Great Military Battles in History
Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:08 am
I want to discuss some of the Great Battles in History. I do not want to severely limit the criteria, but I do want a fun discussion of ideas on some or many of the key battles in history. One factor I am considering is whether the battle represents an inflection point in history, where the results of the battle decide the arc of history for a "long time" (no set # of years) after the battle. If the losing side had won the battle, history would be profoundly impacted. BUT this is not the sole criteria.
Of course, the SIZE of the Battle is key too: # of fighters involved, # of casualties, length of battle are things that come to mind. Again, these are not the ONLY criteria for consideration. (I think we all can learn as we discuss; some may choose not to learn or be willing to change their views when confronted with opposing opinions, of course.)
I will likely look at some lists posted by others online, but I will offer TWO to start this discussion. At this point, these are not in any particular order. I hope to learn and get some new insights in the discussion, and, of course, a bit of debate and friendly disagreement would and can be FUN, too.
A) Cortez conquers the Aztec Empire. The arc of history may not have changed if Cortez lost, but the pace of the European migration to the New World (i.e., North and South and Central Americas) would and/or could have been delayed. Cortez did not have that many men, perhaps a few hundred, vs. upward toward a million living in and around Mexico City (I am not sure of the exact or approximate number here, without looking that up). He did have the aid of tribes opposed to the Aztecs; some may have been vassal tribes. He was lucky to "find" a native woman who was a primary translator for him who could speak the Aztec Language.
Most of know some of the details of the battle; they are very interesting. Cortez faced HUGE odds against his win; some remind me of the DICE complaints in this Forum, BUT I DIGRESS.
There were two main motivations for New World Conquests, as I understand things: 1) pursuit of riches, mostly in the form of gold and silver, and later, via other commodities; and 2) the spread of Christianity. Exploration and a chance for many for a new start in life can be contributing factors.
As far as the arc of history, his conquest and sending back to Spain LOTS of Gold (and perhaps some silver) ENCOURAGED more conquests. Pizzaro later goes to the Andes and conquers the Incas and sends LOTS of silver to Spain. I think the famous "pieces of eight" were minted from the silver mines in the Andes. The conversion of natives to Christianity was profound as human sacrifice, so endemic to many New World peoples (in addition to the Aztecs and Incas, I think the Mayans, NOT conquered by Spain) all had human sacrifice as part of their religious observation. And Christianity had other impacts on the New Worlds. The conquerors did introduce a new set of moral laws to the Americas, but these did not prevent atrocities to be committed against the native populations.
Let me stop here and add my second battle in a new post.
I will add that I did search a bit in this Forum and did not see a similar thread. (There is one on NAVAL battles and of course, the recent thread on Military Leaders.) There were 5 pages when I searched "battles" and some 20 pages on "battle" in this Forum.
Of course, the SIZE of the Battle is key too: # of fighters involved, # of casualties, length of battle are things that come to mind. Again, these are not the ONLY criteria for consideration. (I think we all can learn as we discuss; some may choose not to learn or be willing to change their views when confronted with opposing opinions, of course.)
I will likely look at some lists posted by others online, but I will offer TWO to start this discussion. At this point, these are not in any particular order. I hope to learn and get some new insights in the discussion, and, of course, a bit of debate and friendly disagreement would and can be FUN, too.
A) Cortez conquers the Aztec Empire. The arc of history may not have changed if Cortez lost, but the pace of the European migration to the New World (i.e., North and South and Central Americas) would and/or could have been delayed. Cortez did not have that many men, perhaps a few hundred, vs. upward toward a million living in and around Mexico City (I am not sure of the exact or approximate number here, without looking that up). He did have the aid of tribes opposed to the Aztecs; some may have been vassal tribes. He was lucky to "find" a native woman who was a primary translator for him who could speak the Aztec Language.
Most of know some of the details of the battle; they are very interesting. Cortez faced HUGE odds against his win; some remind me of the DICE complaints in this Forum, BUT I DIGRESS.
There were two main motivations for New World Conquests, as I understand things: 1) pursuit of riches, mostly in the form of gold and silver, and later, via other commodities; and 2) the spread of Christianity. Exploration and a chance for many for a new start in life can be contributing factors.
As far as the arc of history, his conquest and sending back to Spain LOTS of Gold (and perhaps some silver) ENCOURAGED more conquests. Pizzaro later goes to the Andes and conquers the Incas and sends LOTS of silver to Spain. I think the famous "pieces of eight" were minted from the silver mines in the Andes. The conversion of natives to Christianity was profound as human sacrifice, so endemic to many New World peoples (in addition to the Aztecs and Incas, I think the Mayans, NOT conquered by Spain) all had human sacrifice as part of their religious observation. And Christianity had other impacts on the New Worlds. The conquerors did introduce a new set of moral laws to the Americas, but these did not prevent atrocities to be committed against the native populations.
Let me stop here and add my second battle in a new post.
I will add that I did search a bit in this Forum and did not see a similar thread. (There is one on NAVAL battles and of course, the recent thread on Military Leaders.) There were 5 pages when I searched "battles" and some 20 pages on "battle" in this Forum.