In conclusion . . .

By duplicating a historical event through the recreation of those key elements that the original participants had to consider and then allowing it to be manipulated or "gamed," I believe every military professional can gain a substantially better understanding of military history. Anything less is little more than following someone else’s historical understanding of the battle. Only a historical simulation frees the military professional from the linear journey of a book or film in which it is impossible to consider alternatives. In contrast, a military simulation is nonlinear, much like the event itself. This means a military professional can wander through the event, changing variables if desired and still be in context. Whether looking for the future in the past, validating new techniques through historical models, or simply wanting to do some professional development, there is no more powerful, practical and useful analytical device than a historical simulation. The question should not be, "what can a military professional learn from historical simulations?" I think that is quite clear. The question should be, "why are they not used more extensively within the professional military educational system?"

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Notes

^[1] James Dunnigan, The Complete Wargames Handbook (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1992), p.146.

^[2] ibid.

^[3] ibid.

^[4] Dunnigan, 234-235

^[5] Dunnigan, 236.

^[6] Colonel T.N. Dupuy, US Army, Ret., Numbers, Predictions and War: Using History to Evaluate Combat Factors and Predict the Outcome of Battles (Fairfax: HERO Books, 1985) p 3-6.

^[7] Department of the Army, US Army Command and General Staff College, C610, The Evolution of Modern Warfare, Book of Readings (Fort Leavenworth: USACGSC, April 1991), Preface

Bibliography

Dunnigan, James F. The Complete Wargames Handbook. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1992.

Dupuy, T.N. Colonel, US Army, Ret. Numbers, Predictions and War: Using History to Evaluate Combat Factors and Predict the Outcome of Battles. Fairfax: HERO
Books, 1985.

U.S., Department of the Army, US Army Command and General Staff College. C610,
The Evolution of Modern Warfare, Book of Readings. Fort Leavenworth:
USACGSC, August 1997.

Image I. From the following website

Image II. From Henri Decalt’s Free Kriegspiel Pages

Image III. Source unknown

Image IV. HPS Simulations. Point of Attack 2.

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