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.

"Roosevelt's Centurions" by Joseph E. Persico (2013)

Of all the biographical compilations I have ever read, this one is the most personable and informative. Combining history with the biographies of the men who made it, author Joseph Persico creates a clear and vivid portrait of the group of extraordinary men who literally saved the world for Democracy.

At the same time he delivers an accurate and lively history of the war itself, introducing each character as they enter they enter the narrative and then giving you the back story on each. And what stories they are!

Filled with anecdotes, interlaced with the actual events, many of these stories have been ignored by other authors who were focusing more on the history of the war, rather than the personalities of the men who waged it. Looking at history in this manner is a breath of fresh air. I love history in any form, but when it is presented in this way, that history springs to life.

From the affable “Hap” Arnold, who was quite a pioneer in his own way; to the gruff Admiral King, the highly organized General Eisenhower, the extremely competent General Marshall; and President Roosevelt; along with Winston Churchill; the author displays each in all their glory.

Winston Churchill is particularly interesting. The man drank like a fish, and his brief relationship with White House Butler Alonzo Fields, just days after Pearl Harbor, will make you laugh out loud. Churchill was quite a character.

Roosevelt is portrayed as highly intelligent and in command at all times, in spite of his illness. His ability to switch gears from the stress of the war and still retain his composure was astonishing. He had definite ideas about how the war should be prosecuted, but was wise enough to back down when necessary. The insights into his illness and his strategy are of paramount interest to anyone interested in the full story of the war.

The decision to concentrate on a policy of “Europe First” didn’t sit too well with the American public, who were still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor. That outrage gave way to the Doolittle Raids.

The planning of the first strikes on Japan with the Doolittle Raids is a fascinating story all on its own. In order to let our pilots fly in the Chinese Air Force as the Flying Tigers, the pilots had to resign their American commissions and then be employed as Mercenaries at $600 per month plus $500 for each Japanese plane destroyed. Major Chennault was in charge. This was a bit of a stretch for the United States, which at the time, was still neutral.

The preparations for the Normandy Invasion, including the wrangling between the British and the Americans about which was the more important task; invading North Africa, or rushing the Invasion at Normandy, are explored extensively. The thinking and rationale for the landings is laid bare, making the reader feel like part of the decision making process.

The major events in all the Theaters of Operations; as well as the men who planned and executed them; are extensively covered with some surprising facts of which most readers will be previously unaware. I know I was.

The “dance” with Russia and Molotov’s visit to the White House; with the Soviet representatives locking their rooms and sleeping with pistols beneath their pillows; will have you wondering just what the Secret Service was thinking by allowing the weapons to be openly carried in the White House.

How Eisenhower became the war’s architect is also of interest. He was primarily the best logistical commander in history, using his will and knowledge of history to make the most of all the assets available to him and our Allies to achieve victory.

From the days leading up to Pearl Harbor, to the peace which followed the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and the beginnings of the Cold War; you will find no better account of the men; and some remarkable women; who were able to lead our nation, and the world, through one of the darkest times in our collective histories.

Director Tom Hooper, who made the epic mini-series from David McCullough’s book on John Adams, should take note of this book. Filled with the many rich and varied characters who played such a part in winning the war, this could just be another blockbuster.

The Fall of the Rising Sun

Ask most people and they will cite September 2^nd as VJ Day, which stands for “Victory Over Japan” in the parlance of the Second World War. Earlier in the year the United States had celebrated the end of hostilities in Europe with VE Day. Technically VJ Day is a separate occasion entirely from Japan’s formal surrender in Tokyo Bay in September aboard the USS Missouri, or the Mighty Mo’ as her crew affectionately called her.

As chronicled in “My Hitch in Hell” by Lester I. Tenney the war actually ended about a day after the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, some 35 miles from the coal mine where he was enslaved as a prisoner of war. Within days these men were roaming freely about in Japan, accepting the informal surrender of all the Japanese they encountered. The two governments had agreed to a cessation of all hostilities while the arrangements were being made for a formal “instrument”, or document of surrender, to be drawn up.That was the document signed aboard the Missouri on September 2, 1945 and shown below.

The Rising Sun flag was the equivalent of the Confederate Battle Flag in that it was not, nor ever was, the official flag of the nation it served. The Japanese flag is the same now as it was before, during and after the war. Only the Rising Sun flag, which denoted imperialism, was outlawed after the Japanese surrender. The only difference is that the South did not get to continue flying its nation’s “Stars and Bars” after the war simply because that nation had ceased to exist.

Japan went on to prosper under the direction of an American occupation, which lasted about 15 years. And, she has been a staunch ally ever since. Here in America, on the other hand, divisions still exist over the outcome of our own Civil War, now almost 150 years past.

The Rising Sun flag fell after the war with Japan was over; while here in the United States, the Confederate Battle Flag can still be seen on everything from cigarette lighters and tee-shirts, to bumper stickers and even tattoos, proving that; although the war here may have ended, unlike the war with Japan; our own battle still rages within.

"Shockwave - Countdown to Hiroshima" by Stephen Walker (2005)

Leo Szilard, a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant, sat stopped at a London traffic signal one day in 1933. It was there, as the light changed, that he first conceived of the idea for a nuclear bomb. He was horrified by the thought of the destruction it could cause to life as we know it.

  

That thought, just as with an atomic explosion, had a chain reaction which, by 1939, would have Germany trying to build an atomic weapon of her own, and Mr. Szilard lobbying the United States to build one first. After all, there was no doubt that Hitler would use it should he attain it first; while we could always make one and choose not to. At least, that was the plan.

This whole extraordinary set of events were the beginnings of what eventually became the Cold War, with its policy of Mutually Assured Destruction, which would last for decades. The shadow of that policy; along with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980’s; has been that there are now more nuclear weapons in the hands of more governments than could possibly be deemed “healthy” for the world’s future survival. But all that came later. First came “Trinity”; the test of the first atomic bomb; in the desert of New Mexico on July 16, 1945.

It seemed of little consequence at the time that the weapon designed for use against the Nazi’s in Europe, would now be used to end the war in the Pacific, which began, for the United States, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The Japanese had been at war in the Pacific since 1933 and the invasion of China and the Rape of Nanking, while the Germans had been taking over countries in Europe beginning in 1938. It was only after they invaded Poland in September of 1939 that the English went to war with her. We would not join in that effort until after the Pearl Harbor attack.

This is the most informative book I have ever read on the first atomic bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima on August 5, 1945. Where other books have focused either on the effects of the bomb on the ground; such as “Hiroshima” by John Hersey; or the myriad of books which talk of the morality of the event; and even the workings of the Manhattan Project; this book delves into the beginnings of the search for the technology to build the bomb, as well as the training of the men who would drop it. 

The book also covers the negotiations which the Japanese were seeking to hold with Russia as a way of suing for peace and an end to the war. The stalling by the Soviets, while pretending that they had no knowledge of the bomb’s existence, would be instrumental in the success of the Americans to end the war in the Pacific. It would also trigger a nuclear arms race which would color our lives forever after

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The author also explores the origins of the 509^th Bomber Group and their unusual makeup, which included a few felons with false names. They were given their criminal files and a match after the mission was over.

For all of the planning of the bomb’s construction and use, nobody was quite sure if it would work. On the other hand, there were some among the group of scientists, including Leo Szilard, who saw the possibility of igniting the entire atmosphere of the planet, killing us all. Up until the very last moment these men would lobby the President to discontinue the plan to use the bomb. The story of how their message was delayed, before it was relayed, will raise questions in your own mind as to the purpose of using the bomb at all. There was still the fear that the Germans would get one first.

Ironically, the Germans had all but given up on the development of a nuclear bomb by the close of the war. And the Russians had no interest in one unless we proved one could be made to work. And of course, both the United States and the Soviets would benefit greatly from the acquisition of the German rocket scientists at the close of the war with Germany in May 1945. At that point we were too close to finishing work on the Manhattan Project to stop.

The author has spared no subject in this comprehensive history of the final countdown to the actual dropping of the bomb, and an examination of the effects of that mission in the first 24 hours after it was accomplished. The book also examines the lives of the men who first conceived of, and then made happen, the single most important event which would change the nature of warfare in general, and the geo-politics that surround it.

With the countdown towards the final assembly and shipment of the bomb, part of which encompasses the story of the USS Indianapolis on its voyage to Tinian, the book also recounts the Japanese effort to start peace talks through the Soviets. At the same time as she was talking peace, Japan was also preparing to turn Japan into a veritable fortress which would cost almost a million American lives to invade. This was the same duplicitous process which she had used to buy time for the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. However, by this point, there was no turning back on the plan to use the bomb.

As a result of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there has not been a declared war since the end of World War Two. It’s almost as if declared wars, rather than police actions, could possibly escalate into full blown nuclear confrontation between “super-powers.” This was exactly what happened in Vietnam; the United States and the Soviet Union fought a war by proxy; using the Vietnamese as pawns in a game which can only have one ending; with both sides looking to avoid a direct confrontation with the other.

If you think you have learned all that you need to know about the history of the world’s first atomic bomb, then this book will quickly disabuse you of that notion, while providing the reader a ringside seat to one of the most important developments of the 20^th century. 

"Two Americans" by William Lee Miller (2012)

On the surface Presidents Truman and Eisenhower would seem to have little in common. One was a former artilleryman who saw combat in World War One, going on to become a failed haberdashery owner, before entering politics and becoming President of the United States. He was the last President to have not attained a college degree. The other was a product of the military academy at West Point who never saw combat, but went on to lead the Allied Powers to victory in the Second World War. Both of their Presidencies were bracketed by Harvard graduates. What makes this book so interesting, and the perfect companion to last week’s selection “Red Scare” by Griffin Fariello, is the time in which both men lived and how they handled some of the same problems in uniquely different ways.

These two men from the Midwest, both faced the challenges of their times in very different ways, yet both were deeply committed to a strong America. The differences in their views on dropping the Atom bomb; at a time when Eisenhower was preparing to move all his equipment to the Pacific for the final push into Japan; is fascinating. We had already had success with firebombing cities like Dresden and Hamburg in Germany, and done the same in Japan. As a matter of fact, with the incendiary bombing of Tokyo, as well as other cities, those bombings killed more people in one night than both of the two atom bombs combined. The real reason behind the decision to drop the bomb was that the Nazi’s were already working on a bomb of their own; making it imperative that we develop, and use, ours first.  Had we not, the whole face of post war Europe would have been changed drastically, with the Soviets taking over much more than just Eastern Europe.

Socially, both men were not that far apart. Although not a “New Deal Democrat” by any means, Eisenhower was concerned with the stability of the middle class in the same way as Truman. On the subject of Civil Rights Eisenhower was not as groundbreaking as Truman was. Although Ike favored the integration of the Armed Forces in 1947, he dragged his feet on the Little Rock integration issue, waiting for it to turn violent rather than use his leadership as a bully pulpit for change.

In an engaging and highly readable fashion, the author charts the course taken by both men, from their earliest days, through to the pinnacle of their careers as the respective leaders of the free world. And though there is much difference between the two men, they were more alike than either would ever admit. Ah, but to have the likes of these two running for office now…