Most Influencial Battles....

[Street_Disciple]

No particular order

1. The Battle of Saratoga, American Revolution:
- This was the turning point in the American Revolution. It convinced France that the Americans had a chance at winning. Yorktown was a direct result of French involvement.

2. The Battle of Gettysburg, American Civil War:
-Also a key battle for the future existence of the United States. Had the Confederates won, we might have one more nation in North America today.

3. D-Day, Operation Overlord, WWII:
-D-Day doesn't happen, WWII doesn't end victorious for the Allies. Imagine how many European children would have grown up speaking German instead of their native tongue. Imagine how many more Jews, and Poles, and Gypsies would have died.

4. The Battle of Hastings, The Norman Conquest, 1066:
-Had the Normans not invaded England, a thousand years of English history, and essentially all of American history, would be non-existent.

5. The Battle of Waterloo:
-If Napoleon had not been ultimately defeated, imagine what the political map of Europe would look like today.

6. The Siege of Stalingrad, WWII:
-Germany wins, the Soviet Union collapses to Hitler, how would WWII have ended should that have happened?

7. The Spanish Armada, 1588:
-True, if the Armada had not been defeated, English history would have been drastically changed, and perhaps that of Europe as well.

8. The Crusades:
-If the Christian armies had ultimately worked together and defeated the Islamic Turks, the troubles in the Middle East might not be.

9. The Battle of Thermopylae:
-Had the Spartans not killed so many Persians, Greece would have been invaded by a much greater force than it had been.

10. The Tet Offensive, Vietnam:
-Changed the image of the war for the American public and forced American leaders to think twice about the capabilities and skill of their opponents.

11. The Battle of Trafalger
-The Spanish defeat made the British the dominate sea power for the next 400 or so years

12. The Battle of Toulon
-Napoleon's proving ground on his road to becoming emperor of France.

13. Battle of Yorktown
-Yorktown was the military means that enforced the Declaration of Independence and forced the English to recognize the new United States.

14. The siege of Petersburg
-It was the first use of trenched that looked like a WW1 trench system. Trench warefare originated in the civil war, the the battle use of trenches and tunnels was very infuencial.

15. Battle of Midway
-Under incredible odds the American Fleet turned away and broke the back of Japanese Naval Aviation .After Midway,Japan was on the defensive and the American Navy went on the Offensive

16. Battle of Tours
-Because if the Muslims would have won, we would all be walking around with turbans on out head worshiping Ala. The Franks bassically put an end to Muslim Imperialism (or the Muslim Crusades), and saved western civilization (and christianity) from being whiped out.

17. Pearl Harbor
-The U.S. was mad as hell because of what Japan did and became determined to end the war and the country united to fight or work in factories making the us a superpower by military and economy standards.

18. Lepanto
-This was the largest battle (in terms of numbers of men involved) of the 16th century. The myth of Ottoman invinciblity was broken quite convincingly at this engagement.

19. Battle of Talas River
-The Chinese equivalent to the Battle at Tours, the Muslims were stopped in their eastern conquests and kept China from becoming another Islamic dominion.

20. The Battle of Issus
-Where Greek armies under Alexander the Great destroyed the Persian army making way for the Helenization of Asia minor and the middle east.

[Midgard]

Others:

Yarmuk 636 AD - Basically one of the major reasons why the Middle East is Moslem and largely Arab instead of Christian Orthodox.

Manzikert 1071 AD - Beginning of the end of Byzantium, and creation of a powerful Moslem state at the fringes of Europe itself.

Myriocephalon 1176 AD - Removal of barriers to Turkish expansion into Asia Minor and Europe - made the reversal of effects of Manzikert nearly impossible.

Teutoburg Forest 9 AD - End of the northward expansion of the Roman Empire, eventually leading to the end of its overall expansion, and stagnation.

Chalons 451 AD - The fate of Europe, and the world could have been very different had Attila won.

[Street_Disciple]

oopa I left out both Rossbach and Leuthen. Apart from securing Prussian freedom and herlading the start of there dominance over other German states and humilating France which would create a rivialry of hatred and revenge that would last until the end of the second world war. It also secured Fredricks reputation as truly one of the great military commanders of all time.

And Ayn Jalut, where Egyptian Mamulukes defeated the mongols, handing them their first loss.

[Beck Reilly]

Without question:

1) Battle of Poitiers (a.k.a. Battle of Tours)

- Assured continued Christian dominance of Europe.

2) Battle of Adrianople

- Ended the Roman Empire and began the Middle Ages.

[Street_Disciple]

Greatest Conquests and Biggest Upsets in Military History coming soon.........

[Street_Disciple]

Biggest Upsets..........

1.Isandlwana
-over 1200 British troops and their allies slaughtered by 30,000 Zulu - this hadn't happened as yet, to the British and it shocked the nation. They had a hard time pondering that a British column had been taken down by a horde of 'savages with spears'.

2.The Somme 1916
-On 1st July 1916 after what was then the largest bombardment in history the British Army went over the top in the Big Push to end the war. They suffered 60,000 casualties on the first day alone including 21,000 fatalities - two men lost for every yard of front - and achieved practically no gains.

3.Thermopylae
-I believe the biggest upset in western or any other military history is the Battle of Thermopylae i mean a army at its peeks the greeks numbering around 4200 held a army of around a million strong and the greeks didn't even falter when leonides and his spartans were down to 300 men until just one spy Ephialtes showed xerxes a secret mountain path not even xerxes bodyguards the immortals could touch the greeks.


4.Spartacus
-Spartacus's wins over the Romans should qualify as one of the greatest upsets in history. Rome was the most powerful nation that the world had ever known. Then a gladiator/slave was able to gather a few other slaves and start a rebellion.
The Romans had dealt with this many times, and sent a few soldiers to crush it. When they were defeated, the Romans gathered an army, which was also beaten. It was only after Crassus was given power that Spartacus was finally defeated.


5.Bull Run
- The first time that the Union and Confederate infantry clashed. The D.C. politicians and spectators rode out thirty miles to see the splendid victory of the Union against the rabble of the South. When it was over General T.J. Jackson became Stonewall. There was a trail of lunch baskets and bonnets all the way to Washington. At least one Congressman was captured hiding behind a tree.


6.Midway!
- The Japanese had every thing going their way until this point! Yet the USN demonstrated superior military thinking and leadership. At all levels, there was noteworthy determination. The US pilots demonstrated remarkable bravery, and turned the tide of the war

7.Little Bighorn
- I know the Indians outnumbered the 7th Cavalry but they were underestimated as a fighting force. Custer thought them unworthy of a big battle, he thought they would scatter and flee

8. Haslach
Dupont, commanding a division of Ney's corps of some 5,000 men, defeats nearly 25,000 Austrians under Mack. Dupont's division wound up killing, wounding or capturing over 5,500 men--more men than he himself had.

9.Somalia
.- After winning an incredible urban battle going against thousands of gang and militia members American troops were pulled out. This was such a big upset because American troops pulling out gave the impression that killing a couple of soldiers could scare the United States into leaving you alone.

10. The Battle of Adowa
-Between the Kingdom of Ethiopia and Italy in which Italy lost decisively. This is definitely one of the biggest upsets in military history looked over by many historians. Ethiopia was one of only 2 nations (other including liberia) never colonized by Europeans

11. The battle of New Orleans
-The British (with Napoleon having been defeated by then) were probably the most dominant power of the time, and they got whupped good by the then fledgling Americans.

12. San Jacinto
-Texans killed several hundred Mexicans and captured Santa Anna with only a few of their number being killed.

13. Adrianople
-The Roman Emperor was killed - the first time a Roman Emperor was killed in battle (by barbarians, even!) - and two-thirds of the Roman army perished

14. Ain Jalut
-simply because the Mongols had been on such a roll until that point, where they were first defeated in Battle.

15. Battle of Salamis
- An Athenian fleet of 300 ships. The Persians are probably nearly double in numbers: 500-600 - although again Herodotus gives us the figure of 1,200.' Nevertheless a great upset for the Persians.

[Midgard]

Originally Posted by BOTP

Biggest Upsets..........
13. Adrianople
-The Roman Emperor was killed - the first time a Roman Emperor was killed in battle (by barbarians, even!) - and two-thirds of the Roman army perished
[/B]

Actually the first Roman Emperor killed in battle by barbarians was Decius in 251 AD, defeated by the Goths of Cniva at Abrittus. However, the significance of that battle was rather minor in the long run, unlike that of Adrianople. Even then, Adrianople might be somewhat of an overrated battle, as the Roman army defeated by the Goths was that of the Eastern Emperor Valens - the Western Empire's troops were not involved in the battle at all.

I recall some historians arguing that at the time of Theodosius' division of the empire in 395 AD both East and West had fairly good chances of survival, however, incompetent rulers of the West and Stilicho's inability to take more direct control (i.e. become Emperor himself - which, being that he was an Arian - heretic Christian, was considered out of question at the time) did the Empire more harm than defeat of Adrianople (the direct results of which were, ironically, the enrollment of Goths into the Roman army - at the time, apparently the Goths still were considering to advance within the Roman structure instead of instituting their own, as witnessed by Alarich's demands to be Magister Militum of the West rather than to take over nominally as the King/Emperor).