A HISTORY OF DECISIVE BATTLES

Conflicts have been a constant in human history from the Stone Age to the dawn of civilization in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Victory in war typically results in the conquest of territory, people, and resources. Therefore, by traveling through these world-changing battles, we will comprehend the current global environment and foresee future events. We love important battles. What is a major battle? What can it tell us about leadership, motivation, morale, technology, geography, and climate? What are the implications for the war, and what if the battle had gone the other way? Many works have attempted to locate and analyze historical military conflicts. Sir Edward Creasy’s book The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World like Jeremy Black’s The Seventy Great Battles of History. A three-volume Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Ancient Battles, however most are addressed with barely a few phrases. Some battle are clearly decisive. Germany lost its best—and maybe only—chance to win World War I during the First Marne Battle in 1914 (Tucker, 2001).

After the Battle of Britain, Adolf Hitler decided to attack the USSR. While not decisive, the Battle of the Somme was crucial in 1917 for both the British and Germans. The Somme witnessed the advent of tanks and new tactics. Both the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Saratoga and WWII’s Pacific Theater Battle of Midway were pivotal conflicts. “The combat that made everything else possible,” said Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Chester Nimitz of the Battle of Midway. “The engagement that made everything else possible” was the battle that saw an entire British army surrender and brought France openly on the American side. These conflicts, like the Battle of Leyte Gulf, show the perils of an excessively intricate polycentric design. The Battle of Midway also demonstrates the importance of chance (Tucker, 2001).

Finally, Other battles, like Alexander the Great’s siege of Tyre, the Battle of Hampton Roads, the Bat

tle of Cambrai, and the Battle of the Atlantic in WWII, rely on technical invention or creativity. Like the sieges of Rhodes and Leningrad, certain conflicts require immense human sacrifice. Others, like the Bulgarian siege of Pleven, are a nation’s inheritance. Small battles may have big impacts, like two on Lake Champlain and Guernica. Some wars have unintended benefits. Thus, the horrific Battle of Solferino is remarkable not only for its influence on Italian unification, but also for inspiring the International Red Cross (Tucker, 2001). Decisive battles will continue to transform the global environment.

PRIMARY SOURCES:

  • Michael Lee Lanning; Battles 100; (Published by Sourcebooks; 2005)
  • Spencer, C. Tucker; Battles that Changed the World; (ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2001)
  • William Weir; 50 Battles That Changed the World; (Published by New Page Books; 2001)
  • William Weir; 50 Weapons That Changed the World; (Published by New Page Books; 2005)