The 10 greatest battles in history are always a debatable subject around academic circles. This history depends on the scholars we know and people we communicate with. Nevertheless, if you enjoy reading about great battles, then you will enjoy reading the following 10 greatest battles in history.
#10 Battle of Roncesvalles (August 15, 778 C.E.)
The Battle of Roncesvalles began with a Basque attack on Charlemagne’s army at a pass in the Pyrenees in northern Spain, which resulted in the defeat of Charlemagne’s army. Charlemagne was returning to Aquitaine after a war against the Muslims in Spain when his rear guard was ambushed and slaughtered by Basque soldiers, and the event took place during that time. It is depicted in the Chanson de Roland, written in the 11th century, in which the assailants are Moors and Charlemagne’s nephew Roland, who leads the rear guard.
#9 Battle of Leipzig (October. 16–19, 1813 C.E.)
When Napoleon was defeated at Leipzig, it resulted in the loss of what was remained of French power in Germany and Poland, as well as the end of Napoleon’s reign as Emperor. Napoleon’s army, which was completely surrounded by the city, was only able to halt the allied onslaught. As the army prepared to flee over the solitary bridge connecting the city to the west, a panicked corporal detonated a bomb on the bridge, trapping 30,000 French troops in Leipzig and allowing them to be captured. The combat was one of the bloodiest of the Napoleonic Wars, with the French losing 38,000 soldiers killed and wounded and the allies losing 55,000 men killed and wounded in total.
#8 Battle Königgrätz (July 3, 1866 C.E.)
A decisive fight in the Seven Weeks’ War between Prussia and Austria, fought at Sadowa, near Königgrätz, Bohemia (now Hradec Králové, Czech Republic), was the Battle of Koniggratz. The Austrians, who were armed with muzzle-loading rifles and heavily reliant on the bayonet charge, were headed by Ludwig von Benedek (1804–1881), who was in command of the army. The Prussians, under the command of Helmuth von Moltke, were armed with breech-loading needle cannons, and they transported their troops via railroad, which was a first in European battle history. Austria was forced to withdraw from a Prussian-dominated Germany as a result of the Prussian victory.
#7 Battle of Adrianople (378 C.E.)
Adrianople was fought at what is now the Turkish city of Edirne, and it was the first major Germanic incursion into Roman territory.cvIt pitted the Roman army under emperor Valens against the cavalry of the Visigoths, the Ostrogoths, and various other Germanic tribes.cv Ultimately, the Roman army was destroyed, and Valens died on the field of combat. In 382 the Goths and his successor, Theodosius I, came to an agreement in which the Goths pledged to assist with imperial fortifications in exchange for food subsidies. The treaty established a precedent for future barbarian incursions.
#6 Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775 C.E.)
The Conflict of Bunker Hill was the first significant battle of the American Revolution and took place on September 17, 1775. Over 15,000 colonial forces gathered near Boston within two months of the Battles of Lexington and Concord to prevent the British army from seizing many hills surrounding the city, particularly Bunker and Breed’s hills. The colonists defended Breed’s Hill in Charlestown, which located across the Charles River from Boston. A cannonade from British ships in Boston Harbor and attacks by 2,300 British infantry were successfully repelled, although they were eventually forced to retreat. The British were victorious in the battle, although the victory was a pyrrhic one that provided enormous encouragement to the revolutionary cause. The high number of British losses (about 1,000) combined with the colonists’ vigorous resistance convinced the British that subduing the rebels would be tough.
#5 Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (July 16, 1212 C.E.)
When the Christians reclaimed Spain, the Fight of Las Navas de Tolosa was a crucial battle in the process. It took place during a Christian Crusade against the Muslim Almohad monarchy in the 11th century. The combined troops of León, Castile, Aragon, Navarra, and Portugal, led by King Alfonso VIII, discovered a hidden path through a mountain pass in Andalusia and surprised and beat the Almohads at a location about 65 kilometers north of Jaén.
#4 Battle of Salamis (480 B.C.E.)
The Fight of Salamis was a key naval conflict during the Persian Wars, and it was the first such battle to be documented. During the fight, Aeschylus took part in it and composed the Persians, which is the first of his works that have survived. Themistocles led a Greek fleet of approximately 370 triremes into the narrow strait between the island of Salamis and the Athenian port of Piraeus, where they lured the Persian fleet of over 800 galleys into the harbor of Salamis. There, the highly maneuverable triremes sank over 300 Persian vessels while suffering only about 40 casualties on their own ships. The outcome of this fight forced Xerxes to postpone his planned land attack, enabling the Greek city-states the opportunity to band together against him and defeat him.
#3 Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863 C.E.)
The Battle of Gettysburg was a key action in the American Civil War that took place near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and is widely regarded as the turning point of the war. Following his victory against Union forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Robert E. Lee made the decision to invade the North with 75,000 troops. Following his discovery that the Union’s Army of the Potomac had a new commander, George Meade, he dispatched his own men to Gettysburg, a critical crossroads in the war. John Buford, Meade’s advance unit under command on the first day of the conflict, held the position until reinforcements came. On the second day of the battle, the Confederates launched attacks on Union positions at Little Round Top, Cemetery Hill, Devil’s Den, the Wheatfield, and the Peach Orchard, among other locations. After a third day of fighting, Lee dispatched 15,000 troops to attack Cemetery Ridge, which was held by 10,000 Union troops under the command of Winfield S Hancock. Despite the fact that a Confederate spearhead pierced through the Union artillery position, the offensive was stopped by a vigorous Union counterattack from three directions. On July 4, under cover of a heavy downpour, Lee marched his troops back to Virginia; Meade was subsequently chastised for not pursuing him as he should have. It is estimated that 88,000 Union troops suffered approximately 23,000 losses, while 75,000 Confederate troops suffered more than 20,000 casualties overall.
#2 Battle of Thapsus (46 B.C.E.)
The Battle
#1 Battle of Adwa (March 1, 1896 C.E.)
Adwa was the site of the Battle of Adwa, a military confrontation between the Ethiopian army of King Menilek II and Italian forces that took place in north-central Ethiopia in 1898. Ethiopia gained its independence as a result of the decisive Ethiopian victory, which also thwarted Italy’s effort to establish an empire in Africa akin to that of the French or British. The colony of Eritrea was established following the conclusion of the subsequent peace negotiations.