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“There is a merit to visiting historical battlefields that no amount of theoretical study can replace.”

Professor Richard Holmes, Cranfield University

Today, academic field studies have become one of the most compelling experiential learning tools available. They vividly demonstrate how tactical, operational, strategic, political, and ethical decisions intersect, offering memorable lessons in strategy, leadership, and decision-making. Although grounded in past conflicts, the insights gained extend well beyond military studies and remain highly relevant across a wide range of disciplines. Our academic field studies are ideally suited for university departments and institutions seeking innovative, immersive educational experiences.

We provide a diverse selection of field studies, each designed to bring history to life while offering powerful perspectives on modern challenges. Our programs range from two-day intensives to three-week immersive courses and combine expert-led classroom sessions with guided visits to some of the world’s most significant battlefields. These on-site experiences serve as dynamic case studies, helping participants explore the complexities of conflict, leadership, and human decision-making.

Some of our flagship programs include:

Persian Wars: Clash of Cultures – West Encounters East

• The strategic context in the Near and Middle East in the early 5th century BC
• Persian Empire, society and culture
• Greek city-states and the emergence of hoplite warfare
• The rise of democracy in Athens
• Persian and Greek strategies and the conduct of war
• War and technology: soldiers and armor
• The impact of Persian Wars on Western Civilisation
• War in art (literature, sculpture and painting)

Peloponnesian War: Thucydides for Contemporary Issues

• Athenian democracy and imperialism
• Spartan social structure and political organization
• Strategies in Archidamian War
• The Sicilian Expedition: A case study in overextension
• Civil-military relations, ancient and modern
• Managing state resources for war
• Land power versus naval power: a comparison
• Comparative analysis of ancient Sparta and modern China as naval powers
• The changing character of war: from phalanx battles to total war
• Thucydides trap – US and China

Great Political and Military Leaders: Lessons for Today

• Taking the initiative: Miltiades at Marathon
• Envisaging the future: the strategy of Themistocles
• The virtue of integrity: the political supremacy of Pericles
• Risking the innovation: Epaminondas at Leuctra
• Taking decisive action: Alexander at Chaeronea

Developing corporate leaders through battlefield experience

Our corporate field studies deliver practical insights for management teams by examining battlefields and linking the outcomes of historical conflicts to today’s organizational challenges. Participating executives visit and analyze selected battlefields to draw clear parallels between military campaigns and contemporary business issues, including leadership development, timely decision-making, effective communication, resource allocation, and team building. Corporate field studies are particularly well suited for middle- and senior-level executives seeking immersive, results-oriented learning experiences.

The corporate field study uses the case-method approach to link battlefield decisions and outcomes with the key concerns of today’s leaders. It is not designed to teach military history nor does it require any prior knowledge of military affairs. Instead, it invites participants to recognize that battles can serve as powerful metaphors for decision-making under conditions of crisis, uncertainty and risk. Experiencing the actual ground where major conflicts unfolded offers an immediacy and impact that is difficult to replicate in any other training environment.

In conjunction with field studies, or as stand-alone offerings, we also provide specialized workshops that translate military concepts, tools and techniques into the civilian context, blending case studies with customized, facilitated discussions to create a truly immersive leadership experience.

Some corporate field studies include:

• Leadership Under Fire: The Battle of Marathon
• Crisis Decision-Making: The Battle of Salamis
• Managing Complexity: The Peloponnesian War Case Study
• Team Cohesion and Discipline: The Spartan Way
• Breaking the Mold: The Battle of Leuctra
• Strategic Foresight: Theodoros Kolokotronis at Tripolitsa and Dervenakia

Our workshops in classrooms include modules such as:

• Leadership programs (Theme-based or key leaders-based)
• Mission command and maneuverist approach
• Principles of war
• Operational art and campaign planning
• Tactical planning and problem solving

There is no tougher place than a battlefield to enhance leadership quality. In battle the risk is absolute and, as in very real-life business situations, there is an opponent thinking against you!

We can work with your corporate training department to organise the most appropriate field study specifically for your organisation, combining actual battlefield visits with classroom workshops.

Taking the military professional a level up

A military staff ride offers a dynamic and immersive way to study the art of war. Rather than simply recounting history, our staff rides bring participants into the decision-making process itself—examining operations, leadership, strategy, and the timeless lessons of the battlefield.

We design staff rides for military academies, headquarters, field units, veterans’ groups, and any audience eager to explore warfare in depth.

Our staff rides range from one-day programs to week-long immersive experiences, blending expert-led classroom sessions with on-site exploration of iconic battlefields. Each staff ride is crafted as an intensive case study, allowing participants to walk the ground, analyze decisions, and understand how terrain, leadership, and operational art shaped the outcome.

Programs can be organized chronologically—such as the Persian Wars or the Peloponnesian War—or thematically across eras.

Staff Rides by Chronological Order

• Persian Wars: Marathon, Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Plataea.
• Peloponnesian War: Pnyx (Defence of Attica), Delion, Mantinea, Pylos – Sphacteria.
• 4th Century BC Battles: Leuctra, Mantinea, Chaeronea.
• First World War: Macedonian Front campaign.
• Second World War: Albanian Front campaign, Metaxas Line Fortifications campaign, British Expeditionary Force in Greece, Battle of Crete.

Staff Rides by Thematic Order

• Leadership Lessons (Miltiades, Themistocles, Epaminondas, Alexander).
• Naval Battles: Salamis, Lepanto, Actium, Navarin.
• Phalanx vs Legion (Greeks vs Romans): Cynoscephalae, Pydna.
• Roman Battles: Pharsalus, Philippi.
• Irregular/Hybrid Warfare: Sphacteria (Peloponnesian War, 425 BC), Tripoli (Greek Revolution, 1821), Dervenakia (Greek Revolution, 1822), Athens (Civil War, 1944).
• Airborne Operations (WWII): Corinth Canal, Crete, Cos, Leros.
• Special Operations (WWII): Operation Harling (Gorgopotamos, 1942), Operation Albumen (Crete, 1942), Operation Anglo (Rhodes Island, 1942), Operation Bricklayer (Crete, 1944), Behind the Lines: Americans (OSS) in Greece (1944).