The Battle 100: The Stories Behind History's Most Influential Battles by Michael Lee Lanning (2009-05-03)

Anytime you put together a list of the "100 Most" anything, you can expect to start arguments, and this collection of two- and three-page summaries of military and naval engagements is no exception. The coverage ranges from Megiddo, around 1479 BC, to only one more recent than the Golan Heights in 1967. All the obvious choices are here, including Gettysburg, Inchon, Trafalgar, Plassey, Normandy, Stalingrad, and Hastings, but many others are probably new even to many military history buffs, like Alexander's victory at Arbela-Gaugamela in 331 BC, which spelled the end of the Persian Empire, or Muhammad's success in battle at Mecca in 630, which virtually guaranteed the continued existence of Islam in the Near East, or Yenan in 1934, where Mao Tse-Tung ended the Long March by destroying the Nationalist Chinese army and ensured the survival of the People's Republic of China, with enormous repercussions on the second half of the 20th century. However, Lanning shows an uncomfortable America-centrism in ranking battles. The Number One spot goes to the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 -- which, while a key event in establishing the United States as an independent nation, may turn out to have been considerably less important if it's looked back on a thousand years from now. On the other hand, without Charles Martel decisively bringing to a halt the Muslim advance into Western Europe at the Battle of Tours in 732 (only no. 24 on his list), Medieval and Renaissance Europe would never have taken place and the entire cultural and philosophical milieu which gave rise to the American Revolution -- or even, perhaps, to the colonization of the New World in the first place -- would never have happened. I count twenty-two battles in the list -- nearly a quarter of the total -- in which the U.S. or the American colonies played a major role, and that's far too many when you consider the whole history of the world. While I don't see any important engagements that were omitted, some, like San Jacinto (which is certainly important to Texans like me), are much too minor on the global scale to be included on this list in the first place. Likewise, Desert Storm in 1991 is turning out to be much less significant in the long run than the present U.S. administration would like us to believe.

This was a most engrossing book. It lists the 100 most important battles, in the author's order of importance. He begins with the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, where the colonies won their independence. (The Battle of Saratoga is #15, and ths shots fired at Lexington and Concord are #74.)Second is the Battle of Hastings in 1066, with the Norman Conquest of England. This would be the last time that England was every invaded. (The Spanish Armada in 1588 is #16, and the Battle of Britian in 1941 is #40.) Third is the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-43, which was the turning point of World War II. (Normany in 1944 is #13, the Seige of Moscow in 1941 is #22.)Fourth is the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, which was the first significant cooperation among European nations against Napoleon. Fifth, is the Battle of Antietam, where the United and Confederated States suffered 23,000 casualties, the most of any day in history for America, outnumbering the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the Spanish-American War combined. (The Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 is #17, and the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863 is #49.) Sixth is a battle that I had never heard of, the Battle of Cajamarca in 1532 where the Spanish were able to claim most of South America. (The Battle of Tenochititlan in 1521, where Mexico City was captured, is #12.) Seventh is the Atomic Bombing of Japan in 1945. (The Battle of Midway in 1942 is # 44, Pearl Harbor in 1941 is #62.)Eighth is the Battle of Huai-Hai in 1948 which was the final major fight between the Chinese Communists and the forces of Chiang Kai-shek. Ninth is Waterloo in 1815, after Napolean escaped from his exile in Elba. Tenth is the Ottoman Turks' unsuccessful siege of Vienna in 1529 which marked the end of the march of Islam into eastern Europe. (The Battle of Tours which halted the Muslim invasion of France in 732, is #24, and the Battle of Granada in 1491-92 which ended seven centuries of Muslin control of Spain, is #35.)This is a great book. I couldn't put down. I recommend it highly.