Top 10 battles that changed the century

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10. Battle of stalingrad
july 1942 - feb 1943, russia

This is the battle that effectively ended Hitler’s quest for world dominance and started Germany down the long road towards ultimate defeat in World War Two.

By the time it was over, 1.5 million men had been killed, captured, or wounded, with 91,000 Germans being taken prisoner and an entire German Army being wiped from the face of the Earth. So bad were German losses that the German army never fully recovered and was forced to largely take the defensive for the remainder of the war. (With the possible exceptions of the Battle of Kursk in July, 1943 and the Battle of the Bulge in December, 1944, the German Army never mounted a major offensive again.) While it’s unlikely that a German victory at Stalingrad would have cost the Russians the war, it would certainly have extended it by many months, possibly even giving the Germans the time required to perfect their own version of the atomic bomb.

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Tags: battle of stalingrad, russia, 10 battles, changed century
  • Battle of stalingrad july 1942 - feb 1943, russia This is the battle that effectively ended Hitler’s quest for world dominance and started Germany down the long road towards ultimate defeat in World War Two. By the time it was over, 1.5 million men had been killed, captured, or wounded, with 91,000 Germans being taken prisoner and an entire German Army being wiped from the face of the Earth. So bad were German losses that the German army never fully recovered and was forced to largely take the defensive for the remainder of the war. (With the possible exceptions of the Battle of Kursk in July, 1943 and the Battle of the Bulge in December, 1944, the German Army never mounted a major offensive again.) While it’s unlikely that a German victory at Stalingrad would have cost the Russians the war, it would certainly have extended it by many months, possibly even giving the Germans the time required to perfect their own version of the atomic bomb.
  • Battle of the Somme july - november 1916, france The fighting at the Somme cost the British approximately 420,000 casualties, while the French incurred 200,000. German losses numbered around 500,000. During the campaign British and French forces advanced around 7 miles along the Somme front, with each inch costing around 1.4 casualties. While the campaign achieved its goal of relieving pressure on Verdun, it was not a victory in the classic sense. As the conflict increasingly became a war of attrition, the losses incurred at the Somme were more easily replaced by the British and French, than by the Germans. Also, the large-scale British commitment during the campaign aided in increasing their influence within the alliance. While the Battle of Verdun became the iconic moment of the conflict for the French, the Somme, particularly the first day, achieved a similar status in Britain and became a symbol of the futility of war.
  • fall of saigon april 1975, south vietnam By April 28th North Vietnamese forces were just three miles from Saigon’s centre and the city centre was put under a 24-hour curfew. The Americans tried to land two C-130 Hercules transport planes at Tan Son Nhut airport but these were ordered not to land because North Vietnamese forces were so close to the landing strip. The only option was a helicopter evacuation. Trees in the embassy garden were cut down, which gave the large Chinooks and ‘Jolly Green Giants’ a chance to land. The first to land was a Chinook that took off with 70 people on board – far above its limit. Successive helicopter trips took out of the embassy compound all the Americans who had gathered there. The last Marines were taken out of the embassy by a Bell Huey helicopter via the roof helipad. North Vietnamese tanks smashed down the gates at the Presidential Palace to accept the surrender of General Minh. By the end of April 30th, South Vietnam was wholly under the control of North Vietnam who swiftly announced the creation of a united Vietnam. Saigon was re-named Ho Chi Minh City.
  • Battle of britain july - october 1940, united kingdom One event did greatly aid the British. The head of the Luftwaffe - Herman Goering - ordered an end to the raids on radar bases as he believed that they were too unimportant to matter. Albert Speer - a leading Nazi throughout the war - claimed in his book Inside the Third Reich that a number of important decisions were made based on Goering s ignorance. As Goering did not understand the importance of something, it was dismissed as unnecessary for success. As a result of this, the radar station at Ventnor on the Isle of Wight functioned throughout the battle and gave Fighter Command vital information regarding German targets. The change to bombing the cities also gave Fighter Command time to recover from its losses and for pilots to recover from the many hours a day they operated which took many to the brink of exhaustion. On September 15th came the last major engagement of the battle. On that day, the Luftwaffe lost 60 planes while the RAF lost 28. On September 17th, Hitler postponed indefinitely the invasion of Britain though the night time raids - the Blitz - continued. London, Plymouth and Coventry were all badly hit by these raids. Recent research indicates that Hitler’s heart was not in an attack on Britain but that he wanted to concentrate his country’s strength on an attack on communist Russia. However, no-one in Britain in the autumn of 1940 would have known about this and all indications from April 1940 onwards, were that Hitler did intend to invade Britain, especially after his boast to the German people - he s coming, he s coming!
  • Battle of midway June 1942, north pacific - The US lost one aircraft carrier and 147 aircraft. - Japan lost its four best aircraft carriers, with their entire crews, air crews, and aircraft, and also one cruiser. The aircraft carriers battle of Midway has some lessons: -Intelligence - the American commander knew in advance where and when to expect the Japanese attack and he prepared accordingly. - RADAR - the critical importance of its ability to provide early warning was demonstrated again in Midway. The importance of technology in general was demonstrated. - The importance of air superiority, both in attack and in defense, was also demonstrated. The failure of the 16 Japanese submarines in an early warning mission to detect the American carriers presence is a tactical failure. If they detected the American carriers, Nagumo could attack first with his entire air group and win the battle. After the battle of Midway, is was even more obvious that the battleship became a secondary type of warship to the aircraft carrier, because of the carrier s ability to sink enemy ships with its aircraft without ever being in range of their heavy guns. After the battle of Midway, Japan still had 11 aircraft carriers of all types, but only 5 were available for operations, and only one was a large carrier. It also lost so many of its most experienced aviators and it could not quickly replace them. The US Navy had 3 large aircraft carriers in the Pacific, 13 more were being built, and there was no way Japan could match the American rate of production of aircraft carriers, aircraft, and well trained aviators. Japan was already fighting a war it could not win, and after the battle of Midway it was already beginning to lose it, just 6 months after it started it in Pearl Harbor. Despite all its remaining strength, after the battle of Midway Japan lost its superiority and initiative in the Pacific and was forced to defense. Since that day, the Pacific Ocean was dominated by American aircraft carriers.
  • invasion of iraq march - may 2003, iraq A poll this past spring revealed that 65% of Iraqis would prefer a largely-state controlled economy and government subsidies of basic services, while only 6.6% support a free-market system where private entrepreneurs have unrestricted access to the economy. The widespread feeling that the United States is after their nation s wealth and putting the profits of well-connected American companies over the livelihoods of ordinary Iraqis has fueled the very armed resistance that has made any attempt at rebuilding -- by any economic model -- virtually impossible. As a result, the United States may have no more success imposing its free market utopia on the Iraqis than the Soviets had in imposing their socialist utopia on the Afghans
  • Battle of dien bien phu march - may 1954, vietnam On April 5th, a combined French fighter-bomber and artillery attack on Viet Minh soldiers caught in the open caused heavy casualties. This led to Giap changing his tactics. It is thought that this decision by Giap led to a drop in confidence among the Viet Minh. French radio operators claimed to have intercepted Viet Minh radio messages, which clearly stated that they were refusing to obey orders. How much of this was true is difficult to know as it may have been done simply to boost the confidence of the French defenders. The battle became one of attrition. The Viet Minh advanced slowly and usually countered any French attack. By April 22nd, the Viet Minh controlled most of the airfield, making parachute drops impossible. A huge conventional attack was made on the French on May 1st. Several of the strong points were overrun. Another huge attack was made on May 6th with similar success. On May 7th Giap ordered an all-out attack on the French positions at Dien Ben Phu. At 17.00, de Castries radioed Hanoi that “the Viets are everywhere. The situation is very grave. I feel the end is approaching but we will fight to the finish.” The last French position was captured at nightfall. The Viet Minh captured 11,721 men. The Red Cross looked after the badly wounded but 10,863 were held as prisoners. Only 3,290 were ever repatriated. There is no record as to what happened to the Indochinese who helped the French at Dien Bien Phu. The Viet Minh lost 8,000 killed with 12,000 wounded.
  • 1967 6 day war june 1967, middle east srael captured 42,000 square miles of territory. Israeli fatalities in the war were officially given as 679 dead and 2,563 wounded, but may have been as high as 800 dead eventually. Estimates of Arab casualties vary from about 5,000 to as high as 21,000 dead1 and 45,000 wounded. Israel lost 15 prisoners of war. Israel destroyed between 452 and 469 aircraft in all and lost 36. Israel captured almost 6,000 prisoners of war. 320 tanks, two SAM missile batteries 480 guns and 10,000 vehicles were captured from Egypt. Most of the rest of the Egyptian hardware was destroyed. Jordan lost 179 tanks, and Syria lost 118 tanks.2 The Arab countries lost thousands of vehicles and artillery pieces. Between 175,000 and 250,000 Palestinians fled the West Bank for Jordan or were expelled. France had declared an arms embargo on Israel before the war, and the US did not accede to Israeli requests for rearmament. Syria and Egypt rearmed rapidly.
  • Siege of Sarajevo april 1992 - feb 1996 bosnia and Herzegovina All roads leading in and out of Sarajevo were blockaded, and the airport was shut down. Approximately 400,000 residents were trapped in the siege, and they were cut off from food, medicine, water, and supplies of electricity. Thousands of civilians were killed and wounded, and every imaginable offense against human rights was committed ranging from ethnic cleansing and rape, to mass executions and starvation. Residents came very close to complete starvation, and their only chance for survival weighed in the balance on the success of UN airlifts from the Sarajevo airport that was opened in late June of 1992. In a short time, every building was damaged or destroyed, and no one was safe from attack. On June 1, 1993, at least fifteen people were killed and 80 more were wounded as a result of a mortar attack during a soccer game. Red Cross trucks, which were given clearance to enter Sarajevo, were raided and destroyed, and maternity wards were hit killing mothers and newborns alike. On July 12, 1993, twelve people were killed while in line for water, and on February 5 of the following year mortar shells killed 68, and wounding 200 others in the Sarajevo market place. Hope was prevalent for a long awaited peace at the outset of 1995 with the embarking of a truce, but on May 1, mortars rocked Sarajevo and the Serbs raided a UN-monitored weapons collection site. This heightened hostilities to such an extent that NATO jets attacked Serb ammunition depots on May 25 of that same year, and not until October 11, 1995 did another cease-fire take effect in this war torn city. On February 29, 1996, the Bosnian government declared that the siege of Sarajevo was over. However, the scars of this once proud city that was an intellectual center noted for its multi-cultural tolerance will not soon be forgotten. Its present population has decreased for 650,000 before the war to 220,000 today. As we head into the new millennium, we can only hope that the history of such a city can take a turn for the more peaceful as families, races, nations, and the world mourns.
  • Battle of Inchon september 1950, south korea UN casualties during the Inchon landings and subsequent battle for the city were 566 killed and 2,713 wounded. In the fighting the NKPA lost more than 35,000 killed and captured. As additional UN forces came ashore, they were organized into the US X Corps. Attacking inland, they advanced towards Seoul, which was taken on September 25, after brutal house-to-house fighting. The daring landing at Inchon, coupled with 8th Army s breakout from the Pusan Perimeter, threw the NKPA into a headlong retreat. UN troops quickly recovered South Korea and pressed into the north. This advance continued until late November when Chinese troops poured into North Korea causing UN forces to withdraw south.

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