The Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain spanned from July 10th, 1940 to October 31st of that same year. It was the first major air force battle in history, and it was a battle that Germany might have easily won if not for some crucial mistakes.

This is not to say that Britain didn’t have plenty of advantages. Because the battle was fought over Britain itself, their aircraft could quickly land, refuel, and re-arm themselves for battle. German aircraft, on the other hand, had to travel a great distance. They could only fight for less than half an hour before being forced to return for refueling.

Another thing in Britain’s favor were radar bases, which gave them advance warning of air raids. Germany underestimated the importance of these radar bases, which would be part of the Luftwaffe’s downfall.

Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe, had a greater number of aircraft as well as more experienced and better-trained fighter pilots. However, Britain’s Royal Air Force planes—the Spitfire and the Hurricane—were good aircraft that were more what we might call “user-friendly.” The Spitfire was faster than Luftwaffe’s Bf 109E, while the durable Hurricane could take a beating and still continue flying.

Germany’s military intelligence was not very good, and the Luftwaffe’s strategies were inconsistent. At one point they might have been able to defeat the RAF, but instead focused on attacking civilian areas instead. Because they switched targets, the RAF had time to recoup their losses.

The outcome of the battle was that Britain emerged triumphant. Germany lost mainly due to poor military intelligence and the great distance their aircraft had to fly, which meant that they couldn’t sustain attacks for long.

The Battle of Marathon

The Battle of Marathon, which took place in 490 BC, was the last part of an attempt of King Darius I of the Persian Empire to conquer the rest of Greece to secure the weakest part of his western border. Almost all of what we know today of the battle came from Herodotus.

Darius sent Mardonius by land in 492 BC to Europe to strengthen Persia’s hold of Macedon and Thrace, regions that had been weakened during the Ionian Revolt. This succeeded but most of the force was lost in a storm off Mount Athos. The rest of the force returned to Asia.

In 490 BC Datis and Artaphernes were sent to subjugate the Cyclades islands in the central Aegean Sea as well as punish Athens and Eretria for their part in the Ionian Revolt. Eretria fell, at which point the Persian fleet arrived in Marathon Bay. Despite greater numbers, they were then defeated by a small force of Athenian and Plataean hoplites. The current usage of the word marathon was inspired by the long run the messenger took when he brought news of the victory to Athens.

It is believed that the fleet Darius sent to Marathon had 500 to 600 triremes. There was no estimate by Herodotus of the size of either army. Simonides, a poet, claimed the force to be 200,000, while another writer claimed 300,000. Modern historians believe it was actually much less than that. The Athenian army was believed to have had 7,000-10,000. The Battle of Marathon was significant because it was the first time the Greeks were able to defeat the Persians on land.

The Battle of Megiddo

The Battle of Megiddo was fought between Egypt and a large Canaanite coalition in the 15th Century BC. The Egyptian forces were led by Pharaoh Thutmose III, while the Canaanite army was led by the King of Kadesh. It is significant because it was the first battle to have been recorded in reliable detail.

There are even some possible exact dates for the battle. The date most accepted by Egyptologists is May 9, 1457 BC. Others place the battle in 1482 BC or 1479 BC. The battle of Megiddo was won by the Egyptians and the Canaanite forces were routed. The Canaanites had fled to safety in the city of Megiddo, leading to the Siege of Megiddo.

Besides being the first battle with a detailed and reliable account, it was also the first recorded battle with use of the composite bow. The account of the battle also produced the first body count. All of the reports of the battle come from Egyptian sources, mainly in hieroglyphic writings on the Hall of Annals in the Temple of Amun at Karnak, Thebes, by the military scribe Tjaneni.

The victory reestablished Egyptian dominance in Palestine, with the Egyptian Empire hitting its largest size. The empire was expanded, and Thutmose III made all of the defeated kings send a son to the Egyptian Court. They received an Egyptian education and returned home being sympathetic to the Egyptians. Overall, unrest in the area of Palestine and Syria continued, with several more campaigns almost every year.

The Battle of Actium

The Battle of Actium was a conflict during the Roman civil war between the forces supporting Octavian and those supporting Mark Antony. The battle took place on September 2, 31 BC on the Ionian Sea near Actium in Greece. Octavian’s fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, while Antony’s was supported by Cleopatra VII’s fleet.

Octavian’s fleet was victorious which allowed him to consolidate power over Rome and lead to his adoption of the title of Princeps and acceptance of the title Augustus from the Senate. This was to preserve the appearance of a restored Republic, although historians consider it to be the beginning of the Roman Empire.

The battle took place outside the Gulf of Actium with Mark Antony leading 220 warships through the straights to the sea. He met Octavian’s fleet, who were arranged to block his exit from the straight, at that point. Antony’s fleet was made mostly of large quinqueremes, while Octavian’s fleet was mostly smaller Liburnian vessels armed with better trained crews. Despite the defeat, Antony was able to get on a smaller vessel with his flag and escaped. Except for a few ships that escaped with him, his entire fleet was captured or destroyed by Octavian’s fleet.

After the loss, Antony’s army mostly deserted, and he eventually committed suicide. Cleopatra then tried to negotiate a surrender with Octavian, but wasn’t able to get favorable terms and also committed suicide. The conclusion of the battle also marks the final surrender of Egypt as well as the end of the Hellenistic Age and Ptolemaic Kingdom.

The Battle of Brentwood

On March 25, 1863, with the Western Campaign of the American Civil War in full swing, the South managed to gain a minor strategic advantage with very little bloodshed, using overwhelming manpower and clever planning to batter Union forces at the Battle of Brentwood.

Located in Williamson County, Tennessee, Brentwood was a station on the Nashville & Decatur Railroad, making it essential to the Union for supplies and troop movement. The South recognized the town's importance and scored a shockingly swift and decisive victory.

Union Lt. Col. Edward Bloodgood was defending Brentwood with a force of around 400 men. The Confederate forces, led by Brig. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest, were far superior in number, but they still proceeded with caution, using some devastating indirect attacks to soften the enemy. Before approaching Brentwood en masse, Forrest ordered Col. J.W. Starnes to lead his 2^nd Cavalry Brigade to cut the telegraph lines, tear up the railroad tracks, and cut off any means of escape.

Once Brentwood was isolated, Forrest demanded surrender. Bloodgood initially refused. Forrest proceeded to convince his adversary, surrounding the town with his immense army and positioning artillery to shell the Union troops. Faced with unbeatable odds, Bloodgood relented and surrendered.

Although Forrest and his men did severe damage to the surrounding Brentwood area, virtually crippling the town, only one soldier on each side was killed during the brief skirmish. Five Confederates were wounded, while 305 Union troops were either wounded or captured, marking one of the South's easiest triumphs.

The Battle of Chancellorsville

When Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker boldly crossed the Rappahannock River on April 27, 1863, it appeared as though a decisive victory would follow. Hooker's Army of the Potomac was 133,000 strong, and its courageous march into Chancellorsville, Virgina, surprised the Confederate forces, which were vastly outnumbered and still regrouping from earlier battles. Yet despite having only 60,000 men at his disposal, General Robert E. Lee used ingenious planning and personal bravery to inspire his Confederate troops to a stunning victory.

The area around Chancellorsville is noted for its rugged terrain, thick brush, and dense wilderness. Instead of pressing the attack with his enormous manpower advantage, Hooker elected to benefit from the surroundings and hold a defensive posture, forcing Lee to either attack with his smaller army, which would eventually wear them down, or retreat with the Union forces at his back. Lee, never at a lack for valor, split his smaller army, sending General "Stonewall" Jackson and 28,000 troops to circle around and attack the Union's right flank, while Lee himself occupied Hooker's entire army with a force of roughly 12,000. Poor communication between regiments, disastrous battle decisions, and incompetence from several of his generals caused Hooker to suffer an embarrassing defeat, forcing the Union to retreat despite having a better than a two-to-one advantage in men.

Considered Lee's greatest victory of the Civil War, the Battle of Cancellorsville came at a staggering price. Before retreating, the Union suffered 17,000 casualties. While Lee lost fewer men, the total Union army dwarfed that of the Confederacy and could withstand the unimaginable carnage. The Confederate casualties at Chancellorsville amounted to roughly 25% of Lee's total infantry. He also endured the death of Jackson, his trusted ally and best general, to friendly fire. Lee's military daring may have won the battle, but Chancellorsville cost the Confederacy the war.

The Battle of Grand Gulf

Abraham Lincoln considered Vicksburg, Mississippi, the key to the Civil War. Lincoln knew the importance of securing the Mississippi River, since it was the lifeline of commerce and supplies to the North. Until the Union Army controlled the Mississippi River, effectively splitting the South in two and severing a vital supply line, they'd never be able to proceed with their goal of toppling Richmond. And Vicksburg was the key strategic pin in seizing control of the Mississippi.

In the spring of 1863, the North kicked off the Vicksburg Campaign, with Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Union Army of the Tennessee marching towards the pivotal Warren County objective. The Battle of Grand Gulf, fought on April 29, was one of the campaign's initial struggles.

Union Read Adm. David D. Porter commanded seven ironclad ships in an assault of the fortifications and artillery batteries around Grand Gulf, Mississippi. The plan called for Porter's group to destroy the guns and allow Gen. John A. McClernand's XIII Army Corps, which were being carried on accompanying transports and barges, to occupy the area. Porter's ships succeeded in dispatching the lower guns around Fort Wade, but Fort Coburn, positioned higher, remained out of reach and continued to hammer the Union ironclads.

Unable to defeat the Rebel artillery, Porter regrouped and attacked again, this time merely providing cover for the transports and barges to continue down river. Grant had marched his troops overland below the Gulf and met up with the river party at Bruinsburg. While the Confederacy won the Battle of Grand Gulf, it merely forced a slight change of plans for Grant's men, and the Union Army continued unimpeded towards their ultimate goal of Vicksburg.

The Battle of Chalk Bluff

Fought in early May of 1863, the Battle of Chalk Bluff was significant in that both the Confederacy and the Union could claim partial victory.

Confederate Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke was leading 5000 cavalrymen into southeastern Missouri when he suffered a defeat at the Battle of Cape Girardeau. In order to regroup, Marmaduke and his men withdrew towards Helena, Arkansas, but Union forces, led by Brig. Gen. William Vandever, aggressively pursued Marmaduke through Missouri and chased him down at Chalk Bluff, Arkansas.

Marmaduke's only means of escape was crossing the St. Francis River, which had steep, chalky clay banks that proved problematic for horses. As his engineers hastily began constructing a makeshift bridge, Marmaduke deployed two lines of rearguards, the first at Four-Mile and the second a mile away at Gravel Hill, to slow the Union advance and protect his men while crossing.

When the powerful Union forces arrived, the Confederate rearguards were firmly entrenched and ready for battle. The fighting commenced on May 1 and carried into the next day, with the Union unable to vanquish the determined Rebels. Marmaduke's engineers succeeded in crafting the bridge, and the majority of his cavalrymen did, indeed, pass the river.

While the crossing was a tactical victory for the South, since Marmaduke accomplished his objective of clearing the St. Francis River, the Union troops thoroughly depleted Marmaduke's rearguards, inflicting 210 casualties. The losses weakened Marmaduke's army to such an extent, he was forced to end his advances and head back to camp, providing the North with the overall strategic win.

The Battle of Ardennes

At the onset of World War I, the French intended to recapture the provinces of Alsace-Lorraine, which the Germans had claimed during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The strategy was set forth in the French Plan XVII, calling for swift, offensive action from the French Army to drive the Germans out of Alsace-Lorraine and back to the Rhine. French commander-in-chief Joseph Joffre also wanted to simultaneously engage in the Ardennes forest, located primarily in Belgium, cutting down the Germans from their right flank as they progressed towards France. These initial clashes of the War, all fought along the eastern frontiers of France and southern Belgium, are collectively known as the Battle of the Frontiers.

The French forces dispatched to the Ardennes consisted of General Pierre Ruffey's Third Army and General Fernand de Langle de Cary's Fourth Army. The Germans entered the forest with Duke Albrecht leading the German Fourth Army and Crown Prince Wilhelm guiding the German Fifth Army.

As the German forces progressed through the forest, they dug trenches and fortified their position, preparing for the likely French assault. Meanwhile, the French relying on quickness and aggression to win the day, barreled headlong into the wooded region. Fog greatly hindered the advances of both armies. And on August 21, 1914, the two opposing forces literally stumbled into each other in the dense fog, beginning a bloody battle that would last three days.

The Germans, with their superior tactical positioning, were quick to regroup, mowing down the charging French forces with machine gun fire and heavy artillery. The French spirit soon waned, causing a hasty, disorderly retreat. As a result, the Germans seized control of important iron resources and continued their march towards France.

The Battle of Coronel

When World War I started, the British Navy was riding a considerable undefeated streak, having not lost a naval battle since the Battle of Lake Champlain in 1812. That all changed on November 1, 1914.

The Royal Navy had been hunting Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee and the German Imperial Navy, known as the Kaiserliche Marine, during the opening months of the War. England feared Spee's squadron would inflict severe damage on trade routes and supply lines in the Pacific, but could never track him down until intercepting a radio communication in early October. Instead of pillaging the Pacific, Spee was actually heading for trading routes along the western coast of South America. At the time, British Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock was patrolling the region with his West Indies Squadron and prepared to intercept Spee near the Chilean town of Coronel.

Cradock had at his command four Royal Navy ships, including two armored cruisers, a light cruiser, and a converted liner. They were all aging vessels. Meanwhile, Spee was steaming towards him with five modern, fully-armed warships. Cradock knew he was outnumbered and outgunned, but reinforcements were too far away. Instead of retreating, Cradock bravely, if foolishly, attacked Spee's fleet.

Spee deftly guided his faster ships beyond Cradock's firing range and then unleashed his own barrage of artillery. Cradock's own ship, the Good Hope, was the first to fall, sinking with all hands on deck. The other armored cruiser, the HMS Monmouth, was the next to succumb, joined the Good Hope underwater. There were no survivors from either ship. A total of 1,654 men were lost that day. The surviving two British vessels, the Glasgow and Otranto, managed to escape, but the Battle of Coronel remains one of the worst defeats in English naval history.

The Battle of the Falkland Islands

After the humiliating defeat suffered at the Battle of Coronel, in which the British Royal Navy lost two cruisers and 1,654 men to Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee and the German Imperial Navy, all England was hungry for revenge. The British unleashed the dogs of war, sending a powerful fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Sturdee to hunt down and destroy Spee's squadron. Surprisingly, Spee found them, signing his own death notice.

Demonstrating their desire for brutal vengeance, the British deployed the Invincible and the Inflexible, two fearsome, modern battle cruisers armed with eight gigantic 12-inch guns apiece and capable of reaching speeds of 25 knots. They meant business. But before pursuing Spee, they stopped at Stanley in the Falkland Islands, along with three armored cruisers and two light cruisers, to re-coal.

Unaware of the British presence, Spee and his squadron, consisting of two armored cruisers, three light cruisers, and three transports, approached the Falklands, intending to raid the islands.

On December 8, 1914, two of Spee's cruisers, the Gneisenau and Nürnberg, ventured near Port Stanley as the British squadron re-coaled. But the German ships halted their advance upon taking fire from an unknown source. The shells were coming from the Canopus, a grounded pre-dreadnought battleship beached to protect Port Stanley. Unable to locate the source of the artillery, the German vessels reversed course. Had they pressed ahead, they could have battered the vulnerable British ships before they even got out of port. It was a deadly mistake.

The British quickly finished re-coaling and, led by the mighty Invincible and Inflexible, devoured Spee's squadron, sinking six of its eight ships and inflicting 1,871 casualties, included in which were Spee and his two sons. A little over a month after the Battle of Coronel, Britain had its revenge.

The Battle of Aachen

In October of 1944, Allied forces invaded Aachen, Germany, marking World War II's first invasion of a major German city. Normally home to some 160,000 citizens, the city's population was down to around 20,000 by the time of the attack, with the rest having been evacuated under the orders of German commander Gerhard von Schwerin, who wanted to protect them from the impending battle. Schwerin even considered surrendering to preserve the historic city's artifacts, but Adolf Hitler saw this as a sign of weakness and had Schwerin removed from power.

In Schwerin's place, Hitler defended the city with 5,000 Volkssturm, which was the German national militia formed in the final months of the War. The Volkssturm was comprised of all able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60. Their military training was simplistically basic and their weaponry cheap and primitive. It was Hitler's last desperate attempt to prolong the inevitable. Hitler was determined to do whatever he could to try and defend Aachen. Charlemagne's coronation took place in Aachen, making it the home of the Holy Roman Empire and what Hitler considered "The First Reich." He knew if Aachen fell, so would the Third Reich.

Including the Volksstrum, Germany had roughly 12,000 soldiers in Aachen. U.S. commanders planned to lay siege to the city, surrounding it and cutting off all supplies until it surrendered. But the German resistance was fierce, forcing the U.S. to take the city directly through deadly urban warfare. All told, 2,000 American soldiers were killed and another 3,000 wounded. The Germans lost 5,000 men with another 5,600 captured. Aachen fell. And, not longer after, so did the Third Reich.

The Trebuchet

The most powerful and perhaps most feared medieval siege engine was the trebuchet. The weapon was used to smash and destroy walls or to throw projectiles such as stone over them. There are two types of trebuchets, the counterweight and traction trebuchet. The traction trebuchet was an earlier weapon and the word is usually associated with the counterweight version.

Made from wood, the trebuchet was invented in China around the 4th century B.C. and made its way to Europe by the 6th century A.D. The trebuchet was used in both the Christian and Muslim world around the Mediterranean in the twelfth century. It was capable of throwing up to three hundred pound projectiles at fortifications such as castles. Many types of projectiles were thrown, including stone and even diseased corpses flung over walls- an early form of biological warfare. The trebuchet was more powerful and accurate than other medieval catapults. The fearsome weapon was used until the 16th century when the use of gunpowder started taking hold.

The trebuchet launched by having a counterweight acting on a lever arm. The fulcrum of the lever is supported by a high frame. The counterweight is suspended from the short arm of the lever, with the sling being attached to the long arm of the lever. One end of the sling is captive, while the other is hooked to the long arm so that it will release when the arm and sling reach the best hurling angles. The device is energized when the long arm is lowered and raised by the weighted short arm. It is then locked into the charged state by a cocked trigger mechanism.

The Fall of Constantinople

The Fall of Constantinople marked the end of the end of the old Byzantine Empire. It was a battle that ended in the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire on May 29, 1453. By this time the empire had already started to break up into several Greek monarchies. It also led to the Ottoman Empire expanding into the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans. The Fall of Constantinople is also noted by many historians as marking the end of the Middle Ages.

The Byzantine Empire lasted over 1,000 years and Constantinople, its capital, had been besieged many times. One time, in 1204, it was taken. This led to the empire being split into a number of states, who fought over the Byzantine crown. The empire was weakened from that point until it was finally conquered for good by the Ottomans.

Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire planned the attack. His army camped outside the city on April 2, 1453. He sat there while his large pieces of artillery were transported. Once his cannons were in place they were able to break down parts of the wall, but the Byzantines were able to repair it before it could be breached.

In the Golden Horn, his fleet was unable to enter because of the boom that was laid across it by the Byzantines. The fleet stood by to keep any outside ships from entering the area. The attack that took the city began on May 29, and they were eventually able to storm the city. As the first enemy flags showed up on the walls, Constantine XI led the last defense of the city, and died in the streets with his soldiers.

The Battle of Bosworth Field

The Battle of Bosworth Field was one of the more important battles during the Wars of the Roses in England. It was fought between King Richard III of York and Henry Tudor of the Lancastrian contender for the crown on August 22, 1485. The battle ended in Richard’s death and the establishment of the Tudor dynasty. It is considered to have served as the conclusion to the Wars of the Roses.

The battle, which lasted only about two hours, began well for King Richard, but Sir William Stanley entered the battle on Henry’s side with Lord Stanley staying out of the conflict. Richard reached Ambion Hill in good position, and when Henry arrived his forces used cannon and arrows to force Richard’s forces down from the hilltop. Richard called for the Earl of Northumberland to join the fray with fresh forces, but he refused. Speculation is that it was a calculated move, and he was confirmed in all his titles and lands after the battle by the new King Henry.

Richard’s commander, John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, was killed, and with the Northumberland and Stanley armies staying out, it lead to his defeat. At that point Henry lead his forces to Lord Stanley, and seeing that Richard charged Henry’s troops. Once Richard was in sight of Henry, Sir William Stanley’s army came to the Tudor’s rescue, and Richard’s forces were overwhelmed. Richard was the last of the Plantagenet kings. Henry Tudor was crowned as King Henry VII to begin the 118 year reign of the Tudor dynasty in England.

The Battle of Hastings

The Battle of Hastings was the deciding battle of the Norman Conquest of England. The Normans won the battle at a hill about six miles north of Hastings on October 14, 1066. The battle was fought between the Norman army of Duke William of Normandy and the Saxon army of King Harold II. The Normans defeated the Saxons and King Harold was killed, giving William the crown and control of England.

During the battle it appeared at one point that the Saxons would be victorious, but eventually the Norman forces prevailed. Once the battle was over, only a small amount of Saxon defenders got to the surrounding forest. Some Norman forces went in pursuit and were ambushed and destroyed at darkness approached. William rested for a night after the victory and began the Norman Conquest.

He recruited his army for two weeks in the area of Hastings and waited for the Saxon lords to submit to him. That did not happen, so he led his forces to London. His army was shrunk by dysentery and even William was ill. He was still able to lead his forces on the city. They made their way to Wallingford on the Thames in three columns to lead a siege on London.
Eventually the Saxon nobility gave up the fight, with the northern earls Morcar and Edwin, Esegar the sheriff of London, and Edgar the Atheling coming out to submit. William was then crowned as the King of England on Christmas Day at Westminster.

The First Battle of St. Albans

The First Battle of St. Albans was the first battle of the Wars of the Roses. The battle took place on May 22, 1455 in the town of St. Albans north of London. In the battle, the Lancastrian force under Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, was defeated by Richard, Duke of York and Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick.. Beaufort was killed, Henry VI was captured, and Richard of York declared himself Constable of England.

At the battle the York army had 3,000 soldiers, while the Lancaster army had 2,000. To avoid being outflanked by the larger force, the 2,000 troops under the Lancasters pulled back into the town and built barricades to defend against an attack from the east. Most of Henry’s forces were surprised by how quickly Richard attacked. Most of the Lancaster army was expecting a peaceful resolution such as the one at Blackheath in 1452. The leaders from both sides had actually been negotiating before the attack. There were two frontal assaults down the narrow streets against the barricades, and there were heavy casualties from the York army with no progress made.

Warwick then took reserve troops through an unguarded part of town to emerge in the Market Square where most of Henry’s troops were resting. Warwick easily routed the force and killed the Duke of Somerset. The York archers shot at the men surrounding the King, injuring him and the Duke of Buckingham. The barricades were then left unguarded. The result of the battle was a total victory for York, who captured the King and gave himself complete power.

The Battle of Carrhae

The Battle of Carrhae was fought in 53 B.C. near the town of Carrhae in present-day Turkey. The battle was fought between the Roman Republic under General Crassus and the Parthian Empire under Spahbod Surena. The battle ended in victory for the Parthian Empire.

The Parthian army was outnumbered but was able to use 1,000 heavily armed horsemen with 9,000 horse archers to defeat the Romans. The Roman legion ended up breaking formation and was routed. The main reason that the Romans were defeated was due to their heavy armor. The Parthian horse archers fired volleys into the Roman’s densely packed formation to cause major casualties. Crassus was eventually captured and killed.

The result of the battle was one of the worst losses suffered by the Roman Republic in its history. Crassus was killed and his head was put on a pike for his legionaries to see. He was tortured by having molten gold poured down his throat, then decapitated. His head was sent to the Parthian king, Orodes II. The rest of the Parthian army went on to defeat the Armenians and captured the country.

The victories by Surena made the Parthian king suspicious and jealous of him and Surena was executed. After the execution Orodes II took command of the army. He lead the army into Syria and was defeated. Gaius Cassius Longinus, a legatus under Crassus, led 10,000 surviving soldiers from the Carrhae battlefield to Syria, where he defended it from Orodes II’s attacks. The Parthians were defeated by Cassius.

The Battle of Salamis

The Battle of Salamis was a pivotal naval battle between the Greek city states and Persia in 480 B.C. The battle took place in the strait between Paraeus and Salamis Island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens. The Greek were victorious, which marked the turning point in the war versus Persia.

When the battle began the Greek fleet began rowing towards the Persians at daybreak. They retreated when they realized that they’d meet them at a wide point in the strait that would allow the Persians to take advantage of their greater numbers. The Greeks did this to gain better position and gain time until the early morning wind. Once the wind started blowing, the tall Phoenecian ships on the Persian side shook more than the Greek triremes.

At this point the Greeks attacked and both sides rammed each other. In the end the larger Persian fleet could not maneuver as well in the small area and were defeated. At least 200 Persian ships were sunk during the battle. Xerxes I, King of Persia, sat on Mount Aegaleo witnessing the battle.

The Greek victory was the turning point in the Wars. The battle has been labeled by many historians as the single most significant battle in human history because Greece’s independence laid the foundations for Western civilization. If the Persians had won the battle at Salamis, Xerxes may have ended up conquering all of Europe. The Athenian playwright Aeschylus, who fought in the battle, wrote three or four plays about the Persian wars. The only that survives today, “The Persians,” is believed to be the earliest surviving play in history.