p.m.

Fee: $5, free for students

Air support in the CBI Theater was crucial to maintain ground

operations; rugged and inhospitable terrain often made supply otherwise

impossible. Cargo flights from India and over the Himalayas ("The Hump")

kept China in the war and brought men, equipment and supplies into Burma

to defeat the Japanese. This lecture is presented by author and historian Al Lathrop, with Veterans of the China Burma India Theater.