Creasy's 15 decisive battles of the world

[LightSpectra]

Such as your example of Stalingrad: It was a turning point due to the fact that its loss caused the Germans to turn to the defensive from that point on.

Wrong

 

[Dachs]

Poland is Asian.

North African, I thought.

 

[Antilogic]

Yes I somewhat agree. Maybe it would sound better if we called it t=a turning point in a war? Such as your example of Stalingrad: It was a turning point due to the fact that its loss caused the Germans to turn to the defensive from that point on. I mean The Germans might have made some gains afterward but in general the momentum in The Great Patriotic War definitely shifted towards the Soviets(painfully or otherwise). Another Turning Point was the Battle of Midway. The Japanese Carrier Fleet was pretty much wreaked and wouldn't be a major factor in other battles. The Allies were also able to start their offensive shortly thereafter, too.

I would agree with the terminology "turning point". Especially with regards to the Pacific Theatre--sparing a long, unsolicited rant, my conclusion is the Japanese launched a war with no achievable strategic goals and a nonexistent, to put it mildly, ability to cause harm to the US resource base. Since the Allies and Japanese switched offensive and defensive postures largely as a result of this battle, it deserves some identification as important, but I would not call it decisive.

North African, I thought.

Either Masada is the one of the greatest deadpan comedians ever or this is one of the greatest rejoinders ever.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

It's hard for a lot of people to get past the notion that the large military engagements are the ones that matter most to the course of a war or of the fates of states and peoples.

I don't know that Creasy was driven entirely by this mindset, though; he did include things like Valmy and Metaurus, which were by no means either the largest or most famous battles of the wars they were respectively from. He did, however, fall for the Tours trick.

 

[Ajidica]

While Tours was by no means the 'Honorable Christians saving Europe from the Dirty Muslims', I was under the impression that it massively helped Charles Martel's standing (along with some other political factors resulting from the battles) which allowed Charlemagne to become King of France.

 

[Masada]

Either Masada is the one of the greatest deadpan comedians ever or this is one of the greatest rejoinders ever.

I was being serious.