The 15 Most Decisive Battles of the World

There is a book which called “The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo” by Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy; which I have not read; referenced in the Merle Miller oral biography of Harry Truman, “Plain Speaking”. The book comes up when a friend of the former President recounts the 15 books which Truman recommended to him when the friend asked about how he should go about becoming better-rounded. And; as with most things connected to Truman; I was immediately interested in it. That was over 20 years ago and I still haven’t read it. It was written in 1851.

The other day I was thinking about the book and what it might hold within that would be applicable to today’s world. So, I went to Wikipedia for a brief summary of the book and the list of the battles themselves. As a result I feel as if I have been deprived of an education; in that I haven’t even heard of a good third of these battles, and certainly none of them were taught in high school. And yet, looking over the list and the attendant causes of these major events in history, I can easily see that war; at least the reasons behind them; have not really changed much over the thousands of years that they have been waged.

Mostly the battles were the result of tribal differences, land rights, religion and family squabbles gone way out of control. From the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC; which was primarily a war about the Persian subjugation of the entire known world; to our own Second World War; global domination has been a recurrent theme. So have family squabbles; as evidenced by the Battle of the Metaurus in 207 BC between Rome and Carthage, which were both controlled by 2 families who could not settle their differences. We had World War One, a conflict in which all the crowned heads of Europe were cousins.

If you want something more contemporary; let’s say the attempted Conquest of the Western World by Islam; then just look to the Battle of Tours in 732 AD. Sometimes referred to as the Battle of Poitiers, this was the final battle of the crusade in which Charles Martel blocked the Arab Conquest of Western Europe. That struggle has been reignited in recent years.

And, if you’re in the mood for a good Siege; along the lines of Savannah in the American Civil War; or even a relatively minor one; then the Siege of Syracuse in 413 BC will surely fit the bill.

In short, there would be much to be learned from reading this book. But the details are not as important as the overall pattern which emerges from the subject. Namely; that wars are fought over, and about, fairly predictable things; such as global power; religion; and even trade issues. The importance of knowing this cannot be understated.

Here is a link to the Wikipedia article about the book I have not read. There are more links there to take you on a journey that will make you understand that the more things change, the more they remain the same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifteen_Decisive_Battles_of_the_World

And here are the Battles which are listed by Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy in this book I haven’t read.

1.The Battle of Marathon

490 BC Excerpt

2.Defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse 413 BC

3.The Battle of Gaugamela 331 BC

4.The Battle of the Metaurus 207 BC

5.Victory of Arminius over the Roman Legions under Varus AD 9

6.The Battle of Châlons AD 451

7.The Battle of Tours AD 732

8.The Battle of Hastings AD 1066

9.Joan of Arc's Victory over the English at Orléans AD 1429

10.Defeat of the Spanish Armada AD 1588

11.The Battle of Blenheim, AD 1704

12.The Battle of Pultowa AD 1709

13.Victory of the Americans over Burgoyne at Saratoga AD 1781

14.The Battle of Valmy AD 1792

15.The Battle of Waterloo AD 1815

The painting at the top  is “Archimedes Directing the Defenses of Syracuse” by Thomas Ralph Spence and was painted in 1895.

Writing As I Speak - A Study In Contrasts

The one thing of which I have never been accused is the title of this post; "Writing As I Speak." I don't. To paraphrase Jack Nicholson, "You couldn't handle it!" The truth is, at times, neither can I! Let's just say that it's all a matter of taste. I read some blogs that are laced with profanity, veritable lessons in the use of certain words as verbs, adverbs, nouns and adjectives; sometimes all at once! Again, it doesn't make the writing, or the writer, less valid, it's just not my style. However...

Speaking with me in person can be quite an experience to someone not at ease with the use of profanity as normal grammar. But, I come by it in an honest, or as near an honest, way as possible. My Dad taught me to curse when I was about 3. It was a wonderfully glorious word, actually a compound word, having both a maternal component, making it a noun; along with an action part, making it a verb. So, it was, I suppose, a noun-verb.

The occasion of this lesson in the art of compounding words lay in the fact that the guy who had just cut us off probably did do that with his mother when he got home. Nevertheless, at three years old, the remark was probably one that my Dad should have avoided making in the presence of one so young. And, for good reason...

My immediate reaction was to ape the word in my high pitched 3 year old voice, which prompted my Dad to say, "Don't say that word in front of your mother." He said it with an earnest quality, one with which I was unaccustomed, and, seizing on the fear that I perceived in his tone; children are very attuned to parental fear and unafraid to employ it as a weapon; I promptly burst into the kitchen when we arrived home, and denounced my mother as a fornicator of her own mother, which quite frankly shocked the hell out of her! Not to mention my Dad, who, employing the age old tactic of turning the table, said, "We don't use words like that! Go to your room!" Never much of a pushover; even at that age, I knew something was amiss; I replied, "But you use that word all the time!" Stretching the truth, even when so young, was not beyond my capabilities. However, I was still banished to my room.

Over the years, growing up in Brooklyn, I was able to refine my verbal skills, and still later, 8 years at sea travelling the world, I honed my abilities in this regard, to the point that I was able to curse in about 10 languages, including Greek and Arabic!

I make a really concerted effort to control my tongue when children are present, not wanting to contribute to their demise, thus creating another me. But, in conversation with most adults I'm afraid that I sometimes slip back to my days at sea and "cuss like a sailor." I make no apology, for I believe, as Clarence Darrow did, that "There are too damn few words as it is, and I think we should use all of them."

So, if you meet me on the street, don't be surprised, or offended, if I speak differently than I write. When all is said and done, "It's Only Me."

Plain Speaking-An Oral Autobiography by Harry S. Truman with Merle Miller

This is a book that I return to from time to time in order to clarify an historical point or opinion. I don't do politics here. But I am an active follower of what is happening in the news. And this book proves that the only thing new is the history you don't know.

This book is also essential to understanding not only the history of Post World War Two and how it affects us even today, it is also a passionate history of America. And it is told by the last President to not have a college degree. A failed businessman from the racially divided Kansas-Missouri border who went on to desegregate the Armed Forces while his mother in law (who had been a prisoner of the Union at Andersonville)railed against him as a traitor.

This book will make you feel as if your Grandfather is in the room and talkng to you-it's that personable. His experiences as a Gunnery Captain in World War One are truly captivating. So are his accounts of chasing down graft during World War Two and his battle with Glenn L. Martin over defective aircraft knowingly being sent into battle.

His humbleness at finding himself the Leader of the Free World at the close of World war Two is refreshingly innocent. He had been in the dark about the Manhattan Project and now had to make some fateful and momentous decisions. He would more than measure up.

The book came about in 1962 as a result of a TV special that one of the networks did in Independence, Missouri at the Trumans home. Merle Miller had interviewed the President before and they had an easy relationship. This enabled Truman to let loose with history, opinion, fact and his feelings about the Bomb, creating the CIA and what it would mean to America.(His only regret by the way is having created the CIA.)

The history of the division of the States and the War Between them is fascinating. He was married into a family that had suffered greatly at the hands of Union raiders in the cross border Kansas-Missouri conflict. His mother in law, who despised him as worthless, was a prisoner at Andersonville and he goes into some detail of the horrors she endured there.

His first hand accounts of the legendary confrontations with General MacArthur are piceless. His take on the best and worst Pesidents will amaze you in it's logic.

A self educated man who had read all of mythology and every classic from Plato on, his unigue take was summed up in this quote; "The only thing new is the history you don't know."

This is the man who with a penstroke ensured that Israel would be recognized by the UN in 1947 as an Independent Jewish State. He was greatly influenced in this by an old friend and Army buddy named Eddie Jacobsen. And all this was going on at the time of the Berlin Airlift and the newly founded Cold War!

He also created the Middle Class in America with the passage of the GI BIll at the end of the war.

His simple vision and common sense attitude is sorely missing in todays political environment-on both sides of the aisle! Like I said, I don't do politics here. This is history and has much to offer in that regard. You will bask in the warmth in which it is served up. And learn quite a bit in the bargain.