ICMG19 – The 13th International Conference on Military Geosciences
Padova (Italy), 24 – 28 June 2019

Conference Theme:
Peace Follows War: Geosciences, Territorial Impacts and Post-Conflict Reconstruction

The Conference was held from Monday 24 to Friday 28 June 2019, at the University of Padova in northern Italy. The 13th Conference was being organised on behalf of the IAMG by the Department of Historical and Geographic Sciences and the Ancient World (DiSSGeA) and the Italian Society of Military Geography and Geology (SIGGMI).

A post-conference field Trip was organized from Saturday 29 June to 4 July 2019 in the Dolomites (Italian Alps).

Here’s a link to an article written by one of the UK delegates – LINK.

Location

The University of Padova is located in north-eastern Italy, 20 minutes from Venice. It is close to the beaches of the Adriatic Sea and to the Dolomites, one of the most scenic regions of the Alps. Conference delegates and accompanying guests have easy access the historic cities of northern and central Italy such as Milan, Verona, Bologna, Florence and Rome (ranging from 30 minutes to 3 hours train journey) with their many artistic treasures.

Program

  • Arrivals Day – Sunday 23 June – Icebreaker: 1800 – 2000hrs at the Geographical Section of the DiSSGeA Department (Wollemborg Palace). Geography Museum visit & wine tasting and cheese from the alpine battlefields.
  • Day 1 – Monday 24 June – Opening Ceremony & Key Notes 0900 – 1300hrs; Scientific Session 1400 -1800hrs; evening visit to the Cappella degli Scrovegni and/or Padova City Center.
  • Day 2 – Tuesday 25 June – Scientific session 0900 – 1300hrs; Poster Session 1430 – 1600hrs; late afternoon visit to” 3rd Army” Military Museum.
  • Day 3 – Wednesday 26 June – Mid-conference excursion – Venice islands and fortifications. Transfer by bus to Venice. Visit of Forte Marghera. Boat tour in the lagoon with lunch on a lagoon island. Visit to the Naval Museum, San Mark Square and S. Andrea fort. Return to Padova by group bus.
  • Day 4 – Thursday 27 June – Bus transfer to Montello Hill. Scientific session 1000 – 1300hrs; Field trip to the battlefield and visit of the WW1 Sacrarium(military cemetery). Visit at the Memoriale Veneto della Grande Guerra (Great War Memorial). Conference Dinner at a local country house with wine tasting.
  • Day 5 – Friday 28 June – Scientific sessions 0900 – 1500hrs. IAMG Biennial General Meeting 1500 – 1700hrs.

Themes

The following themes have been identified as being of significant interest. Other topics may be considered upon receipt of abstract. Potential attendees are encouraged to contact the organizers with thoughts on additional themes.

  • Post-conflict reconstruction
  • Trafficability and military mobility
  • The Alpine operational environment
  • Venetian military history
  • WW1 era history of northern Italy
  • Military tunneling
  • Conflict Archaeology
  • Geomorphological constraints to warfare
  • Military cartography and GIS
  • Geospatial intelligence and Remote Sensing
  • Modern embedded geologists
  • Military fortification and line of defenses
  • Borders and boundaries
  • Military tourism and monuments
  • Geo-military cultural heritage

Conference Proceedings

Full and short papers presented in the conference were considered for publication in:

  1. Springer volume (full papers/book chapter);
  2. Geografia Fisica and Dinamica Quaternaria Journal (full papers, Impact Factor 2017 (IF) – Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge 1.000; Cite score (2017): 1.08; SJR (2017): 0.408; SNIP (2017): 0.610;)
  3. a special volume of ROL – Rendiconti On Line of the Italian Geological Society (short papers/full papers, Cite score (2017): 0.28; SJR (2017): 0.301; SNIP (2017): 0.199;)

Conference Committee

  • President – Giovanni Luigi Fontana
  • Secretary – Aldino Bondesan
  • Members:
    • Edward Rose
    • Peter Guth
    • Drew Craig
    • Roberto Francese
    • Marco Mondini
    • Paolo Plini
    • Monica Celi
    • Giovanni Donadelli
    • Francesco Ferrarese

The Conference Committee were be supported by the Council of the Association, comprising:

  • The Association President – Cdr (Dr) Hennie Smit (South Africa)
  • The Association Secretary – Maj Drew Craig (UK)
  • Representative from ICMG 2015 – Annapolis, USA – Prof Peter Guth
  • Representative from ICMG 2017 – Stellenbosch, South Africa – Cdr (Dr) Jacques Bezuidenhout

Post Conference Excursion (5 days): Italian Alps from WW1 to Cold War

During the tour participants visited the battlefields, museums, memorials and cemeteries of the Italian Alps and Piave frontline. The tour included several WW1 glacial ‘White War’ sites, including high mountain emplacements (up to 3,000 m asl), mine warfare sites, fortresses, military tunnels, and the largest Memorials and Military Museums of Northern Italy. Most of the battlefields are in the Dolomites, probably the most famous mountains of the alpine range which is in turn reflected in its status as a UNESCO World Heritage area.

Program

  • Day 1 –Saturday 29 June – Transfer from Padova to Trento. Cogollo del Cengio war track; Thunder Base (Cold War American base); War Museum of Rovereto; overnight in Trento.
  • Museo della Grande Guerra di Rovereto.
  • Day 2 – Sunday 30 June – transfer from Trento to Marmolada Glacier.  Cableway to Mount Marmolada. Serauta defensive Italian positions (field excursion).  Passo Fedaia War Museum. Overnight in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
  • Day 3 – Monday 1 July – Transfer from Cortina d’Ampezzo to Lagazuoi.  Cableway to Lagazuoi high mountain Descent by cableway or by foot through a system of WW1 galleries and fortifications.  Visit of the Forte Tre Sassi museum. Overnight in Cortina.
  • Day 4 – Tuesday 2 July – Transfer from Cortina d’Ampezzo to Monte Piana open air museum. 4×4 mountaintrip to Italian and Austroungarian fortifications.  Visit to the 3 Cime di Lavaredo and Monte Croce Comelico Pass. Overnight in Auronzo di Cadore.
  • Day 5 – Wednesday 3 July – Transfer from Auronzo di Cadore to the Cold war bunkers at Savogna. Then, Redipuglia (Biggest WW1 Memorial; Memorial of Redipuglia . Transfer to Caorle beach or to Trieste.
  • Day 6Thursday 4 July – Transfer to the Venice International Airport, to Venice and to Padova.