Ten most decisive battles in world history (1 Viewer)

[Jackaroo]

Gentlemen,

A really interesting thread and an informative read. At the risk of wearing my heart on my sleeve a little, I would like to offer up the Battle of Milne Bay as the first significant strategic victory against the Japanese in WWII.

“The battle is considered to be the first in the Pacific campaign in which Allied troops decisively defeated Japanese land forces, forcing them to withdraw and completely abandon their strategic objective. Japanese forces had experienced local setbacks before: their first attack on Wake Island was thrown back, and American Marines defeated the Japanese on Guadalcanal in the Battle of the Tenaru, four days before the Battle of Milne Bay began; however unlike Milne Bay, these actions did not result in complete Japanese withdrawal and the abandonment of the military campaign”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Milne_Bay

Regards,

Alby

 

[Mitch]

debrito...

I know, I am not the only one to wonder about this. Could you elaborate as to how you see the battle of Britain as a moral victory than a comprehensive bloody nose to the german war machine. The strongest air force in the world with superb battle training from the SCW, poland France and all the other low countries was slapped and defeated into night bombing.

Thats a wee bit more than a moral victory my friend
Mitch

There is one specific battle and siege that does not seem to be important and almost nobody talk about, it is the Fall of Constantinople 1453... Once the Turkish take over the part of the world they prohibited and close for the Europeans the route of the orient. By closing this strategically pathway s they force the European countries, special Spain, Portugal and Holland, majors’ naval powers on that time, to develop sea navigation and go around the Africa continent. Eventually the discovery of the Americas...

Concerning the Battle of Britain I don’t see as a strategic victory, but a moral one, German war machine was really defeated by the Russians....

 

[waynepoo]

Gentlemen,

A really interesting thread and an informative read. At the risk of wearing my heart on my sleeve a little, I would like to offer up the Battle of Milne Bay as the first significant strategic victory against the Japanese in WWII.

“The battle is considered to be the first in the Pacific campaign in which Allied troops decisively defeated Japanese land forces, forcing them to withdraw and completely abandon their strategic objective. Japanese forces had experienced local setbacks before: their first attack on Wake Island was thrown back, and American Marines defeated the Japanese on Guadalcanal in the Battle of the Tenaru, four days before the Battle of Milne Bay began; however unlike Milne Bay, these actions did not result in complete Japanese withdrawal and the abandonment of the military campaign”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Milne_Bay

Regards,

Alby

I would offer the Battle of Amiens in August 1918 as a decisive battle of the Great War, where Australian General Monash used innovative techniques and modern technology that lead to a succession of major battles that ended with the defeat of the Kaisers army. By this stage of the war The Australian Corps and the other dominion troops had become the sharp edge of the B.E.F.
Ludendorff wrote in his memoirs '' August 8th was the black day of the German Army in the history of the war. This was worst experience I had to go through....''
Waynepoo.

 

[uksubs]

debrito...

I know, I am not the only one to wonder about this. Could you elaborate as to how you see the battle of Britain as a moral victory than a comprehensive bloody nose to the german war machine. The strongest air force in the world with superb battle training from the SCW, poland France and all the other low countries was slapped and defeated into night bombing.

Thats a wee bit more than a moral victory my friend
Mitch

Good post Mitch

 

[The Military Workshop]

Interesting seeing different perpectives depending upon where you are from.

Early into the thread an obvious one came to me but Rob beat me to it. That was Pearl Harbour. WWII had been going for 2 years by that point so from the Commonwealth point of view having the USA join the war was pretty significant to the outcome.

Regards
Brett

 

[debrito]

debrito...

I know, I am not the only one to wonder about this. Could you elaborate as to how you see the battle of Britain as a moral victory than a comprehensive bloody nose to the german war machine. The strongest air force in the world with superb battle training from the SCW, poland France and all the other low countries was slapped and defeated into night bombing.

Thats a wee bit more than a moral victory my friend
Mitch

Beside to avoid the complete destruction and invasion of England, general speaking the Battle of Britain did not change the War at all. It did for England but not for the rest of Europe,

By the end of summer 1940 Hitler started to concentrate all his energy towards operation Barbarossa, seeing that Herman Goering Luftwaffe incompetency to achieve victory, his simple give up England to a more strategic and economic goal the destruction and the occupation of Russia and the vital space needed for the expansion of the Third Reich – Lebensraum.

In 1940 The Wehrmacht was unbeaten and dominated almost the entire continent.

I have stated before, but it is difficult to be accepted here on this American Forum, it was The Russian who beat the Nazis, the Allies just Bomb and wait until they were already beat up to get in...

Yes I know that the Russians was supplied by the Americans and others, but in the Battlefield it was the Ruskies with 20 million dead who real won the WWII in Europe

In addition, the ONLY reason D-day happened was to avoid the Russians to get on the English Channel, La Manche.

Sorry for my terrible English....

 

[Dragoon]

A few more entrees would be -

Hastings 1066 - Normans begin dominance of Anglo/Saxon Britain

Quebec 1759 - France is forced out of North America

Vicksburg 1863 - Confederacy loses all control of Mississippi River and divided territorally in half.

 

[Currahee Chris]

Interesting seeing different perpectives depending upon where you are from.

Early into the thread an obvious one came to me but Rob beat me to it. That was Pearl Harbour. WWII had been going for 2 years by that point so from the Commonwealth point of view having the USA join the war was pretty significant to the outcome.

Regards
Brett

gotta admit though, Rob added so much more flair with the "give a shout out to Pearl Harbor"- as if he were sipping pints at the pub with his homies (mates)- he is the EuroRapper though so who am I to judge {sm4}{sm4}{sm4}

one thing I would like to add regarding my initial post is that I ranked mine in order of what I deemed significant- Stalingrad being the top decisive battle in world history, waterloo 2, etc, etc.

I appreciate the input from you WW1 and ACW folks as I am marginal at best with my knowledge there.

 

[Sahara]

Great thread! I agree with most of the battles mentioned but thought I would toss in my 2 cents as well.

The Battle of Milvian Bridge (312) Emperors Constantine and Maxentius. If Constantine had not defeated Maxentius the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity may have never happened.

The Battle of Warsaw AKA Miracle at Vistula (1920) Pivotal battle after WWI where Russia was attempting to establish dominance and spread Communism to Poland, Germany and other European countries. The Polish were thought to be defeated but stunned the Russians and crippled Bolsheviks military (Russians) with a huge victory.

I also have to comment on the Russians destroying the Nazi War machine. Yes, give credit where credit is due. The Russians were very important and did a tremendous job. But you have to wonder how they would have faired if there was no Western Front, no Italy, North Africa or Pacific. Would the Japanese have opened another front up on Russia? Would the Russians be able to advance against a whole united German military force that had not been broken up on many fronts? We will never know but one thing that is for certain is that all the Allies destroyed the Nazi War Machine.

 

[Rob]

gotta admit though, Rob added so much more flair with the "give a shout out to Pearl Harbor"- as if he were sipping pints at the pub with his homies (mates)- he is the EuroRapper though so who am I to judge {sm4}{sm4}{sm4}

one thing I would like to add regarding my initial post is that I ranked mine in order of what I deemed significant- Stalingrad being the top decisive battle in world history, waterloo 2, etc, etc.

I appreciate the input from you WW1 and ACW folks as I am marginal at best with my knowledge there.

You're too kind Sir:salute::

Great thread! I agree with most of the battles mentioned but thought I would toss in my 2 cents as well.



The Battle of Milvian Bridge (312) Emperors Constantine and Maxentius. If Constantine had not defeated Maxentius the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity may have never happened.

The Battle of Warsaw AKA Miracle at Vistula (1920) Pivotal battle after WWI where Russia was attempting to establish dominance and spread Communism to Poland, Germany and other European countries. The Polish were thought to be defeated but stunned the Russians and crippled Bolsheviks military (Russians) with a huge victory.

I also have to comment on the Russians destroying the Nazi War machine. Yes, give credit where credit is due. The Russians were very important and did a tremendous job. But you have to wonder how they would have faired if there was no Western Front, no Italy, North Africa or Pacific. Would the Japanese have opened another front up on Russia? Would the Russians be able to advance against a whole united German military force that had not been broken up on many fronts? We will never know but one thing that is for certain is that all the Allies destroyed the Nazi War Machine.

Excellent post. Yes the Russians perhaps did not get near enough credit for what they did and indeed what their country suffered, but it was allied nations coming together that ensured final victory, not one country on its own.

Rob

 

[Arnhemjim]

Extremely stimulating thread! Taxes an individual's knowledge of history to the fullest extent. Feel certain that everyone's list will be, to a degree, subjective, if nothing else because of memory issues. I personally realize my list is biased toward modern history. I have compiled my list independently without looking at replies to the thread to date, and will now be very curious to compare lists. Did sneak an extra battle in because of the use of Tinian to deliver the first atomic bombs.
Agincourt
Tours
Waterloo
Tsushima
Battle of Britain
Stalingrad
Kursk
Midway
Normandy
Battle of the Bulge
Okinawa (Tinian)
Arnhem Jim
Arizona Territory

 

[Rob]

Excellent list, very interesting additions of Okinawa and Agincourt. I also totally forgot to add the Bulge to my list, very important Battle indeed.

Rob

Extremely stimulating thread! Taxes an individual's knowledge of history to the fullest extent. Feel certain that everyone's list will be, to a degree, subjective, if nothing else because of memory issues. I personally realize my list is biased toward modern history. I have compiled my list independently without looking at replies to the thread to date, and will now be very curious to compare lists. Did sneak an extra battle in because of the use of Tinian to deliver the first atomic bombs.
Agincourt
Tours
Waterloo
Tsushima
Battle of Britain
Stalingrad
Kursk
Midway
Normandy
Battle of the Bulge
Okinawa (Tinian)
Arnhem Jim
Arizona Territory

 

[Scott]

Battle of the Little Big Horn. A victory that turned into a major defeat for the American native way of life forever...

Battle of San Jacinto. A victory that ended Mexican rule in the province of Texas which paved the way to Texas independence.

San Jacinto didn't have an iconic building or dead celebrities to make it as memorable.

 

[glossman]

A very interesting thread.

Here is my list for the 10 most decisive battles in history (IMHO).

The Battle of :

Salamis (480 BC)
Tours (732 AD)
Yorktown (1781)
Waterloo (1815)
Marne (1914)
Britain (1940)
Stalingrad (1942)
Kohima (1944)
The Phillippine Sea (1944)
Hsupeng (1948)

Raymond.

 

[Scott]

"The Battle of Milvian Bridge (312) Emperors Constantine and Maxentius. If Constantine had not defeated Maxentius the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity may have never happened."

Maybe but the Empire already officially tolerated Christianity 2 years before. The battle really was one group of Christians against another and the winner made his version "official."

Imagine if the Macabees had lost. A Helenized Judea w/o a Messiah story.

 

[waynepoo]

Great thread! I agree with most of the battles mentioned but thought I would toss in my 2 cents as well.

The Battle of Milvian Bridge (312) Emperors Constantine and Maxentius. If Constantine had not defeated Maxentius the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity may have never happened.

The Battle of Warsaw AKA Miracle at Vistula (1920) Pivotal battle after WWI where Russia was attempting to establish dominance and spread Communism to Poland, Germany and other European countries. The Polish were thought to be defeated but stunned the Russians and crippled Bolsheviks military (Russians) with a huge victory.

I also have to comment on the Russians destroying the Nazi War machine. Yes, give credit where credit is due. The Russians were very important and did a tremendous job. But you have to wonder how they would have faired if there was no Western Front, no Italy, North Africa or Pacific. Would the Japanese have opened another front up on Russia? Would the Russians be able to advance against a whole united German military force that had not been broken up on many fronts? We will never know but one thing that is for certain is that all the Allies destroyed the Nazi War Machine.

May I go off point and be pendantic for a second and say - we often refer to the ''Russians'' when we should refer to the ''Soviets'', Russia was only one of the Republics of the U.S.S.R , yes it was the main one and they were top dogs, but remember Satlin himself was not Russian he was Georgian as was Beria and most of his henchmen. Just a small point I know.
Waynepoo.

 

[Sahara]

"The Battle of Milvian Bridge (312) Emperors Constantine and Maxentius. If Constantine had not defeated Maxentius the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity may have never happened."

Maybe but the Empire already officially tolerated Christianity 2 years before. The battle really was one group of Christians against another and the winner made his version "official."

Yes, but it was Constantine that signed the "Edictum Mediolanense" which made life alot easier for Christians. Yes, Christianity existed in the empire before this battle but the toleration was very very low. If anything I would call it a Bloody toleration.

 

[Sahara]

May I go off point and be pendantic for a second and say - we often refer to the ''Russians'' when we should refer to the ''Soviets'', Russia was only one of the Republics of the U.S.S.R , yes it was the main one and they were top dogs, but remember Satlin himself was not Russian he was Georgian as was Beria and most of his henchmen. Just a small point I know.
Waynepoo.

I stand corrected Wayne. In the future I will try to be more specific. ^&grin

 

[29 Let's Go]

Many great thoughts on this. I would have to include...

Christians defeating the Moors in Spain (cannot remember what battle that was). Created the faiths that Europe has today, please no affiliation to values.

Napoleon's defeat at the battles of Waterloo and Moscow because it ended a dominiation of Europe by one country.

Saratoga - ensured that the british would not end the war soon by splitting the colonies and ti brought France into the war.

Gettysburg - I believe as some historians do that it was the highwater mark of the Confederacy. I believe it was the last time Confederacy took the offensive.

Battle of Britain - because tit ensuredd that Britain could not be invaded and the British forever severly damaged the Luftwaffe.

The Israeli fight for independance which set the stage for the situation we have today.

Two very critical battles in my life, where as a sixth grader we twice defeated the powerful seventh graders in snow ball fights with tactics I employed from Cowpens and the early Greeks.

 

[waynepoo]

I stand corrected Wayne. In the future I will try to be more specific. ^&grin

Was not my intent to correct you, forgive me , I am one of those who will tune your tv and straighten your pictures, what my family calls a pain. I am a nice guy really.
Waynepoo.