There are several activities based on visiting battlefields with significant differences between them depending on purpose and audience. Advanced Battlefield Studies – Greece offers five different activities. Our activities are organized in two ways either on chronological order, like Persian Wars or Peloponnesian War or in thematic modules throughout the centuries. Thematic modules include phalanx battles (Greek, Macedonian, and Roman), naval battles, fortifications and sieges, leadership lessons drawn from battlefields, irregular warfare, special operations and military operations in the cities.
Military Staff Ride
For about 150 years, military personnel have participated in an on-battlefield-location training and development program known as the Staff Ride. A military staff ride is a historical study of a campaign or battle that envisions a systematic preliminary study phase, an extensive field study phase on the actual historic site and an integration phase to capture the lessons derived from each. The staff ride is a powerful instrument for professional development and education of the military leaders. The military staff ride is aimed at various military schools, headquarters, staffs and field units.
Academic Staff Ride
Universities begun in the ‘90s to emulate the militaries integrating the visiting on battlefields in their curricula. In academic staff rides students role-play the experiences of politicians, generals, and civilians who were involved in the conflict, providing memorable lessons and case studies in strategy, leadership and decision making. The academic staff ride is aimed primarily at academic departments of international relations and history.
Corporate Staff Ride
Recognising the merit of experiential learning the business world has taken advantage from staff rides. Management teams who participate in corporate staff rides visit and study a selected battlefield for the purpose of drawing parallels between that military campaign and their own corporate challenges, including leader training, timely decision-making, effective communications, resource deployment and team building. Corporate staff ride is oriented toward middle and high levels executives.
Battlefield Study
Battlefield study links a historical event to a real battlefield terrain leading to a systematic study of battles, campaigns and other operations. It demands little or no beforehand preparation which is fulfilled by a preliminary phase of presentations before visiting the battlefield. Battle analysis rests mainly in battlefield functions and includes topics such as command and control, intelligence, manoeuvre, firepower, protection, logistics, infantry, cavalry, combined arms, fortifications/sieges, joint action and civil-military relations. Depending on the audience the emphasis will focus on strategic, operational or tactical level. We always strive for active participation, stimulating discussions and exchanging of views. At the end an after action review will conclude the study summarising the main events and drawing lessons for modern times. Battlefield studies are offered to the general audience, military history enthusiasts and everyone with a keen interest in history.
Brief Battlefield Survey
For those without enough time but with a keen interest in history, we offer brief surveys of battlefield sites of one or two day’s duration, around Athens and Thessaloniki. In essence they are battlefield studies of shorter length although with the same level of professionalism.