Class dates: Thursdays, September 17, 24, October 1, 8, 15 (5 weeks)

Class time: 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm

Location: Assumption, Kennedy 119

This course will analyze thirty (30) famous very one-sided battles in history, ranging from Teutoburg Forest (in 9 AD) to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (in 1991). Others will include Bunker Hill, "Pickett's Charge," the “Charge of the Light Brigade,” and "Custer's Last Stand," discussing six each week, including Naval engagements. Several factors will be considered to determine the ultimate cause, and then the participants will be surveyed to give their own assessment of the battle, and to give their perceptions as how to affix blame for each of these, using ten possible causes, including - was the mission realistic; failures of leadership; tactics during the battle; and overconfidence in one’s own forces/lack of respect for the enemy.

Optional reading:

Great Military Disasters by Julian Spilsbury ISBN 978-1-4351-2445-5

Great Military Disasters by Charles Messenger ISBN 978-0-8802-9646-1

The Guinness Book of Military Blunders by Geoffrey Regan ISBN 978-0-8511-2961-7

 

Instructor: John Northgraves was an adjunct faculty member (History) at Mass Bay Community College, where he taught U. S. History from 2013 to 2025. Before teaching at MBCC, he conducted adult study groups at Tufts University and Regis College during 2010 to 2013. John is a 1967 graduate of Tufts (Political Science major) and has focused on U.S. History for his study groups. After service in the Navy, John’s career was in the technology field.