Military History Thread: 5 Greatest Military Wins/Strategy/Manuevers

[CharlieDontSurf]

Ok, I wasn't a history major but it seems like there are several knowledgable posters on here who have a solid grasp of this topic.

What would be the 5 greatest military wins/strategies/manuevers etc...and why were they so successful/brilliant.

D-Day?

Alexander the Great vs. Darrius at the Battle of Issus...30-35K vs. 250 to 500K.



Anyways...I couldn't really think of the perfect format for this...
5 greatest military leaders and their greatest military accomplishment?? etc
5 greatest battles...what made them special??etc

So I'll leave it up to you guys...

[OrigamiSensei]

D-Day and the succeeding month or so would certainly be a good candidate as the greatest logistical achievement in military history.

I haven't read about it in years and have forgotten everything I ever knew about the battle but military leaders have long been obsessed with achieving their own Cannae.

Trafalgar still lives on in tradition and legend.

But in the end I think rather than trying to rank them it would be more fun to focus on particular battles/campaigns and explore them.

[LittleOldLady]

[ QUOTE ]
D-Day and the succeeding month or so would certainly be a good candidate as the greatest logistical achievement in military history.

I haven't read about it in years and have forgotten everything I ever knew about the battle but military leaders have long been obsessed with achieving their own Cannae.

Trafalgar still lives on in tradition and legend.

But in the end I think rather than trying to rank them it would be more fun to focus on particular battles/campaigns and explore them.

[/ QUOTE ]

If we are looking at major logistical achievements in warfare, the invasion of England by William of Normandy is something to consider. He, of course, had the same logistical problem as Eisenhower, just going in the opposite direction. The Bayeux Tapestry (my copy of which was destroyed) shows the logistical arrangements in a sort of cartoon fashion, panel by panel.

The ensuing battle of Hastings was one of history's pivotal battles. Well, in any case, it was pivotal in my life 900 years later. Harold Godwinson allowed himself to be outsmarted by WIlliam, and thus lost a battle which he was well on the way to winning. I had the opportunity to visit the battlefield at Senlac (which was renamed Battle as if there were no other battle except the one fought in that place). WHile no doubt over more than 900 years there must have been changes in the topography, nonetheless, the famous escarpment was still there, and one could imagine what that day must have been like.

[ChipWrecked]

Gettysburg forced Lee to abandon any hope of taking the War Between the States North; putting the Confederacy on the defensive for the rest of the war.

More obscure but just as pivotal, Perryville did the same in the Western Theatre.

[CharlieDontSurf]

Yeah...this post is two vague or general I think. Should have followed Karpinski's lead and focused on a given civilization or war.

So you guys choose the topic to focus on...

1. Greatest Military Leaders in History
2. Greatest Military(pre-gunpowder) Army
3. The Greeks/Spartans
4. Most influentional miltary technology advancements(early civ and on)
5. WW1
6. Biggest military disasters in history
7. Greatest victories over a superior military force
8. Fill In The Blank

[cambraceres]

Great military disasters are every bit as varied and fun as great successes. I would like to see a thread on that, if not this one then another.

If we do move in this direction, some real gems to focus on are.

Hitler vs. Russia from Barbarosa onward

Napoleon vs. Russia -500,000 casualties, also this campaign featured the bloodiest day of 19th century warfare at Borodino.



This conversation would really be just a flip side of most conversations on military history. All the great victories were a disaster for someone. Imagine how Darius felt while fleeing for his life from an army less than one tenth the size on his own. Or Imagine Napoleon's absolute fury after finding out about the fate of his navy at Aboukir bay.

Another great defeat to discuss would be the defeat of the allied forces at Austerlitz by Napoleon. There were three Emperors and the better part of Europe's armies centered on one field that day.

For yet another intriguing crushing defeat, The victory of Arminius over the Roman Legions in the forests of the north. That defeat was so bad that Augustus chose to never have those three legions replaced. They were shattered by the Germans in the most decisive loss in Roman history, worse in character that Carrhae or Cannae.

Go to go back to work, good thread!

Cam