The Greatest Battles of All Time

A history of the world is a history of wars. Wars are decided by battles. Thus, these battles have changed the course of history and out lives. Some have had more of an impact than others. These battles were chosen for their size and historical significance with attention given to generating a sampling that has a wide geographic and chronological scope. Here is one author's picks for the top ten battles of all time.

10. Cannae (216 B.C.) This battle took place during the Second Punic war between Carthage and Rome on the Italian Peninsula. Rome was utterly defeated by the famous general Hannibal. The numbers of Roman dead are staggering. Some estimate the death toll at around 100,000 on the Roman side. This battle changed Roman tactics so as not to repeat this route. What is even more shocking than the battle is the Roman response to it. Rome dug in its heels, rallied back, and continued to fight Carthage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_cannae

9. Charcamesh (605 B.C.). Fought in what is modern day Syria, this battle between Babylonians and a coalition of Egyptian and Assyrian forces changed the face of the middle East. Egypt failed to ever again be a significant force in the Ancient Near East. Assyria was absorbed into the Babylonian Empire. This battle is also note worthy because it is mentioned in the Bible - II Chronicles 35:20, Isaiah 10:9, and Jeremiah 46:2.

8. Thermopylae (480 B.C.) For those of you who have not seen the movie 300 this battle was fought between the Greeks and the Persians. However, the movie butchered history as it was the Spartans who were reluctant to battle. Also, the contingent of non-Spartan Greeks outnumbered the Spartans. The number of total Greek forces were considerably larger than Sparta's 300 but the Greek coalition was still dwarfed by the invading Persian army. The Greeks lost this battle, but like Cannae it became a rallying point for Greece. Prior to the movie, Thermopylae had been referenced on numerous occasions throughout the Western world . The battle of the Alamo was called the Texas Thermopylae or the Thermopylae of the west. It is symbolic as a heroic stand between a small, smart, and well trained army against an invading horde.

http://www.battle-of-thermopylae.eu/

7. Haui-Hai (1948-1949 A.D.) You probably have never heard of this one and it was more of a campaign than a single battle. It is also know as the Battle of Hsupeng of the Battle of Xu-Beng. This battled featured communists against Kuomintang nationalists in eastern China. The effects of this communist victory are obvious. It gave rise to the modern day People's Republic of China. The losing nationalist forces under General Chen Kai Shek fled to Taiwan.

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

6. Midway (1942 A.D.) This was an aerial and sea battle that took place during World War II. Japanese and American forces fought for four days near Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. U.S. Navy intelligence intercepted Japanese transmissions of a trap they were preparing. The Americans set up an ambush of their own and inflicted heavy loses on the Japanese from which they would never recover.

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/midway/midway.htm

5. Vienna (1683 A.D.). There was a lot riding on this battle between mostly Turkish/Ottoman forces and a coalition of Christian forces from Germany, Poland, and Austria. Vienna, in Austria, had been under siege and had the Turks been able to topple this city the rest of Europe was up for grabs; the Ottomans had already conquered other parts of Europe. The Turks had tried to take Vienna before in 1529. The Turks were defeated by a numerically inferior force on September 11th.

http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2006/09/other-september-11th.html

4. Gettysburg (1863 A.D.) On the planes of southern Pennsylvania ,Confederate General Robert E. Lee tried to gain a tide turning victory on Northern soil. He had stunned the larger unionist forces in a series of defeats in the spring of 1863. The Army of Northern Virginia (Confederates) was soundly defeated in the largest land battle on the North American continent. However, the Union Army, headed by Gen. George Meade, was unable to follow up on the victory and the Army of Northern Virginia slipped across the Potomac River. At the same time the Battle of Gettysburg was raging, the town of Vicksburg Mississippi was under siege by the Union Army and Navy. It fell one day after Gettysburg (on July 4th), thus giving the North control of the Mississippi River. These two huge victories turned the tide of the American Civil War.

http://americancivilwar.com/getty.html

3. Trafalgar (1805 A.D.) Off the west coast of Spain, a British naval force headed by Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson defeated a French and Spanish coalition. It is one of the greatest naval victories of all time as the British do not lose a single ship, although Lord Nelson was mortally wounded during the fighting. This victory established the dominance of the British Empire, especially its Navy.

http://www.britishbattles.com/waterloo/battle-trafalgar.htm

2. Hastings (1066 B.C.) Taking place outside Hastings England, this spelled the end for Angle rule of "Angle land". Actually, the people of Britannia have a history (both before and after Hastings) of intermarrying, so Angle influence was changed/reduced but was not eradicated. William the Conqueror defeated the Anglo-Saxon army introducing more French, and Scandinavian, language and culture to Britannia. Later, William became King of England on Christmas Day 1066. England, and the world, would be changed forever.

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Battle_of_Hastings

1. Zama (202 B.C.) This battle, fought in Tunisia, was huge in terms of the battle itself and its significance. It caused the end of the Second Punic war and placed Rome as the superpower. The Roman general Scipio (probably the greatest general you have never heard of except for maybe Bai Qi) defeated the famed General Hannibal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scipio_Africanus

Hannibal wreaked havoc on the Italian peninsula but could never score ultimate victory for Carthage. Scipio racked up numerous victories against Carthage in Iberia (Spain). Scipio convinced the Senate to take the fight to Africa.

Hannibal, who had crossed the Alps with elephants and put Rome under siege, brought elephants to this battle. However, Scipio realized that the one could just let the elephants pass if a gap was opened up for them. This tactic worked and the elephants charged on by. Scipio defeated Hannibal on his own soil and earned the title Africanus. The battle was vindication for Rome at its earlier loss at Cannae. It was personal vindication for Scipio as his father, Scipio the greater, was killed at Cannae (Hannibal's brother, Hasdrubal Barca was killed in the Metarus campaign in Italy prior to Zama).

There you have this author's greatest battles of all time. Like any list, many greats were left of and could easily have been included. Honorable mention goes to any number of battles from the warring states period of China, Marathon, Platae, Tours, Concord, Yorktown, Petersburg, Mecca (630), the Six Day War, and the Battle of the Frontiers - how can anyone have a list of great battles without some mention of "The Great War"?