Boots On The Ground: What Maps can never tell you

For me, there is something uniquely fascinating about standing on the ground where history happened. As tabletop wargamers, many of us spend years reading campaign histories, studying maps, painting armies and recreating battles on the tabletop, but how often do we stop and think about what those battlefields actually looked and felt like in real life?

In this latest video, I revisit the Bosworth Battlefield while on a short trip to Leicester with my wife, and the experience led me to an interesting realisation about battlefield visits, historical interpretation and understanding terrain. I first walked Bosworth several years ago during a freezing February trip, and returning in springtime completely changed how I saw the landscape. Features I thought I could identify before (low-lying marshy areas and subtle rises in the terrain) had seemingly vanished beneath tall crops and dense vegetation. The battlefield itself had not changed, but my ability to read the land certainly had.

That discovery sparked a wider discussion about why historical wargamers visit battlefield sites in the first place. Are we trying to understand the topography and tactical challenges faced by commanders? Are we searching for atmosphere and emotional connection? Or are we simply trying to immerse ourselves more deeply in the history that inspires our games and collections? This week's video explores the long tradition of battlefield tourism, dating back to Frederick the Great encouraging officers to walk historic battlefields as part of their military education. Even today, standing on the real ground can offer insights that no book, map or scenario supplement can fully provide. Distances feel different, hills look steeper, lines of sight become clearer, and terrain features that seem insignificant on paper suddenly make perfect tactical sense.

At the same time, battlefield visits come with problems and limitations. Landscapes evolve over centuries due to farming, urbanisation, river changes and climate. Archaeological discoveries can shift accepted interpretations of where battles actually took place. Emotional attachment to a location can also cloud objective analysis, making it harder to critically evaluate popular narratives or accepted history. From a wargaming perspective, though, these visits remain incredibly valuable. Seeing real buildings, roads, fields and terrain layouts can inspire more authentic tabletop battlefields and scenarios. The video also touches on how modern games and terrain makers increasingly recreate historical locations based on surviving structures and photographs, helping bring battlefields to life on the tabletop.

Ultimately, this is a friendly hobby discussion about history, battlefield walks, terrain interpretation, and how we, as wargamers, connect with the past. If you enjoy historical tabletop gaming, miniature painting, military history or simply thoughtful discussions about the hobby, I hope you’ll enjoy the conversation. And as always, I’d love to hear about your own battlefield visits and favourite historical sites in the comments.