2025 Symposium
Beyond the Trenches: Indirect Approaches and Irregular Warfare in WWI
Thursday, Oct. 23 – Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025
Above the clouds and under choppy waters, World War I was not only fought in the trenches.
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
Who should attend?
All who have a general or professional interest in the periods prior to, during and after World War I. We especially recommend this symposium to educators, historians and members of organizations that study these periods.
Hybrid Symposium – hosted online and in-person at the Museum and Memorial
Schedule
All times are Central Standard.
Thursday, Oct. 23
- 10 a.m.-5 p.m. | Museum and Memorial open
- 9:30 a.m. | Check-in at Museum and Memorial Guest Services
- 10 a.m. | Digital Summit begins online. Watch Party starts in Lobby.
- Noon | Lunch at the Museum and Memorial
- 2 p.m. | Digital Summit concludes.
- 5 p.m. | Check-in at Museum and Memorial ends.
Friday, Oct. 24
- 10 a.m.-5 p.m. | Museum and Memorial open
- 8-8:30 a.m. | Shuttle service from the Hampton Inn Hotel to the Museum and Memorial
- 8:45-9 a.m. | Welcome | Matthew Naylor
- 9-10 a.m. | Session 1
- 10-10:10 a.m. | Break | Museum Store opens
- 10:10-11:10 a.m. | Session 2
- 11:10 a.m.-12:10 p.m. | Session 3
- 12:10-1:45 p.m. | Lunch at the Museum and Memorial | Book Signing
- 1:45-2:45 p.m. | Session 4
- 2:45-2:55 p.m. | Break
- 3-4 p.m. | Session 5
- 4-5 p.m. | Session 6
- 5-5:30 p.m. | Shuttle service from the Museum and Memorial to offsite dinner
- 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Offsite dinner
- 7:30 p.m. | Shuttle service to the Hampton Inn Hotel
Saturday, Oct. 25
- 10 a.m.-5 p.m. | Museum and Memorial open
- 8-8:30 a.m. | Shuttle service from the Hampton Inn Hotel to the Museum and Memorial
- 8:30 a.m. | Doors open
- 9-10 a.m. | Session 7
- 10-10:15 a.m. | Break
- 10:15-11:15 a.m. | Session 8
- 11:15 a.m.-Noon | Closing Remarks | Lora Vogt
- Noon-1 p.m. | Lunch at the Museum and Memorial
- 12:30-1:30 p.m. | Shuttle service from the Museum and Memorial to the Hampton Inn Hotel
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.
In-person registration includes access to the galleries, light breakfasts, lunches and admission to the Friday evening dinner. In-person symposium attendees who wish to bring guests to the Friday evening dinner will need to buy additional reception tickets for their guests.
Online symposium attendees will receive digital access to all sessions.
Can’t attend the whole symposium, but still want to see a few sessions? Contact us at travel@theworldwar.org or 816.888.8153.
In-Person Registration
- Online and in-person lectures on Friday and Saturday at the Museum and Memorial
- Online and in-person admission to the Digital Summit Watch Party on Thursday at the Museum and Memorial
- Complimentary breakfast and lunch on Friday and Saturday
- Complimentary dinner on Friday evening
- Access to all galleries and the Liberty Memorial Tower
- $5 off $20 in-person purchases at the Museum Store. Cannot be combined with other discounts.
| Early Bird Rate (until Sept. 29) | $225 |
| Full Symposium (after Sept. 29) | $275 |
| Active Museum Volunteer | $120 |
| Teacher/Student | $75 |
Online Access Only
- Live online access to all sessions Thursday-Saturday, including the Thursday Digital Summit
| Online Access Only | $75 |
Friday Dinner Only
- Admission to the Friday evening dinner
| Friday Dinner Only | $50 |
Thursday Digital Summit Watch Party Only
- In-person admission to the Digital Summit Watch Party on Thursday at the Museum and Memorial
| Thursday Digital Summit Watch Party Only | $50 |
Hotel Information
A discounted block of rooms is set aside at the Hampton Inn & Suites Kansas City - Country Club Plaza. Please use this link to book your room at the special Symposium rate or contact the hotel for further information. To receive the special rate, reservations must be completed by Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
Refund Policy
The Museum and Memorial will honor a 50 percent refund on registration fees until Oct. 6. On Oct. 6 and beyond, no refunds will be granted. Attendees may contact Mark Gunter at 816.888.8103 to request a refund.
Ready to register?
Hosted in Partnership with:
Past Symposia
War and Morality Digital Summit
Nov. 15-16, 2024
As the defining event of the 20th century, how does World War I inform our understanding of “just” war?
Despite the efforts of multinational coalitions like the Triple Entente and League of Nations, crises have persisted throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, revealing the strategic and ethical complexities that define modern conflict and its impact on our global society.
Milestones and Cornerstones
Oct. 27-28, 2023
1923 ushered in a new era of military commemoration in the wake of WWI. Remembrance became less about victory and more about peace: monuments and cemeteries, enshrining the memory of those who served and sacrificed, were built not as trophies of the past but as touchstones for the future.
Shifting Tides: Citizenship in a World of Conflict
Nov. 4-5, 2022
Engulfed by four years of total war, the world emerged transformed. Amid the unfamiliarity of wartime and post-war societies, populations were both bound by tradition and buoyed by bids to reshape political, economic and social landscapes.
Fractured Fronts
Oct. 29-30, 2021
As the Great War “ended,” many questions confronted the global community that remain just as pressing today as they did one hundred years ago: How does war impact how we understand ourselves and our place in the world? What does it mean to “come home” when the places and people you called home have changed irrevocably?
1919: Peace?
Nov. 1-2, 2019
1919 was a year of sweeping changes in a landscape dramatically altered by years of unrelenting warfare. Leaders advanced towards elusive peace amid political instability, economic uncertainty and social conflict. As terms of the Treaty of Versailles were negotiated, a world reordered faced decisions and realities that would leave a complex legacy.
1918: Crucible of War
Nov. 1-3, 2018
Explore the irrevocable changes five years of cataclysmic conflict wrought on the global stage. As borders were literally and figuratively redrawn, Allies celebrated a victory and the world came to terms with the irreparable devastation and losses of the “war to end all wars.”
1917: America Joins the Fight
Nov. 3-4, 2017
The United States emerged from its traditional isolation in 1917 and began to take its place in the forefront of world affairs. As the U.S. mobilized its farms, industries, and formed a large army, it confronted curtailing civil liberties and faced a possible demand for equity in return for support.
Remembering Muted Voices
Oct. 19-22, 2017
Although the U.S. actively took part in the conflict for only 18 months, the war effort introduced mass conscription, transformed the American economy and mobilized popular support through war bonds, patriotic rallies and anti-German propaganda. Nevertheless, many people desired a negotiated peace, opposed American intervention, refused to support the war effort and even imagined future world orders that could eliminate war.
1916: Total War
Nov. 4-5, 2016
Explore the pivotal year of 1916, where global socio-political tensions created by World War I continued escalation and irrevocably changed the economic, military, and cultural landscape of the world.
1915: Empires at War
Nov. 6-7, 2015
Explore the rising tensions in America and the globally escalating conflict that defined the world in 1915. Follow the trajectories of different countries around the world as the conflict escalated to total war, including fighting in the colonies and East Asia, stalemate in the West, Churchill’s disaster at Gallipoli, mobilization at home, and the polarization of American society around the issue of war.
1914: Global War and American Neutrality
Nov. 7-8, 2014
Examine the origins of, reactions to and early confrontations in the First World War including the political, diplomatic, military, cultural and scientific developments prior to the war that contributed to its outbreak.