History

Questions tagged [battle]

Ask Question

Questions related to an historical battle, being a single engagement or combat in warfare between two or more armed forces.

96 questions
Newest
Active
Bountied
Unanswered
Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
27
votes
4answers
5k views

How difficult was to escape from a naval battle after engaging into one during the Age of Sail?

So, I am designing a board game which includes pirates/imperial battles during the age of sail. While I have found a lot of information on the internet as well as books, papers and of course other ...
4
votes
1answer
259 views

Why were the Marines so badly outnumbered at the critical point at Guadalcanal?

Prior to the battle of Guadalcanal,, the Americans had landed 11,000 men on the island in August, 1942. This compares to the 5,000 or so men that the Japanese had on the island by the first week of ...
3
votes
0answers
122 views

What happened where in 1541? (Portuguese in the Horn of Africa)

Was trying to check the following description from the introduction to a board game: In 1541, Portuguese soldiers [...] slipped into the port of Massawa [and] join[ed] the Christian forces. At the ...
2
votes
1answer
188 views

Was the Kerensky Offensive doomed from the start?

I've been reading about Russia in the Great War during 1917, and what is quite surprising for me is the Kerensky Offensive. Primarily, what is surprising is that the army was in great material terms ...
0
votes
0answers
126 views

What pre-industrial battle used a tactic to split the enemy force in the middle in this way?

I remember watching a video on a pre-industrial battle (maybe even pre musket, but not sure) on a unique battle technique. Cavalry was involved, as well as slingshot and infantry. For some reason my ...
2
votes
0answers
62 views

Where can tactical maps for battles of the Mexican Revolution be accessed?

There are a bunch of resources on the Mexican revolution, but I've never seen an academical text that narrates the major battles in the struggle along with tactical maps. Thus, I'm looking for a ...
42
votes
3answers
7k views

In the Battle of the Coral Sea, how could two Japanese scouts grossly mis-identify two American ships?

I've been reading the Wikipedia pages about the Pacific theatre in WW2; in the page describing the battle of the Coral Sea there is the following passage: [...] the scout [from Shōkaku] confirmed ...
3
votes
1answer
312 views

Did the Roman testudo protect the sides of the formation?

I have seen several images like these, where the soldiers in testudo formation hold shields above their heads and to their sides as well. The soldiers standing in the extreme left or right column of ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views

What is the technical term for a head on head battle?

I am writing an essay about how accurate the film "Braveheart" is. In the film Braveheart, the battle of Stirling Bridge is shown with the two armies facing each other. I would like to know what the ...
0
votes
1answer
145 views

Why did the Persian army lose the battle of Marathon? [closed]

Persian army was an absolutely massive army,and persian empire defeated famous empires such as babylon using it, you know that then Greece wasn't a united country and it was built from different city-...
10
votes
2answers
2k views

What was the significance of the BEF moving into the gap between German forces in First Battle of the Marne?

The German troops fighting in the Battle of the Marne were exhausted and their commanders seemed to communicate very little. After the Marne they retreated to the river Aisne and more or less began ...
15
votes
3answers
3k views

When was the first electrical intra-battlefield communication?

When was the first time a commander used, for example, the telegraph to communicate with and coordinate different parts of the same battlefield? I know that the telegraph was used extensively for ...
1
vote
1answer
215 views

Why didn't the Chinese attack Hungnam during the evacuation?

The Hungnam evacuation was a notable event during the early years of the Korean War. Retreating to the port of Hungnam from the recent defeat at Chosin Reservoir, UN forces managed to evacuate about ...
7
votes
1answer
587 views

What was the aftermath of a battle in the Middle Ages? How did wounded soldiers proceed?

The Red Cross was founded by 1859 over these circumstances: Until the middle of the 19th century, there were no organized and/or well-established army nursing systems for casualties and no safe and ...
35
votes
16answers
10k views

Which battle was the most lopsided result in terms of casualties?

I have recently read about two ancient battles that were won by a much smaller army and/or lead to very different casualties: Defeat of Boudica - according to Roman accounts only 400 Romans died as ...
3
votes
0answers
94 views

Have two generals ever agreed to fight one on one to avoid a battle? [duplicate]

In fiction, there's a scene sometimes occur where 2 armies are facing each other in preparation for battle, but the leaders parlay and agree to fight one on one to determine the outcome with minimum ...
2
votes
1answer
368 views

Were the Japanese aware of Desmond Doss's actions?

I read about the amazing story of Desmond Doss and wonder if the Japanese at all aware, during the Battle of Okinawa of the extent of his actions at the time? I know a few individual Japanese would ...
5
votes
3answers
701 views

What battle of WW2 is depicted in this Battlefield V level?

What battle of World War II is depicted in this Battlefield V level? Credit goes to the game makers of course, as it is their property. Slight update: I cannot quite remember the map name, but I ...
3
votes
5answers
637 views

Why is a pocket-battleship large in size ?

Why is it called a pocket-battleship when it’s large in size? Isn’t anything with pocket as prefix meant to be small ? I was reading up on Graf Spee - The German pocket-battleship.
2
votes
4answers
436 views

Has there ever been an encirclement without superior numbers or mobility

I can't find any examples. It seems like encirclement is always just a result of some other advantage, and doesn't affect the battle in itself. For example the classic case is Cannae. The ...
6
votes
2answers
631 views

An American Civil War battle where a general was ordered to advance to a certain point and wait . . . so waiting was all he did?

I'm trying to pin down something I once read about what went wrong with the Union's plans for a certain battle in the American Civil War. I think I once read a few paragraphs about this in a book by ...
2
votes
1answer
423 views

How many vehicles were involved in Operation Gothic Serpent (Mogadishu, October 3-4, 1993)?

I wanted to know how many vehicles (include their model and which country used it), aircraft and infantry were deployed in Operation Gothic Serpent in Mogadishu in October 1993. Specific numbers of: ...
1
vote
1answer
147 views

Who was a Roman General for a short time?

I'm trying to remember the name and battle that a Roman General. I might be unintentionally mixing parts of it up with other historic parts. The story goes the Roman Empire need someone to lead their ...
2
votes
0answers
180 views

Why did General Dupont surrender in the Battle of Bailén?

General Dupont's had, from my inexpert view, quite a superior army when he fought the Spanish forces at the Battle of Bailén. This battle was in fact the first defeat in open field of the Napoleonic ...
3
votes
1answer
287 views

Why didn't the Hungarians help the battle of Kosovo?

I am curious why the Hungarians, as the first neighbor of then Serbia and Bosnia, who sent troops to confront the invasion of the Ottomans, didn't also participate given that it was obvious that the ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views

Where was the Battle of Antioch (613 CE) fought?

The Byzantines were severely defeated in this battle by their Sassanid counterparts. But where did this battle take place i.e. what was the precise location of this battle? According to Wikipedia, ...
3
votes
1answer
4k views

How did knights in full suits of armor eventually die in combat? What were the most common causes of death for soldiers in full-body plate armor? [closed]

I've heard about the battle of Agincourt that many knights probably died of drowning as they fell and their helmets filled with mud. It got me thinking: If you're going into battle on foot and in full-...
20
votes
1answer
5k views

Has any medieval army ever fought 3 or more distinct battles on the same day?

In the fantasy fiction A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of thrones, during Robert's Rebellion, three battles were fought in the same day, in the same place. There where particular conditions that lead to ...
1
vote
1answer
398 views

Are there any contemporary references to the Battle of Badr outside of the Qur'an?

As the question reads, I'm trying to find sources for the Battle of Badr outside of the Qur'an from the same time period.
3
votes
3answers
975 views

Was the French Commander-in-Chief Gamelin a terrible general?

While doing some research on France's defeat in 1940, I saw that some harshly criticize the French Commander-in-Chief Gamelin and blame him for its speedy downfall (of course there isn't only one ...
12
votes
1answer
2k views

What happened at the Battle (or not?) of Luding Bridge, during the Long March of Chinese Communists in 1935?

I've just finished reading Mao: The Unknown Story by Chang and Halliday. She seems very biased against Mao and revels in accusing him of lying and manipulating. If this were to be taken as a serious ...
17
votes
3answers
2k views

Why did few French and no Dutch pilots (but many Poles and Czechs) take part in the Battle of Britain?

Among the non-British pilots, at least 141 were Polish, 84 Czech and 28 Belgian, but only 13 were French and none were Dutch, Norwegian or Danish. The reasons why there were many Polish, Czech and ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views

Why were there so many US military deaths outside of the major battles in WW2?

Recently I have started to take a huge interest in WW2. I've been researching new information everyday about it. But one of the things I've been interested in is the number of deaths each country ...
2
votes
1answer
242 views

Was anyone blamed for Japan's defeat at Tai'erzhuang?

The battle of Tai'erzhuang was the first major Chinese victory in the Second Sino-Japanese war. IJA 10th and 5th divisions, aiming to take Tai'erzhuang and ultimately Xuzhou, were instead held up in ...
-7
votes
2answers
581 views

How long did the battle of Bosworth last?

How long the battle of Bosworth actually last? The Wikipedia article on the Battle of Bosworth Field doesn't say anything about how long the battle lasted.
7
votes
1answer
1k views

How many tons of bombs were dropped on Britain between 1940 July 10 and September 7?

1940, July 10 to September 7, was the part of the Battle of Britain before the Blitz. In other words, it was the part where the Luftwaffe primarily focused on airfields, factories, and if I'm not ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views

Would occupying Big Round Top have been a good idea for the Confederates?

A lot of attention was given at the end of the 19th century to the "what if" the Confederates occupied the Little Round Top at Gettysburg, but there's the Big Round Top nearby and the Confederates ...
62
votes
6answers
23k views

Why did the Germans spare Allied troops trapped at Dunkirk?

I haven't seen the movie but know enough of the story to understand that Allied troops had fallen back to Dunkirk for evacuation but were trapped there until transport came. I also understand that ...
7
votes
1answer
207 views

Which fortress east of Ancient Megiddo did Thutmose III go to during the siege?

After the ancient Battle of Megiddo, the rebels fell back to the city of Megiddo and the Egyptian army was victorious. The Egyptian army besieged the city of Megiddo by building a moat and a wooden ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views

Why weren't the Egyptians attacked on sight in the ancient Battle of Megiddo?

In 1457 BC, Thutmose III and his army had to pass the mountains to reach Megiddo. He had three passes he could go through, one in the North, called Jokneam Pass, and another pass in the South, called ...
0
votes
1answer
1k views

Were ancient (Greek) battles fought like duels between heroes? [closed]

In dramas on TV and film we are often shown a "hero" standing in front of the army, fighting alone against a "villain". Their soldier comrades don't help out much, as we would expect them to do in ...
7
votes
1answer
337 views

Who is the officer/soldier in a cave that received a morale boost from a spider?

Today on the radio, I heard about a commander or an officer who was in a cave waiting for a battle to start and he was feeling that he will be defeated because of the large enemy forces (he was in a ...
12
votes
2answers
7k views

Physics of a heavy cavalry charge?

Can someone explain a heavy cavalry charge? A bunch of 500kg animals smashes into a dense crowd of men at speed of 40km/h. This simply cannot end good for neither side. Let's say the charge fails. The ...
9
votes
1answer
278 views

Which town or village in Britain lost the greatest percentage of men in WWI due to “Pals Battalions”?

The British decision to create "Pals Battalions" of men from a single town or village led to unanticipated disasters when Pals battalions ran into heavy resistance, with large numbers of men from a ...
1
vote
1answer
488 views

What's the story behind this photo from WWI?

Warning: the photograph below is very graphic and may disturb some viewers, hence the spoiler tag. Click at your own risk. The picture shows the skeletal corpse of a dead German infantryman (the ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views

What was the largest battle fought by ancient Rome?

What was the largest battle, by number of participants, in which ancient Rome took part? Not counting sieges. A quick Google search reveals nothing authoritative, but some discussion threads mention ...
2
votes
1answer
111 views

Did “el Empecinado” fight in the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810)?

I'm writing a little piece on Juan Martín Díez, el Empecinado (the most famous Spanish guerrilla leader of the Peninsular War), and I need to know if he took part in the defence of Ciudad Rodrigo ...
2
votes
2answers
619 views

Why the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55) was “the last of the old sieges”?

During the Crimean War (1853–56), Charles George Gordon took part in the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), calling it "the last of the old sieges". What made Sevastopol so "old fashioned" for a comment ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views

Has there ever a period in history when people were not killing each other? [closed]

Has there ever a period in history when people were nice to each other and not killing each other? In other words, since humans arrived, have the inhabitants of this planet ever enjoyed world peace? ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views

Which battles of WWII did the cracking of Enigma decisively influence?

Having just watched The Imitation Game, I am curious about the influence of the cracking of Enigma on the outcome of WWII. Which battles did the information decoded by Enigma influence? Which ...

1
2