historical battles

Historical Battles

Historical Battles List – “War does not determine who is right – only who is left”

A pearl of wisdom from Bertrand Russell, but it doesn’t look like wars are going to disappear anytime soon. More the opposite sadly. This chronological list of historical battles covers just about all the major important military engagements in recorded history.

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Historical Battles Where When Attackers Outcome Defenders
Marathon Greece 490 BC Athenians and Plataeans Victory Persian invaders
Issus Turkey 333 BC Macedonians under Alexander the Great Victory Persian / minions under the command of Darius III.
Cannae Apulia 216 BC 40,000 Carthaginians (†8000) under Hannibal Victory 80,000 Romans († 70,000) under Lucius Paullus
Teutoburg Forest Germany 9 AD Germans under Arminius Victory 3 Roman legions under Varus (Varus Battle)
Lechfeld Germany 955 Hungarian troops under Bulcsú Defeat Saxony / Franconia / Bavaria under Otto I. / Red Konrad
Hastings England 1066 9000 Normans under Duke William II Victory 10,000 Anglo-Saxons under King Harold II
Field of Blackbirds Kosovo 1389 Ca. 20,000 Christian Serbs/Bosnians led by Prince Lazar and Vuk Brankovic Defeat 35,000 Turks (Ottoman Empire) under Sultan Murad I, Sultan Bayezid I and Yakub.
Tannenberg Poland 1410 27,000 German troops under Grand Master Jungingen Defeat 39,000 Poles / Lithuanians under Władysław II Jagiello.
Orléans France 1428/29 French under Joan of Arc Victory English / Burgundians under the Earl of Salisbury
Constantinople (Istanbul) Turkey 1453 Byzantines under Emperor Constantine XI Defeat 50,000 Turks under Sultan Mehmed II
Towton (War of the Roses) England 1461 40,000 House of York under Edward IV Victory 60,000 of the House of Lancaster under Henry Beaufort
Hohenlinden Germany 1800 100,000 French under Moreau and Ney Victory 120,000 Austrians under John of Austria
Austerlitz Czech Republic 1805 73,000 French (139 guns) under Emperor Napoleon I Bonaparte Victory 85,000 Russians and Austrians (278 guns) under Tsar Alexander I and Emperor Francis II
Trafalgar England 1805 27 British ships under Nelson Victory 33 Spanish and French ships under Villeneuve
Battle of Leipzig Germany 1813 210,000 Frenchmen and 700 guns under Emperor Napoleon I Bonaparte Defeat 310,000 Prussians, Austrians and Russians under Prince Schwarzenberg and Alexander I.
Hanau Germany 1813 60,000 French under Napoleon I. Victory 45,000 Bavarians / Austrians under Carl von Wrede
Waterloo Belgium 1815 72,000 Frenchmen with 246 guns under Emperor Napoleon I Bonaparte Defeat 68,000 English / Dutch (156 guns) and 31,000 Prussians under Wellington and Blücher.
Fredericksburg USA 1862 72,000 Confederates under General Lee Victory 100,000 Union army soldiers under General Burnside
Gettysburg USA 1863 75,000 Confederates under General Lee Defeat Union Army (88,000) under General Meade
The Battle of Königgrätz / Hradec Kralove Czech Republic 1866 278,000 Prussians under Chief of Staff Moltke Victory 271,000 Austrians under Benedek
Sedan France 1870 120,000 Frenchmen with 564 guns Defeat 200,000 Germans with 744 guns under Moltke
Little Big Horn River USA 1876 Cheyenne, Dakota, and Arapaho under the chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse Victory Cavalry Regiment under General Custer
Tannenberg Poland 1914 300,000 Germans under General Hindenburg Victory 2nd Russian Army (300,000) under Samsonov
Verdun France 1916 75 French divisions (†167,000) under Joffre, Pétain and Nivelle Draw 50 German divisions (†150,000) under Falkenhayn
Skagerrak (at sea) 1916 149 English ships under Jellicoe and Beatty Draw 99 German ships under Admiral Scheer and Hipper
Battle of Britain England 1940 2,300 aircraft of the German Luftwaffe Defeat 800 aircraft of the Royal Air Force
Pearl Harbor Hawaii 1941 4,000 American soldiers (on 10 ships and 261 aircraft) Died Surprise attack by 360 Japanese aircraft under Nagumo
Midway (at sea) 1942 3 US aircraft carriers / 50 ships Victory Four Japanese aircraft carriers and 150 ships
Stalingrad Russia 1942 850,000 German / Italian / Romanian soldiers under Paul and von Manstein Defeat 1,700,000 Soviet soldiers under Zhukov, Timoshenko and Vasilevsky
Ardennes Belgium 1944 250,000 German soldiers under Rundstedt Defeat 1st and 3rd US Army (400,000) under Eisenhower
Battle of Hue Vietnam 1968 10,000 US Americans / South Vietnamese Victory 10,000 North Vietnamese
Kuwait and Iraq 1991 490,000 UNO-soldiers under General Schwarzkopf Victory 550,000 Iraqi soldiers during the Gulf War
Around Baghdad Iraq 2003 45,000 Iraqis under Saddam Hussein Defeat 300,000 Americans under Commander Franks

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After That Marathon List of Historical Battles Try These History Related Lists

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