Top 10 battles that changed history – 10 Epic Battles that Changed History – 10 Battles That Changed The World – Top Ten Battles that Most Changed History
In many cases throughout history, battles have been decisive in victory for one side or the other. The world as we know it today would be very different if these battles had gone the other way. If they were won by the other side, the winners might have had completely different plans for how the world would be run and what cultures would be adopted. Here are 10 battles that changed history!
Battle of Marathon
First on the list of Top 10 battles that changed history is the battle of Marathon. In 500 BC, the Persian Empire was a powerful dynasty in Western Asia with boundless greed, the Persian emperor – Darius I proclaimed himself “king of kings” and launched invasions. , conquer, expand their territory. In turn, taking over India, Thracia (now Turkey), suppressing the revolt in Babylon… On the verge of victory, the powerful king decided to expand his empire through Greece.
Darius launched an expedition to Theraso of Greece, but under the unity of the people, the invasion quickly failed. The emperor did not give up his ambition, he concentrated on preparing his army and provisions for revenge. Exactly two years later, with more than 72,000 troops, the Persian Empire invaded Athens with only 600 warships and 100,000 troops under the command of General Datis.
Marathon Valley, 42km from Athens. The Greek army chose the terrain of Marathon because it has a wetland that minimizes the movement of the crowded Persian cavalry. The Greek army, though small, was arranged in a basic formation, when attacking when defending, all the warriors moved forward and back together in a reasonable way, unlike the large Persian army but Cowardly and undisciplined. Therefore, the Athenian army easily defeated the invaders, killing 6,400 Persian soldiers but only losing 200 Greek soldiers.
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After the Battle of Marathon, a mass uprising broke out of the colony against Persia everywhere. Many countries have regained their sovereignty and many peoples have escaped from slavery. The Persian Empire gradually weakened. The battle also gave rise to the fabricated story of Pheidippides, who is said to have run the first marathon from Marathon to Athens to announce Greece’s victory, only to die.
Battle of Cajamarca
The Battle of Cajamarca is one of the few battles that changed history. It is preferred by many contemporary scholars to call it the Cajamarca Massacre, the ambush and capture of the Inca ruler Atahualpa by a small force of Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro. On November 16, 1532, the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro ambushed the Inca ruler Atahualpa, in Cajamarca, in present-day Peru. The slaughter of thousands of unarmed Inca nobles caused a long struggle between the Spaniards and the Incas.
The confrontation at Cajamarca was the culmination of a months-long struggle involving espionage, fraud, and diplomacy between the Pizarros and the Incas through their respective emissaries. The Spaniards killed thousands of Atahualpa’s advisers, commanders, and unarmed servants in the great square of Cajamarca and forced his armed forces outside the town to flee. The capture of Atahualpa marked the beginning of the conquest of Peru’s pre-Columbian civilization.
After months of diplomacy and espionage, Pizarro invited the Inca ruler to the great square of Cajamarca. Atahualpa agreed and brought 80,000 men, with an unarmed inner entourage to show goodwill. Meanwhile, Pizarro’s men hide in the city. A monk from the Spanish side gave the leader a bible (which Atahualpa did not know how to open) and asked the king to accept Christianity. The king refused, the Spaniards attacked the unarmed army with guns, Atahualpa was captured and eventually executed.
Battle of Tours
The next name in the Top 10 battles that changed history is the Battle of Tours. In AD 732, an invading Muslim army, led by the Moorish General of Spain Abd-er Rahman, crossed the Western Pyrenees and reached Tours, France, with the hope of expanding into Europe. Europe. But Charles “The Hammer” Martel led a largely unarmed Frankish army that held its ground against the mounted and armored cavalry of the invaders. Eventually, French forces captured and killed the Moor leader, and forced the invading army to retreat.
Charles is the illegitimate son of Pepin, the powerful mayor of the palace and effective ruler of the Frankish kingdom. After Pepin’s death in 714, Charles defeated mayor Pepin’s three grandsons in a power struggle and became mayor of the Franks. He expanded the Frankish territory under his control, and in 732 he repelled a Muslim onslaught.
Victory at Tours secured the reign of the Martel family, the Carolingians. His son Pepin became the first Carolingian king of the Franks, and his grandson Charlemagne created a vast empire that stretched across Europe. Many scholars have argued that if Abd-er Rahman prevailed, Islam would become the dominant religion in Europe.
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo is certainly no stranger to us among the 10 battles that changed history. The Battle of Waterloo was fought on 18 June 1815 between Napoleon’s French Army and an alliance led by the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blücher. The decisive battle of its day, it ended a 23-year war, ended France’s attempt to dominate Europe, and permanently annihilated Napoleon’s imperial power.
In 1814, European countries were too afraid of Napoleon Bonaparte‘s ability to lead the army. So united to overthrow this king, he was exiled to a small island in the Mediterranean. Knowing that the French people still supported him, he made a secret plan to escape from the prison and return to the country. Receiving this important news, the king of France at that time sent troops to arrest him, but army after army was sent to arrest Napoleon, eventually returning under the command of the old emperor.
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Too afraid that Napoleon’s power would make the entire European nation lose its sovereignty, the coalition of England, Austria, Russia and Prussia was formed and decided to attack the French emperor at the village of Waterloo. Napoleon delayed the battle until noon on June 18 to wait until the ground became drier. The troops of the coalition led by Wellington withstood several onslaughts of French forces until evening. It was thought that the army led by Napoleon had broken through Wellington’s line, when suddenly the Prussians moved in, penetrating the right flank of Napoleon’s army.
Taking that opportunity, Wellington rallied his troops to counterattack and caused the French to retreat in confusion. The coalition forces continued to pursue after that, advancing into French territory and restoring the throne to King Louis XVIII. Napoleon was forced to abdicate and was exiled to the island of Saint Helena – where he died in 1821. This War of Waterloo brought Britain to the position of superpower at that time, and helped Europe get rid of the hegemony of the country. France, bringing peace, paved the way for the reunification of Germany later.
Battle of Stalingrad
The closest of 10 battles that changed history, the Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle on the Eastern Front during World War II, where Nazi Germany and its allies fought unsuccessfully against Soviet Union to gain control of the city of Stalingrad (later renamed Volgograd) in Southern Russia. The battle is marked by fierce melee and direct attacks on civilians in air raids, with the battle being the epitome of urban warfare. The Battle of Stalingrad was the bloodiest battle fought in World War II.
The nearly six-month siege of Stalingrad was one of the most important and dramatic events of World War II. In August 1942, Adolf Hitler bombarded the industrial city (now Volgograd) with air raids and then landed infantry in the attack. The cramped Russian army recruited volunteer citizens, some unarmed, to fight against the invaders. After about three months, the Germans reached the banks of the Volga, but the Russians staged a counterattack that trapped the Germans in the city.
Deadly and close-quarters skirmishes over tiny swaths of territory have raged for months, as starving civilians and soldiers struggle to survive Russia’s harsh winters. The Germans slowly withdrew and by February 1943, they ran out of food and ammunition and surrendered. Nearly 2 million people died in the siege. After Stalingrad, the Germans no longer advanced on the Eastern Front of the war.
Battle of Hastings
On October 14, 1066, the Norman invader William the Conqueror defeated and killed King Harold II on Senlac Hill near Hastings, England. William the Conqueror claimed that the former King, Edward the Confessor, had promised him the English throne in 1051. But on his deathbed, Edward changed his mind and chose the nobleman Harold Godwinson instead. William marshaled forces to dispute Harold’s claim, defeated the newly chosen king, and then continued on to London, which had surrendered to the Norman invaders. King William I ascended the throne on Christmas Day 1066. The Battle of Hastings marked the end of Anglo-Saxon rule over England.
The day-long Battle of Hastings ended with a decisive victory over Harold’s army. After his victory at the Battle of Hastings, William marched to London and received the city’s submission. On Christmas Day 1066, he was crowned the first Norman king of England at Westminster Abbey and the Anglo-Saxon period of English history came to an end. Thanks to the Norman invasion, French was used in English courts for centuries and completely transformed the English language, infusing it with new words and giving birth to modern English.
William I proved to be a powerful king of England, and the Domesday Book, a great census of the lands and people of England, is among his notable achievements. After the death of William I in 1087, his son, William Rufus, became William II, the second Norman king of England. The story of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest of England is told through the Bayeux Tapestry, a 230-foot masterpiece of medieval art.
Given the impact it has, Hastings deserves to be included in the 10 battles that changed history.
Siege of Orleans
An indispensable battle in the Top 10 battles that changed history was the war between the two great powers at that time Britain and France. The siege of Orleans was the beginning of the Hundred Years’ War between France and Great Britain. The siege took place at the height of British power in the later stages of the war. The city has strategic and symbolic significance for both sides of the conflict. The consensus among contemporaries was that the English regent, John of Lancaster, would succeed in realizing his brother Henry V’s dream of conquering all of France if Orléans fell. For half a year, the British and their French allies appeared to be winning, however the siege fell nine days after the army reached Joan of Arc.
The French won the siege of Orléans, France, in May 1429 thanks in large part to Joan of Arc, a teenage farmer whose visions of God led her to fight in the Hundred Years’ War. The British apparently won their nearly six-month siege of the city; but when Saint Joan appeared in the city, rallying the population, proposing tactical decisions, and engaging in battle, the French recaptured the banks of the Loire and defeated the invaders. The victory lifted the spirits of the depressed French, who had been badly defeated by Henry IV at Agincourt, France. Many say that the battle saved France from British rule for centuries.
After a decisive victory at Agincourt in 1415, the English gained the upper hand in the conflict, capturing much of northern France. Under the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, Henry V of England became regent of France. Under this treaty, Henry married Catherine, daughter of the current king of France, Charles VI, and would later succeed the French throne upon Charles’ death. Dauphin of France (title given to the obvious French heir), Charles, son of the king of France, was subsequently disenfranchised.
Battle of Yorktown
Battle of Yorktown – Top 10 battles that changed history, proven to be the decisive engagement of the American Revolution. Outnumbered and fighting overwhelmingly during a three-week siege that suffered heavy losses, the British army surrendered to the Continental Army and their French allies. This last major land battle of the American Revolution led to peace negotiations with the British and the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
The British surrender heralded the end of British rule in the colonies and the birth of a new nation, the United States of America. On October 19, 1781, British forces led by General Cornwallis were easily defeated at Yorktown. And after being escorted by the French naval fleet at sea and American forces on land. During the Revolutionary War, the cunning colonists became a fairly effective fighting machine under General George Washington. The rather boring war caused the British to surrender and withdraw from the American colonies, paving the way for the birth of the United States of America.
The Battle of Yorktown marked the downfall of the British war effort. Although it took the Americans two more years of skillful diplomacy to officially secure their independence through the Treaty of Paris, the war was won with British defeat at Yorktown.
Battle of Gettysburg
Another major battle in the Top 10 Battles that changed history involving the United States – the Battle of Gettysburg took place from July 1 to 3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania , by Confederate and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The battle had the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the turning point of the war. Confederate Major General George Meade’s Potomac troops defeated Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia attacks, ending Lee’s plot to invade the North.
The Union forces led by General George Meade defeated the insurgents led by Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, after three days of fighting. The Confederate forces who had just won at Chancellorsville were hoping to move further north when the two armies met. Although the Confederates were victorious on the first day of the battle, by the third day the rebels had retreated, with a total of nearly 100,000 dead. The battle dashed Confederate hopes of reaching Harrisburg or Philadelphia.
Historians later said the Battle of Gettysburg, along with the Confederate defeat at Vicksburg on July 4, were turning points in the Civil War in favor of the Union. Confederate casualties in the battle amounted to 23,000, while the Confederates lost about 28,000 – more than a third of Lee’s army. President Abraham Lincoln honored the dead of Gettysburg in a famous speech in which he defined the Civil War as, in essence, defending the founding proposition of the nation, that all men are born Are equal.
Invasion of Normandy
Last in the article Top 10 battles that changed history is the Invasion of Normandy. While Stalingrad could have been a decisive battle for the Eastern front, the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day in 1944 marked the beginning of Nazi decline on the western front. West. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By the end of August 1944, all of northern France was liberated, and by the following spring, the Allies had defeated the Germans.
Canadian, French, American, and British forces launched a water attack on 6 June 1944, using air and sea bombardment along with paratroopers. By July, more than a million men had landed on the French coast, eventually retaking much of France and forcing the Germans to reopen a settled front. By the end of August 1944, the Allies had reached the Seine, Paris was liberated, and the Germans were driven out of northwestern France, effectively ending the Battle of Normandy. The Allied forces then prepared to enter Germany, where they would meet Soviet troops advancing from the east.
The invasion of Normandy began to turn the tide against the Nazis. A significant psychological blow, it also prevented Hitler from sending troops from France to build his Eastern Front against the advancing Soviet Union. The following spring, on May 8, 1945, the Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. Hitler had committed suicide a week earlier, on April 30.
In conclusion, the battles mentioned in this article have had a profound impact on human history, shaping the course of civilization as we know it. From the ancient battles of Thermopylae and Marathon to the world wars of the 20th century, each of these battles played a critical role in shaping the political, social, and economic landscapes of their respective eras. The legacies of these battles are felt to this day, and it is crucial that we continue to study and understand their impact in order to learn from the past and build a better future. As we reflect on the lessons learned from these battles, we are reminded of the power of human determination, bravery, and sacrifice in the face of adversity, and the lasting impact that these qualities can have on the world.
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