The weekend and my thoughts turn to history…..

Battles win wars…..battles define the direction of a nation….there are special battles that influenced history in so many ways.

This is one person ideas of the greatest battles of history…..

Battles win wars, topple thrones, and redraw borders. Every age of human history has experienced battles that have been instrumental in molding the future. Battles influence the spread of culture, civilization, and religious dogma. They introduce weapons, tactics, and leaders who dominate future conflicts. Some battles have even been influential not for their direct results, but for the impact of their propaganda on public opinion.

The following list is not a ranking of decisive engagements, but rather a ranking of battles according to their influence on history. Each narrative details location, participants, and leaders of the battle, and also provides commentary on who won, who lost, and why. Narratives also evaluate each battle’s influence on the outcome of its war and the impact on the victors and losers.

http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/topten/index.html

While as a student of conflict I agree with his choices….somewhat……but I have another list or maybe some add ons…..I think the list should have included other history changing battles…..

My thoughts on the expansion are as follows…..

The Battle of Cannae…..was a major battle of the Second Punic War, taking place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The Carthaginian army under Hannibal destroyed a numerically superior Roman army under command of the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. Following the Battle of Cannae, Capua and several other Italian city-states defected from the Roman Republic. Although the battle failed to decide the outcome of the war in favor of Carthage, it is today regarded as one of the greatest tactical feats in military history.

This defeat egged on the Romans to expand their empire and influence throughout the ancient world.

The Battle of Teutoburg Forest–At the Battle of Teutoburg Forest (aka Battle of Varus), c. 9 CE, a combined force of Germans annihilated a Roman army consisting of three legions including three squadrons of cavalry and six cohorts of auxiliary troops. As some soldiers must have been left behind to defend summer camps, the army probably held 10,000 to 15,000 men or roughly 8 to10 % of the total Roman army. The sources do not mention the size of the German army at the famous battle. Based on the size of the catchment area, and the fact that Arminius, leader of the German forces, was not able to recruit all chieftains, it is likely that the Germans were heavily outnumbered, perhaps 1:2.

This battle stop the spread of the Roman Empire into the Germania homeland…and the Empire started its downward spiral for they were seen as not as powerful as they pretended.

 Then the spread of the Mongels Eastward brought about a defeat that ended their expansion……..September 3rd, 1260, the two sides numbering 20,000 men each met in battle in Ain Jalut. The Mongols were the first to strike. The Mamluks had a clear advantage because they knew the terrain very well, and Qutuz used that fully to his advantage. The strategy was actually laid out by Baibars because he had spent the most time in the region. Qutuz hid most of his forces in the highlands, and Baibars fought the Mongols with hit and run tactics in an attempt to bait them out.

Although they managed to launch a successful counterattack, the Mongol army did not have the numbers to sustain the battle, and soon the entire army including their commander was completely annihilated. This was the first time in history that someone had managed to defeat the Mongols in close quarters combat.

Then there is Dien Bien Phu…..The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought from March 13 to May 7, 1954, and was the decisive engagement of the First Indochina War (1946-1954), the precursor to the Vietnam War. In 1954, French forces in French Indochina sought to cut the Viet Minh’s supply lines to Laos. To accomplish this, a large fortified base was constructed at Dien Bien Phu in northwest Vietnam. It was hoped that the presence of the base would draw the Viet Minh into a pitched battle where superior French firepower could destroy its army. 

Dien Bien Phu was the decisive battle of the First Indochina War. It ended with victory to the Viet Minh, the surrender of French colonial forces and eventually, the withdrawal of the French from Vietnam

This is important because with the French withdrawal from Vietnam it opened the door for the US to step into the pile of manure in its second longest war.

My thought…..now do you have any to add?

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