Classic Battlefield Tours

07/06/2026

Highlights of what has happened in the second quarter of 2026?

Ed and Jim a bespoke Vietnam War Tour in April

Two American veterans of this conflict decided to go back to Vietnam and were deeply moved by the experience.

This was a 12-day, 11-night Battlefield and Cultural Tour of Vietnam.. Beginning in Hanoi and ending in Ho Chi Minh City

The review is as follows:

Our recent two-week journey through Vietnam was far more than just a typical trip—it was a deeply personal and meaningful experience for both my brother and me, given our service there decades ago. Returning to Vietnam after so many years stirred a mix of emotions we hadn’t fully anticipated. The planning and ex*****on of the trip were seamless, and while the long flights were exhausting, the excitement of the journey easily outweighed the discomfort. One of the most impactful parts of the trip was revisiting areas tied to our military service, as well as places we had only read about. Travelling to cities and regions that were part of North Vietnam during the war, along with battle sites in the South—such as Khe Sanh, Hamburger Hill, and other former battlegrounds—was especially powerful. Time has clearly transformed these places. What were once intense, active environments have now become quiet, expansive landscapes, with only scattered remnants—old bunkers, sections of runway, and rusting equipment—as subtle reminders of what once was.

I would strongly recommend Vietnam to anyone—especially those with a personal connection to its history.

Bisley Charity Shoot

This shoot took place at the famous Century range at Bisley.

Guests had the opportunity to shoot a range of historic rifles with iron sights at 100 yards and sniper rifles at 600 yards.

The rifles will include black powder rifles, Enfield 1860, Martini Henry, plus First and Second World War era rifles, including the No. 1 Lee Enfield (SMLE), and Ma**er 98k, and modern sniper rifles, including the Barrett MRAD and Accuracy International.

Breakfast and lunch were served in the Arist’s Rifles clubhouse, with all monies raised going to the Charity: Veterans in Action.

Next year’s charity is the RAF Benevolent Fund.

The review:

Absolutely fantastic day with fantastic people. The entire day ran like clockwork, and there was never a dull moment. Delicious breakfast and lunch to boot. Shooting historical and RARE fi****ms that some people won't even be able to hold, let alone fire, is quite the experience. Everyone is incredibly knowledgeable. You will also be in the best of hands when it comes to SAFETY, so if you’re hesitant, you need to fret. Even if you’re not into guns, I would still highly recommend.

06/06/2026

We will remember them

05/06/2026

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been perpetually guarded since 2 July 1937, by the U.S. Army. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") began guarding the Tomb on 6 April 1948. There is a meticulous routine that the guard follows when watching over the graves. The Tomb Guard:

Marches 21 steps southward down the black mat behind the Tomb
Turns left, facing east for 21 seconds
Turns left, facing north for 21 seconds
Takes 21 steps down the mat
Repeats the routine until the soldier is relieved of duty at the changing of the guard
After each turn, the Guard executes a sharp "shoulder-arms" movement to place the weapon on the shoulder closest to the visitors to signify that the Guard stands between the Tomb and any possible threat.

Twenty-one was chosen because it symbolizes the highest military honor that can be bestowed – the 21-gun salute. The numbers in 1776, the founding of the Republic, add up to 21.

At each turn, the guard makes precise movements followed by a loud click of the heels as the soldier snaps them together. The guard is changed every half-hour during daylight in the summer, and every hour during daylight in the winter and every two hours at night (when the cemetery is closed to the public), regardless of weather conditions.

04/06/2026

Corfu under British rule.

Following the final defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, the Ionian Islands became a protectorate of the United Kingdom by the Treaty of Paris of 5 November 1815 as the United States of the Ionian Islands. Corfu became the seat of the British Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. The population of the island was 66,000 by 1848. The period of British rule led to investment in new roads, an improved water supply system, and the expansion of the Ionian Academy into a university. During this period, the Greek language became the official language.

Following a plebiscite, the Second National Assembly of the Greeks at Athens elected a new king, Prince Wilhelm (William) of Denmark, who took the name George I and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from Britain. On 29 March 1864, the United Kingdom, Greece, France and Russia signed the Treaty of London, pledging the transfer of sovereignty to Greece upon ratification. Thus, on 21 May, by proclamation of the Lord High Commissioner, the Ionian Islands were united with Greece.

The picture shows British barracks in Corfu town

03/06/2026

Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle

The Mosin–Nagant Model 1891/30 was modified and adapted as a sniper rifle from 1932 onwards, first with mounts and scopes from Germany then with domestic designs (PE, PEM) from 1931; from 1942 it was issued with 3.5-power PU fixed focus scopes. It served quite prominently in the brutal urban battles on the Eastern Front, such as the Battle of Stalingrad, which made heroes of such snipers as Vasily Zaitsev, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Ivan Sidorenko, and Roza Shanina.

Finland also employed the Mosin–Nagant as a sniper rifle, with similar success with their own designs and captured Soviet rifles. For example, Simo Häyhä is credited with having killed 505 Soviet soldiers, many of whom fell victim to his Finnish M/28-30 derivative. Häyhä did not use a scope on his Mosin. In interviews Häyhä gave before his death, he said that the scope and mount designed by the Soviets required the shooter to expose himself too much and raise his head too high, increasing the chances of being spotted by the enemy. In addition, scopes tended to reflect sunlight when moved side to side, which gave away a sniper's position.

If you would like to shoot this sniper rifle and other historic rifles, do sign up to our newsletter for more information on www.classicbattlefieldtours.com

02/06/2026

Robert Ritter von Greim, the last head of the Luftwaffe in WW2.

Robert Ritter von Greim (22 June 1892 – 24 May 1945) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field marshal) and First World War flying ace. In April 1945, in the last days of World War II in Europe, Adolf Hi**er appointed Greim commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe (German air force) after Hermann Göring had been dismissed for treason.

On 24 April 1945, Oberst Nicolaus von Below implemented Hi**er's order and instructed Greim to immediately travel to the Führerbunker in Berlin.

With Berlin encircled by Soviet forces during the Battle of Berlin, Greim flew into Berlin from Rechlin with Hanna Reitsch, in response to Hi**er's order.

They few in a Fieseler Storch to the Chancellery; which was hit by anti-aircraft fire over the Grunewald. Greim was incapacitated by a bullet in the right foot, but Reitsch was able to reach the throttle and joystick to land on an improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten, near the Brandenburg Gate.

They drove directly to the Führerbunker, where Greim's wound was dressed. Then Hi**er promoted Greim from Generaloberst to Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal), making him the last German officer ever to achieve that rank and appointed him as commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, to replace Hermann Göring, whom he had recently dismissed in absentia for treason. Greim thus became the second man to command the German Air Force during the Third Reich. However, with the end of the war in Europe fast approaching, his tenure as Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe lasted only a few days.

On 28 April, Hi**er ordered Ritter von Greim to leave Berlin and had Reitsch fly him to Plön, so that he could arrest Heinrich Himmler on the charge of treason. That night, the two left Berlin, evading Soviet 3rd Shock Army troops as they took off from the makeshift airstrip in a small Arado Ar 96. In a post-war interview, Reitsch said, "It was the blackest day when we could not die at our Führer's side.

Greim was captured by the Allies. He committed su***de in an American-controlled prison on 24 May 1945.

01/06/2026

Grave of Hambone Jr.

Hambone Jr. was the beloved canine companion of the U.S. Army’s 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Division during World War II. The "scruffy little terrier" brought delight and distraction for the American soldiers stationed in Alresford in 1944 as they prepared for the D-Day Landings. Tragically, as the troops who so adored him were preparing to depart for Normandy via Southampton and Portsmouth, Hambone Jr. was struck by a military vehicle and died.

Moved by the heartwarming story of companionship and loss during this anxious period in history, the local community honored Hambone Jr. by erecting a memorial stone at his gravesite by the River Arle in 1962. The inscription on the stone sweetly reads: "Here Lies Hambone Jr., Faithful Friend of the 47th Infantry Regt., 9th Division U.S. Army, May 1944."

In a touching display of remembrance, during the 50th anniversary of D-Day, the American veterans paused in Alresford before their journey to Normandy for the commemoration. There, they paid their respects by laying a wreath at Hambone Jr.'s grave, a fitting tribute to the loyal companion who had comforted them in a time of war.

31/05/2026

Expert talks on our YouTube channel

Dan Hill on the Peninsular War

Warwick Louth on Wi******er at War

Paul McCue on the SOE

Ray Wilkinson on the Normandy landings

TRAVEL EXPERIENCES FOR MILITARY HISTORY ENTHUSIASTS WHO ENJOY THE FINER THINGS IN LIFE

30/05/2026

Himmler was so obsessed with the samurai that he commissioned a booklet on their history and values, a piece of propaganda intended for distribution to SS members. This booklet was published in 1937 by the N**i Party publishing house (Zentralverlag der NSDAP, Franz Eher Nachf.; Auflage: Sonderdruck aus dem Schwarzen Korps) under the title "Die Samurai, Ritter des Reiches in Ehre und Treue," or "The Samurai, Knights of the Empire in Honor and Loyalty." The author, Heinz Corazza, emphasized the supposed importance of the samurai as a force that had enabled Japan to become a world power. Himmler wrote an introduction in which he stressed the similar role the SS was to play in Germany. He asserted that readers would come to "consider that it is primarily minorities embodying the highest value who give the people a life which, in earthly terms, is eternal."

29/05/2026

Lion's Mound

The Lion's Mound was designed by the royal architect Charles Vander Straeten, at the behest of King William I of the Netherlands, who wished to commemorate the location on the battlefield of Waterloo where a musket ball hit the shoulder of his elder son, King William II of the Netherlands (then Prince of Orange), and knocked him from his horse during the battle, on 18 June 1815. It is also a memorial of the Battle of Quatre Bras, which had been fought two days earlier, on 16 June 1815. The engineer Jean-Baptiste Vifquain conceived of it as a symbol of the Allied victory rather than as glorifying any sole individual. The construction took place between 1823 and October 1826. The lion's statue was hoisted and placed on its pedestal at the top of the mound on the evening of 28 October 1826.

Though tourism to the site had already begun the day after the battle, with Captain Mercer noting that, on 19 June 1815, "a carriage drove on the ground from Brussels, the inmates of which, alighting, proceeded to examine the field", the monument's success only dates from the second half of the 19th century. In 1832, when Marshal Gérard's French troops passed through Waterloo to support the siege of the Citadel of Antwerp, which was still held by the Dutch, the lion's statue was almost toppled by the French soldiers. They even broke its tail. It was not until 1863–64 that the promenade at the top of the hill was developed and the staircase built.