September 2026 Research Dispatch: recent Guadalcanal fieldwork, new Boer War and Tonkin Campaign studies, the Military Quiz Hub, research into Balibo and Rhodesian Fireforce operations, and upcoming battlefield fieldwork across Britain and Norway.
Research Dispatches provide updates on current and future BattlefieldTravels research and publications. The June 2026 Dispatch provides recent publications (1866 Koniggratz, Culloden bayonet drill, new Podcast episodes, Nghia Lo) Articles in progress (Airmobility, Rhodesian Fire Force, Eben Emael). Plus a mini case study on Battle of Spion Kop historiography.
Research Dispatches provide updates on current and future BattlefieldTravels research and publications. The May 2026 Dispatch provides: recent publications (Pike and Shot) Orleans 1429), articles in progress (Austerlitz, Nghia Lo), emerging insights, special insights, special research projects (what Frderick and Clausewitz meant by coup d’oeil)
Research Dispatches are regular updates that capture the development of battlefield studies as they progress. They bring together emerging patterns, terrain observations, and working interpretations drawn from multiple field visits, sources, and case studies.
Unlike Field Notes, which focus on specific locations, these dispatches track the thinking behind the work—how ideas form, evolve, and connect across different battles, environments, and periods.
$9 per month gives you full access to the complete archive plus all new Field Notes, Tactical Innovations, and Research Dispatches as they are published.
I am adding new notes regularly — there will eventually be hundreds of them as I transcribe my notes and continue exploring battlefields around the world.
September 2026 Research Dispatch: recent Guadalcanal fieldwork, new Boer War and Tonkin Campaign studies, the Military Quiz Hub, research into Balibo and Rhodesian Fireforce operations, and upcoming battlefield fieldwork across Britain and Norway.
Research Dispatches provide updates on current and future BattlefieldTravels research and publications. The June 2026 Dispatch provides recent publications (1866 Koniggratz, Culloden bayonet drill, new Podcast episodes, Nghia Lo) Articles in progress (Airmobility, Rhodesian Fire Force, Eben Emael). Plus a mini case study on Battle of Spion Kop historiography.
Research Dispatches provide updates on current and future BattlefieldTravels research and publications. The May 2026 Dispatch provides: recent publications (Pike and Shot) Orleans 1429), articles in progress (Austerlitz, Nghia Lo), emerging insights, special insights, special research projects (what Frderick and Clausewitz meant by coup d’oeil)
Research Dispatches provide updates on current and future BattlefieldTravels research and publications. The April 2026 Research Dispatch provides: recent publications, articles in progress (Pegasus Bridge, Ukraine, Tactical Innovation), emerging insights, special insights, special research projects, and new features on battlefieldtravels.com
Research Dispatches provide updates on current and future BattlefieldTravels research and publications. The March 2026 Research Dispatch provides: recent publications, articles in progress (Pegasus Bridge, Orléans, and Nghĩa Lộ), emerging insights, special insights, and new features on battlefieldtravels.com
Found this useful? Buy me a coffee — it helps fund future battlefield research
Authored by Mick Prictor, a retired military officer with 40 years’ service, and a military historian specialising in terrain-focused analysis of tactics, doctrine, and command decision-making in land warfare. His work draws on extensive battlefield fieldwork—more than 280 sites worldwide—and one of the world’s largest private collections of historic military arms, uniforms, and equipment. About me
Research Dispatches capture the ongoing development of battlefield studies—emerging patterns, terrain observations, and working interpretations as they are being developed. They bring together insights from multiple Field Notes, sources, and case studies rather than focusing on a single location.
Field Notes focus on specific battlefield locations and ground-level observations. Research Dispatches take a broader view, linking those observations together to identify patterns in terrain use, command decisions, and battlefield outcomes across different periods and conflicts.
Each dispatch typically includes a summary of recent work, followed by deeper analysis exploring patterns, comparisons, and developing ideas. These posts reflect the research process in motion and are updated regularly as new Field Notes and studies are produced.
Research Dispatches contain the developing analysis behind the published studies—how conclusions are formed, tested, and refined. They form part of the ongoing research layer that supports continued battlefield exploration and writing.
Unlock expert battlefield analysis, campaign reconstructions, and historical insights drawn from firsthand exploration and primary sources.
🗺️ You’ll receive:
🎖️ Exclusive historical insights you won’t find elsewhere
📘 A free eBook: 10 Tips for Exploring Historic Battlefields
📰 New battlefield studies straight to your inbox as they are published
⚔️ Go deeper — Members get exclusive access to the Deep Research Collection, Field Notes, and monthly Research Dispatches. Try membership free for 7 days, cancel anytime. From $9/month.
Research Dispatches provide updates on current and future BattlefieldTravels research and publications. The April 2026 Research Dispatch provides: recent publications, articles in progress (Pegasus Bridge, Ukraine, Tactical Innovation), emerging insights, special insights, special research projects, and new features on battlefieldtravels.com
Research Dispatches provide updates on current and future BattlefieldTravels research and publications. The March 2026 Research Dispatch provides: recent publications, articles in progress (Pegasus Bridge, Orléans, and Nghĩa Lộ), emerging insights, special insights, and new features on battlefieldtravels.com
What you see in the published Battlefield Studies is the final, structured analysis. Each battlefield study takes weeks or months to research, analyse and write. But behind every battle study article is a much larger body of raw material: notes, terrain observations, maps, imagery, GIS overlays, and evolving interpretations. This ‘Behind the Scenes‘ data is now published regularly as:
Field Notes are the raw, visceral records I write after walking the battlefield. They capture the “I am standing here right now…” moments, the feel of the ground, the micro-terrain details, and the first-hand insights that later shape the full studies. These are not polished academic pieces. They are personal, immediate, and often written the same day I visit a site most people will never see in person. What to expect:
$9 per month gives you full access to the complete archive plus the Deep Research Collection, all new Field Notes, tactical Innovations, and Research Dispatches as they are published.
I am adding new notes regularly — there will eventually be hundreds of them as I transcribe my notes and continue exploring battlefields around the world.
August 2015, Long Tan Rubber Plantation, Baria-Vung Tau Province, Vietnam. I am standing at the Long Tan Cross memorial to the 18 Australian soldiers killed here during the Battle of Long Tan, 18 August 1966. Across the Long Tan battlefield, there is very little apparent relief in the terrain. The ground is largely flat and…
These Field Notes offer a glimpse into the terrain observations and working analysis behind each study.
August 2026, Ilu River (Alligator Creek). I am exploring the site of the 21 August 1942 Japanese attack against the Marines on the Lunga perimeter. The Japanese ‘Ichiki Detachment’ was a battalion-sized force from the 28th Infantry Regiment, led by the Regimental Commander, Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki. Facing them across the Ilu River was the 2nd…
Matanikau Village site, August 2026. I am exploring the site of the First Battle of the Matanikau, 18-19 August 1942. The battle was the first major battle west of the Matanikau and bears many similarities with the other five or six battles (depending on how you count them) on the Matanikau that would follow, each…
August 2026, at the mouth of the Matanikau River. I am exploring the sites associated with the ill-fated ‘Goettge Patrol’ of 12-13 August 1942. The action happened over a very small area on the beachline west of the Matanikau, near the old village of Matanikau, now overrun by urban sprawl. In 1942 the jungle extended…
Gavutu & Tanambogo Islands, 8 August 2026. I am exploring the site of some of the most bitter fighting of the entire Guadalcanal Campaign, and it happened right here over 7-9 August 1942, While the landings at Beach Red on the big island of Guadalcanal had gone ahead unopposed, the landings at Tulagi and Gavutu…
Tulagi Island, 8 August 2026. I crossed Iron Bottom Sound from Honiara to Tulagi by a dawn high-speed ferry. The trip was roughly two hours long. The date of my battlefield visit also coincided with the official 84th anniversary commemoration of the battle. The commemorative service was held on Blue Beach and was attended by…
August 2026, Beach Red, Guadalcanal, I am walking the ground at Beach Red, site of the 1st Marine Division landings on 7 August 1942. Compared to many other WW2 sites on the island, Beach Red is little changed since 1942. The beach is about four kilometres east of Henderson Field and curves from the Tenaru…
September 2025, Leopoldsburg, Belgium. I am standing on Nicolaylaan Street, on the site of the old Cinema Splendid. On the morning of 15 September 1944, one of the most consequential military briefings of the Second World War took place inside its walls. Lt Gen. Brian Horrocks stood before his subordinate commanders of XXX Corps and…
October 2025, Fort Eben-Emael, Liège, Belgium. I am exploring the great Belgian fortress of Eben-Emael. In May 1940, this was the site of one of the boldest, most dramatic actions in military history. A handful of German glider-borne assault engineers neutralised the most powerful fortress in Europe in under twenty-four hours, using a weapon no…
April 2025. Ba Khe, near the village of Cát Thịnh, Yên Bái Province, Vietnam. I am exploring the old Route Coloniale 13 west of Yen Bai, retracing the ground fought over during the October 1951 battle for Nghĩa Lộ. This is steep, broken country. The road winds through narrow valleys, overlooked by sharply rising hills,…
October 2024, Orléans, south side of the Loire River. I am exploring the Hundred Years War battle locations around the city of Orléans. On this site on 7 May 1429, a French Army led by Count John Dunois, ‘The Bastard of Orléans’, and Captain La Hire, and inspired by Jeanne d’Arc, a 17-year old French…
June 2017. Chlum Village, just outside modern Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. I visited Chlum during my exploration of the Königgrätz battlefield in 2015 and again in 2017. I explored Sadowa, Rozběřice, Chlum, the Svíb Forest, and the southern sector around Nechanice. The modern battlefield is quiet, agricultural, and deceptively open. It takes some effort to…
November 2024. Verdun, northeastern France. This is my second time exploring the battlefields of Verdun. The first impression is the massive scale of the fortification complex. Large and small forts with interlocking and mutually supporting fields of fire cover several hundred square kilometres. The ground is still broken by overlapping shell craters, stretching in all…
October 2024. Waterloo, Belgium. I have been here before, but this visit was far more comprehensive. Standing on the Mont-Saint-Jean ridge, the key feature is the reverse slope. From the French side, you don’t see much of Wellington’s position. The crest blocks your view, and everything behind it disappears. That’s where the bulk of the…
April 2025. Nà Sản, Vietnam. Our next stop was at the old fortified ‘hedgehog’ of Nà Sản, just east of Son La. The French and Viet Minh fought a massive battle here in late 1952, the outcome of which convinced the French that holding a remote airbase and using superior French firepower to defeat enemy…
July 2012, Belleau Wood, near Château-Thierry, France. I am exploring the site of the legendary US Marine battle in June 1918. The first impression of ‘Bois Belleau’ is confinement. The ground is enclosed by dense woodland, with limited lines of sight and little sense of distance.
October 2025, Liege, Belgium. I am visiting the ring of great forts that once protected the Belgian city of Liège. In the 1880s, the Belgians constructed a series of forts to protect Liège against a potential German attack. The twelve forts of Liege could cover the approaches and support the neighbouring forts. The forts are:…
February 2020, Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley, Peru. I am exploring the site of a 1537 battle between Manco Inca’s indigenous forces and the Spanish Conquistadors under Hernando Pizarro. Part of the Spanish conquest of the New World.
October 2025, Kalkriese, Germany. I am exploring the ancient battlefield of Teutoberg Forest, accompanied by Stefan, the Chief Archaeologist at the site. In AD 9, Roman General Varus led a punitive expedition of three veteran Legions into the area of Teutoberg Forest. Arminius led the Roman Legions to a location near present-day Kalkriese. Here, the…
September 2025, Hell’s Highway, south of Eindhoven, Netherlands. I am exploring Hell’s Highway in the vicinity of Achterste Bridge with author Jack Didden. On 17 September 1944, Sherman tanks of the Guards Brigade led the XXX Corps advance from the Belgian border north towards Eindhoven, Nijmegen and, eventually, Arnhem. Lieutenant Colonel Joe Vandeleur’s Irish Guards…
September 2025, Arnhem, Netherlands. I am standing at the intersection of Wolfhezerweg and Utrechtseweg with author David Buggenum, on the site where the local German commander, Generalmajor Friedrich Kussin, was ambushed and killed by members of 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, on 17 September 1944.
November 2025, Ramillies, Belgium. I am exploring the battlefield of Ramillies. Here on 23 May 1706, an Allied Army under John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, defeated a French army under Marshall Villeroi. The ground here is open, gently rolling country, cut by small streams and defined by long field boundaries—terrain that enables movement and…
April 2025. Tu Lê Valley, Yên Bái Province, Vietnam. I am exploring the site of Major Marcel Bigeard and 6e Bataillon Colonial de Parachutistes (6e BPC) epic stand and fighting withdrawal from Tu Lê in October 1952. In my personal collection, I have a 6e BPC paratroopers beret, so I brought it back here to…
September 2025, Nijmegen, Netherlands. I am standing at the site on the Waal River, where Major Julian Cook led the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (504 PIR) of the US 82nd Airborne Division in a dramatic assault river crossing to seize the northern end of the Waal Road Bridge at Nijmegen.
August 2002, Isurava, Papua New Guinea. I explored the Isurava battlefield in August 2002, around the 60th anniversary of the battle, during preparations to open the spectacular new memorial on the Kokoda Track. At the time, I was still serving in the Army back then, and I flew Prime Minister John Howard and veterans of…
August 2015, Long Tan Rubber Plantation, Baria-Vung Tau Province, Vietnam. I am standing at the Long Tan Cross memorial to the 18 Australian soldiers killed here during the Battle of Long Tan, 18 August 1966. Across the Long Tan battlefield, there is very little apparent relief in the terrain. The ground is largely flat and…
September 2025, Randwijk, Netherlands. I am standing at the “Crossroads” made famous in Band of Brothers Episode 5: Crossroads. On 5 October 1944, a brief battle took place here, east of the village of Randwijk, in the area between the Rhine and the Waal known as “The Island.”
Found this useful? Buy me a coffee — it helps fund future battlefield research
Authored by Mick Prictor, a retired military officer with 40 years’ service, and a military historian specialising in terrain-focused analysis of tactics, doctrine, and command decision-making in land warfare. His work draws on extensive battlefield fieldwork—more than 280 sites worldwide—and one of the world’s largest private collections of historic military arms, uniforms, and equipment. About me
Field Notes are short, terrain-focused observations drawn from battlefield visits and ongoing research. They capture how ground is read in practice—lines of sight, dead ground, movement corridors, and micro-terrain features.
Battle Studies present the full, structured analysis of a battle. Field Notes are the underlying observations—more focused, more immediate, and often tied to specific locations or features.
No. Each Field Note is an extract from a larger body of research. The full notes include additional imagery, extended terrain analysis, and working interpretation.
Each note continues into the full Field Notes archive, along with Research Dispatches and additional material, unlocked via Patreon.
No. The transition is seamless—each note leads directly into the extended material, which is unlocked via Patreon.
Unlock expert battlefield analysis, campaign reconstructions, and historical insights drawn from firsthand exploration and primary sources.
🗺️ You’ll receive:
🎖️ Exclusive historical insights you won’t find elsewhere
📘 A free eBook: 10 Tips for Exploring Historic Battlefields
📰 New battlefield studies straight to your inbox as they are published
⚔️ Go deeper — Members get exclusive access to the Deep Research Collection, Field Notes, and monthly Research Dispatches. Try membership free for 7 days, cancel anytime. From $9/month.
