100 Important Battles in History

Can you name these famous battles?

Source: "100 Decisive Battles" by Paul K Davis

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Last updated: September 20, 2023

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First submitted	August 27, 2022
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Time	Description	Answer
1479 BC	The first reliably recorded battle in history; fought between Egypt and a coalition of Canaanite vassal states	Battle of Megiddo
546 BC	The Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great decisively defeats the Lydian Kingdom and conquers the rest of Anatolia	Battle of Thymbra
490 BC	The Athenians repel the first Persian invasion of Greece	Battle of Marathon
480 BC	A coalition of Greek city-states destroy the Persian fleet during the second Persian invasion of Greece	Battle of Salamis
415 - 413 BC	An Athenian invasion on this Spartan-allied Sicilian city is repelled during the Peloponnesian War	Battle of Syracuse
371 BC	Thebes defeats Sparta in this decisive battle, ending Spartan hegemony in Greece	Battle of Leuctra
338 BC	Philip II defeats an alliance of Greek city-states and brings Greece under Macedonian hegemony	Battle of Chaeronea
331 BC	Alexander the Great destroys the Persian army, completing his conquest of the Persian empire	Battle of Gaugamela
310 BC	Antigonus is defeated by a coalition of Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus and Ptolemy in the Fourth War of the Diadochi, ending any possibility of the reunification of Alexander's empire	Battle of Ipsus
207 BC	Rome defeats Carthaginian forces, paving the way for Roman dominance in Italy	Battle of Metaurus River
203 BC	Liu Bang defeats the Chu Warlord Xiang Yu, reuniting China and founding the Han Dynasty	Battle of Kai-hsia
202 BC	Rome defeats Carthage, ending the Second Punic War and establishing Roman dominance in the Mediterranean	Battle of Zama
168 BC	Rome defeats Macedon forces and goes on to conquer Macedonia	Battle of Pydna
52 BC	Roman forces under Julius Caesar defeats a confederation of Gallic tribes, ending Gallic independence in France and Belgium	Battle of Alesia
48 BC	Julius Caesar defeats his rival Pompey, consolidating total power over the Roman Empire	Battle of Pharsalus
31 BC	Octavian defeats his rivals Mark Antony and Cleopatra off the coast of this Greek town, and goes on to become "Augustus Caesar"	Battle of Actium
9 AD	An alliance of German tribes ambush and destroy three Roman legions in this German forest	Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
66 AD	Jewish rebels inflict a humiliating defeat against the Romans, leading to a short-lived period of Judean self-governorship	Battle of Beth Horon
312 AD	Emperor Constantine defeats his rival Maxentius, reuniting the Roman Empire and leading to Constantine's conversion to Christianity	Battle of the Milvian Bridge
378 AD	Eastern Roman Empire Valens is defeated and killed by Gothic rebels; often considered to be the beginning of events which led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire	Battle of Adrianople
451 AD	Roman and Visigoth forces unite and halt Hunnic advance into Gaul	Battle of the Catalaunian Plains
533 AD	The Byzantines under Belisarius defeat the Vandals, ending the Vandal kingdom in North Africa	Battle of Tricamarum
624 AD	Muslim forces led by Muhammad defeat a larger force of Quraysh Meccans; one of the most important events in the spread of Islam	Battle of Badr
717 -718 AD	This city is unsuccessfully laid siege to by the Umayyad Caliphate for the second time	Second Arab Siege of Constantinople
732 AD	The Frankish army under Charles Martel permanently halt Umayyad expansion into Western Europe	Battle of Tours
773 - 774 AD	Charlemagne lays siege and captures this Lombard capital; goes on to declare himself "King of Italy"	Siege of Pavia
955 AD	German king Otto I destroys the Hungarian army, ending all Magyar invasions into the Latin Empire	Battle of Lechfeld
1066 AD	William, Duke of Normandy defeats the Anglo-Saxons and establishes Norman rule over England	Battle of Hastings
1071 AD	The Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantines, paving the way for future Turkic migration into Anatolia	Battle of Manzikert
1099 AD	The First Crusade lays siege and captures this holy city	Siege of Jerusalem
1187 AD	Saladin inflicts a devastating defeat on the Crusader forces, leading to the destruction of all the Crusader kingdoms	Battle of Hattin
1192 AD	Ghurid forces defeat a confederation of Hindu states, opening the doors of Northern India to Muslim rule	Second Battle of Taraori
1214 AD	France defeats a coalition of English and Holy Roman forces; indirectly leading to the signing of the Magna Carta	Battle of Bouvines
1260 AD	Egyptian Mamluks permanently halt Mongol advance into Arabia and Egypt	Battle of Ain Jalut
1268 - 1273 AD	The Mongol Yuan defeat the Southern Song and capture this city, going on to conquer the rest of China	Battle of Hsiang-yang
1274 and 1281 AD	The two Mongol invasions of Japan are both repelled at this Japanese bay	Battle of Hakata Bay
1317 -1326 AD	This city in modern-day Turkey is captured from the Byzantines and made the first capital of the Ottomans	Siege of Bursa
1346 AD	English forces under King Edward III inflict a decisive defeat against France during the Hundred Years' War	Battle of Crecy
1428 - 1429 AD	An English siege on this city is lifted by French forces under Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years' War	Siege of Orleans
1453 AD	Ottoman forces lay siege and capture this city, ending the Eastern Roman Empire	Fall of Constantinople
1491 AD	This city is captured by the united forces of Aragon and Castile, ending Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula	Fall of Granada
1521 AD	This city is captured by Spanish Conquistadors under Hernan Cortes, ending the Aztec Empire	Fall of Tenochtitlan
1526 AD	Babur defeats Ibrahim Lodi, ending the Delhi Sultanate and establishing the Mughal Empire	First Battle of Panipat
1529 AD	The Ottomans under Suleiman I lay siege on this city, but are ultimately repelled	Siege of Vienna
1532 AD	Spanish Forces under Francisco Pizarro ambush an Incan force in the plaza of this Incan city and capture the Inca ruler Atahualpa	Battle of Cajamarca
1571 AD	A coalition of Catholic states inflict a heavy defeat on the Ottoman fleet during this naval engagement	Battle of Lepanto
1588 AD	The English fleet defeat this "invincible" force off the Southern English Coast	Spanish Armada
1600 AD	Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats his rival Ishida Mitsunari, reuniting Japan and ushering in the Edo Period	Battle of Sekigahara
1631 AD	Sweden's greatest victory during the Thirty Years' War	Battle of Breitenfeld
1644 AD	Manchu forces defeat the rebel leader Li Zicheng and go on to capture Beijing, establishing the Qing Dynasty	Battle of Shanhaikuan

Time	Description	Answer
1645 AD	Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell defeat the Royalist forces, greatly weakening Royalist power throughout the rest of the First English Civil War	Battle of Naseby
1658 AD	French and English forces defeat the Spanish on these seaside "downs", leading to the end of the Franco-Spanish Wars	Battle of the Dunes
1704 AD	France is overwhelmingly defeated by a coalition of Holy Roman, British, and Dutch forces during the War of the Spanish Succession	Battle of Blenheim
1709 AD	Russia decisively defeats Sweden near this Ukrainian city in the largest battle of the Great Northern War, establishing Russian hegemony in Northern Europe	Battle of Poltava
1746 AD	British forces defeat Jacobite rebels in the last battle fought on British soil, ending the clan system and beginning the suppression of highland culture	Battle of Culloden
1757 AD	British East India Company forces defeat the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, seizing control of Bengal	Battle of Plassey
1759 AD	British forces in the Seven Years' War defeat the French and capture this city, ending French dominance in Canada	Battle of Quebec
1776 AD	American forces cross the Delaware and defeat German mercenaries stationed in this New Jersey city	Battle of Trenton
1777 AD	Often considered the turning point of the American Revolutionary War	Battle of Saratoga
1781 AD	Last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War, leading to Britain's surrender	Battle of Yorktown
1792 AD	French forces halt Prussian troops attempting to march on Paris, protecting the continuation of the French revolution	Battle of Valmy
1797 AD	Napoleon defeats Austrian forces and consolidates Northern Italy under French control	Battle of Rivoli
1798 AD	The British fleet under Admiral Horatio Nelson defeat Napoleon's fleet and repel his invasion of Egypt	Battle of Aboukir Bay
1805 AD	The British navy under Admiral Horatio Nelson defeat the French and Spanish fleets, destroying Napoleon's plans to invade England	Battle of Trafalgar
1806 AD	Napoleon defeats the Prussian forces and subjugates Prussia into the French Empire	Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
1811 AD	American forces under William Henry Harrison defeat a confederation of Native American Tribes and end Native American resistance in the Midwest (and give Harrison this nickname)	Battle of Tippecanoe
1812 AD	Napoleon defeats Russian forces which allows him to advance on Moscow	Battle of Borodino
1813 AD	Napoleon's is defeated by the forces of the Sixth Coalition at this German city, leading to his abdication and exile	Battle of Leipzig
1815 AD	Napoleon's final battle	Battle of Waterloo
1824 AD	The Independentists defeat royalist forces and secure Peruvian independence; often considered the end of the Spanish American Wars of Independence	Battle of Ayacucho
1836 AD	Texan forces defeat Mexican forces in the final battle of the Texas Revolution, securing Texan independence	Battle of San Jacinto
1847 AD	American forces capture this city, ending the Mexican-American War	Battle for Mexico City
1862 AD	First Confederate invasion on the North is repelled; remains the bloodiest day in American history	Battle of Antietam
1863 AD	Biggest battle of the American Civil War; ends any Confederate attempts to invade the North	Battle of Gettysburg
1864 AD	General Sherman captures this important Confederate city and begins the March to the Sea	Battle of Atlanta
1870 AD	French forces are defeated and the last emperor of the French is captured by the Prussians in the biggest battle of the Franco-Prussian War	Battle of Sedan
1882 AD	British forces defeat Egyptian rebels and go on to capture Cairo during the Anglo-Egyptian War	Battle of Tel El-Kebir
1898 AD	The American fleet destroys the Spanish fleet in this important harbor, ending Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines	Battle of Manila Bay
1905 AD	Russian forces are defeated and driven out of Southern Manchuria by the Japanese near this Chinese city	Battle of Mukden
1905 AD	The Japanese navy destroys the Russian fleet at this strategic strait, securing Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese War	Battle of Tsushima
1914 AD	German forces are halted at this river, saving Paris from capture	First Battle of the Marne
1916 AD	A German attack on this city is repelled by the French at the cost of heavy casualties	Battle of Verdun
1916 AD	Russian forces launch a devastating offensive against the Central Powers, but is cut short due to supply issues	Brusilov Offensive
1918 AD	The last major German offensive is repelled, marking the beginning of German defeat in World War One	Second Battle of the Marne
1920 AD	Polish forces, on the verge of defeat, repel and defeat the Red Army in the outskirts of this city	Battle of Warsaw
1939 AD	German and Soviet forces invade this country, marking the beginning of the Second World War	Invasion of Poland
1940 AD	Allied forces are evacuated from this French port as German forces close in	Battle of Dunkirk
1940 AD	The German Luftwaffe is repelled by the British RAF during this campaign, forcing Hitler to abandon his plans of a British invasion	Battle of Britain
1941 AD	German forces are repelled by the Soviets at the gates of this city, forcing them to settle for the winter	Battle of Moscow
1941 AD	The Japanese air force attacks the United States naval base located here, leading to the United States' joining the Allies	Attack on Pearl Harbor
1942 AD	This important British stronghold in the Pacific is captured by Japanese forces	Fall of Singapore
1942 AD	American forces decisively defeat and repel a Japanese invasion on these strategic atolls, marking a turning point for the Allies in the Pacific theatre	Battle of Midway
1944 AD	The Allies launch the largest seaborne invasion in history on this French region	Invasion of Normandy
1945 AD	Allied forces capture this Japanese island in the bloodiest battle of the Pacific Theatre	Battle of Okinawa
1948 - 1949 AD	This newly formed state repels the invasion of a coalition of Arab states, leading to its survival into the present-day	Israel's War of Independence
1948 - 1949 AD	Communist forces launch this devastating campaign against the Nationalists, ending Nationalist dominance in Northern China	Huaihai Campaign
1950 AD	United Nations forces successfully land and capture this coastal South Korean city, leading to the capture of Seoul	Battle of Inchon
1953 - 1954 AD	Vietnamese Communist Revolutionaries decisively defeat French colonial forces, bringing French colonial rule in Vietnam to an end	Battle of Dien Bien Phu
1968 AD	North Vietnamese forces launch a campaign of surprise attacks on South Vietnamese and United States military and civilian centers; named after the Vietnamese Lunar New Year during which the attacks occurred	Tet Offensive
1991 AD	A United States led coalition of thirty-five countries launch this operation in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait	Operation Desert Storm

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