Military History
John Burgoyne
"Gentleman Johnny," as he was known due to his cultural tastes (Burgoyne was also a playwright), he began his Revolutionary War career under Gage, returning to England after ineffectiveness in 1774-1775. Sent to reinforce Canada, he formulated a plan to isolate New England with the help of Barry St. Leger and William Howe. The plan worked as far as capturing Fort Ticonderoga, but met resistance when he sent his Hessians to attack Bennington. Exhausted, his troops met trouble at Saratoga, being repulsed at Freedman's Farm, and being forced to surrender after Bemis Heights. Paroled on condition he returned to England, Burgoyne was later appointed commander-in-chief of Ireland.
Treaty of Tordesillas
(1494) ostensibly divided the New World (and, in later interpretations, the entire world) between Spain and Portugal. It resulted from a bull by (Spanish-born) Pope Alexander VI granting lands to Spain and established a line west of the Cape Verde islands between future Spanish possessions (west) and Portuguese possessions (east). The line passed through Brazil, allowing the Portuguese to establish a colony there, while Spain received the rest of the Americas. Endless wrangling and repeated revisions ensued.
Peace of Westphalia
(1648) the collective name for two treaties ending the Thirty Years' War that were signed by the Holy Roman Empire, minor German states, Spain, France, Sweden, and the Dutch Republic. It confirmed the principle of "cuius regio eius religio" (that a ruler's religion determined that of his country) introduced by the Peace of Augsburg, but mandated relative tolerance of other (Christian) faiths. It adjusted the borders of German states and strengthened their princes with respect to the Emperor, and transferred most of Lorraine and some of Alsace to France.
Treaty of Utrecht
(1713) was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of [blank] that (mostly) ended the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714). They were signed by France and Spain for one side and by Britain, Savoy, and the United Provinces (The Netherlands) for the other. The treaty confirmed a Bourbon prince (Philip, Duke of Anjou) on the Spanish throne, ending Habsburg control, but took steps to prevent the French and Spanish thrones from being merged. Some Spanish possessions — including Sicily, the Spanish Netherlands, Naples, and Gibraltar — were given to the victors.
Treaty of Ghent
(1814) ended the War of 1812 between the U.S. and Britain. It was signed in the Belgian city [blank] but, due to the distances involved, could not prevent the Battle of New Orleans two weeks later. The treaty made no boundary changes and had minimal effect; both sides were ready for peace and considered the war a futile and fruitless endeavor.
Adams-Onís Treaty
(1819) settled a boundary dispute between the U.S. and Spain that arose following the Louisiana Purchase. It was negotiated by then-Secretary of State John Quincy Adams and most notably sold Florida to the U.S. in exchange for the payment of its citizens' claims against Spain. It also delineated the U.S.-Spain border to the Pacific Ocean leading to its alternate name, the Transcontinental Treaty.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
(1848) ended the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and was signed in its namesake neighborhood of Mexico City. Its most significant result was the "Mexican Cession" transferring California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of four other states to the U.S. It also made the Rio Grande the boundary between Texas and Mexico.
Treaty of Portsmouth
(1905) ended the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). It was signed at the [blank] Naval Shipyard in Maine after negotiations brokered by Theodore Roosevelt (for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize). Japan had dominated the war and received an indemnity, the Liaodong Peninsula in Manchuria, and half of Sakhalin Island, but the treaty was widely condemned in Japan because the public had expected more.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
(1918) was a "separate peace" signed by the Bolshevik government of the new USSR and Germany. The USSR needed to make peace to focus on defeating the "Whites" (royalists) in the Russian Civil War, and it gave up Ukraine, Belarus, and the three Baltic countries after Germany invaded, an outcome worse than a German offer which chief Soviet negotiator Leon Trotsky had rejected. The treaty was negotiated in [blank] (in what is now Belarus) and was nullified by the subsequent Treaty of Versailles following Germany's defeat.
Treaty of Versailles
(1919) officially ended World War I between the Allies and Germany. It was signed at its namesake French palace after the Paris Peace Conference. It is noted for the "Big Four" (Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Vittorio Orlando) who headed the Allies' delegations, discussions of Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points (particularly the League of Nations), and its controversial disarmament, war guilt, and reparations clauses. The conference was also notable for up-and-coming world figures who attended (John Maynard Keynes, Ho Chi Minh, Jan Smuts, etc.).
Lateran Treaty
(1929) created the independent country of the Vatican City, made Catholicism the state religion of Italy (ended in 1984), and determined the proper remuneration for Church property taken by Italy. It was signed by Benito Mussolini and a representative of Pope Pius XI in the namesake papal residence, and ended the so-called "Roman Question" that arose out of the unification of Italy and the dissolution of the Papal States.
Camp David Accords
(1978) were negotiated at the presidential retreat [blank] by Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin; they were brokered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter. They led to a peace treaty the next year that returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, guaranteed Israeli access to the Red Sea and Suez Canal, and more-or-less normalized diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries. This isolated Egypt from the other Arab countries and led to Sadat's assassination in 1981.
Fort Sumter
(April 12, 1861). Built on an island in 1829, the fort was one of three that the United States maintained in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. In order to claim true independence from the Union, Jefferson Davis decided that the forts needed to be taken; a Confederate force under P. G. T. Beauregard ordered the small Union garrison, controlled by Major Robert Anderson, to surrender. Anderson refused, shots were fired, and the Union commander surrendered two days later, with only one soldier killed. The Union made two unsuccessful attempts to recapture the fort with ironclad ships in 1863, but Confederate forces finally abandoned [blank] when they left Charleston in February 1865.
Battle of Okinawa
(April 1945 - June 1945): The largest amphibious assault of the Pacific Theater, the [blank] featured massive casualties among both combatants and civilians. The Japanese launched over 1,500 kamikaze attacks against the U.S. fleet, and even sent the massive battleship Yamato on a suicide mission; it was sunk by aircraft before reaching [blank]. On the American side, both war correspondent Ernie Pyle and Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., the commander-in-chief of the ground forces, were killed. Somewhat uniquely, the battle also saw large numbers of Japanese troops surrender, although many were native [blank]ns forced into fighting.
Vicksburg Campaign
(April 29 - July 4, 1863). This campaign was launched by Ulysses Grant to take control of the Mississippi River and cut off the western Confederate states from the east. Grant ordered regiments led by James McPherson, John McClernand, and William Tecumseh Sherman through bayous west of the Mississippi to Hard Times. They were up against rebel forces under Joseph Johnston and John Pemberton. Sherman and McPherson drove Johnston from Jackson, Mississippi on May 14, and the Union scored a victory at Champion's Hill two days later, but could not drive the Southerners out of [blank], so Grant laid siege to the town. Outnumbered 71,000 to 20,000 and on the brink of starvation, Pemberton finally surrendered his men; Johnston withdrew east.
Shiloh / Pittsburg Landing
(April 6-7, 1862). This was named after a church in [blank], Tennessee (100 miles southwest of Nashville). Confederate commander Albert Sidney Johnston led a force north from Corinth, Mississippi. Ulysses S. Grant, who had just captured Fort Donelson, brought five Union divisions to face him. At first, the South led the attack, but Union troops held the "Hornets' Nest" for hours, killing Johnston in the process. P. G. T. Beauregard took over, but by the second day Northern Generals Don Carlos Buell and Lew Wallace (who wrote Ben-Hur) brought reinforcements, causing the Confederates to retreat. More than 13,000 Union and 10,000 Confederate soldiers lost their lives.
Battle of Stalingrad
(August 1942 - February 1943): With about two million casualties, the [blank] is often cited as the bloodiest battle in history. The battle arose out of Germany's summer campaign to capture vital oil supplies in the Caucasus Mountains, but Friedrich Paulus's 6th Army became bogged down in intense street fighting in the city, allowing Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov to launch Operation Uranus, which encircled Paulus's men by defeating the Italian, Hungarian, and Romanian forces guarding their flank. In the final days of the battle, Hitler promoted Paulus to field marshal, a not-so-subtle suggestion that Paulus should either fight to the death or commit suicide, as no German field marshal had ever been captured; Paulus surrendered anyway.
Second Bull Run / Second Manassas
(August 29-30, 1862). This resounding victory by Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson pushed Union forces back to Washington, D.C. President Lincoln had replaced George McClellan with John Pope, who would supposedly be united with the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Henry Halleck. Lee maneuvered Jackson's troops behind those of Pope; Jackson detained Pope's men at [blank] while Lee sent James Longstreet to crush Pope's left flank. Halleck's army was supposed to land at Aquia, but instead retreated to defend Washington, ceding all of Virginia to the Confederacy and marking a low point in the Union effort.
Fredericksburg
(December 13, 1862). At this site, about 50 miles south of Washington, Union commander Ambrose Burnside (who had replaced George McClellan) tried to take the initiative and cross the Rappahannock River in a march toward Richmond. He met Robert E. Lee's forces, which were well entrenched on Marye's Heights behind the town. With a superior position, Lee routed the Union army; 13,000 Northern troops fell there, while only 5,000 Confederates were killed. After the battle, Burnside's troops were forced to make "The Mud March" up the Rappahannock, made foul by weather and dead and wounded bodies.
Battle of the Bulge
(December 1944 - January 1945): The [blank] resulted from Germany's last major offensive operation on the Western Front. The German plan to sweep through the Ardennes Forest and capture the port city Antwerp, Belgium, benefited from Allied aircraft being grounded due to poor weather. During the battle, English-speaking German troops under Otto Skorzeny attempted to disguise themselves as Allied troops and infiltrate enemy lines. German forces also besieged the Belgian town Bastogne and requested its surrender, to which U.S. Army Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe replied "Nuts!"; the siege was eventually lifted by forces commanded by George Patton.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
(December 7, 1941): On what President Franklin Roosevelt declared would be "a date which will live in infamy," Japanese carrier-based aircraft launched — without a formal declaration of war — a surprise attack on the American naval base at [blank] on the Hawaiian island Oahu. The attack sank four battleships, most notably the USS Arizona, but all of the U.S. Navy's carriers were at sea and were unattacked. Shortly after the attack, Japan began invasions of Guam, Wake Island, the Philippines, and the British colony of Singapore. On December 8, with only Montana Representative Jeannette Rankin dissenting, the U.S. Congress declared war on Japan.
Battle of Iwo Jima
(February 1945 - March 1945): The Allies sought to capture [blank], a small island midway between the Mariana Islands and the Japanese home islands, to provide an airbase for the eventual invasion of Japan. Under the leadership of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the island's defenders built a complex network of underground tunnels and well-camouflaged artillery pieces that enabled them to hold out for a month against vastly superior forces. The battle is best known for Joe Rosenthal's photograph showing six American servicemen raising a flag atop Mount Suribachi.
Gettysburg
(July 1-3, 1863). This marked both the farthest northward advancement by the Confederacy and the turning point that led to its defeat. Robert E. Lee, along with James Longstreet, A. P. Hill, and Richard Ewell, led the southern Pennsylvania attack; J. E. B. Stuart was supposed to monitor Union movement with his cavalry, but strayed so far east of [blank] that his force did not return (exhausted) until the second day. George Meade replaced Joseph Hooker as leader of the Union side; Southern forces drove Northerners through the town but could not secure key positions at Cemetery Ridge and Little and Big Round Tops. Low on supplies, on the final day Lee ordered an attack on the center; George Pickett led his famous "charge" through open fields, where the Union mowed down one-third of his 15,000 men. The Confederates lost 20,000 and Lee retreated to Virginia.
Battle of Britain
(July 1940 - October 1940): [blank] saw the British Royal Air Force (RAF) defeat the German air force, known as the Luftwaffe, effectively saving Britain from a proposed German amphibious invasion codenamed Operation Sea Lion. The primary German fighter plane was the Messerschmitt Bf 109, which engaged in numerous dogfights against British pilots flying Hurricane and Spitfire aircraft. Effective use of radar helped to repel German forces, forcing the Luftwaffe into nighttime raids against civilian targets, a campaign known as the Blitz.
Battle of Kursk
(July 1943 - August 1943): Fought in western Russia, the [blank] was the largest tank battle in history, with about 6,000 tanks engaged. Thanks to a complex spy network, the Soviet leadership was well-informed about German plans to launch Operation Citadel against the Kursk salient, and constructed massive defensive fortifications. After the German advance was stopped, a successful Soviet counterattack was launched. The German Army never again was able to mount a major attack on the Eastern Front.
First Bull Run / First Manassas
(July 21, 1861). Fought at a creek near Manassas, Virginia (30 miles west of Washington, D.C.), this was the first major showdown of the war. P. G. T. Beauregard led an army against Union commander Irwin McDowell and received reinforcements from Joseph Johnston's troops (whom Union General Robert Patterson failed to detain). The Confederacy routed the Union when Thomas Jackson's brigade held the left line at Henry House Hill; this effort earned him the nickname "Stonewall." Congressmen and reporters, who had expected to watch a Union victory, fled in panic back to D.C.
Petersburg Campaign
(June 1864 - April 1865). After Cold Harbor, Grant moved south to lay siege to this railroad hub, 25 miles from Richmond. On July 30, Pennsylvania coal miners detonated four tons of powder in a tunnel underneath the Confederate line; this "Battle of the Crater" killed many defenders. Although the South maintained the city, its supplies ran thin in the winter of 1865. Grant finally destroyed the Confederate right flank at Five Forks (April 1-2), 14 miles southwest of [blank]. This resounding defeat led to Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House one week later, effectively ending the Civil War.
Battle of Midway
(June 1942): Universally considered the turning point in the Pacific Theater, the [blank] saw the Japanese lose four aircraft carriers, a blow from which they never fully recovered. Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto planned to lure the U.S. fleet into a trap, but the Americans had broken the Japanese code, allowing them to pull off a stunning victory, with dive bombers from the Enterprise sinking the carriers Kaga, Akagi, and Hiryu, while those from the hastily-repaired Yorktown sank the carrier Soryu.
D-Day (Operation Overlord)
(June 6, 1944): The largest amphibious assault in history, as Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower's forces attacked the German Atlantic Wall defenses on the beaches of Normandy, France. Due to his wife's birthday, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was absent at the start the invasion, which saw American forces land at Utah and Omaha Beaches, British forces land at Gold and Sword Beaches, and Canadian forces land at Juno Beach. After the landings, Allied forces erected prefabricated artificial Mulberry harbors to aid in transporting goods to France.
Hampton Roads
(March 9, 1862). A channel in southeastern Virginia was the site of the first major fight between two ironclad ships. The Confederates raised an old wooden boat, the Merrimack, and fit it with ten guns and iron armor plates. Renamed the Virginia, it was captained by Franklin Buchanan. The Union countered by constructing a large oval with a rotating gun, called the Monitor and piloted by John Worden. The Virginia tore through Union wooden ships (Cumberland, Congress, Minnesota) but when the Monitor arrived, the two ironclads fought to a stalemate; the Union thus maintained its blockade. The South deliberately destroyed the Virginia two months later, while the Monitor sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras in December 1862.
Peninsular Campaign
(March-July 1862). Union commander George McClellan devised this plan to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia by sending 110,000 men up the peninsula between the York and James Rivers. Advised of Northern maneuvers, Southern commander Joseph Johnston detached a force to defend the peninsula. He also sent a small unit (led by Stonewall Jackson) that crushed Union reinforcements in the West. After Johnston was wounded at Seven Pines (June 1), Davis replaced him with Robert E. Lee. Lee concentrated his force north of the Chickahominy River; in the Seven Days' Battles (June 25 - July 1), the Confederates broke through Union defenses, leading to McClellan's retreat down the James toward Harrison's Landing, and failure of the campaign.
Chancellorsville
(May 1-4, 1863). A victory for the South, but with great cost, as Stonewall Jackson lost his life. Lincoln called on "Fighting Joe" Hooker to command the Union army; Hooker took a force of 134,000 and provoked Robert E. Lee and Jackson's 60,000 men into battle. Jackson moved around Hooker and counterattacked the Union flank on May 2. That night, while Jackson was on reconnaissance, his own men mistook him for a Northerner and shot him; he died of pneumonia eight days later. The following morning, a cannonball blast hit the Chancellor House, knocking Hooker unconscious; Union troops led by John Sedgwick then retreated. Casualties for the North outnumbered those of the South, 17,000 to 13,000.
Battle of the Coral Sea
(May 1942): Resulting from a Japanese plan to capture Port Moresby, New Guinea, the [blank] was fought entirely by carrier-based aircraft, making it the first major naval battle in history in which the two opposing fleets never directly fired upon (or even sighted) each other. The U.S. Navy's carrier Lexington was sunk, and the Yorktown heavily damaged, while the Japanese navy lost the light carrier Shoho and saw its large carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku damaged. Ultimately, the invasion of Port Moresby was cancelled and the temporary loss of two Japanese carriers gave the U.S. an edge at the subsequent Battle of Midway.
Wilderness Campaign
(May 5 - June 12, 1864). The first clash between Ulysses Grant and Robert E. Lee, this series of conflicts started with the Battle of the [blank] (50 miles northwest of Richmond), where Southern leaders A. P. Hill and Richard Ewell held the line, and over 17,000 Northerners fell. At Spotsylvania Court House, George Meade assaulted Robert E. Lee's men, but they repelled Meade at the "Bloody Angle." The trenches in which much of the fighting took place were similar to those later seen in World War I. Advancing within ten miles of Richmond, Grant met Lee at Cold Harbor (June 3); he lost 7,000 men to Lee's 1,500 and withdrew across the James River, but with the entire campaign he severely reduced Confederate strength in a war of attrition.
Battle of El Alamein
(October 1942 - November 1942): The Second [blank] marked the turning point in the African campaign. Named for an Egyptian coastal town 65 miles west of Alexandria, it saw the British Eighth Army under Bernard Montgomery defeat the German Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel, preventing the Nazis from capturing the Suez Canal and oil fields in the Middle East. Following the battle, Allied forces landed in Morocco and Algeria as part of Operation Torch, and by May 1943 all Axis forces in North Africa had surrendered.
Battle of Leyte Gulf
(October 1944): By some measures the largest naval battle in history, the [blank] resulted from the Japanese Sho-Go plan to halt the American reconquest of the Philippines. The plan nearly worked when American Admiral William "Bull" Halsey was baited into moving all of his battleships and large carriers away from the landing site, but an American force of small escort carriers and destroyers held off a Japanese task force that included four battleships. Another Japanese force tried to pass through the Surigao Strait, but — in the last-ever combat between opposing battleships — the American Seventh Fleet crossed their 'T' and annihilated the force.
Antietam / Sharpsburg
(September 17, 1862). The bloodiest day of the Civil War: 12,000 Union men lost their lives, as did 10,000 Confederates. Robert E. Lee planned a northern invasion into Maryland, but a Union soldier discovered those battle plans wrapped around three cigars. Instead, Lee marched his army toward [blank] Creek. Meanwhile, Jackson's forces captured Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and rushed to reunite with Lee. George McClellan had a large enough force to capture the entire rebel army, but did not use all of his troops nor coordinate one solid attack. [blank] thus was actually a series of five skirmishes; in one of them, dubbed "The Bloody Lane," 2,000 Union soldiers fell in a few minutes. As it was, Union forces drove the Confederates back across the Potomac.
Chattanooga Campaign
(September-November 1863). It began when Union General William Rosecrans forced Confederate commander Braxton Bragg out of the city on September 9. Ten days later, at Chickamauga (in Georgia), Bragg and James Longstreet turned the tables by whipping Rosecrans, forcing him into a siege position at [blank]. Only George Thomas (the "Rock of Chickamauga") saved Rosecrans from annihilation. Well-developed railroad networks, however, allowed Ulysses Grant, Joseph Hooker, and William Tecumseh Sherman to bring reinforcements. On November 24, Hooker took Lookout Mountain in the southwest, in the "Battle Above the Clouds." The next day, Thomas ran right over the Southern force at Missionary Ridge, securing Tennessee for the North.
John Paul Jones
A Scotsman who had fled Britain after killing two people, he added the last name _____________ to his given name to hide from law enforcement. At the outbreak of conflict, he was commissioned to outfit the Alfred, which he then used to help capture New Providence in the Bahamas. The next month, April 1776, he led the Alfred against the HMS Glasgow, leading him to promotion and command of the Providence. Ordered to raid until his provisions were expended, he sank and captured ships in operations along the Atlantic coast. Commissioned captain of the Ranger, he sailed to France to acquire new ships, and captured the HMS Drake. Leaving Europe in August 1779, he met the British ship Serapis in battle on September 23, 1779.
USS Arizona
A lead ship of the honor escort for President Wilson's trip to France in 1918, she was on Battleship Row at Pearl Harbor when Japanese aircraft appeared just before 8:00 am on Sunday, December 7, 1941. The _________ came under attack almost immediately, and at about 8:10 was hit by an 800-kilogram bomb just forward of turret two on the starboard side. Within a few seconds the forward powder magazines exploded, killing 1,177 of the crew, and the ship sank to the bottom of the harbor. In 1962 the __________ memorial opened and is now administered by the National Park Service.
Hastings (1066)
A little more than two weeks after Stamford Bridge, Harold Godwinson was defeated by another claimant to the throne of England at Hastings. That claimant was Duke William of Normandy, who is now known as William the Conqueror. The battle and Harold's death are depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. The battle took place two weeks after William's landing at Pevensey.
Nathanael Greene
A prominent Rhode Island politician prior to the revolution, he raised a militia company but was not elected their captain due to his partial lameness. Following his work in the siege of Boston, he marched his army to Long Island, where they aided in the battles around New York. Following the loss of Fort Washington, ____________ led forces into victory at the Battle of Trenton, and then again distinguished himself by protecting Washington's force at the Battle of Brandywine. ____________ then led the main force at Germantown, and led the evacuation of positions along the Delaware River in fall 1777. The next year, ____________'s logistical talents led Washington to appoint him quartermaster general, a position he only accepted if he were allowed to retain field troops. He then led those troops as the right wing in the Battle of Monmouth. The quartermaster general position led to conflicts with the Continental Congress, and ____________ resigned in 1780. Appointed to command to replace the traitor Benedict Arnold, he was sent south following Gates' loss at Camden. Joining with Daniel Morgan, he retreated from Cornwallis' forces for two months until a crippling counterattack at Guilford Courthouse, which gave a costly victory to the British. Until the end of the war, Greene led a spirited offensive against Lord Rawdon's — and later Duncan Stuart's — forces, besieging Augusta and Ninety-Six, and establishing headquarters in Charleston following Washington's victory at Yorktown.
Sir William Howe
A veteran of the siege of Louisbourg, and the leader of the ascent to the Plains of Abraham (Quebec, 1759), he was dispatched in 1775 as second-in-command to Gage. After directing the attack on Bunker Hill, he succeeded Gage as commander, and coordinated a strategic retreat from Boston to Halifax. In Halifax, he coordinated a joint army-navy attack with his brother, Richard, an admiral, resulting in a campaign which allowed the British to control New York City. After his attempts to secure a peace in 1777 failed, he led the attack on Philadelphia, defeating Washington at Brandywine. After this, he wintered in Philadelphia, waiting for acceptance of his resignation, due to the failed peace negotiations. On May 25, 1778, he relinquished command to Sir Henry Clinton and returned home.
The Pyramids (July 21, 1798, Egypt) and the Nile (August 1-3, 1798, Egypt)
After his victory over Austria, Napoleon proposed crossing the Mediterranean and invading Egypt. While the stated goal of this expedition was to strike a blow against British trade with the Middle East and Asia, it also catered to Napoleon's fascination with antiquity. A team of scientists followed his military expedition, whose most lasting result was the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, unearthed by soldiers digging to construct a fort in the Nile delta. Napoleon supposedly cried "Soldiers, forty centuries look down upon you" at the 1798 Battle of the Pyramids, where his troops used modern artillery and large square formations to ward off a cavalry charge by the Egyptian Mamluks. French control of Egypt, however, was dependent on communications across the Mediterranean, which were interrupted by the Royal Navy's attack on the French fleet in Aboukir Bay in early August. British victory at the Nile forced Napoleon to abandon his army and return to France.
Tadeusz Kosciusko
After receiving military training in his native Poland and France, he resigned his commission due to poor advancement prospect. Offering his assistance to the Americans, he helped fortify the Delaware River in 1776, earning himself the rank of colonel. That winter, he planned the building of Fort Mercer, and the next spring headed north with General Gates, becoming commander of the northern army and building fortifications that helped win the battle of Saratoga. In 1780, he worked on building defenses for West Point, then headed south when Gates was appointed command of the Southern Department. Serving under Nathaniel Greene, he distinguished himself in the Race to the Dan River, and at Charleston, but mishandled the siege of Ninety-Six. Following the war, he was granted American citizenship but returned home to Poland. Back home he resisted partition, and attempted to liberate the nation afterward.
USS Monitor/CSS Virginia
Also known as the USS Merrimack After departing Union forces burned the Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk in April 1861, yard workers salvaged the USS Merrimack and converted her into the ironclad CSS Virginia. On March 8, 1862, the CSS Virginia left the shipyard and sank two Union warships in Hampton Roads. The South's ironclad rammed and sank the USS Cumberland and set fire to and sank the USS Congress. The Monitor was sent to end its rampage and the two ironclads battled for 3½ hours before the Virginia ran aground in its attempt to ram the USS Minnesota. Visibly damaged, the Virginia retreated and the Monitor withdrew to protect the Minnesota. The Confederates destroyed the Virginia soon after to prevent her capture by Union forces. The Monitor, victorious in her first battle, sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The shipwreck is a national underwater sanctuary under the purview of the NOAA.
Charles Cornwallis, First Marquess of Cornwallis
An aristocrat and ensign in 1756, he fought in the battle of Minden, and by the end of the Seven Years' War he was a captain. Made aide-de-camp to George III, he made colonel, and was promoted to major general before being sent to America. After a failed assault on Charleston, he served under Sir Henry Clinton in the battle of Long Island, but made his mark in fighting at Manhattan and pursued Washington across the Hudson, being outmaneuvered by Washington at Princeton (January 3, 1777). Following this defeat he directed the main attack on Brandywine Creek, and reinforced Germantown as part of the plan to capture Philadelphia. Promoted to second-in-command under Clinton after the Philadelphia campaign, he led the Battle of Monmouth before returning home to attend his sick wife. Sent south in 1780 to capture Charleston, he bested Horatio Gates at Camden (North Carolina) and Nathaniel Greene at Guilford Courthouse, the latter a pyrrhic victory that likely led to his defeat in attempts to contain Lafayette in Virginia. Following this, he occupied Yorktown in August 1781, where he was surrounded by American and French forces, and forced to surrender. Following the war, he was appointed governor-general of India, and proved to be a capable administrator.
Marquis de Lafayette
Approached by the U.S. Minister to France, Silas Deane, he arrived in April 1777 with Baron de Kalb. First seeing action at Brandywine, his primary early action was in supporting Washington during the winter at Valley Forge. After participating at the battles of Barren Hill, Monmouth, and Newport, he returned to France, raising support for an expeditionary force. Returning to America a colonel, he served on the board that sentenced Major Andre to death, and then faced Andre's confederate Benedict Arnold in battle in 1781. Working in Virginia, he evaded Cornwallis' forces, until reinforcements arrived in June. Coordinating with Anthony Wayne, the two combined forces against Cornwallis in the battle of Green Spring. Pursuing Cornwallis to Yorktown, ________________ helped the siege there until Cornwallis' surrender.
USS Constitution
Better known as "Old Ironsides," was one of the first six ships commissioned by the U.S. Navy after the American Revolution. Launched from Boston in 1797, it first saw action as the squadron flagship in the Quasi-War with France from 1799-1801 and also fought in the Barbary War and the War of 1812. She later served many years as the nation's flagship in the Mediterranean. Retired from active duty in 1846, the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes' poem "Old Ironsides" saved her from the scrap yard—she became the training ship of the U.S. Naval Academy until the mid-1880s. She became the symbolic flagship of the U.S. Navy in 1940 and is now a floating museum in Boston.
USS Chesapeake
Built at what is now the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, between 1798 and 1799. Was attacked by the British Leopard off Cape Henry in 1807 (which led to the duel between Commodores James Barron and Stephen Decatur), one of the causes of the War of 1812. She was captured off Boston in 1813 by the British frigate Shannon, on which occasion her commander, Captain James Lawrence, uttered his celebrated dying words, "Don't give up the ship," which have become a tradition in the U.S. Navy.
Battle of Okinawa (April to June 1945)
Codenamed Operation Iceberg, the invasion of ____________ was the last major ground battle in the Pacific theater of World War II. Kakazu Ridge and Shuri Castle were among the positions Japanese troops defended against U.S. Marine and Army units. Okinawa was the high point of Japanese kamikaze attacks; over 1,500 suicide missions were sent against the Allied invasion fleet. The heavy casualties sustained by both sides on Okinawa and the suicidal bravery of the Japanese military encouraged American planners to use atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki instead of launching Operation Downfall, the projected late-1945 conventional invasion of the Japanese home islands.
Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
Formerly part of Frederick the Great's staff, the Prussian ________________ was recommended by Ben Franklin to George Washington. Accepted by the Continental Congress, ______________ joined Washington at Valley Forge, and began training the army. Appointed major general and inspector general in May 1777, he aided in the Battle of Monmouth, then spent two years writing the Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, an army training manual. Sent to Virginia in 1780 to oppose Benedict Arnold's actions, illness caused him to turn over his troops to Lafayette, but _____________ recovered in time to aid in the siege of Yorktown.
Battle of Bataan (January to May 1942)
Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese bombers struck the Philippine island Luzon, forcing the Americans to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula, where they held out for four months. General Douglas MacArthur vowed "I shall return" before evacuating to Australia and leaving command to Jonathan Wainwright, who retreated to the island of Corregidor and surrendered on May 6. The prisoners from Bataan were sent on a "death march" 80 miles to San Fernando with minimal food, water, and medical supplies; those that fell behind were beaten. Japanese General Masaharu Homma was executed in 1946 for his role in the war crime.
Trafalgar (October 21, 1805, off the coast of southwestern Spain)
In 1804 Napoleon abolished the consulate and became France's emperor. He faced an array of enemies who made up the "Third Coalition": the humiliated Austrians sought military aid from both Russia and Britain. France and Spain allied in the hope of challenging the Royal Navy and making it possible for Napoleon's armies to launch an invasion of Britain. Trafalgar, fought in the Atlantic off the coast of Spain in the fall of 1805, was the last great naval battle of the Napoleonic era. A combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve was attacked by Royal Navy ships under Lord Horatio Nelson, Britain's greatest admiral. Just before the battle, Nelson's flagship — the HMS Victory — flew the signal "England expects that every man will do his duty." Although Nelson was killed by a French sniper in the battle that followed, his ships captured half of the French fleet, including Admiral Villeneuve. French plans to invade Britain were postponed indefinitely.
Jena-Auerstedt (October 14, 1806, Germany)
In 1806 Napoleon turned his forces against Prussia. At the twin October battles Jena and Auerstedt, Napoleon and Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout worked together to smash a Prussian army led by the Duke of Brunswick, who was mortally wounded by Davout's troops near Auerstadt. The collapse of the Prussian army, widely considered the continent's most experienced and professional military force, shocked European observers. Napoleon felt that he had secured revenge for Frederick the Great's victory over France at Rossbach in the Seven Years' War (1757).
Borodino (September 7, 1812, Russia)
In 1812 Napoleon assembled the largest army of his reign for the most ambitious military operation of the 19th century: a full-scale invasion of Russia. Russian Tsar Alexander I, despite losing to Napoleon in central Europe between 1805 and 1807, refused to agree to the "Continental System," the Napoleonic proposal for a Europe-wide embargo on British trade in manufactured goods. Napoleon's march on Moscow was slowed by Russian resistance at Borodino, where Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov's army was driven out of fortified redoubts after a day of destructive fighting. Although French forces were briefly able to seize control of Moscow, the subsequent retreat through the worst of the Russian winter ruined Napoleon's Grand Army.
USS Nautilus
In 1951 Congress authorized construction of the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. On December 12 of that year, the Navy Department announced that she would be the sixth ship of the fleet to bear the name __________. She was launched on January 21, 1954. Eight months later, on September 30, 1954, the _________ became the first commissioned nuclear-powered ship in the U.S. Navy. On the morning of January 17, 1955, its Commander Wilkinson signaled "Underway on Nuclear Power." In 1958 she departed Pearl Harbor under top-secret orders to conduct "Operation Sunshine," the first crossing of the North Pole by a ship.
Sir Guy Carleton
Irish-born, he led grenadiers across the Plains of Abraham in the 1759 siege of Quebec under his close friend General Wolfe. He entered the war as second-in-command to Thomas Gage before taking command after Gage's 1775 recall. _____________ then directed British troops from Canada to Boston after the Battle of Concord, resulting in a revolt. ____________ repulsed efforts by Montgomery and Benedict Arnold to capture Montréal and Quebec, routing a second attempt by Arnold, by defeating an American naval buildup on Lake Champlain. Following this, he attempted to support Burgoyne's failed plan to isolate New England. Brought back to Britain to govern Armagh in Ireland in 1777, he sat out all but the end of the war, returning in 1782 as commander-in-chief after Cornwallis' surrender.
Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)
Japan's invasion of China was the primary cause of World War II in East Asia. As early as 1931, Japanese forces occupied Manchuria and set up a puppet state called Manchukuo. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937 resulted in open war between Japan and China. Japanese forces committed notorious atrocities during the invasion of China, including the 1937 massacres known as the Rape of Nanking. The Chinese war effort was hindered by internal conflict between Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalist Kuomintang government and the communist insurgency led by Mao Zedong. Between 1942 and 1945 central China was largely cut off from the outside world due to Japanese conquest of coastal ports; Allied support was limited to air power deployed over the Himalayas from India, including the fighter pilots known as the "Flying Tigers."
Fall of Singapore (February 1942)
Japan's offensive in southeast Asia also struck at the British Empire. Japanese aircraft sank the British battleship Prince of Wales and drove obsolete British aircraft from the skies over the Malay Peninsula. Allied troops were driven back toward Singapore, Britain's major base in the Far East. Reinforcements from Britain and Australia arrived too late to repair the situation, and British general Arthur Percival was forced to surrender in February 1942. The loss of Singapore stunned the British Empire. Many Indian prisoners captured at Singapore switched sides to fight for the Japanese; British and Australian POWs labored in terrible conditions on the Siam-Burma railway depicted in the novel The Bridge over the River Kwai.
Bannockburn (1314)
The Battle of Bannockburn was a decisive victory for Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, over King Edward II of England. The English attempted to lift the siege of Stirling Castle. The battle began with single combat between Robert the Bruce and Sir Henry de Bohun. The Earl of Moray commanded the Scottish vanguard near the Church of St. Ninian.
Attack on Pearl Harbor (December 1941)
Japanese plans for domination of the Pacific called for a surprise attack on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii; wrecking the American Pacific Fleet would allow the Japanese navy to invade southeast Asia with minimal opposition. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto planned the Japanese strike, which sent carrier-based dive bombers and torpedo bombers to Oahu on Sunday, December 7, 1941. Four American battleships, including the USS Arizona, were sunk; the American aircraft carriers were at sea away from Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. The losses sustained at Pearl Harbor shocked the previously neutral United States into entering World War II. President Franklin Roosevelt's address to Congress described December 7 as a "date which will live in infamy."
Alesia (52 BC)
Julius Caesar defeated the Celtic peoples of Gaul, establishing Roman rule of the lands beyond the Alps. The battle began when Caesar besieged Vercingetorix in the town of Alesia, shortly after the Roman defeat at Gergovia. The Romans built a wall to surround the city (a "circumvallation") and a second wall around that (a "contravallation") to protect themselves from the Gaulish relief army under Commius. When Commius launched a massive attack on the Romans, Caesar was able to defeat him and force the surrender of Vercingetorix. Although the Romans were outnumbered by as much as four to one, they proved victorious in what was the turning point of the Gallic Wars.
Las Navas de Tolosa (1212)
Las Navas de Tolosa was a major turning point in the Reconquista of the Iberian peninsula. A Christian alliance of Alfonso VIII of Castile, Sancho VII of Navarre, Afonso II of Portugal, and Peter II of Aragon defeated Muhammad al-Nasir and the Almohads.
Austerlitz (December 2, 1805, Czech Republic)
Napoleon's Grand Army then struck east at Austria and Russia, the land-bound members of the Third Coalition. Napoleon's first move was to force the surrender of 30,000 Austrians under General Mack at Ulm. The French then turned east into the heart of Austria, where they seized Vienna and awaited counterattack by the Russians. At Austerlitz on December 2, 1805, a mostly-Russian coalition army collided with the waiting French. (The Russians, led in person by Tsar Alexander I, were joined by the scattered remains of the Austrian army under Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. Austerlitz is thus known as the "Battle of the Three Emperors.") The allies, planning to advance their left, abandoned the Pratzen Heights, a dominating hill in the center of the battlefield. Napoleon seized the heights, splitting the Russian army and then defeating each half in turn. The resulting Peace of Pressburg (December 26, 1805) ended the War of the Third Coalition and brought about the downfall of the Holy Roman Empire.
Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 1944)
The American landings on the island of _______ in the fall of 1944 fulfilled Douglas MacArthur's promise to return to the Philippines. Most of the Imperial Japanese Navy's remaining strength emerged to challenge the Allied landing, setting up one of the largest naval battles in world history. American admiral William "Bull" Halsey was criticized for the poorly-coordinated response to the Japanese attack. Nevertheless, American ships, aircraft, and submarines were able to destroy more than two dozen Japanese vessels, including the giant battleship Musashi. The Japanese position was by now so desperate that Japan began the practice of suicidal kamikaze attacks on Allied naval vessels.
Waterloo (June 18, 1815, Belgium)
Napoleon's escape from Elba began a period known as the "Hundred Days," in which the emperor briefly returned to the throne of France. The struggle between the restored emperor and the "Seventh Coalition" began when Napoleon's Army of the North marched into the Low Countries, hoping for a showdown with the British, Dutch, and Prussians before the Austrian and Russian armies gathering further east could come to their aid. The French brushed aside Allied advance guards at the two preliminary battles Quatre Bras and Ligny on June 16. Napoleon's victory over the Prussians at Ligny led him to falsely believe that he had enough time to pursue and defeat the British without further Prussian interference. On June 18 Napoleon's advance on Brussels approached the crossroads of Mont St. Jean, where the Duke of Wellington had set up a defensive position for a combined army of British Peninsular War veterans, Dutch, and pro-British Germans. On the French left, British troops defended the walled farm Hougoumont from a series of infantry assaults; in the center, Marshal Michel Ney's massed cavalry charge was broken by the square formations of the British infantry; on the right, Gebhard von Blücher's Prussian army arrived to attack the French army in the flank. Napoleon's final gamble was to commit his Imperial Guard to a renewed assault on the Allied center. The guardsmen were cut down by the fire of British light infantry, leading to the general collapse of the French army. Napoleon was exiled once more, this time to the isolated South Atlantic island St. Helena, where he died in 1821.
USS Lawrence/USS Niagara
Oliver Hazard Perry's decisive victory over the British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813 ensured American control of the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. In the battle, Perry's flagship was severely damaged and four-fifths of her crew killed or wounded. Commodore Perry and a small contingent rowed a half-mile through heavy gunfire to another American ship, _________. Boarding and taking command, he brought her into battle and soundly defeated the British fleet. Perry summarized the fight in a now-famous message to General William Henry Harrison: "We have met the enemy and they are ours."
Marathon (490 BC)
Persian King Darius I's invasion of mainland Greece ended with a decisive victory for Miltiades and the Athenians at _____________. The defeated Persian commanders were Datis and Artaphernes. Among the few Athenian dead of the battle were archon Callimachus and the general Stesilaos. Legend has it that the Greek messenger Pheidippides ran to Athens with news of the victory, but collapsed upon arrival. This is the inspiration for the modern race known as the "marathon."
Francis Marion
Previously an Indian fighter, _______________ was given command of Fort Sullivan in 1776. Commanding the 2nd South Carolina, he fought at Savannah, and escaped capture when the British retook Charleston. From there, ____________ fought a successful guerilla campaign against British troops, forcing Cornwallis to appoint Colonel Banastre Tarleton to eliminate _____________. Tarleton's frustration at the task led to the remark "But as for this damned old fox, the devil himself could not catch him," creating _____________'s nickname, "Swamp Fox." Promoted to brigadier general in 1781, and later given command of the North and South Carolina militias, ______________ fought the British at Eutaw Springs.
George Washington
Selected by the Continental Congress to serve as general-in-chief, his first actions were to blockade Boston. Key to the success in Boston was the capture of Dorchester Heights, allowing cannon fire against the British and forcing the withdrawal of Howe. After failing to defend New York, _______________ retreated toward Pennsylvania, extending British supply lines and allowing a successful counterattack on Hessian mercenaries at Trenton. Following victory at Princeton, ______________ retired to winter quarters at Morristown. Sending his best forces north to deal with Burgoyne's attack in spring 1777, he kept Howe engaged in the mid-Atlantic. Autumn setbacks at Brandywine and Germantown led to a demoralized winter camp at Valley Forge, countered by the work of Lafayette, Steuben, and others. After a costly draw with Sir Henry Clinton's forces at Monmouth, ________________ sent Greene south to replace Gates, and worked with the French general Jean Baptiste Rochambeau to plan the Yorktown campaign. The success of this campaign led to Cornwallis' surrender on October 19, 1781.
Battle of Adrianople (AD 378)
Taking place near what is now Edirne, Turkey, the Battle of ________________ signalled the beginning of the spread of Germanic peoples into the Western Roman Empire. The Romans were led by the eastern emperor Valens, while the Goths were led by Fritigern. Eager for glory, Valens decided not to wait on reinforcements from the western emperor Gratian, and instead attacked the Goths. In the battle, over two-thirds of the Roman army was killed, including Valens. The battle was chronicled by Ammianus Marcellinus, who thought it so important that he ended his history of the Roman Empire with the battle.
Grunwald/Tannenberg (1410)
The Battle of Grunwald marked a major turning point in Eastern European history as it led to the decline of the Teutonic Knights and the rise of Poland-Lithuania. Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen led the Teutonic Knights, and King Władysław II Jagiello led Polish forces and Grand Duke Vytautas led the Lithuanians. After their defeat, the Teutonic Knights held out in Marienburg Castle until the Peace of Thorn in 1411.
Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942)
The Battle of the ________ _____ resulted from Japanese ambitions to invade Port Moresby, an Allied base in New Guinea. Frank Jack Fletcher's American fleet damaged two Japanese aircraft carriers, Shokaku and Zuikaku. The U.S. Navy's major loss was the carrier Lexington. The battle, a tactical draw, prevented the Japanese from attacking Port Moresby. It is notable for being the first naval battle fought entirely by aircraft — neither fleet was ever in visual range of the other's ships.
Manzikert (1071)
The Byzantine defeat at Manzikert (Malazgirt in Turkish) by the Seljuk Turks was a severe blow to the Byzantine empire's control of Anatolia. The Seljuks were led by Alp Arslan, while Emperor Romanus IV led the Byzantines. The Byzantines split their forces in half before the battle by sending general Joseph Tarchaneiotes to Khliat, and were further weakened by the desertion of Andronicus Dukas. The Byzantine emperor was captured in the battle, but released by Alp Arslan after signing a peace treaty. Romanus IV was later deposed and blinded.
Tours (732)
The Franks' victory at the Battle of Tours was a major turning point in the history of Europe. After conquering Iberia, the Umayyads advanced into France as far as Poitiers. The Franks were led by Charles Martel, while the Umayyads were led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi. The battle was preceded by a pact between the Berber governor Munuza and Odo, Duke of Aquitaine, though Odo was present at Tours. The best contemporary source for the battle is the Mozarabic Chronicle of 754.
Lake Peipus (1242)
The Russian victory at this battle ended territorial claims of the Teutonic Knights on Russian soil. The Russians were led by Alexander Nevsky and Andrey Yaroslavich, while the Livonian Order (a branch of the Teutonic Order) was led by Hermann of Dorpat. It is also known as the Battle on the Ice because it was fought on frozen Lake Peipus.
Marengo (June 14, 1800, northern Italy)
The coup of 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799) brought down France's existing government (the Directory) and made Napoleon himself "first consul," the effective leader of France. While Napoleon was absent in Egypt, a coalition of Austria, Russia, and Britain had pushed French troops back on all fronts. In 1800 Napoleon marched over the Alps to roll back Austrian gains in Italy. His troops, overextended in an attempt to relieve the Austrian siege of Genoa, were hit by an Austrian surprise attack on June 14, 1800. General Louis Desaix led a column of French reinforcements to Napoleon's aid; the additional troops drove off the Austrian army, but Desaix was shot and killed.
Zama (202 BC)
The final battle of the Second Punic War, ________ was fought near Carthage in what is now Tunisia. Scipio Africanus's victory at the Battle of the Great Plains in 203 BC forced Hannibal to leave Italy and return to North Africa for the final showdown. Prior to the battle, the Numidian king Masinissa switched sides, and brought his considerable cavalry force to join the Romans. This, coupled with Scipio's strategy of opening up his lines to allow Carthaginian elephants through without harming his troops, led to a complete Roman victory.
USS Maine
The first ________, a second-class armored battleship, was launched in 1889. A part of the "Great White Fleet," in 1897 it sailed for Havana to show the flag and protect American citizens. Shortly after 9:40 pm on February 15, 1898, the battleship was torn apart by a tremendous explosion. The court of inquiry convened in March was unable to obtain evidence associating the blast with any person or persons, but public opinion—inflamed by "yellow journalism"—was such that the _________ disaster led to the declaration of war on Spain on April 21, 1898.
Leipzig (October 16-19, 1813, Germany)
The following year the Russian army marched west into central Europe at the head of a "Sixth Coalition" that brought the previously defeated Austrians and Prussians back into hostilities against France. At Leipzig in central Germany, coalition forces met a hastily-assembled replacement army raised by Napoleon after the disaster in Russia. More than 600,000 men fought in this four-day struggle, popularly known as the "Battle of the Nations" for the multi-ethnic nature of the coalition army. The forces of Saxony, one of the minor German states, switched sides during the Battle of Leipzig, leaving Napoleon's army to join the allies. The premature destruction of a bridge over the River Elster hindered Napoleon's retreat from Leipzig, the first in a series of military disasters that led to the emperor's forced abdication and exile to the Mediterranean island Elba in 1814.
USS Missouri
The fourth __________ was the last battleship completed by the United States; she was laid down January 6, 1941 by New York Naval Shipyard. The _________ was launched on January 29, 1944 and received her sponsorship from Miss Margaret Truman, daughter of the then-Missouri Senator, Harry S. Truman. Commissioned on June 11, 1944, the "Mighty Mo," as she became known, sailed for the Pacific and quickly became the flagship of Admiral Halsey, which is why she was chosen as the site of the formal surrender of the Empire of Japan on the morning of September 1, 1945.
Cannae (216 BC)
The largest battle of the Second Punic War, ___________ represented one of the worst defeats in Roman history. The Carthaginians were led by Hannibal, while the Romans were led by the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. Hannibal employed a double-envelopment tactic, surrounded the Roman army, and destroyed it. Although a total disaster for the Romans, it resulted in their adopting of the Fabian strategy, in which battles are avoided in favor of a war of attrition. This eventually wore down Hannibal's army, and the Carthaginians had to leave Italy.
Salamis (480 BC)
The naval battle at ___________was a major turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars, as it signaled the beginning of the end of Persian attempts to conquer Greece. The battle is named after an island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens. Xerxes was so confident in victory that he watched the battle from a throne on the slopes of Mount Aegaleus. The Athenian general Themistocles devised a plan to lure the large, slow Persian ships into the narrow straits, where the Greek ships were able to outmaneuver and destroy much of the Persian fleet. The Persian admiral Ariabignes was killed in hand-to-hand combat, and the Queen of Halicarnassus, Artemisia, had to sink some of her allies' ships to escape.
Kosovo (1389)
This battle between Serbians and Ottomans eventually led to the subjugation of Serbia. Both Prince Lazar of Serbia and Sultan Murad I died during the battle. Bayezid I, who was present at the battle, became the Ottoman Sultan once his father died.
Guadalcanal Campaign (August 1942 to February 1943)
This first Allied counteroffensive in the Pacific targeted __________________, an island in the Solomons, to secure communications between the U.S. Pacific coast and Australia. "Operation Watchtower" was the codename for the initial U.S. Marine landings, which secured an airbase at Henderson Field and held off a Japanese counterattack on Edson's Ridge. The naval battle of Savo Island took place between American ships and Japanese forces (the so-called "Tokyo Express") trying to resupply troops on Guadalcanal. By early 1943, Allied dominance of the seas and skies around Guadalcanal forced Japan to withdraw its remaining troops.
Treaty of Paris of 1898
ended the Spanish-American War and transferred Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico to the U.S. while making Cuba (ostensibly) independent. The treaty was the beginning of American imperialism, and underwent a lengthy and contentious ratification.
Benedict Arnold
Volunteering for service following the Battle of Lexington, he joined Ethan Allen in the attack on Fort Ticonderoga. Appointed by Washington to capture Quebec, he was severely wounded in the failed December 1775 assault that also saw the death of General Richard Montgomery. Arming a flotilla on Lake Champlain, he attacked the British forces at Valcour Island, earning accolades — perhaps at the cost of the support of other officers. Passed over for promotion, Washington personally persuaded him not to resign. Promoted following his defense of Danbury, he again considered resignation, but won victory at Ft. Stanwix, and commanded advance battalions at Saratoga, where he was wounded in the fight. Sent to command Philadelphia, he lived extravagantly among Loyalists, and skirted several regulations to raise money, prompting investigations. After marrying Peggy Shippen, he made overtures to the British, alerting them to a plan to invade Canada, and planning to betray his expected command of West Point. When his contact, Major John Andre was captured, he escaped. Later, as part of the British army he raided New London, Connecticut, and led several raids on Virginia.
Salamanca (July 22, 1812, Spain)
While Napoleon struggled against Austrians, Russians, and Prussians on the plains of central and eastern Europe, a smaller but no less violent conflict was fought for control of Spain and Portugal. During this "Peninsular War" (1807-1814), the throne of Spain was claimed by Napoleon's older brother, Joseph Bonaparte. Spanish and Portuguese resistance (the first "guerrilla" warfare, from the Spanish for "little war") was supported by the landing of British troops under the command of the Duke of Wellington. Wellington's triumph over Marshal Auguste Marmont at Salamanca in July 1812 was a decisive blow against the stability of Joseph's regime.
Horatio Gates
Wounded in the disastrous French and Indian War attack on Fort Duquesne, it was there he first met George Washington. Recommended by Washington to be adjutant general of the army at the outbreak of revolution, he organized the army around Boston into an effective force. Promoted to major general in 1776, he was assigned to command troops in New York originally intended to invade Canada. Briefly put in charge of Philadelphia, he then directed the defense of New York against Burgoyne's invasion attempt, leading to victory at Saratoga. Following this he became involved in the Conway cabal, an attempt to replace Washington, which led to coldness between the two. Placed in command of the South over Washington's objections by Congress, he tried to raise adequate forces, but lost the battle of Camden to Cornwallis, and was replaced by Nathaniel Greene. Washington then accepted Gates back as his deputy, a position he held until the end of the war.
Battle of Iwo Jima (February to March 1945)
_____ ______ is an isolated volcanic island between the Marianas and Honshu; early in 1945 it was strategically important as a base for American air attacks on the Japanese home islands. The defenders were led by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, who attempted to prolong the battle indefinitely by digging an elaborate system of tunnels to protect his troops. The U.S Marines who stormed the island starting in February 1945 sustained thousands of casualties. Joe Rosenthal's photograph of Marines raising the flag on Iwo's Mount Suribachi is one of the best known images of the Second World War.
Battle of Midway (June 1942)
___________ is considered the turning point of World War II in the Pacific. Japanese Admiral Yamamoto launched attacks on both Midway Island — an atoll northwest of Hawaii — and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, but the Americans had broken the Japanese naval code and were forewarned. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz's American fleet lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown, but American dive-bombers destroyed four Japanese carriers: Soryu, Akagi, Kaga, and Hiryu. The loss of four irreplaceable aircraft carriers and the death of the best-trained Japanese pilots crippled Japanese naval aviation for the duration of the war.
Battle of Aegospotami (405 BC)
on the Hellespont (Dardanelles) ended the Peloponnesian War and the Athenian Empire. After a setback at the Battle of Arginusae in 406 BC, the Spartans reinstated Lysander as the commander of their fleet. The result was a complete victory for Sparta; only a fraction of the Athenian fleet survived, including the general Conon, and the ship Paralus, which brought the news of defeat to Athens. Following the battle, the Spartans besieged Athens and forced its surrender.
Napoleon Bonaparte (born 1769 on the Mediterranean island Corsica)
rose to power during the later stages of the French Revolution. He defended the revolutionary government with artillery fire during the coup of 13 Vendémiaire (October 1795) and was rewarded with command of the French forces in Italy, where his series of battlefield victories forced Austria to sign the 1797 Treaty of Campo Formio. Over the next eighteen years, Napoleon rose from general to first consul to emperor of France, effectively ending the French Revolution and provoking a series of "Napoleonic Wars" that sent French troops into battle in places as distant as Egypt, Portugal, and central Russia. To defeat and depose the upstart emperor, it took a coalition of European powers nearly two decades of warfare, including the following battles:
Actium (31 BC)
the fleet of Octavian defeated the combined forces of Cleopatra and Mark Antony at this battle near what is now Preveza in the Ambracian Gulf of Greece. Marcus Agrippa commanded Octavian's fleet, which consisted of small, nimble Liburnian ships. Antony's fleet consisted of massive Quinqueremes, which were less mobile. Following his victory in the battle, Octavian titled himself Princeps, and later Augustus. To some, Actium signals the end of the Roman Republic.
Battle of Chalons (or Catalaunian Fields) (AD 451)
was an epic battle between the Romans and the Huns fought in what is now France. The Roman army was commanded by Flavius Aetius and included Visigoths under Theodoric I, who was killed by an Ostrogoth during the battle. The Hunnic army was led by Attila, who was rampaging through Gaul. The battle ended with a victory for the Roman-Visigothic alliance, which stopped the Huns' advance into Gaul. The next year, Attila invaded Italy; however, in 453, Attila died and his empire broke up shortly after.
Battle of Kadesh (1274 BC)
was fought near the Orontes River in what is now Syria between Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II and the Hittite king Muwatalli II. Although Ramses proclaimed a great victory for himself, he was lucky to achieve a stalemate after being ambushed by Hittite chariots. Kadesh was probably the largest chariot battle in history, with over 5,000 chariots engaged. The Egyptian chariots were smaller and faster than those used by the Hittites, which gave the Egyptians an advantage.
Battle of the Milvian Bridge (AD 312)
was part of the civil war that ensued when Maxentius usurped the throne of the western half of the Roman Empire from Constantine. Prior to the battle, Constantine supposedly had a vision of God promising victory to his forces if he painted his shields with the Chi-Rho, a Christian symbol. Constantine was indeed victorious, and Maxentius drowned in the Tiber River during the battle. Eventually, Constantine was able to abolish the Tetrarchy, become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire, and end persecution of Christians.
Thermopylae (480 BC)
was the first battle of the second Persian invasion of Greece. Although the Persians under Xerxes I and his general Mardonius defeated the Spartans, King Leonidas and his Spartan troops put up a heroic defense of the pass at Thermopylae (the "hot gates"). The Greeks were betrayed by Ephialtes, who told the Persians about a path that led behind the Spartans. The battle was part of Themistocles' plan to halt the advance of the Persians. The other part of his plan was to block the Persian navy at Artemisium; a battle occurred there simultaneously.
Issus (333 BC)
was the second major battle between Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire, and the first to feature Darius III. The battle was fought along the Pinarus River near what is now Iskenderun in Turkey's Hatay province. Before the battle, Darius was able to surprise Alexander and cut him off from the main force of Macedonians. However, the battle ended with Darius fleeing the field and the capture of his tent and family. The battle was the subject of a 1528 painting by Albrecht Altdorfer, the leader of the Danube School.
