100 Decisive Battles

From Ancient Times to the Present

Paul K. Davis

Oxford University Press, 1999, 462pp

Anyone who clings to the historically untrue - and thoroughly immoral - doctrine that violence never settles anything I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler would referee. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opionion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forgot this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and their freedom.
Robert Heinlein

OK, but also remember:

The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
PSALM 33:10-11 (quoted in trh)

Also relevant: "The great questions of the day will be decided not by speeches and majority votes - that was the great mistake of [the revolutions of] 1848 and 1849 - but by blood and iron" Otto von Bismarck

1479 BC, Megiddo - Name in Hebrew is Armageddon [Hebrew: Har Megiddo or Mount of Megiddo], irony of history that military history begins, will end here. Not the first battle known to history, but the first recorded by eye-witnesses. Victorious Egyptians under Pharoah Thutmose III defeated King of Kadesh (and other allied powers in palestine), reestablishing Egyptian dominance in Palestine and marking the beginning of Egypt's rise to imperial greatness.

0546 BC, Thymbra - Cyrus II the Great of Persia's initial key military victory over the Babylonians, Assyrians and their allies, led by Croesus. Marked the beginning of the rise of the Medo-Persian empire. Cyrus' tolerant (worked with local elites) imperialism contrasted with Assyrians' earlier brutality.

0490 BC, Marathon - Persians at this time more or less controlled Ionia (eastern Greece, western Asia). Greeks under Miltiades, Callimachus defeated Persians under Datis (Darius' general). Established Greeks as a major military presence, marked the beginning of Greek preeminent influence in Mediteranean (and western civilization), checked the mighty Persian empire's western expansion. Set up later Persian invasion that was defeated at Salamis, Plataea. Marathon 25 miles from Athens, origin of word was runner delivering news of battle.

0480 BC, Salamis (in Cyprus) - An even more decisive Greek (led by Themistocles) defeat of Persia (led by Xerxes). Salamis a naval victory, Plataea a ground battle. Set stage for Alexander's later deep drive into Persian territory. Beginning of Persian decline, Greek dominance in region [made possible by Spartan resistance to Persians at Thermopylae].

0415-3 BC, Syracuse - The first Peloponnesian War. Athenians (led by Nicias, then Demosthenes) overreached, defeated by Syracusans (and Spartans, led by Gylippus). Thought by many to be the turning point ending Greek hopes of empire and opening door to Romans. These wars were famously documented by the philosopher Thucydides. This conflict is the subject of Victor Davis Hanson's A War Like No Other and also his Hoover Digest article (Spring 2006), in which he says that Greece at that time had a population of no more than 1.5M. He thinks it has important parallels for today for 3 reasons: 1) liberal, cosmopolitan Athens v. parochial, inward, rural Sparta 2) unlike Persian or Punic wars, excellently documented by a philosopher who understood our savage nature and the fragile nature ("thin veneer") of civilization 3) Athens lost (i.e. not supposed to happen). War broke out in 431 (the first phase, called the 'Archidamian War'), when Sparta preemptively invaded Attica. Sparta wanted a land war and Athens a sea war, so they didn't engage for a while. Plague broke out in Athens (300K living in a city designed for 100K, 80K died, including their famous leader Pericles), but they rebounded and a 7-yr 'Peace of Nicias' ensued 421-15. Athens then decided to attack neutral democracy Sicily (capital Syracuse) to gain advantage over Sparta indirectly (encircle them?), with catastrophic results. Sparta then built a naval fleet and finally defeated Athens in 405 at the Battle of Aegospotami, losing its entire fleet. The Spartans sailed victoriously into Piraeus and tore down their long walls. Sparta was motivated by the same thing as Hitler's Germany and the modern Islamofascists: envy, pride, a sense of inferiority when faced with a prosperous, confident rival.

0371 BC, Leuctra - Thebans (led by King Epaminondas) defeat Spartans (led by King Cleombrotus), breaking Spartan dominance of Greek peninsula since the Peloponnesian Wars. Spartans were excellent militarily, but weak socially, politically. Theban supremacy was short-lived, with eventual Macedonian invasion and control.

0338 BC, Chaeronea - Lack of Greek unity (fear by Greek city-states Athens, Sparta, Thebes of one another and efforts to check others' power) make Greece vulnerable to outside threat. King Philip II (Alexander's father) of Macedon took advantage of this to defeat the Greeks (under Athenians Stratocles, Lysicles, Chares, Theban Theagenes) at Chaeronea. Although the Athenian orator Demosthenes saw the danger of Philip's true intentions and convinced Athens to stand against him, he was unable to sufficiently unify other Greeks to this cause. Another factor; by this time Athens' social spending was pushing aside necessary military spending. Philip's victory ended Greek indendence for decades (never again had any real political power, under the thumb of Macedonia, Rome for nearly 1000 years), ended Greece's claim to military or political (if not philosophical) preeminence, and set the stage for Alexander's later Hellenizing conquests. Philip immediately began organizing Greek resources for the fight he knew was coming against the Persians (over the previous 2C, Athens, Sparta, Thebes had all tried but failed to lead a successful Greek national entity, now a foreign king succeeded in doing just that [30]). Whereas Athenian attempts at empire amounted merely to colonies designed to benefit the home country, Philip's and Alexander's spread Greek philosophy, science and culture to benefit all.

Jon Stewart, in his humorous but informative book America, notes "Compared with American Democracy, the Athenian version seems simplistic, naive, and gay. Transcripts of early Athenian policy debates reveal a populace [i.e. free adult males] moved more by eloquence and rationality than demagogues and fear-mongering. Thankfully, this type of humane governance wasn't allowed to take root. Athens's great experiment ended after less than 2 centuries, when, in 338 BC, Philip of Macedon's forces invaded the city, inflicting on its inhabitants the eternal fate of the noble and enlightened: to be brutally crushed by the armed and dumb" (3).

0331 BC, Gaugamela (Arbela) - Alexander the Great (47K) defeats Persian Darius III (200K). Ended the Persian Empire and opened the east all the way to India to conquest. Macedon had been a relatively poor province north of Greece. On Philip's assassination, Alexander took over, determined to defeat Persia and spread Greek culture into a world empire. Alexander went on via other battles to build the largest empire the world had ever seen, finally stopping in NW India when his troops tired of fighting. He returned to center his empire in Persia. But the stresses of ruling, including mollifying troops, assimilating subjects, drove him to excessive drinking ("always prodigious in his appetities" 34), which killed him at age 33. "In possession of untold wealth and power, Alexander was more interested in unifying the world into a cooperative society ... the concept of one people, led by Greek intellect and vision, was just beginning to coalesce when [he] died ... [but lack of an heir and squabbling] generals soon destroyed his empire and much of his dream ... but the spread of Greek culture into the Middle East continued ... philosophy, language, art, all the aspects of 'civilization' in the lands from the Mediterranean to India, for centuries afterward were the legacy of" (34) Gaugamela.

0310 BC, Ipsus (modern Sipsin in Turkey?) - the high point of the struggle among Alexander's successors to continue his dream of world empire, with Antigonus (Alexander's One-Eyed general) and his son Demetrius facing his 3 rivals (led at Ipsus by Lysimachus and Seleucus) and fails to win (himself killed in battle). i.e. all tried, none succeeded, but Antigonus came closest at Ipsus. Wars of succession raged from 315 to 301 BC, while "the fortunes of all these men waxed and waned" (36). Finally in 302, the others "began a coordinated effort against Antigonus" (36) and the empire broke into pieces (after a 306 defeat by Demetrius, Ptolemy declared himself king of Egypt and convinced Cassander to declare himself king of Macedon, Lysimachus of Greece, Seleucus of Babylon, intending to break up the empire and thwart Antigonus, which, after Ipsus, became the de facto reality).

4 men contended for leadership:
- Ptolemy (pic from tIoJC p61), Alexander's governor in Egypt
- Antipater (later son Cassander) in Macedon, governor of Macedon and Greece (allied with Lysimachus, governor of Thrace, just west of Byzantium)
- Seleucus in the east, later governor of Babylon (Persian wealth)
- Antigonus of Asia Minor (in the middle of the others)

"Alexander's death in 323 BC triggered a relentless struggle in the select group of Macedonians who had served as his top-ranking officers ... soon after 300 BC a sort of balance had been achieved. The Empire Alexander had put together had been torn into 3 large chunks: the dynasty of the Antigonids, with their capital in the homeland of Macedon, controlled Greece; the Seleucids, with capitals at Antioch and at Seleuceia near Babylon, controlled most of Asia Minor, Syria, and Mesopotamia; and the Ptolemies, with their capital at the city that Alexander had founded in 331 and named after himself [Alexandria], controlled Egypt. The period of this new world of large Greek empires is known as the Hellenistic Age; it lasted until the end of the first century BC, by which time the Romans had finished swallowing it up" (from Lionel Casson's Libraries of the Ancient World, pp. 31-2, see br-400sy).

Aside from H. A. Ironside's The 400 Silent Years (see br-400sy.html):
Of these three heirs to Alexander's empire, Ironside is concerned only with the "Kings of the North" and the "Kings of the South." Both former generals of Alexander, Antigonus (Syria) and Ptolemy Lagus (Egypt) fought for control of Palestine. A huge number (up to 100K) of Jews were taken to Egypt by force, but were treated so well there they eventually blended themselves into Egyptian society and lost their Jewish heritage. Palestine continued to be a contested warzone for 5 years, discouraging many (prompting many to assimilation into the culture of one side or the other, trading their Jewish identity for hoped-for security), but a faithful remnant always remained. The great battle of Ipsus in 301 BC put an end to Antigonus, who was defeated by an alliance of 4 other Alexandrian generals; Ptolemy Soter (son of Lagus), Seleucus, Lysimachus, Cassander. These latter repartitioned the empire with Cassander becoming king of Greece, Lysimachus of Thrace (Armenia), Seleucus of Syria, Ptolemy of Egypt, Palestine, Libya and Arabia. This 4-fold division was prophesied by Daniel's vision of the 4 horns of the rough goat (Dan. 11, also summarizes the next 150 years of struggle between Seleucidae and Ptolemies).

Antigonus' impact: Although Antigonus failed to achieve his objective, he established a bureaucracy that survived centuries, began a campaign of colonization that founded many western Asian cities, established a theory of kingship that lasted for centuries (humble origin, but claimed kingship), was elevated to divine status by Greeks (only Alexander had been before) thereby founding "divine right of kings" for the next 2 millenia. Had a united Hellenic Empire survived, it may have been able to resist Rome's advance, keeping east and west united?

As an aside on Antigonus (for lack of a better place to put it), The Calvin Spark (Spring 2005, covers upcoming archaeological display) notes "when Antigonus, successor to Alexander the Great, made repeated attempts to subdue the Nabataeans [i.e. builders of the hewn-from-rock city of Petra, now in Jordan] beginning in 312 BC, they successfully repulsed him; but in AD 106, they accepted annexation by Rome [which] re-routed the trade routes away from Petra [causing its decline]" The Nabataeans were "from earliest memory ... [nomadic] traders with an intimate knowledge of the desert. They led camel caravans, heavy with frankincense and myrrh, through obscure desert wadis. Their concealed cisterns trapped the rainwater they needed to survive. Through the centuries, as allegiances shifted and kingdoms rose and fell and the region where they lived was bartered by the powerful, they lived on, plying their trade and bringing the caravans north and west to the sea. At some point - and nobody knows exactly when or why - they retreated down a long and winding defile [canyon] and hewed a magnificent city out of the chalk-red cliffs. Then the water they trapped in cisterns and channeled from natural springs kept their gardens alive and their fountains flowing. And the caravans, bringing silks, spices, ivory, incense and goods from many nations, stopped there." The 19 May 363 AD earthquake destroyed nearly half of Petra, already marginalized by the Romans, but in later years a noteworthy Christian presence grew there, later abandoned to local squatters. "Though they were a vital presence in the Middle East for at least 800 years, the Nabataeans do not appear on historical timelines. They began as a nomadic culture with a tenacious grip on the lucrative incense trade of southern Arabia. But from as early as the 2C BC through the 2C AD, the Nabataeans ruled over swaths of present-day Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia from Petra, the city they had excised out of the ruddy sandstone cliffs of the southern Transjordan. Petra was a wealthy center of trade, attracting caravans from as far away as India and the Mediterranean coast. Nabataean kings were friends of the Herods and sometime players in Judean politics around the time of Christ. When Antigonus ...(see above)" It was Cyrus, Bishop of Jerusalem, who wrote of the earthquake. Once the city's intricate water system was crippled (after the Christians arrived), historians speculate, Petra gradually declined and disappeared into history.

0207 BC, Metaurus River - Romans under Caius Claudius Nero defeat Carthaginians under Hasdrubal Barca (Hannibal of Carthage's brother). Ended Carthaginian attempt to reinforce Hannibal, dooming his effort in Italy, enabling Rome to establish dominance over Spain. Carthage, near modern Tunis, began as a colony of Phoenicia. As Tyre and Sidon waned due to invasion, many wealthy Phoenicians went to Carthage, which eventually dominated northern Africa and the western Mediteranean (using Spanish mercenaries). As both Rome and Carthage grew, they were bound to clash eventually. The spark was in Sicily, when a group of Italian marauders appealed to both Rome and Carthage for help in their war on King Hiero of Syracuse. Both responded, probably to advance their own claims on strategic Sicily. Carthage arrived first, but Rome joined Hiero against them in the First Punic War (264-241 BC), both sides fighting to exhaustion. Over the next tense years, Rome's new navy began to tip the scale in its favor, prompting Hannibal of Carthage to action. "In the spring of 218 he began an overland march with 90K men through the Pyranees, sourthern Gaul, and through the Alps into northern Italy by October" (41), losing much of his force, but surprising Rome and, for 17 years (11 before, 6 after Metaurus River), marching around Italy defeating Roman armies at every turn. But the attrition of fighting (tho never at Rome) was wearing him down, and he sent for his brother Hasdrubel to come with reinforcements. Hasdrubal left Spain (Carthage-controlled for centuries), leaving it to his foe, Roman general Scipio (Rome controlled it until the Visigoths arrived in early 5C AD, planting efficient Roman administration [later known as 'Provence' from 'Roman province'], prosperity setting up later Spanish empire and also denying Carthage of its mercenaries, important since they rarely fought themselves). By intercepting a courier, Nero was able to catch up with Hasdrubal near the Metaurus River (likely along the modern Ravine of San Angelo). Legend says that Hannibal learned of Hasdrubal's defeat when the Romans sent his head in a sack. Hannibal marched to the toe of Italy and was supplied by Carthage for 6 more years, defeating all Roman comers. Had Hasdrubal arrived, they may have together been able to take Rome and change history. As it was, Metaurus River was a major milestone in establishing Rome as an imperial power.

0203 BC, Kai-hsia (beginning of Han dynasty in China)

0202 BC, Zama; Hannibal (lost) vs. Rome (won)

0168 BC, Pydna; Romans defeat Macedonians and capture their leader Perseus.

0052 BC, Alesia - Julius Caesar defeats Pompey, begins to turn the Roman republic into his own Roman Empire. Background: 60, first Triumvirate formed to rule Rome; Pompey, Crassus, Caesar; 58, Caesar appointed governor of Gaul; 55, Caesar conquers N. Gaul, unsuccessfully invades Britain; 54, 2nd invasion of Britain, Brit ldr Cassivellaunus agress to pay tribute to Rome; 53, Crassus k. fighting Parthians at Battle of Carrhae; 52, Pompey appointed sole consul in Rome, Vercingetorix leads Gauls in revolt, crushed by Caesar; 49, Pompey/Caesar political wrangling, Senate recalls Caesar, but he 'crosses the Rubicon', Pompey flees to Greece.

0048 BC, Pharsalus (Greece); Caesar defeats Pompey. 47, Cleopatra orders Pompey's murder, Caesar conquers her enemies, makes her his mistress, Antipater made procurator of Judea, his son Herod governor of Galilee.

0031 BC, Actium - End of the Roman republic. Caesar Octavious defeats Antony (pic1, pic2 from tIoJC p49, 76) and Cleopatra (pic from tIoJC p83). Roman Empire begins. The city of Rome had been founded 753 BC (by Romulus/Remus), and the Republic established 509 BC (traditional dates, from History's Timeline), so the Republic had lasted 478 years (Jon Stewart's America says 558, hmm?).

0009 AD, Teutoburger Wald (Teutoburg Forest) - Marked the limit of Roman northern expansion. Romans defeated by germanic tribes under (loose) leadership of Arminius. Prevented full latinization of anglo-saxon races. "A fateful turning point ... throughout most of the years of the Republic, Rome's overall military strategy had been largely offensive, stimulating a steady expansion of the realm ... although no one suspected it at the time, [this battle] marked the start of a transition to a defensive military posture, thereby planting the seeds of long-term Roman military decline ... [Rome lost] Varus and his 3 legions (about 15K troops) ... More ominously [than the immediate loss, which was huge], in the years [that followed], Romans became discouraged, wrote off Germany as a loss, and pulled their forces back, allowing the natives to maintain control of the area. The result was that Germany was not absorbed into the Empire and thoroughly Romanized, as other parts of Europe had been ... proved an increasingly dangerous threat ... In view of their final triumph over Rome, the encounter in the Teutoburg Forest ranks as one of the most crucial and decisive battles in world history" (tAR p44). Hmmm, of course, this also allowed Rome's top-down authoritarianism to be tempered (esp. in N Europe, Britain) by 'Anglo-Saxon' ideas of freedom, decentralization, etc. which enable modern market dynamism. Hmmm. Part of the 'Rome: good or bad' question (see br-vor, br-doka).

0066 AD, Beth-horon - Surprise Jewish defeat of Romans. As Romans (under ?) marched toward Jerusalem through narrow ? valley, Jewish guerillas attacked and inflicted huge losses. Roman garrison at Antonia Fortress (from Maccabean days) routed. Unfortunately, set stage (encouraged Jews, enraged Romans) for massive Roman response in 70 AD (Jerusalem destroyed). Our main source here is Josephus, not sure if he's a traitor to Jews (for Romans) or a conciliator doing his best to preserve Jewish interests. Had very unkind words for Jewish "zealots" (like modern liberals for "fundamentalists").

0312 AD, Milvian Bridge - Constantine defeats his last rival (Maxentius) for control of western empire. Sets stage for Christianization of the west. (pic of bridge in Michael Grant's Constantine the Great bio, FHL)

0378 AD, Adrianople, Emperor of East Valens defeated and k. by Goths. "During the reigns of Constantine and his successors, [barbarians] were drafted into [the Roman military in huge numbers] ... the burning question [became] whether Rome's forces ... were strong enough to deter the new barbarian armies on the eastern front [barbarian manpower needed but race against time to romanize them] ... 2 failed camgaigns by the imperial army of the East answered that question. The first was to stop westward Persian expansion near Maranga on the Tigris, and left the emperor Julian the Apostate dead on the battlefield with his defeated army. The second, and more fateful, was a preemptive strike against Visigoths ... at Adrianople, NW of present-day Istanbul ... Although neither Roman nor Goth recognized it at the time, this conflict was the first step toward a barbarian reconfiguration of the late ancient world into independent tribal kingdoms, the lion's share of which would be Frankish. On a steamy 9 Aug 378, Emperor Valens, overly confident ... led elite Roman troops, perhaps 35K strong ... against Fritigern's allied Gothic and Alanic forces, which outnumbered [Valens 3 to 1] ... Wounded and discovered in a hut where he had crawled to safety, the emperor was cremated in it by his captors, his ashes scattered on the battlefield, where 2/3 of his army lay dead" (A Mighty Fortress, Steven Ozment, 2004, pp25-7 [Mustang])

0451 AD, Chalons - Defeat of the Huns (led by Attila) by a mixed army of Gauls, Goths, Burgundians, Franks (led by the Gallo-Roman General Aetius) at the Catalaunian Fields, pushing them back into a land later named for their race, Hun-gary. This defeat is important in French history, with semi-legendary stories of the rallying of Paris by Ste. Genevieve (France, Knapton, p. 15).

0533 AD, Tricameron, so-called 'eternal peace' signed between Byzantine and Persian Empires.

0624 AD, Badr - Mohammed's first victory, not many men involved but hugely significant. A defeat here would have ended his movement. He had just a small number of followers before this, but this victory convinced many of his divine guidance/support.

0717-8 AD, Constantinople, Byzantine Christian victory over Muslims.

0732 AD, Tours (Poitiers) - Frankish (French) Christian victory over Muslims, led by Charles Martel. Pushed Muslims (invading from Spain) back out of Europe.

0773-4 AD, Pavia, Charlemagne annexes Lombard kingdom.

0955 AD, Lechfeld, HRE Otto defeats Magyars, ends their westward advance.

1066 AD, Hastings, William the Conqueror defeats King Harold Godwinson, bro-in-law of former King Edward the Confessor.

1071 AD, Manzikert, Seljuk ldr Alp Arslan defeats Byzantines, conquers most of Asia Minor.

1099 AD, Jerusalem, the First Crusade, city captured, Godfrey of Bouillon named King.

1187 AD, Hattin, Crusaders defeated by Saladin, Jerusalem recaptured by Muslims.

"In 1095, at a church council in Claremont, France, Pope Urban II rose to preach the 1rst Crusade ... In 1099, led by Godfrey of Bouillon and Raymond of Toulouse, the Crusaders captured the Holy City. Offered the title "King of Jerusalem," each refused to wear a crown of gold in the city where Christ had worn a crown of thorns ... While the 1rst Crusade triumphed, later crusades failed. In 1187, Jerusalem fell to Saladin, and Richard the Lionhearted failed to retrieve [it]. It would not be retaken by soldiers from Christian Europe until British general [George?] Allenby [arrived] in 1917. Acre, the last of the Crusaders' coastal fortresses, fell [to the Mameluks] in 1291" (WtRWW p66-8).

1192 AD, Second Battle of Taraori

1214 AD, Bouvines - While trying to raise troops for this battle, King John of England prompted the confrontation with nobles at Runnymede field, near Windsor Castle on the Thames, forced to sign Magna Carta.

1260 AD, Ain Jalut
1268-73 AD, Hsiang-yang
1274 and 81 AD, Hakata Bay
1317-26 AD, Brusa

1346 AD, Crecy, part of England v. France Hundred Years' War 1338-1438, ostensibly to support England's claim to the French throne, but actually "an attempt [by England's Edward III r1327-77] to retain control of Gascony and the wine trade centered on Bordeaux; and to keep open the connections between the English wool traders and the woolen markets of Flanders. Sluys (1340), a sea battle, gave England control of the Channel. Crecy (1346) and Poitiers (1356) demonstrated, very convincingly, the supremacy of English long-bowmen over the armoured, mounted French knights" (KQE p54).

1428-9 AD, Orleans, Joan of Arc inspires French victory against English, "even [after] the 'Maid of Orleans' was burned at the stake at Rouen in 1431. When the [Hundred Years'] war at last ended in 1453 [Henry VI of England r1422-61, 70-1], Calais was all that remained of Henry V's conquests" (KQE p59).

1453 AD, Constantinople, Islamic victory, end of Byzantine Empire
1491 AD, Granada, Christian victory in Spain (v. Muslim Moors)
1521 AD, Tenochtitlan
1526 AD, Panipat

1529 AD, Vienna, Christians halt Islamic advance (led by ?). England under Henry VIII r1509-47.

1532 AD, Cajamarca (HT: Turks defeated in Hungary?)

1571 AD, Lepanto, Christians defeat Muslims at sea, ending (Ottoman) Turkish control of the Mediterranean Sea. The Christian navy was floated by the Holy League (formed by Pope St. Pius V of Papal States, Spain, Venice) and led by Don Juan of Austria (WB).

1588 AD, Spanish Armada, sent to reclaim England for RCC, defeated by Britain.

1600 AD, Sekigahara

1631 AD, Breitenfeld (aka Leipzig), After [General?] Tilly had led Catholic forces to sack the city of Magdeburg earlier in the year, Protestant Swedish and Saxon forces defeat Tilly at Leipzig.

1644 AD, Shanhaikuan

1645 AD, Naseby, parliamentists defeat monarchists, during English Civil Wars.

1658 AD, Battle of the Dunes, England/France defeat Spain, England gets Dunkirk.

1704 AD, Blenheim - England's Duke of Marlborough (? Churchill) and Austria's Prince Eugene of Savoy (great friends, Protestants) defeat the French Army of Louis XIV during the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis wanted to install a relative of his to ensure French domination of Spain. Victory saved Vienna from (Catholic) Franco-Bavarian Army, preserved Protestant alliance of England, Austria, United Provinces (aka The Dutch Republic), won Bavaria (thus all of Germany).

1709 AD, Poltava, Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden.

1746 AD, Culloden, Scotland (Jacobites) defeated/absorbed by England

1757 AD, Plassey, part of 1757-63 Seven Years War (see Niall Ferguson's Empire, "the conflict was, simply, would the world be French or British?")

1759 AD, Quebec, Britain captures Quebec, French general Marquis de Montcalm and British general James Wolfe killed (BN HT).

1776 AD, Trenton (Rev. War), Washington defeats Hessians.
1777 AD, Saratoga (Rev. War), ? defeats Burgoyne.

1781 AD, Yorktown, VA (Rev. War) - General George Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis, causing British govt. to fall, new one settles w/America.

1792 AD, Valmy - French revolutionaries defeat monarchist neighbors (German, ex-pat French, Austrian). Nationalism is born, yielding much larger armies of committed patriots.

1797 AD, Rivoli, Napoleon defeat of northern Italians.

1798 AD, Aboukir Bay (Battle of the Nile) - Napolean stranded in Egypt by Britain, under Admiral Horatio Nelson's leadership.

1805 AD, Trafalgar, victor Admiral (Lord Horatio) Nelson. He defeated mostly French forces off the coast of Spain near the Bay of Trafalgar (near Gibralter). He was fatally injured by a shot fired from the mast of an enemy ship and died aboard his own ship, HMS Victory.

1806 AD, Jena/Auerstaedt - Humiliating Prussian defeat by French. Prompted Prussians to embark on major military innovations, esp. General Staff structure, which led to later Prussian military dominance in Europe, until WWII.

1811 AD, Prophetstown (Tippecanoe), last pan-Indian stand against Europeans. General William Henry Harrison, later president.

1812 AD, Borodino
1813 AD, Leipzig (Battle of the Nations)
1815 AD, Waterloo, Napoleon defeated by duke of Wellington

[1815 Congress of Vienna, The 4 major European powers [Britain, France, Austria (whose HRE included the German duchies), Russia] decide how to reorganize Europe [i.e. carve up the vacuum left by Ottomans]. A recent (late 2006) Economist book review noted that The Napoleonic Wars were caused by an imbalance of power, not ideology. The Ottoman Empire had declined, Russia and Germany had increased, Britain dominated the seas, France the land in Europe]

1824 AD, Ayacucho

1836 AD, San Jacinto, Sam Houston destroys Mexican army, takes TX.

1847 AD, Mexico City, General Winfield Scott defeats Mexicans, takes Northern Mexico (SW states, incl. AZ, NM, Scottsdale, AZ later named for him).

1862 AD, Antietam (Sharpsburg, Civil War), key southern victory.

1863 AD, Gettysburg (Civil War), PA - Crucial southern defeat, since although they had pushed deep into northern territory, the loss here denied them foreign recognition, support needed for ultimate victory.

1864 AD, Atlanta/March to the Sea (Civil War) - Led by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, first introduced total war to the modern world.

1870 AD, Sedan - Prussians defeat French in Franco-Prussian War, Wilhelm declares himself king (kaiser), "Iron Chancellor" Otto von Bismarck, General von Moltke. Confirms success of the recently formed German General Staff.

1882 AD, Tel el Kebir - British win control (from Muslims) of Egypt and Suez canal until 1954.

1898 AD, Manila Bay - US battleship Maine blown up, forces US reaction. First imperialist venture of the USA, under President William McKinley (R).

1905 AD, Mukden

1905 AD, Tsushima - Japanese defeat of Russia, est. Japan as preeminent military power in region, unseating Russia.

1914 AD, Marne - First Battle (WWI), General von Moltke, trench warfare.

1916 AD, Verdun (WWI)
1916 AD, Brusilov Offensive (WWI)
1918 AD, Marne, Second Battle (WWI)

1920 AD, Warsaw - communists defeated, blocking their move west.

1939 AD, Poland - Nazi Germany invades

1940 AD, Dunkirk, France (WWII) - British army quickly boatlifted back across channel to England, while Hitler hesitates.

1940 AD, Battle of Britain (WWII) - "Never have so many owed so much to so few," Churchill on the British pilots who beat back the Luftwaffe, preventing a German invasion of Britain and certain Nazi domination of Europe.

1941 AD, Moscow (WWII), Russians hold off Nazis
1941 AD (7 Dec), Pearl Harbor (WWII)

1942 AD, Singapore (WWII) - Britain loses Singapore to Japan, one of several key events leading to the end of the British Empire.

1942 AD, Midway (WWII) - allies turn the tide against Japan, which was thereafter on the defensive.

1944 AD, Normandy (WWII) - Operation "Overlord," the Allied June 6 D-Day invasion, beginning of the end of WWII, Allies begin push into Europe toward Germany, led by American Gen. Eisenhower, British Montgomery.

1945 AD, Okinawa (WWII) - US victory at huge cost, convinced Truman to use new atomic bombs at Hiroshima, Nagasaki.

1948-9 AD, Israel's War of Independence - Arab nations, led by Egypt, attack the newly formed Israel. Israel wins, but Egypt keeps Gaza strip.

1948-9 AD, Huai Hai (Suchow, pre-Korean War) - defeat of Chinese nationalists (Chiang ki-Sheck) by communists, former retreat to Formosa (Taiwan).

1950 AD, Inchon (Korean War) - First effective UN-sponsored military action. Douglas Macarthur led this invasion, stopping N. Korean advance into S. Korea. Unfortunately, stalemate later occurred when American forces charged across the 38th parallel (into North Korea) only to have their victory denied when great masses of Chinese troops poured across the Yalu River, engaging the Americans near the Chosin Reservoir, pushing them back close to the original battle lines (Hoover Digest, 2004, No. 3, p. 67).

1953-4 AD, Dien Bien Phu (Vietnam) - French defeat in Vietnam, ending their colonial occupation there.

1968 AD, Tet Offensive (Vietnam)

1991 AD, (Operation) Desert Storm - US President George H. W. Bush organizes worldwide coalition to remove Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces from Kuwait, which they had annexed by force the year before. In retrospect, should have pushed into Iraq and overthrown Hussein.

Other candidates:

c. 722 BC, defeat of northern kingdom of Israel by Assyrians, led by King Sennacherib.

c. 586 BC, defeat of Judah by Babylon, led by King Nebuchadnezzar.

480 BC The Battle of Thermopylae: "Not for 1000 yrs [956 actually, 480 BC to 476 AD] - not since the Spartan Legion had perished at the Hot Gates of Thermopylae [500 BC] - had western civilization been put to such a test [i.e. as it did at the fall of Rome when the Irish monks copied the ancient writings] or faced such odds, nor would it again face extinction till in this century it devised the means of extinguishing all life" (hisc p4). Hmmm, Forbes Life (Oct 2006 p205), rvwing Paul Cartledge's book, says "In the summer of 480, a massive force led by Xerxes was poised to crush the free city-states of Doric Greece. But blocking its path was a suicide squad of 298 elite Spartan warriors, backed by fewer than 7K infantry soldiers, at the narrow pass of Thermopylae ('the Hot Gates'). To the Persians' astonishment, the Spartans held out for 3 days of furious fighting, falling to the last man, but inflicting grossly disproportionate losses on the other side. In doing so, they paved the way for the Greeks' total victory over Xerxes' horde a year later and an end to the Persian threat."

486 AD, Soissons, Clovis the Merovingian of France defeats Syagrius, last of the Gallo-Roman administrators in France, taking his territories, subsequently capturing Paris and making it his capital (France, Knapton, 1971).

1683 AD, Battle of Vienna? - decisively halted Muslim Ottoman advance through Eastern Europe outside Vienna, led by Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736, remarkable military strategist, teacher of Frederick the Great), owner of Belvedere Palace [we visited].

1967 AD, The Israeli 6-day war, Egypt, Jordan, Syria attack Israel, but are defeated in 6 days. Israel keeps Sinai. Egypt continues attacks for years after.

1973 AD, The Israeli Yom Kippur war, Egypt and Syria attack Israel, but are repulsed, only US diplomatic intervention prevents annihilation of Egyptian force. Leads to 1979 Carter-brokered Camp David Accords, in which Egypt recognizes Israel in return for the return of Sinai to Egyptian control. Cost: US aid to Egypt of $2.2 bil/yr (.9 econ, 1.3 mil).

2001 AD, 9/11 terrorist (Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda) attack on USA
2001 AD (Oct), Operation Enduring Freedom, USA invades Afghanistan
2003 AD (Mar), Operation Iraqi Freedom, USA invades Iraq

Similar Book (Costco, $8), Twenty Decisive Battles of the World by Lt. Col. Joseph B. Mitchell and Sir Edward Creasy (Konecky and Konecky, 1964) includes (covered above): Marathon, Syracuse, Arbela, Metaurus, Teutoburger Wald, Chalons, Tours, Hastings, Orleans, Armada, Blenheim, Poltava, Saratoga, Valmy, Waterloo, First Marne, Midway.

Not covered above:

1863, Vicksburg, Civil War, Grant broke the Confederacy's hold on the Mississippi. Descending the river into the South, Grant transformed the 'war for the Union' into the 'war to free the slaves,' and a political conflict into a social revolution (NR 31 May 04 p. 47)

1866, Sadowa, Seven Weeks War, Prussian victory over Austria, King Wilhelm, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, General Moltke lead Prussia, remarkable greater German unification, Prussians outnumbered but better organization, discipline, training and weapons, marks beginning of independent (militaristic, anti-Liberal, authoritarian, feudal, might makes right, blood and iron, end justifies means, realpolitik, downplay questions of justice and morality, uebermensch, Deutschland ueber Alles) Prussia (until then, caught between latin West and slavic East, held down), Prussia lasted 80 years until Allies dissolved it post WWII (but warlike spirit still exists?).

194?, Stalingrad, WWII, Russians held back Nazis in their brutal winter siege of the city.

Another book is Decisive Battles by John Colvin (advertised in A Common Reader catalog), covering 21 battles "from Salamis in 480 BC to Kursk in 1943."

1. Thermopylae 480 BC (p53)
2. Cannae 216 BC (p54, Sicilian Carthaginians destroy Roman army, part of 2nd Punic War)
3. Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain 55 and 54 BC (p56)
4. Hastings 14 Oct 1066 (p57)
5. Crecy 26 Aug 1346 (58)
6. Waterloo 18 Jun 1815 (114)

7. Balaclava 25 Oct 1854 (116, i.e. the Crimean War, France/England prevent Russia from taking over Ottoman Mediteranean assets, the Thin Red Line, in the heroic but mistaken Charge of the Light Brigade only 195 of 661 survive, Florence Nightingale introduces nursing)

8. Rorke's Drift 22-3 Jan 1879 (119, in Dutch v. British Boer Wars)
9. The Somme 1 Jul 1916 (122)
10. The Battles of Lexington and Concord 19 Apr 1775 (123)
11. The Alamo 23 Feb - 8 Mar 1836 (124)
12. Gettysburg 1-3 Jul 1863 (127)

1 Sumer: Lagash defeats Umma c2450 BC

2 Akkad: Conquests of Sargon c2340-2284 BC

3 Babylon: Conquests of Hammurabi c1763-58 BC

4 Megiddo: Egypt's Thutmose III defeats allied city-states Megiddo/Kadesh c1468 BC

5 Kadesh: Egypt (Rameses II) v. Hittites (Muwatalli), basically a draw, c1275 BC

6 Troy c1250 BC

7 Sea Peoples raids defeated by Egypt c1176

8 Mt Gilboa, King Saul k. by Philistines c1100 BC

Assyrian Conquests 9-12:
9 Qarqar 853 BC
10 Lachish 701 BC
11 Diyala River c693 BC
12 Fall of Nineveh 612 BC

13 Fall of Jerusalem 586 BC

14 Megiddo, Egypt (Neco) k. Josiah 605 BC

15 Sardis, Cyrus 'the Great' of Persia defeats Croesus of Lydia 546 BC

16 Fall of Babylon 539 BC