Combining science and practice: the reconstruction of ground combat operations as a research project

Ron Wilke is studying Modern History at the University of Osnabrück and has been working as a student trainee in Department 2.3 "Historical-Genetic Reconstruction (HgR) and Archive" at Mull und Partner in Hanover since August 2023.

As part of his employment, he is writing a master's thesis on the use of archival records in the historical reconstruction of ground battles. He is analysing combat operations in the northern Eifel, also known as the "Battle of the Hürtgen Forest". He is particularly interested in the extent to which archival materials - often original US Army documents - are suitable for reconstructing ground combat situations. The aim is to localise potential ordnance contamination, which can still pose a danger today, as precisely as possible. Ron is also interested in the question of where the limits of the information content of the sources used lie. He is investigating the extent to which historical analyses can be applied and further improved in an efficient and targeted manner.

In addition to analysing military records, it is planned to look at historical aerial photographs and current digital terrain models (DTM). The approach known in science as "triangulation", which involves relating three types of sources (written sources, aerial photographs and digital terrain models) to each other, is intended to create the most comprehensive, multi-dimensional picture of the fighting possible. Ron's research project, which is being supervised by historians from the University of Osnabrück and Mull und Partner, combines procedures that have already been carried out in practice with the latest scientific findings. Projects like this make it possible to further optimise the reconstruction of possible ordnance contamination and make it even more precise.