Photos from this story
.jpeg?auto=webp)
Learning on the Battlefield
Duke students embark on a unique adventure to find a deeper understanding of the Great War
Group Title (Optional)
Photos and Video by Shaun King/Department of Political Science
Group Title (Optional)
A staff ride is a powerful academic tool for surfacing how tactical, operational, strategic, political, and ethical decisions interact. Created in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars by the Prussians, staff rides have become an important educational tool for militaries where officers walk the battlefields of previous wars, observe the terrain and take the roles of leaders on all sides. In the same tradition, students research and come to understand pivotal decisions by standing on the battlefield, examining the psychology of leadership through the eyes of key decision-makers and reliving their decisions through role-playing.
This year’s staff ride brought Duke students to Europe to explore the battlefields and monuments that remember the end of the First World War. The trip, organized by Duke’s American Grand Strategy program, offered students the opportunity to reconnect with history over spring break.
Group Title (Optional)
After stepping off the plane in Brussels, the group went directly to the residence of the NATO Ambassador, Kay Bailey Hutchison, to kick off the trip. Throughout the day, they were introduced to the international leaders that would accompany them and provide insight along the ride.
Group Title (Optional)
WWI was embedded in the places the group visited along the trip, and while it could not always be seen, it was certainly always felt.
Group Title (Optional)
It’s hard to drive along the Belgian motorway watching miles of fields turn into a perfect strip of vibrant green and picture it as what it was 100 years ago—an engulfing brown sea, snaked with dirty trenches. But, when the group stopped and looked more closely, the remnants became visible.
Group Title (Optional)
At stops like the Chateau Thierry American Monument the members of the staff ride explored the memorial and heard presentations from students portraying WWI figures.
Group Title (Optional)
Each participant in the staff ride was a docent, having researched in depth one or two key figures in the drama so they could give first-person briefings of what that historical figure did and why they did it.
Group Title (Optional)
By standing in the spots where the experiences and stories actually occurred, they gained invaluable context. The memorials did not just help participants remember, but it helped them teach so that they would gain a deeper understanding of what happened in these locations.
Group Title (Optional)
The experience combines some of the best aspects of a battlefield tour, a crisis simulation, and a seminar discussion. It takes students directly to the sites of historical significance, allowing them to witness first hand the intersection of terrain and weather—and even how fatigue shaped the events that unfolded.
Group Title (Optional)
Through this exercise of researched role-playing—consisting of both prepared statements and questions from other participants—students were able to gain a deep empathy so that the decisions and events at the close of WWI could be more fully understood.
Group Title (Optional)
Photography/Videography by Shaun King
Written contributions by Elliot Mamet, Ph.D. student, Matthew King, Class of ’18, Sarah Sibley, Class of ’19, Antonia Young, Class of ’21, Spencer Kaplan, Class of ’21, Peter Feaver, Director of American Grand Strategy, Shaun King and Melanie Benson
Special thanks to Jared Lazarus and Sam Huntley
© 2025 Duke University