Doug Gangler is a former United States Naval Officer (CDR, USN-Ret) who served a total of 24 1/2 years on active duty. His assignments on ships and ashore included: United States (Washington D.C.-area and San Diego), Philippines, Guam, Spain, Italy, and Belgium. His military duties took him to such diverse locations as a transit of the Suez Canal and Red Sea, Sarajevo and Kosovo, the Mediterranean, and throughout the Western Pacific.   He went into business designing and giving tours in 2001; is now in his seventh year of successful operations; and, not only shows and explains in detail the histories of World War I and II in Western Europe - but provides superb hotels, cuisine, and comfortable transportation.

Doug Gangler Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, France

	Doug is an avid historian who has an intense interest in the World Wars; and, the great American military leaders and the ones who transcended the period.  He is fluent in French, and a customer-service oriented individual who will meticulously plan every detail to ensure that each tour to the Continent is a first-rate, safe, secure, and enjoyable experience for all participants.  The lodging, restaurants, and transportation with each tour are only first-class.   His research and experiences have included extensive travels to all points of interest along the WW I Western Front (Flanders and northern France), and to WW II sites in the Calais, Normandy, and Ardennes regions - developing invaluable contacts and friends to provide assistance for specialized tours.  He has developed a series of briefs, discussion points, maps, and lectures on the events of the World War I period - especially on the formation and battles of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), the Navy contribution, the U.S. military leaders of that era, and the significance of events to the world powers - that display superbly when presented in the on-site tour settings.  Also discussed are the major World War II battles and events of that time, with again excellent narratives and graphics.
	Many historians will argue that World War I, or the "Great War" or the "War to End all Wars", was the most dramatic event that shaped the rest of the 20th Century; then, World War II came along and created the world we live in today.  Due to the static nature of warfare along the WW I Western Front, and the intensity of the experience on the participants, a variety of extremely impressive monuments and memorials were built - most in the 1920's and generally along the battleline.  See the American Battle Monuments Commission link for those American; there are also terrific British and French sites.  The story of World War I is presented by Doug with visits to many of these sites as a powerful backdrop.  World War II has fewer sites; but the three main regions with sites preserved - the D-Day landings in Normandy, the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg for the Battle of the Bulge, and the little-known Calais region by the English Channel - are all outstanding.   In the case of the United States, World War I was also a seminal event in the development of its military, and in the making of an entire generation of leaders for events down-the-road.  Hallowed names that will forever be a forceful part of American history - Pershing, MacArthur, Patton, Marshall, Truman, Eisenhower - all either made their mark, or were shaped by the events, of the First World War.  All these leaders - especially GEN Pershing - are discussed in detail on the tour; and, how their characteristics and leadership styles can apply to any age and generation.   World Wars I and II were - for the United States but also for many countries - major steps on the road toward today's globalization and international entanglements.  These tours provide a perfect forum to discuss, with other like-minded individuals, where the world and America stands at present, and, express and hear opinions on which direction everybody should proceed.
	There are scores of books that are fascinating reading on the World War I era, the period between the wars, World War II, and also on great leaders associated with the conflicts. Excellent books include:   World War I: 1. "American Armies and Battlefields in Europe", from the Staff of the Center for Military History Institute. 2. "The American Heritage History of World War I", by S.L.A. Marshall and the American Heritage Editors. 3. "Before Endeavors Fade", by Rose B. Coombs, MBE. 4. "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" (pages 182-291), by Paul Kennedy. 5. "The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century", by Jay Winter and Blaine Baggett. 6. "The Great War at Sea: A History of Naval Action 1914-18", by A.A. Hoehling. 7. "Pipe Clay and Drill - John J. Pershing: The Classic American Soldier", by Richard Goldhurst. 8. "American Caesar" (biography of Douglas MacArthur), by William Manchester. 9. "Passchendaele", by Philip Warner. 10. "The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916", by Alistar Horne. 11. "The Guns of August", by Barbara W. Tuchman. 12. "The Battle of Vimy Ridge", by Alexander McKee. 13. "Somme", by Lyn MacDonald. 14. "The Origins of the First and Second World Wars", by Frank McDonough. 15. "My Experiences in the First World War", by GEN John J. Pershing. 16. "Yanks", by John S.D. Eisenhower. 17. "America's First Battles: 1776-1965" (Cantigny, Chapter 6, 28-31 May 1918), by Alan Millett, book edited by C. Heller and W. Stofft. 18. "Over Here", by David M. Kennedy. 19. "The Doughboys: The AEF in World War I", by Laurence Stallings and M.S. Wyeth, Jr. 20. "The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in WWI", by Edward Coffman. 21. "A Storm in Flanders", by Winston Groom. 22. "And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight", by Floyd Gibbons.  23. "War by Time-Table: How the First World War Began", by A J P Taylor. 24. "An Illustrated History of the First World War", by John Keegan. 25. "1918; War and Peace", by Gregor Dallas. 26. "Europe's Last Summer", by David Fromkin. 27. "The Battle of Belleau Wood", by Richard Suskind. 28. "The Test of Battle", by Paul F. Braim.   World War II: 1. "The Collapse of the Third Republic: An Inquiry into the Fall of France in 1940", by William L. Shirer. 2. "The Maginot Line; Myth and Reality", by Anthony Kemp. 3. "Hitler's V-Weapons Sites", by Philip Henshall. 4. "The Second World War: Europe and the Mediterranean", from the West Point Military History Series, 2002. 5. "Atlas to the Second World War", from the West Point Military History Series, 2002 (one for "Europe and the Mediterranean" and one for "Asia and the Pacific"). 6. "D-Day: June 06, 1944 The Climatic Battle of World War II", by Stephen Ambrose. 7. "Ghost Front: The Story of the Ardennes before the Battle of the Bulge", by Charles Whiting. 8. "Hitler's Last Offensive: The Full Story of the Battle of the Ardennes", by Peter Elstob. 9. "Eisenhower's Lieutenants", by Russell Weigley. 10. "Armageddon", by Max Hastings. 11. "Hitler's Last Weapons: The Underground War against the V1 and V2", by Jozef Garlinski. 12. "Hitler's Atlantic Wall", by Anthony Saunders. 13. "The Pacific War: 1941-45", by John Costello. 14. "Goodbye Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War", by William Manchester. 15. "The Third Reich" Series (21 books total), by the Editors of Time-Life, Inc. 16. "A Tour of the Bulge Battlefield", by William C.C. Cavanagh. 17. "The Mare's Nest", by David Irving. 18. "The Birth of the Missile; The Secrets of Peenemuende", by Ernst Klee and Otto Merk. 19. "Germany, Hitler & World War II", by Gerhard L. Weinberg. 20. "World in the Balance; Behind the Scenes of World War II", by Gerhard L. Weinberg. 21. "Hitler's Italian Allies", by MacGregor Knox. 22. "A War to be Won; Fighting the Second World War", by Williamson Murray and Allan Millett. 23. "The Supreme Commander; The War Years of Dwight D. Eisenhower", by Stephen Ambrose. 24. "The First Summit; Roosevelt and Churchill at Placentia Bay, 1941", by Theodore Wilson.

The History Net	ABMC	Smithsonian - History

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