Well i'm pretty much sticking to the original list except a few changes.
If anyone has a contender he will have to name a battle compared to which his candidate is more decisive.
In chronological order.
1.Battle of Salamis.480 BC.
Picked this over marathon as the persian force at marathon would have been too small to conquer greece and even if it had won in all probability would have been crushed by the arrival of spartan reinforcements.On salamis however hinged the fate of all greece as a persian victory would mean the persian forces would outflank the greek forces blocking the isthmus of corinth.
Battle of Hydaspes, 326 BC: marked the end of Alexander's ability to wage war, as it marked the end of his ability to carry his Macedonians with him.
2.Battle of metaurus 207 BC.Ensures survival of rome by denying hannibal reinforcements and siege equipment,Took this instead of zama because by that time rome had already won the war.
3.Battle of actium.Formation and consolidation the roman empire under augustus.
4.Battle of teutoburg forest 9AD .Ensures seperate german identity.
Were not Chalons, 451 AD, Aetius and Theodoric the Visigoth vs. Attila, or Lechfeld, 955 AD, as important if not more, in terms of preserving European identity?
5.Battle of yarmouk 636.Islam becomes a world player.
6.Tours 732.Non islamic western europe ensured.
7.Orleans 1429.Joan of arc's victory ensures france's survival and no union of anglo french thrones.
8.Constantinopole 1453.Beginning of ottoman supremacy and lasting effect on balkans and world diplomacy.
9.Vienna 1529.Survival of europe vs ottomans at their zenith.
10.Gravelines 1588.Defeat of spanish armada ensures seperate british identity.
11.Blenheim 1704.Europe saved from french hegemony.
A brilliant victory and a strategic moment. Yet French domination of European affairs started long before that. Might I draw your attention back to Breitenfeld, 1631, Gustavus Adolphus Magnus & John George of Saxony vs. Tilly and Bavarian forces? In some ways, it is a more exciting, blood-quickening battle, with the King leading his Hakkapelliitaas in repeated charges and rolling up the Imperial line.
Equally brilliant, perhaps, a demonstration of the strange new Swedish doctrines of a outrance cavalry charges, of attached field artillery, of cross-training, with Swedish cavalrymen turning their captured Imperial guns against the Imperial line, of the flexibility of the Swedish musketeers under Horn and Tortensson against the doomed, gallant tercios, crawling their way across the front in a charge at tortoise pace, doomed before they reached due to the flexibility and speed of the Protestant side's responses.
12.Poltava.Russia becomes a great power.
By defeating Gustavus Adolphus Magnus' successor, and slowly bringing to an end the time of great power for Sweden.
13.Plassey.The british dominion over india meant they would be richest country in the world.Seeds of pax britannica.
But in two years, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, 1759 AD, did the equivalent for the British conquest of Canada. Certain risible thoughts come to mind, to do with our forum, the composition of its members, and the popularity of a battle to gain Canada over a battle to gain India, but perhaps these droll passages can find expression later.
14.Saratoga.Key battle in american war of independence.
15.Battle of valmy.The french revolution survives.
16.Battle of trafalgar/battle of leipzig.Unsure which one to take.Victory over napoleon.
17.Battle of sedan 1871.Germany unified.Replaces france as the greatest european power.Seeds of anglo french rivalry and 2 world wars.
In keeping with the wishes of those who sought more naval battles in the mix, may I suggest Tsushima, 1905, Japan vs. Russia? Strategic, because it set the tone for east Asian politics for the next century. It allowed Japan more or less free access to China, and ensured that a stung, humiliated China would come storming back to take centre stage in the world of the 21st century. And the battle-craft as well as the technology on display was not bad either.
18.Marne 1914.France survives the german onslaught.
On the other hand, Maestro, consider Megiddo, 1918, Allies vs. Turkey with German Advisers, which set the tone for the Middle East for the rest of the period from then till now. This perhaps did for the Middle East, what Tsushima did for East Asia.
19.Battle of britain 1940.Britain survives leaving the springboard for normandy open.
20.Stalingrad/moscow.Both equally decisive in the defeat of hitler.
Kohima, 1944, stopped the Japanese advance into India. Once inside India, the consequences for the British might have become unpredictable, if ever the Japanese could have linked up to the anti-Imperial province of Bengal.
Btw if u want more discussions on military history,join historum forums.I'm there too.
http://www.historum.com/
Looking forward to seing u there.Cheers.
