Top Ten Infamous Battles in History

 by Isobel Firth

Siege of Baghdad, 1258

1. The Siege of Troy 1250 BC-The last battle in a long and brutal 10 year war in which the Greeks tried to take control of Troy. The Greeks trick the Trojans by pretending to leave and giving theTrojans a wooden horse;they take it into the city despite their worries.Heroes Achilles,Hector,Paris.The city of Troy was burnt to the ground by the greeks, the women and children were taken as slaves and the men were killed.Aeneas leads a group of Trojans to saftey by escaping the city, he went on to found Rome. This battle led to two great empires being forged, The Greek and The Roman.

2. The Mongol Siege of Baghdad 1258 -The siege of Baghdad was 13 days long and has a death count of 2 million. The Mongols were led by Hulagu Khan. Late in 1257 the Mongols and their Christian allies ordered the  Caliph( Ruler) of  Baghdad to open the gates. He refused, and the Mongols slaughtered his army. After 12 days of besieging the Mongols made it over the city wall. They killed civilians  and they threw important books from the libraries into the river. When they got to the palace they burned it and executed the Caliph.

 

3. Battle of Yorktown 1781 -  This battle marked the end of the American Revolution and saw the British General  Charles Cornwallis and his troops surrender to George Washington and his Continental Army.  With help from the French the American won the battle, and on Friday 19th October 1981 the British surrendered. This battle led to America gaining independence.

 

4. Battle of Trafalgar 1805 - On 21st October 1805, as part of Napoleon’s plan to conquer England the French and the Spanish joined forces to take control of the English Channel. Their ships assembled on the South Coast of Spain. When they reached Trafalgar they were met by the British ships under the command of Admiral Nelson. The British ships were outnumbered 33 to 27, as well as this the French and Spanish had 15,000 more troops than the british. Despite this the British went on to win the battle losing only 458 men whereas the French and Spanish lost 4,395 as well as having 21 ships captured and upto 8,000 men.

 

5. Battle of Waterloo 1815 -  On Sunday 18th June 1815 the combined forces of the British and the Dutch prepared for an attack from the French. For the past few years Napoleon had been retreating back to France and was trying to regain ground. The British were met by almost 75000 French. They were outnumbered until the arrival of the Prussians. At this point they went on to win the battle that led to Napoleon’s abdication.

 

6. Battle of Hastings 1066 - This battle decided the fate of England. It was fought on the 14th October 1066 in Hastings, Sussex. The English led by Harold Godwinson had the advantage of High ground being based on the hill, as well as having a strong shield wall. On the other hand the Normans ,led by William the Conqueror, had a cavalry and archers. Using tactics like fake retreats the Normans broke the shield wall, winning the battle and taking control of England.

 

7. The battle of Tours(Battle of Poitiers) 732 - In 710 the king of Spain died leaving the country in disarray. Roderick Duke of Baetica was elected King. The Basques rebelled and he had to go North to fight them. Using this as an opportunity the Umayyad muslims of Northern Africa invaded. In 719 they crossed the Pyrenees, and by 731 they were raiding as far as Burgundy. When they invaded Aquentine  they were faced with the Frankish leader Charles Martel. The muslims were defeated by the Franks and retreated southwards. Whilst being outnumbered the Franks only lost 1,000 whereas the Umayyad lost 12,000.

 

8. Battle of Actium 31 BC- On September 2nd 31 BC Octavian beat Mark Antony to become ruler of the Roman Empire. With 70,000 men and 500 ships Antony set up camp in Actium, Greece. Octavian had 400 ships and 80,000 men. Desertion of some of his troops and a lack of resources led Antony to take action. Surrounded by Octavian’s ships he tried to outflank them but failed. He took Cleopatra’s advice and followed her ships. They escaped, but many of their ships and troops surrendered. 

9. Battle of Stalingrad 1942-1943- In 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union as part of their advance on the east. It lasted for over 5 months, and it is believed over 2 million people died before the Germans withdrew. It has become one of the bloodiest battles in history as well as being one of the deadliest.

 

10. D Day 1944- D-Day saw the allies start  to take back control of Europe from the Axis powers. On Tuesday 6th June 1944, over 5 beaches American,British and Canadian troops landed on Nazi occupied beaches in the biggest amphibious landing in History. Somewhere between 4,000 and 9,000men died on D-Day. D-Day has become one of the most famous days of fighting in History. It marked the beginning of the end of World War 2.