Balaklava, Ukraine (1854 AD) The Battle of Balaklava was a pivotal engagement of the Crimean War and, though not the most decisive, it easily became the most famous. Part of the allied campaign to capture the strategic Black Sea port of Sevastopol, it pitted a combined force of British, French and Turkish troops against a much larger Russian army trying to break out of the … [Read more...]
BATTLES OF CHILIANWALA & GUJARAT (BATTLEFIELD)
Punjab, Pakistan (1849 AD) The Battles of Chilianwala and Gujrat were arguably the most important engagements of the Anglo-Sikh Wars in what is now Northern India and Pakistan. Of all the peoples of India, the Sikhs, thanks in large part to geography, put up the fiercest resistance to British colonial rule on the Subcontinent. In the first battle, the Sikhs fought the … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF CHAPULTEPEC (CHAPULTEPEC BATTLEFIELD)
Mexico City, Mexico (1847 AD) The Battle of Chapultepec was the last major engagement of the American campaign to capture Mexico City during the Mexican-American War. It was followed by the storming of the city, which crippled the Mexican war effort and effectively ended the imperial government of Santa Ana. Although an American victory, the battle is commemorated for the … [Read more...]
BATTLES OF CANTON (CANTON BATTLEFIELD)
Guangzhou, China (1841 AD, 1856 AD & 1857 AD) The Battles of Canton were a series of four military engagements that took place in and around the city of Canton during the two Opium Wars. Canton, the largest port in China at the time, was also the principal city for European trade in the Orient. During some periods it was the only port permitted for European use in … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO (SAN JACINTO BATTLEFIELD)
La Porte, TX (1836 AD) The Battle of San Jacinto was the decisive engagement of the Texas Revolution against Mexico. Fought in the wake of the defeats at Goliad and more famously at the Alamo, San Jacinto was the turning point, and effectively the culmination, of the Texas Revolution. Fought between a large and powerfully equipped Mexican Army, considered to be on par with … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF WATERLOO (WATERLOO BATTLEFIELD)
Waterloo, Belgium (1815 AD) The Battle of Waterloo was by far the most famous engagement of the Napoleanic Wars and one of the most popularized in history. It was the culmination of Napolean Bonaparte’s final campaign, as well as the end of nearly three decades of strife in Europe that began with the French Revolution. Fought between a hastily gathered army of French … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF LEIPZIG (LEIPZIG BATTLEFIELD)
Leipzig, Germany (1813 AD) The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was the largest single military engagement ever to be fought in Continental Europe prior to the 20th century. It was also one fought by one of the greatest military coalitions that had yet been seen in Europe: an army composed of forces from Russia, Austria, Prussia and Sweden defeated … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF BORODINO (BORODINO BATTLEFIELD)
Borodino, Russia (1812 AD) The Battle of Borodino was the largest single-day battle of the Napoleanic Wars and one of the largest that Europe had seen in history up until that point. It pitted Napolean Bonaparte and the French Grand Army against a roughly equal Russian force, each with perhaps 150,000 or more men. Although a French victory which led directly to the capture … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF MONTE DE LAS CRUCES (MONTE DE LAS CRUCES BATTLEFIELD)
Ocoyoacac, Mexico (1810 AD) The Battle of Monte de Las Cruces was one of the decisive battles of the Mexican War of Independence, and arguably the greatest rebel victory of the war. Like the Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolution, it showed that the local populace could muster an army and defeat a major European power in open battle. Although the victory at Las … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF DERNA (DERNA BATTLEFIELD)
Derna, Libya (1805 AD) The Battle of Derna marked the beginning of the Barbary Wars, a series of campaigns between the United States and its allies and the Barbary pirates of North Africa backed by the Ottoman Empire. It was the first battle in which United States troops fought in a foreign theater of war, making it America’s debut onto the geopolitical stage. It was also … [Read more...]
