Great Military Battles (& Campaigns) in History

[jusplay4fun]

The use of the word 'great" by me was in the context of significant, NOT that any war is "really good" (unless for defensive reasons).

[Apatheist]

The use of the word 'great" by me was in the context of significant, NOT that any war is "really good" (unless for defensive reasons).

I accept that.
In that case, I'd add Stalingrad.

[jusplay4fun]

The use of the word 'great" by me was in the context of significant, NOT that any war is "really good" (unless for defensive reasons).

I accept that.
In that case, I'd add Stalingrad.

Stalingrad was an AMAZING battle, and we have a map on CC that commemorates that great battle; it is fittingly complex.

To me, that was the turning point of the War on the German Eastern Front vs. the Soviets. There were a few key battles in WWII in 1943 that turned the tide in favor of the Allies. In the Pacific theater, the Battle of Midway and the Battle at Guadalcanal were key to turn the tide. I would put El Alamein in that category, too, in the Western theater of WW2/WWII.

as for the importance of the Second Battle of El Alamein for the British forces:

The British Eighth Army made a stand at the railway halt of El Alamein, the last defensible position before the Nile Delta and the Suez Canal. As Churchill famously declared: "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat."[^2]

https://www.historytools.org/stories/el ... e_vignette

[Apatheist]

The use of the word 'great" by me was in the context of significant, NOT that any war is "really good" (unless for defensive reasons).

I accept that.
In that case, I'd add Stalingrad.

Stalingrad was an AMAZING battle, and we have a map on CC that commemorates that great battle; it is fittingly complex.

To me, that was the turning point of the War on the German Eastern Front vs. the Soviets. There were a few key battles in WWII in 1943 that turned the tide in favor of the Allies. In the Pacific theater, the Battle of Midway and the Battle at Guadalcanal were key to turn the tide. I would put El Alamein in that category, too, in the Western theater of WW2/WWII.

as for the importance of the Second Battle of El Alamein for the British forces:

The British Eighth Army made a stand at the railway halt of El Alamein, the last defensible position before the Nile Delta and the Suez Canal. As Churchill famously declared: "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat."[^2]

ht[url]tps://www.historytools.org/stories/el-alamein-the-battlefield-that-changed-the-course-of-world-war-ii#google_vignette[/url]

I agree on the turning points.
What baffles me is why, having achieved all that they did, they made such a mess of assaults like Monte Cassino, mainly down to poor communication. By that stage they really should have got their collective act together.

[jonesthecurl]

My father was at Alamein, and later at Monte Cassino. among others.

[HitRed]

My grandmother was an air raid warden in the USA.

Uncle was a B-24 bombardier over Japan.

[Apatheist]

My grandmother was an air raid warden in the USA.

Uncle was a B-24 bombardier over Japan.

Unless they were in Hawaii, ARP was a pretty cushy job in the US, I'd have thought.

[Dukasaur]

My maternal grandfather and his brother both fought for the Sokol partisans. My grandfather was briefly interned at Sachsenhausen, but released without too much harm. His brother was captured and interned at Terezin (Theresienstadt) concentration camp and nearly starved to death. Weighed less than 45 kilos by the end of the war. He survived on some scraps smuggled in by the Communists. Partly as a result, he converted to Communism and stayed a loyal Party member his whole life. My grandfather remained a lifelong anti-Communist. He served on the Czech General Staff from 1945 to 1948 and edited the official history of WWII from the Czech point of view. It was not very complimentary toward Stalin, so when the Communists took over in '48 he was purged from the Army and narrowly avoided getting shot. He spent the rest of his life in minimum-wage tour guide jobs. Despite their extreme disagreements, he remained on reasonably civilized terms with his brother.

My paternal grandfather was completely apolitical and wanted nothing to do with either side. He was a doctor, however, and he did aid various partisans, not for political reasons but because being a doctor required it. He also delivered packages to P.O.W. camps as part of his service to the Red Cross.

[Apatheist]

Not all super-heroes wear capes.
I think one of my great-uncles was in mine clearing, until he cleared one the hard way.

[jusplay4fun]

These are Great Stories and posts shared about many brave relatives. Thanks for sharing, ALL. Any more?

[jusplay4fun]

Here is a battle of interest, to me:

The Battle of Cerami was fought in June 1063 and was one of the most significant battles in the Norman conquest of Sicily, 1060–1091. The battle was fought between a Norman expeditionary force and a Muslim alliance of Sicilian and Zirid troops. The battle was a resounding Norman victory that utterly routed the opposing force, causing divisions amongst the Muslim aristocracy which ultimately paved the way for the eventual capture of the Sicilian capital, Palermo, by the Normans and subsequently the rest of the island.

One of the interesting aspects of this battle is the huge number advantage by the Muslim alliance, but their defeat by a group of trained and discipline mounted knights:

136 mounted knights[a]
"only slightly more" infantry

vs.
3,000 horsemen[2]
50,000 infantry

Army composition
Normans
Roger's force consisted of 136 mounted Norman knights who were highly disciplined and well versed in the Frankish tactic of the heavy cavalry charge. The Norman force would also have contained an infantry element but, owing to Roger's chronic shortage of manpower, this almost certainly did not exceed approximately 150 troops and would have consisted of Norman as well as Calabrian Lombard sergeants and dismounted knights and squires.

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

and

The Battle of Cerami was an overwhelming victory for the Normans against a numerically superior foe. eleventh-century According to the 11th-century Benedictine monk and historian Goffredo Malaterra, the Normans killed around 15,000 Zirid and Sicilian soldiers in their victory.

https://scalar.usc.edu/works/multicultu ... -of-cerami