Great Military Battles (& Campaigns) in History

[aad0906]

Raid on the Medway

[jusplay4fun]

Raid on the Medway

Nothing really changed over the long sweep of History by this battle.

The Raid on the Medway, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in June 1667, was a successful attack conducted by the Dutch navy on English warships laid up in the fleet anchorages off Chatham Dockyard and Gillingham in the county of Kent. At the time, the fortress of Upnor Castle and a barrier chain called the "Gillingham Line" were supposed to protect the English ships.

For a few years the English fleet was handicapped by its losses during the raid, but by around 1670 a new building programme had restored the English Navy to its former strength.

[jusplay4fun]

For me the Battle of Saratoga is one of the key turning points (or inflection points) in the American Revolution against Great Britain.

The Battle of Saratoga occurred in September and October, 1777, during the second year of the American Revolution. It included two crucial battles, fought eighteen days apart, and was a decisive victory for the Continental Army and a crucial turning point in the Revolutionary War.

Significance of the Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the American Revolution. It gave the Patriots a major morale boost and persuaded the French, Spanish and Dutch to join their cause against a mutual rival.

France’s naval support eventually helped the Continental Army win the final Battle of Yorktown, leading to the end of the American Revolution.

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battle-of-saratoga

[ConfederateSS]

------------The Great Siege at Malta 1565 A.D...
-------------Years before in 1522 A.D. French Christian Knight Jean Partisan De Vallete and his Knights of St.John the Baptist (or Hospitallor)...Were driven from the Isle of Rhodes...The Spanish King Charles let them settle on Malta,for the price of one Gold ,jeweled Falcon to be given to Spain/Him each year...Thus ,the Maltese Falcon was born...,but that is a story for another day...
-----------Now it is May 18th ,1565 A.D....The Ottomans are unstoppable... running over all they attack...Now they are led By The Sultan Sulymani The Magnificent ...He has sent 40,000 Turkish Muslim Soldiers to crush Malta...700 Knights of St.John the Baptist led By De Vallete Vs 40,000 Turks.....Now for those that do not believe in GOD....Hold your horses....Every other Last Stand in History,not GOD soldiers...Have had what outcome....The 300 vs 500,000 Persians...Custer 235 U.S.Calvary vs 10,000 Indians...Again...Not GOD soldiers......They were wipedout.....Here you have GOD soldiers... Christians vs Muslims...East vs West...as control of Europe hangs in the balance...
----------There are 3 forts in The Grand Harbor...St.Elmo ,St.Micheal and St.Angelo....The Turks attack....On May 18th...They land troops....Cannons from the 3 forts and the Turkish ships blast away at each other...For weeks...Even cannons the Turks brought on land as the attack the forts from all sides..The Knights at St.Elmo Fort ask De Vallete can they leave...He orders them to stay....St.Elmo falls 1st...It is on one side of the Harbor...The other 2 forts on the other side....The Turkish Commander after all the Knights are killed at St.Elmo ,has their bodies but on wood crosses and float them towards the other Forts Across the Harbor,as a message to the Knights still fighting...De Vallete orders captured Turks to be beheaded ,and shoots their heads across the Harbor ,by cannon ,at Fort Elmo and the Turkish Commander..
-----------Now ,maybe by a Higher Power...The Knights hold out ,Attack ,after attack, month after month..
-----------In August ,watching those brave Knights fight overwhelming odds....The people of Malta...8,000 or so...begin to help the Knights defend their Island....Attacking the Turks on the land,and getting supplies to the Forts of The Knights...
-------------Now ,it is getting late in the Year...The Mediterranean will be hard to sail in...So,the Turkish Commander comes up with a plan...He needs a fast win,or He and his forces will be stuck on Malta for the Winter....He takes apart some of his ships and builds a siege Tower....Mean while...De Vallete come up with a plan of his own...Right where the Turks are building their Tower...at that point in the Fort's wall....De Vallete orders the inside of the wall chipped away....The Turks finish their Tower....move it next to the wall...As they climb on the Tower begin to attack....De Vallete unleashes his surprise,he had placed cannons on his chipped away side....Fired his cannons at the weakened wall... Smashing, destroying The Turks siege Tower...They hold off the Turks that pour through the hole in the wall....The Knights form 2 lines of Pikeman...Behind them...2 lines of rifle men... The Pikeman keep the Turks at bay...As the rifleman reload...
-----------The Turkish Commander doesn't want to get stuck on Malta....He orders his men back to the ships...They sail home.....On September 11th, 1565 A.D...Yes,9--11....The 4 month battle is over...The Ottomans are stopped,when it seems they never will be...Europe is saved...The Catholic Church ,Rome,Italy is safe....Did Grandknight De Vallete get help in defeating the 40,000 Turks with only 700(yes later a few 1,000 joined,but still)...from a Higher source...When so many times in History,when those odds come up in a Last Stand...they are wipedout....But the Last Stand of The Knights of St.John the Baptist....WIN!!!...Makes one think doesn't it....... ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)...

[jusplay4fun]

Thanks, ConfSS. Yes, a key battle and similar to the dice giving you a 2 vs. 500 troop win. What were the odds at Malta?

That does make one wonder.

[jusplay4fun]

Spartacus

The Third Servile War, also called by Plutarch the Gladiator War and the War of Spartacus, was the last in a series of slave rebellions against the Roman Republic, known as the Servile Wars. The Third was the only one directly to threaten the Roman heartland of Italy. It was particularly alarming to Rome because its military seemed powerless to suppress it.

The revolt began in 73 BC, with the escape of around 70 slave-gladiators from a gladiator school in Capua; they easily defeated the small Roman force sent to recapture them. Within two years, they had been joined by some 120,000 men, women and children; the able-bodied adults of this band were a surprisingly effective armed force that repeatedly showed they could withstand or defeat the Roman military, from the local Campanian patrols, to the Roman militia and even to trained Roman legions under consular command. The slaves roamed across Italia, raiding estates and towns with relative impunity, sometimes dividing into separate but connected bands with several leaders, including the famous gladiator-general Spartacus.

The Roman Senate grew increasingly alarmed at the slave-army's depredations and continued military successes. Eventually Rome fielded an army of eight legions under the harsh but effective leadership of Marcus Licinius Crassus. The war ended in 71 BC when, after a long and bitter fighting retreat before the legions of Crassus and the realization that the legions of Pompey and Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus were moving in to entrap them, the armies of Spartacus launched their full strength against Crassus' legions and were utterly defeated. Of the survivors, some 6,000 were crucified along the Appian Way.

Plutarch's account of the revolt suggests that the slaves simply wished to escape to freedom and leave Roman territory by way of Cisalpine Gaul. Appian and Florus describe the revolt as a civil war, in which the slaves intended to capture the city of Rome. The Third Servile War had significant and far-reaching effects on Rome's broader history. Pompey and Crassus exploited their successes to further their political careers, using their public acclaim and the implied threat of their legions to sway the consular elections of 70 BC in their favor. Their actions as Consuls greatly furthered the subversion of Roman political institutions and contributed to the development of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Servile_War

[jusplay4fun]

[bigtoughralf]

The Taiping's failed attempt to capture Shanghai in 1860 was monumental. It turned the tide of the war in favour of the Qing and ultimately led to the demise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Had that battle played out differently, China would very possibly have become a Christian theocracy, and shorn of Western colonial influence far earlier than when Mao defeated the Nationalists in 1949. Instead the Christians were defeated and the Europeans got rich off extorting the Qing until well into the 20th century.

[jusplay4fun]

SmallSoftRalph again brings up his failed arguments that were already discredited.

Bring up something NEW, ralf. Stop listening to saxi.

https://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=236843&p=5235542&hilit=Taiping#p5235542

[jusplay4fun]

Battle of Hastings, 1066 A.D. William the Bastard becomes William the Conqueror and defeats the Anglo Saxon king after he battled and defeated the Vikings. The A-S King (Harold?) then heads south to fight his second big battle in a matter of weeks and this time is defeated and killed. And the British Isles has not been successfully conquered by an outside MILITARY power since.

I have read (a long while back) that the invaders from Normandy likely included troops that were descendants of those that fled Britain because of the Anglo-Saxon Invasion of the British Isles. Among the invaders there were also descendants of Viking warriors who settled in Normandy plus "more native" French or Gauls or descendants of Goths that settled in France before and after the Fall of the Roman Empire.

[bigtoughralf]

Battle of Hastings, 1066 A.D. William the Bastard becomes William the Conqueror and defeats the Anglo Saxon king after he battled and defeated the Vikings. The A-S King (Harold?) then heads south to fight his second big battle in a matter of weeks and this time is defeated and killed. And the British Isles has not been successfully conquered by an outside MILITARY power since.

The Normans only conquered England and Wales when they invaded.

Question time: what do you mean by 'British Isles'?

[jimboston]

What an interesting thread.



People trolling JP4 and him not even realizing it… dude ignore their trolls when you make simple verbiage errors!

JP4 making obvious and un enlightened points.

This idea for a thread has potential but not gonna happen with JP4 leading the charge. Sorry!

[jusplay4fun]

This week in history: The Fall of Constantinople had profound consequences
By Deseret News May 29, 2013, 8:45pm EDT
Cody Carlson, For the Deseret News

On May 29, 1453 — 560 years ago this week — Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. The fall of this great city signaled the end of the Byzantine Empire, the medieval incarnation of the Roman Empire, and saw the armies of Islam spread into Europe from Asia for the first time.

(...)

For centuries, the city stood as the center of imperial power, even after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in A.D. 476. Historians refer to this medieval incarnation of the empire as Byzantine. The Franks and the Italians of the time referred to its inhabitants simply as “the Greeks.” The inhabitants themselves, however, continued to refer to themselves as Romans, and saw their emperors as the literal successors to Augustus, Marcus Aurelius and Constantine.

Toward the end of the Middle Ages, however, Byzantine power was waning considerably. Practicing Orthodox Christianity, Constantinople had fallen to Catholic knights during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, ushering in nearly 60 years of Catholic rule before an Orthodox emperor was able to retake the throne. The mid-14th century saw the Black Death claim the lives of perhaps half the city's population. By the early 15th century, the Islamic Ottoman Turks had conquered virtually all of present day Turkey, and the Byzantine empire was a shadow of its former self, consisting of a few scattered territories and islands outside of Constantinople itself.

In 1451, Mehmed II succeeded his father to become the Ottoman sultan. In his book “1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West,” historian Roger Crowley described the 19-year-old ruler: “The man whom the Renaissance later presented as a monster of cruelty and perversion was a mass of contradictions. He was astute, brave and highly impulsive — capable of deep deception, tyrannical cruelty and acts of sudden kindness. He was moody and unpredictable, a bisexual who shunned close relationships, never forgave an insult, but who came to be loved for his pious foundations.”

Toward the end of the Middle Ages, however, Byzantine power was waning considerably. Practicing Orthodox Christianity, Constantinople had fallen to Catholic knights during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, ushering in nearly 60 years of Catholic rule before an Orthodox emperor was able to retake the throne. The mid-14th century saw the Black Death claim the lives of perhaps half the city's population. By the early 15th century, the Islamic Ottoman Turks had conquered virtually all of present day Turkey, and the Byzantine empire was a shadow of its former self, consisting of a few scattered territories and islands outside of Constantinople itself.

In 1451, Mehmed II succeeded his father to become the Ottoman sultan. In his book “1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West,” historian Roger Crowley described the 19-year-old ruler: “The man whom the Renaissance later presented as a monster of cruelty and perversion was a mass of contradictions. He was astute, brave and highly impulsive — capable of deep deception, tyrannical cruelty and acts of sudden kindness. He was moody and unpredictable, a bisexual who shunned close relationships, never forgave an insult, but who came to be loved for his pious foundations.”

(...)

The fall of Constantinople also had profound consequences for Europe. Many Greeks and other Balkan peoples, fearing death or forced conversion to Islam, fled westward across the Adriatic Sea to Italy. Many of these refugees took with them vast riches of ancient art and knowledge, helping to ignite the Renaissance.

[bigtoughralf]

The Tet Offensive marked a turning point in the US invasion of Vietnam. It broke US illusions that Vietnam would be a pushover, thereby damaging US morale and ultimately leading to the US being prepared to accept a surrender and withdrawal from the nation. The Vietnamese Communist Party were subsequently able to reassert power over the entire country, which they continue to hold to this day.

[jusplay4fun]

The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt.

In August 1942, General Claude Auchinleck had been relieved as Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command and his successor, Lieutenant-General William Gott was killed on his way to replace him as commander of the Eighth Army. Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery was appointed and led the Eighth Army offensive.

The British victory was the beginning of the end of the Western Desert Campaign, eliminating the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields. The battle revived the morale of the Allies, being the first big success against the Axis since Operation Crusader in late 1941. The end of the battle coincided with the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch on 8 November, which opened a second front in North Africa.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_El_Alamein

Second Battle of El Alamein
Theatre: North Africa
Dates: 23 October to 4 November 1942
Location: Around the Egyptian town of El Alamein, 100km (60 miles) west of Alexandria
Outcome: Allied victory, forcing Rommel to retreat into Tunisia.
Note: Three hundred Sherman tanks that were hastily shipped to Egypt from the USA were a crucial influence on the outcome of this battle. The tanks gave Montgomery a significant advantage in firepower

Players:
Allies: General Bernard Montgomery's 8th Army, consisting of 30th Corps, 13th Corps and 10th Corps (British, Australian, South African, Indian and French troops)

Axis: Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika (German and Italian troops)
Although General Claude Auchinleck had stopped Rommel in his tracks during the First Battle of El Alamein in early July 1942, Churchill was becoming increasingly impatient with progress in the Western Desert. In early August that year, he arrived in Cairo and handed over command to General Bernard Montgomery. Auchinleck left for India.

Montgomery restructured the 8th Army, bringing in new divisions and generals and lifting the army's morale with his bold fighting talk - declaring among other things that he would 'hit Rommel for six out of Africa'. He also improved relations between the army and the Desert Air Force, ensuring a more unified attack plan.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff5_second_alamein.shtml

[artillery77]

Let me add one that may be less well known. For those that care, it would be a campaign...or a rebellion.
https://www.history.com/news/trung-sist ... an-dynasty

Here's some context in a map
https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/commen ... ca_100_bc/

At 100 BCE, Vietnam swell far to the north of where it lies today. Hong Kong...Southern Fujian. However, they were city states. The oldest being Hanoi, where civilization has stood for 8000 years.

Here's where I'm sure to upset someone. The first "Chinese writing items (16-60 characters) were from the Shang Dynasty...supposedly a gift from the legendary dragons. However, writing really took off and became much more developed...extremely quickly, in the 2nd century BCE. The first Qin Emporer is known for reducing Chinese writing ambiguity at that time into very short phonetic sound characters. The graphs also changed.

Yet, at that point one cannot read Chinese like one could Latin. Speaking it doesn't necessary translate verbally at that point. The message must be WRITTEN to make any sense. Many people as they read this, will read at the speed of an internal voice speaking. You can't do that with Chinese. Written Chinese is not a symbol of the spoken word. It is an entirely unique and separate communication. I would be like trying to read aloud emojis....but between 200-0BCE....those emojis got a lot more and a lot better.

Now realize the Vietnamese city States...which apparently also came from dragons..lol...had firm agricultural canals and settlement stemming before the first city state in 2879 BCE. They were part of the Maritime Jade Road for international trade throughout Pacifica to Taiwan and the Philippines and Indonesia. They were early to the Bronze Age and known for making elaborate drums with engravings from a "lost" form. The history talks of Iron age as well and using it to defeat barbarians from the North.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vietnam

Ok, let me tie it together. In 207 BC former Qin (the short lived unification of Northern China group supplanted by the Han) general takes over one of the newer city states and declares himself Emperor of Nanyue....of the Chinese southern equivalent. Independent of the Han, but basically using centralization where free cities had been before, it becomes a topic of debate as to whether the Nanyue region (Hong Kong/Fujian) was Chinese or Vietnamese at that time. The point is, a warlord was taking over.

Around that time though, China, up until then a relatively backward backwater....suddenly "invents" all kinds of things. Their scholars find their ancient roots from dragons. They suddenly have this funny language that is extremely advanced with small sounds that don't make their own language. (Side note, the longest word in Vietnamese is 7 letters long. Almost all the words are phonetic pieces put together. (Sai Gon). The Hans invade the short lived Qi and conquer not just the modern China region but Vietnam as well....for 1,000 years. Despite several attempts to convert the culture, it never took. Despite destroying everything that could be destroyed about the old peoples. Some of whom died out completely.

Yet it was known there were achievements. The Mongol conquerers were specifically interested in the region's famed white pottery....5000 years old even then. A few surviving drums have been unearthed (why buried) and bear markings on the sides.

If you look at the history books today, you see something that begs to be answered. According to almost all texts, written Chinese was really the first time there was written language brought to Vietnam. Think about that for a moment. They had all the tools. Textiles. Art. Ink. They had the need. Defined city state ownerships. International trade. Yet somehow they didn't have a written language. No instead a new one was invented by the Qin right at the same time as sacking the south...given to the Shang by dragons. Suddenly things were all "invented" in China.

Had the sisters been able to hold off their barbarians to the North, perhaps we'd all know a different history nowadays as to where the cradle of civilization was.

[jonesthecurl]

The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt.

In August 1942, General Claude Auchinleck had been relieved as Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command and his successor, Lieutenant-General William Gott was killed on his way to replace him as commander of the Eighth Army. Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery was appointed and led the Eighth Army offensive.

The British victory was the beginning of the end of the Western Desert Campaign, eliminating the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields. The battle revived the morale of the Allies, being the first big success against the Axis since Operation Crusader in late 1941. The end of the battle coincided with the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch on 8 November, which opened a second front in North Africa.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_El_Alamein

Second Battle of El Alamein
Theatre: North Africa
Dates: 23 October to 4 November 1942
Location: Around the Egyptian town of El Alamein, 100km (60 miles) west of Alexandria
Outcome: Allied victory, forcing Rommel to retreat into Tunisia.
Note: Three hundred Sherman tanks that were hastily shipped to Egypt from the USA were a crucial influence on the outcome of this battle. The tanks gave Montgomery a significant advantage in firepower

Players:
Allies: General Bernard Montgomery's 8th Army, consisting of 30th Corps, 13th Corps and 10th Corps (British, Australian, South African, Indian and French troops)

Axis: Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika (German and Italian troops)
Although General Claude Auchinleck had stopped Rommel in his tracks during the First Battle of El Alamein in early July 1942, Churchill was becoming increasingly impatient with progress in the Western Desert. In early August that year, he arrived in Cairo and handed over command to General Bernard Montgomery. Auchinleck left for India.

Montgomery restructured the 8th Army, bringing in new divisions and generals and lifting the army's morale with his bold fighting talk - declaring among other things that he would 'hit Rommel for six out of Africa'. He also improved relations between the army and the Desert Air Force, ensuring a more unified attack plan.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff5_second_alamein.shtml

My Dad was there.

[bigtoughralf]

Did he settle in the UK after being captured?

Many people as they read this, will read at the speed of an internal voice speaking. You can't do that with Chinese.

Maybe you can't, but people who speak Chinese can.

[jusplay4fun]

The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt.

In August 1942, General Claude Auchinleck had been relieved as Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command and his successor, Lieutenant-General William Gott was killed on his way to replace him as commander of the Eighth Army. Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery was appointed and led the Eighth Army offensive.

The British victory was the beginning of the end of the Western Desert Campaign, eliminating the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields. The battle revived the morale of the Allies, being the first big success against the Axis since Operation Crusader in late 1941. The end of the battle coincided with the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch on 8 November, which opened a second front in North Africa.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_El_Alamein

Second Battle of El Alamein
Theatre: North Africa
Dates: 23 October to 4 November 1942
Location: Around the Egyptian town of El Alamein, 100km (60 miles) west of Alexandria
Outcome: Allied victory, forcing Rommel to retreat into Tunisia.
Note: Three hundred Sherman tanks that were hastily shipped to Egypt from the USA were a crucial influence on the outcome of this battle. The tanks gave Montgomery a significant advantage in firepower

Players:
Allies: General Bernard Montgomery's 8th Army, consisting of 30th Corps, 13th Corps and 10th Corps (British, Australian, South African, Indian and French troops)

Axis: Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika (German and Italian troops)
Although General Claude Auchinleck had stopped Rommel in his tracks during the First Battle of El Alamein in early July 1942, Churchill was becoming increasingly impatient with progress in the Western Desert. In early August that year, he arrived in Cairo and handed over command to General Bernard Montgomery. Auchinleck left for India.

Montgomery restructured the 8th Army, bringing in new divisions and generals and lifting the army's morale with his bold fighting talk - declaring among other things that he would 'hit Rommel for six out of Africa'. He also improved relations between the army and the Desert Air Force, ensuring a more unified attack plan.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff5_second_alamein.shtml

My Dad was there.

Jonesy,

Did you Dad talk about that battle with you? Any details to ADD?

[jusplay4fun]

Battle of Thermopylae and Battle of Plataea

Thermopylae is a mountain pass near the sea in northern Greece which was the site of several battles in antiquity, the most famous being that between Persians and Greeks in August 480 BCE. Despite being greatly inferior in numbers, the Greeks held the narrow pass for three days with Spartan king Leonidas fighting a last-ditch defence with a small force of Spartans and other Greek hoplites. Ultimately the Persians took control of the pass, but the heroic defeat of Leonidas would assume legendary proportions for later generations of Greeks, and within a year the Persian invasion would be repulsed at the battles of Salamis and Plataea.

(....)

The battle of Thermopylae, and particularly the Spartans' role in it, soon acquired mythical status amongst the Greeks. Free men, in respect of their own laws, had sacrificed themselves in order to defend their way of life against foreign aggression. As Simonedes' epitaph at the site of the fallen stated: 'Go tell the Spartans, you who read: We took their orders and here lie dead'.

A glorious defeat maybe, but the fact remained that the way was now clear for Xerxes to push on into mainland Greece. The Greeks, though, were far from finished, and despite many states now turning over to the Persians and Athens itself being sacked, a Greek army led by Leonidas' brother Kleombrotos began to build a defensive wall near Corinth. Winter halted the land campaign, though, and at Salamis the Greek fleet manoeuvred the Persians into shallow waters and won a resounding victory. Xerxes returned home to his palace at Sousa and left the gifted general Mardonius in charge of the invasion. After a series of political negotiations it became clear that the Persians would not gain victory through diplomacy and the two armies met at Plataea in August 479 BCE. The Greeks, fielding the largest hoplite army ever seen, won the battle and finally ended Xerxes' ambitions in Greece.

https://www.worldhistory.org/thermopylae/

Battle of Plataea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plataea and Mycale have great significance in ancient history as the battles that decisively ended the second Persian invasion of Greece, thereby swinging the balance of the Greco-Persian Wars in favour of the Greeks. They kept Persia from conquering all of Greece, although they paid a high price by losing many of their men.[108] The Battle of Marathon showed that the Persians could be defeated, and the Battle of Salamis saved Greece from immediate conquest, but it was Plataea and Mycale that effectively ended that threat.[108] However, neither of these battles is nearly as well known as Thermopylae, Salamis or Marathon.[109] The reason for this discrepancy is not entirely clear; it might, however, be a result of the circumstances in which the battle was fought. The fame of Thermopylae certainly lies in the doomed heroism of the Greeks in the face of overwhelming numbers;[110] and Marathon and Salamis perhaps because they were both fought against the odds, and in dire strategic situations.[23] Conversely, the Battles of Plataea and Mycale were both fought from a relative position of Greek strength, and against lesser odds; the Greeks, in fact, sought out battle on both occasions.[27][108]

Militarily, the major lesson of both Plataea and Mycale (since both were fought on land) was to re-emphasise the superiority of the hoplite over the more lightly armed Persian infantry, as had first been demonstrated at Marathon.[105] Taking on this lesson, after the Greco-Persian Wars the Persian empire started recruiting and relying on Greek mercenaries.[111] One such mercenary expedition, the "Anabasis of the 10,000" as narrated by Xenophon, further proved to the Greeks that the Persians were militarily vulnerable even well within their own territory, and paved the way for the destruction of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great some decades later.

[jonesthecurl]

My Dad was there.

Jonesy,

Did your Dad talk about that battle with you? Any details to ADD?

He had various tales of his time in the army, but seldom told about the actual fighting. I do have a copy of a forces magazine given to the desert troops somewhere. Next time I come across it, I'll scan some of it and post it.

[jusplay4fun]

fail4fun, you fit your our posts perfectly. You have become what you claim to hate.

what does this even mean?

0-7; HitRed loses again.

[ConfederateSS]

Battle of Thermopylae and Battle of Plataea

.[/size]

https://www.worldhistory.org/thermopylae/

Battle of Plataea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plataea and Mycale have great significance in ancient history as the battles that decisively ended the second Persian invasion of Greece, thereby swinging the balance of the Greco-Persian Wars in favour of the Greeks. They kept Persia from conquering all of Greece, although they paid a high price by losing many of their men.[108] The Battle of Marathon showed that the Persians could be defeated, and the Battle of Salamis saved Greece from immediate conquest, but it was Plataea and Mycale that effectively ended that threat.[108] However, neither of these battles is nearly as well known as Thermopylae, Salamis or Marathon.[109] The reason for this discrepancy is not entirely clear; it might, however, be a result of the circumstances in which the battle was fought. The fame of Thermopylae certainly lies in the doomed heroism of the Greeks in the face of overwhelming numbers;[110] and Marathon and Salamis perhaps because they were both fought against the odds, and in dire strategic situations.[23] Conversely, the Battles of Plataea and Mycale were both fought from a relative position of Greek strength, and against lesser odds; the Greeks, in fact, sought out battle on both occasions.[27][108]

Militarily, the major lesson of both Plataea and Mycale (since both were fought on land) was to re-emphasise the superiority of the hoplite over the more lightly armed Persian infantry, as had first been demonstrated at Marathon.[105] Taking on this lesson, after the Greco-Persian Wars the Persian empire started recruiting and relying on Greek mercenaries.[111] One such mercenary expedition, the "Anabasis of the 10,000" as narrated by Xenophon, further proved to the Greeks that the Persians were militarily vulnerable even well within their own territory, and paved the way for the destruction of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great some decades later.

-----------PLATAEA Is one of my favorite battles of The Ancient World...But it couldn't of been fought in August... August and July were added after Julius Caesar, Caesar Augustus...But 479 B.C...Is O.K...But The Persians outnumbered the Greeks 300,000 to 100,000... The Persians had Calvary...This is more of a turning point...This is were the Greeks scored their 1st Victory...against the East, would not stop until Alexander the Great Conquered Persia...
---------------The Battle.
---------------The Greeks were up on a hill..Asopus Ridge...The Persians were down just outside the valley across the Asopus River...
-----------In the valley were 2 springs ,water supply...the Apotripi and Garaphia springs...For over a month the 2 armies faced off...The Greeks were running out of water...So the Persian General Mardonius sent his cavalry commander Masistus to attack the 2 springs in the valley...To draw the Greeks ,led by Pausanias, The famed Leonides"300"'s nephew...off of the Asopus Ridge... Masistus is killed cutting off the Greek's water supply.
---------------The Spartan led Greeks come off the Ridge...Then look to retreat back up the ridge...The Persians chase the Greeks up the Ridge...Just what the Greeks want...The Persian cavalry can't follow...
---------------The Greeks led by King Pausanias of Sparta, turn around and crush the Persians...A Greek soldier, who used all his weapons,sword,spear,picks up a rock..Throws it at the Persian King Mardonius ... Killing the Persian General...Without their General/King...the Persians lose their will to fight...They are defeated...A GREEK VICTORY!!!...A year after The Last Stand of The 300...

----------Mardonius and the Persians
---300,000
---Persians
---Midians
---Persian Greeks
---Persian Cavalry

---------Greeks----Pausanias
----100,000
----Spartans
----Greek Allies
----Athenians

--------After the fight for the springs....The Greeks fell back up the Ridge in 3 ways...With no cavalry...The Persians chased in 3 ways...For the Final battle....To the Left were the Persian Greeks facing the Athenians...In the Center Were the Persian Midians facing the Greek Allies...The main battle,fight Between The Spartans and The Main Persians...Was to the right...The Spartans swung between two hills ,Eteonus Hill and Scolos Hill, Surprised Mardonius' forces on the other side of Scolos Hill, hit them on their exposed left flank...The rest is History......... ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)...

[jusplay4fun]

I will pick on one minor point by ConfedSS about the Battle of Plataea.

Yes, those months did not exist when the actual battle occurred. BUT neither did the calendar that gave it the year 479 B.C. (or B.C.E.).

The actual date is translated into our modern calendar, BOTH month and year. Who knew in that year that much later those who recorded history would re-set the calendar and that 479 years LATER another and more significant historical event would occur?

[bigtoughralf]

I will pick on one minor point by ConfedSS about the Battle of Plataea.

Yes, those months did not exist when the actual battle occurred. BUT neither did the calendar that gave it the year 479 B.C. (or B.C.E.).

The actual date is translated into our modern calendar, BOTH month and year. Who knew in that year that much later those who recorded history would re-set the calendar and that 479 years LATER another and more significant historical event would occur?