15 EPIC Battles in History
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00:00Wars have been waged for many thousands of years and have led to the rise and fall of countless civilizations.
00:06It's often forgotten though that it can be individual battles that truly turn the tide of a conflict and change the path of history forever.
00:14From sieges that brought down cities to skirmishes that succeeded against the odds, I'm counting down 15 of the most fascinating historical battles.
00:22Let's start with number 15, the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
00:26Taking place on May 29th, 1453, the fall of Constantinople would mark the end of the Byzantine Empire
00:33and lead to the rise of the Ottoman Empire as a major power.
00:37Constantinople, which is now known as Istanbul, not Constantinople, was the capital of the Byzantine Empire
00:43and was one of the most fortified cities in the world.
00:46Its location on the Bosphorus Strait made it a vital link between Europe and Asia and a crucial hub for trade and culture.
00:52The Ottoman Turks, under the leadership of Sultan Mehmed II, wanted to conquer the city to solidify their control over the region and expand their own empire.
01:00Mehmed II, who was also known as Mehmed the Conqueror, was determined and managed to amass a huge and well-equipped army.
01:07There were reportedly about 80,000 soldiers and they had advanced military technology such as massive cannons that were capable of breaching the city's thick walls,
01:16something that had previously been thought to be impossible.
01:19The siege started on April 6th, 1453, and despite the Byzantine defenders putting up a brave resistance,
01:25the relentless Ottomans gradually weakened the city's defenses.
01:28After almost two months, the Ottomans launched a final decisive assault that focused their numbers against the breaches in the walls
01:36and they overwhelmed and exhausted the defenders.
01:39After more than a thousand years, the Byzantine Empire had fallen and trade routes between Europe and Asia collapsed.
01:45It was as a result of this that many European nations began exploring to find alternative routes,
01:51such as Columbus' expeditions, and many Greek scholars fled to the west,
01:55carrying classical knowledge and texts that would help spark the Renaissance in Europe.
02:05The Battle of Arbela, also known as the Battle of Gaugamela, took place on October 1st in the year 331 BC
02:12between Alexander the Great of Macedonia and Darius III of Persia,
02:16and it was a turning point in Alexander's campaign to conquer the Persian Empire.
02:21Gaugamela, which is located near the modern-day Erbil in Iraq, was chosen as the site for the battle by Darius III because of its flat terrain,
02:29which was ideal for deploying his large army and their war elephants.
02:33The Persian army, thought to be several hundred thousand strong,
02:36significantly outnumbered Alexander's forces of around 47,000 men, including infantry and cavalry.
02:42Darius hoped that this and the open battlefield would guarantee him a victory.
02:47To further turn the odds in his favor, Darius had the ground leveled to make the chariots and war elephants even more effective.
02:54He positioned his troops in a traditional formation with a strong center and wings to surround Alexander's forces.
03:01But this didn't deter Alexander, who meticulously planned his approach.
03:05As the battle began, Alexander performed a series of maneuvers designed to draw the Persian forces out of position.
03:12One of his tactics included an oblique advance with the right wing moving forward at an angle.
03:18This forced Darius to extend his line and create gaps in the Persian formation.
03:23Seeing an opportunity, Alexander led a cavalry charge into a space that had formed in the Persian center,
03:29a move that targeted Darius directly and caused panic and disorder within the Persian ranks.
03:34Darius, who feared being captured, fled the battlefield, and the Persian resistance began to collapse.
03:40The Battle of Gaugamela resulted in a comprehensive Macedonian triumph,
03:45and effectively it shattered the Persian Empire's military power,
03:48and it paved the way for Alexander to advance into the heart of Persia, which went largely unchallenged.
03:53And it eventually allowed him to claim the title of King of Asia.
03:58Number 13. The Siege of Yorktown, 1781
04:03The Siege of Yorktown, which took place in 1781, was a major turning point in the American Revolutionary War,
04:10which led to the ultimate defeat of the British forces, and it paved the way to American independence.
04:15The siege, which lasted from September 28th to October 19th,
04:19was the culmination of a series of strategic maneuvers and alliances
04:23that ultimately cornered British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and his troops.
04:28In the lead-up to the siege, the British military had been focusing on the southern colonies,
04:32where they hoped to rally loyalist support.
04:34General Cornwallis' campaigns in the south, however, despite some victories,
04:38failed to break the resolve of the American forces,
04:41and by the summer of 1781, Cornwallis had fortified Yorktown, Virginia, as a base of operations.
04:47American General George Washington saw an opportunity to trap Cornwallis there,
04:52and worked with French General Rochambeau to do so by moving his troops from New York.
04:57This was part of a larger Franco-American strategy that had been strengthened by the French naval presence in the Atlantic.
05:03French Admiral François-Joseph Paul de Grassy played an important role in this
05:08by defeating the British fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake,
05:11and cutting off Cornwallis' sea escape and resupply routes.
05:14The siege began on September 28th, when American and French forces, with around 17,000, arrived at Yorktown.
05:21They built siege lines and gradually encircled the British defenses.
05:25Over the next few weeks, the Allied forces bombarded British positions with artillery, weakening their defenses.
05:31On October 14th, American and French forces launched a successful night assault on two British redoubts,
05:37who were critical to the British defensive line.
05:40The capture of these positions sped up the end of the siege,
05:43and with his defenses crumbling and no hope of reinforcement or escape,
05:47Cornwallis began negotiations for surrender.
05:50On October 19th, 1781, Cornwallis formally surrendered to Washington, Rochambeau, and their forces,
05:57and the surrender at Yorktown effectively ended major combat operations in the American Revolution,
06:02with only a few further skirmishes taking place before the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783,
06:07which officially recognized American independence.
06:11Number 12. The Battle of Zama, 202 BC
06:16The Battle of Zama was fought near Carthage, which is modern-day Tunisia,
06:21and ended the Second Punic War to cement Rome's dominance over the Mediterranean.
06:26The battle saw the forces of Rome, led by Scipio Africanus, face up against the Carthaginian army
06:32under the command of the legendary General Hannibal Barca.
06:35The Second Punic War between 218 and 201 BC began with Hannibal's invasion of Italy,
06:41where he won several significant battles, including the infamous Battle of Cannae.
06:45Despite these victories, though, Hannibal was unable to make Rome surrender,
06:49and over time, the war shifted in Rome's favor as Scipio Africanus took on new tactics
06:54and began to target Carthaginian positions beyond Italy and Spain and Africa.
06:59By 204 BC, Scipio had successfully moved across North Africa and threatened Carthage directly.
07:05This made Carthaginians recall Hannibal from Italy to defend the homeland,
07:10but when he did, he found himself in a tough strategic situation against a well-prepared Roman force.
07:16The two armies met at Zama, with Hannibal fielding a force of Carthaginian infantry,
07:21Numidian cavalry, and war elephants.
07:24Scipio, on the other hand, had Roman legions that had been added to by Numidian allies,
07:29being led by King Masinissa.
07:31The battle strategy of Scipio was crucial to his victory.
07:34Expecting Hannibal to use war elephants, Scipio arranged his troops in a manner that allowed lanes to open,
07:41which directed the charging elephants harmlessly through them.
07:45As the elephants charged, Roman troops either scared them into running back into Carthaginian lines
07:50or watched them run off into the distance.
07:52This gave Scipio a tactical edge and meant that Roman and Numidian cavalry managed to outflank
07:58and drive off the Carthaginian cavalry, leaving Hannibal's infantry exposed.
08:02Well, it didn't take long for the combined strength to break Hannibal's lines, and he was defeated.
08:07Hannibal himself managed to escape but could not salvage the situation,
08:11and the defeat was so comprehensive that it forced Carthage to sue for peace,
08:15leading to harsh terms that stripped it of its military power and overseas territories,
08:20marking the end of it being a major power.
08:23Scipio Africanus emerged as one of Rome's greatest generals,
08:27and had Hannibal been allowed to continue his campaign in Italy,
08:30it's quite possible the Roman Empire would have been unable to take hold in the way that it did in the following centuries.
08:42The Battle of Marathon was a major conflict between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire,
08:47and it ultimately led to the rise of classical Greek civilization.
08:51The background to the battle is that the Persian Empire had undertaken an expansionist plan during King Darius I,
08:58and in 499 BC, several Greek city-states in Ionia, with the support from Athens and Eritrea,
09:04rebelled against this Persian rule.
09:07The insurrection, known as the Ionian Revolt, was eventually crushed,
09:11but it angered Darius, who vowed to punish the Greeks, particularly Athens, for their support of the rebels.
09:17In 490 BC, Darius launched a campaign to subjugate Greece,
09:22starting with the Cyclades and then targeting Athens.
09:25The Persian force, which was commanded by Generals Datis and Artafenes, landed at the Bay of Marathon,
09:31and even though the Athenians asked for help from Sparta,
09:33the reinforcements were delayed because of a religious festival,
09:37leaving Athens to face the Persians largely on their own.
09:40The Athenian army, led by General Miltiades, decided to encourage the Persians at Marathon,
09:46but it didn't look good for them, as the Greeks, with around 10,000 hoplites,
09:50came up against a Persian army that, according to accounts from the time, was three times the size.
09:55The Athenians did, though, have the advantage of fighting on home terrain,
09:59and were highly motivated to defend their city-state.
10:02Miltiades devised a clever strategy to overcome the Persian numerical superiority,
10:07and strengthen the flanks of his formation, while leaving the center relatively weak.
10:11As the battle commenced, the Greek flanks quickly overwhelmed the weaker Persian wings,
10:16and then turned inward to attack the Persian center from both sides.
10:20This maneuver created chaos among the Persian ranks, and it led to a decisive Greek victory.
10:26It was also during the Battle of Marathon that the story of the Run of Pheidippides comes from,
10:31where, according to legend, the Athenian messenger ran from Marathon to Athens
10:36over a distance of about 26 miles, or 42 kilometers, to announce the Greek victory,
10:41which inspired the modern Marathon footrace.
10:45Number 10. The Battle of Hastings, 1066
10:49The Battle of Hastings took place on October 14th, 1066,
10:53and led to the beginning of a Norman rule in England.
10:56The battle saw the forces of William, Duke of Normandy,
10:59take on the army of the Anglo-Saxon King Harold II,
11:03and completely change the course of history in the country.
11:06William believed he had been promised the English throne,
11:09but Harold had been recently crowned,
11:11so this left him with no choice but to take it by force.
11:14He assembled a large army, reportedly of around 7,000 men,
11:18including cavalry, infantry, and archers.
11:20In late September 1066, after successfully dealing with an invasion
11:24by the Norwegian king at the Battle of Stamford Bridge,
11:27King Harold received news of William's landing on the southern coast of England.
11:31Despite his forces being exhausted from the previous battle,
11:35Harold marched his army south to confront the Norman threat.
11:38The two armies met near Hastings.
11:41Harold's forces took a defensive position on Senlac Hill,
11:44making use of the high ground to their advantage,
11:46with an army made up of professional soldiers and militia,
11:49wielding axes, swords, and shields.
11:52William's army, though, was a varied mix of Norman, Breton, and Flemish soldiers,
11:57featuring a significant number of mounted knights and archers.
12:00The battle began with Norman archers attempting to weaken the English shield wall,
12:04but these initial volleys had little effect.
12:07William then ordered a cavalry charge, but the English defenders held firm.
12:12According to accounts, a turning point came when a rumor spread
12:15that something had happened to William,
12:17so to rally his troops, he reportedly lifted his helmet to show his face,
12:20showing that he was okay and leading the fight.
12:23He decided upon a feigned retreat tactic,
12:26which tempted segments of the English army into breaking their defensive formation
12:30to pursue the fleeing Normans.
12:32This proved effective, and by late afternoon,
12:34Harold's army began to lose their formation and were defeated within a few more hours.
12:39The Norman victory at Hastings was decisive.
12:42In the aftermath, William quickly moved to consolidate his control over England,
12:47and was crowned King of England on December 25, 1066.
12:51His reign then saw significant changes in English society, governance, and culture,
12:56with the Normans introducing feudalism,
12:58building lots of castles to secure their rule,
13:01and changing English language by integrating Norman French.
13:11The Siege of Stalingrad took place between August 23, 1942
13:15and February 2, 1943,
13:17and proved to be one of the most pivotal battles of the Second World War.
13:21Stalingrad, which is now known as Volgograd,
13:24was an important industrial city next to the Volga River,
13:27which made it a vulnerable target for the Germans.
13:30Capturing Stalingrad would disrupt Soviet transport and communications,
13:34provide the Nazis with a strategic foothold in the Soviet Union,
13:37and deal a severe blow to Soviet morale.
13:40The German offensive, which was part of Operation Barbarossa,
13:43was led by General Friedrich Paulus and the 6th Army with the 4th Panzer Army.
13:48The initial German assault involved extensive bombing raids by the Luftwaffe,
13:52reducing much of Stalingrad to rubble.
13:55But despite the devastation, the Soviets, under the command of General Vasily Chuikov,
13:59organized a defense within the city,
14:01using the ruined landscape to their advantage in close combat.
14:05The turning point to the siege came with the Soviet counter-offensive,
14:09Operation Uranus, which was launched on November 19th, 1942.
14:13The operation aimed to surround the 6th German Army
14:16by attacking the weaker Romanian and Italian forces that were guarding the flanks.
14:21The Soviet movement succeeded, trapping Paulus and his troops inside Stalingrad.
14:25The Germans were then forced to face the harsh winter conditions,
14:28dwindling supplies and relentless Soviet attacks.
14:32Hitler ordered Paulus to hold the city at all costs,
14:35forbidding any attempts to break out or surrender.
14:38Despite these orders, the situation inside the city became hopeless,
14:42when faced with starvation, disease and constant Soviet pressure.
14:46On January 31st, 1943, Paulus, who had been promoted to Field Marshal by Hitler,
14:51eventually surrendered to the Soviets,
14:53and the city was back under Soviet control by February 2nd.
14:57This battle shattered the myth of Nazi invincibility,
15:01and it saw the beginning of a Soviet advanced westward,
15:04with everyone now believing the German threat could in fact be defeated.
15:098. The Battle of Geisha, 203 BC
15:13The Battle of Geisha was the end of a long conflict between the forces of Lu Bang,
15:18the founder of the Han Dynasty, and Jiang Yu, the leader of the Chu State.
15:23This battle marked the end of the Chu-Han Contention,
15:26which was a four-year civil war that followed the collapse of the Qin Dynasty,
15:30and led to the establishment of the Han Dynasty as the new ruling power.
15:34Lu Bang and Jiang Yu were two former allies who had been looked at to take advantage of the fall of the Qin Dynasty.
15:40At first, Yu held the upper hand, having declared himself homogeny King Western Chu,
15:46and giving Lu Bang the title of King of Han, which was a lesser position.
15:50Lu Bang's resilience, strategic mind, and his ability to gain popular and military support, though,
15:56gradually shifted the balance of power in his favor.
15:59Lu Bang and his advisors further devised a psychological warfare strategy to undermine Yu's morale.
16:05One of the most famous tactics used was the Chu Song from Four Sides,
16:10where Han forces surrounded Yu's camp and sang folk songs from Chu.
16:15Hearing their homeland songs, Yu's soldiers became demoralized,
16:19believing that their territory had fallen to Lu Bang, and that they had been abandoned.
16:23This tactic, along with sustained military pressure, led to the collapse and resolve of Yu's troops.
16:29Realizing the situation, Yu attempted a breakout with his remaining loyal forces.
16:33They were, though, intercepted and defeated.
16:35And while Yu managed to escape with a small group of followers,
16:39he was eventually cornered at the Wu River, where he accepted his loss,
16:43famously saying that he could not face his ancestors, having failed in his ambitions.
16:47Lu Bang became the undisputed ruler of China, and established the Han Dynasty,
16:52which would become one of the most enduring and influential dynasties in Chinese history.
16:57Moving on to number seven, the Siege of Orleans, 1429.
17:02The Siege of Orleans took place between October 1428 to May 1429,
17:07and it was one of the most important moments in the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
17:12At the time, the English forces, commanded by the Earl of Salisbury, Thomas Montagu,
17:16were looking to consolidate their control over northern France,
17:19with Orleans being on the Loire River, serving as a gateway to southern France.
17:23Its capture would have allowed the English to advance further into French territory.
17:27The siege began on October 1428, with the English using a traditional method to starve the city into submission.
17:34They built a series of fortifications, known as Bastilles, around Orleans to cut off supplies and reinforcements.
17:40Despite their initial progress, though, including successful assault on the outlying fortress of Les Tourelles,
17:46the English faced a determined defense led by Jean Daunois.
17:50With leadership changes on the English side, the tactics began to be less effective,
17:55and things took a dramatic turn in April of 1429 with the arrival of Joan of Arc.
18:00The young peasant girl claimed to have been divinely inspired to lead France to victory,
18:05and her presence gave the French forces the boost they needed.
18:08She helped in military planning and engagements,
18:11and under her guidance, the French launched a series of offensive against the English Bastilles.
18:16Joan herself led several of these, and after capturing the fortress of Les Tourelles,
18:20the English were forced to lift the siege and retreat.
18:23It was a major French victory, and one that would shift the momentum of the war in favor of the French,
18:28and establish Joan of Arc as a leader and a symbol of French resistance.
18:37The Battle of Tours, which was also known as the Battle of Poitiers,
18:41took place on October 10th, 732 A.D., and was a hugely influential moment in European history.
18:47It was fought between the Frankish forces led by Charles Martel,
18:50and the invading Umayyad Caliphate's army, and would stop the northern expansion of Islam into Western Europe.
18:56During the early 8th century, the Umayyad Caliphate had quickly moved across North Africa
19:01and into the Iberian Peninsula.
19:03Their forces, led by General Abdul Rahman al-Ghafiqi,
19:06wanted to push further into the Frankish territories of what is now modern-day France.
19:11The Umayyads looked to take control of more land and spread Islam,
19:15which posed a direct threat to the Christian kingdoms of Europe.
19:18Charles Martel, known as the Hammer, was effectively the ruler of the Frankish territories,
19:23and seeing the threat posed by the Umayyad forces, he mobilized his army.
19:27Martel's forces were made up of primarily heavily armored infantry,
19:31and he chose a position near the city of Tours, on high ground and heavily forested terrain,
19:35which provided a natural defense advantage.
19:38The battle began with a series of skirmishes and probing attacks by the Umayyads,
19:42who tried to break the Frankish lines.
19:44Martel's troops held firm, though, using their terrain advantage and formations to fend off the assaults.
19:49According to historical accounts, the turning point of the battle came when rumors spread among the Umayyad ranks
19:55that the Frankish forces were attacking their camp and looting their supplies.
19:59This caused a large part of the Umayyad army to break ranks and retreat back to their camp.
20:04When he saw this, Charles Martel ordered a counterattack,
20:07which led to the collapse of the Umayyad forces and ultimate defeat.
20:11As well as preventing the invasion, this victory solidified Charles Martel's power,
20:16paving the way for the Carolingian dynasty and the eventual rise of his grandson, Charlemagne,
20:21who would become the first Holy Roman Emperor.
20:24This battle is often seen as a critical moment in preserving Christian Europe and its cultural and religious heritage.
20:30Number 5. The Battle of Cajamarca, 1532
20:35The Battle of Cajamarca was fought on November 16, 1532, as part of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.
20:42Francisco Pizarro, the leader of the Spanish expedition, had arrived in the region with a small force of around 168 men,
20:49including infantry and cavalry.
20:51And despite having far fewer people, the Spaniards had vastly superior weaponry,
20:56such as steel swords, crossbows, and firearms, as well as horses, which were unknown to the Incas.
21:02The Incas, led by Emperor Atahualpa, had thousands of warriors,
21:06but they were unprepared for the tactics and technology of the Spanish.
21:10Pizarro's strategy relied on cunning and deceit rather than open combat.
21:14Upon reaching Cajamarca, he sent an invitation to Atahualpa,
21:18who was camped nearby with his army, to meet peacefully in the town square.
21:22Atahualpa, confident in his power and intrigued by these strange visitors,
21:26agreed to a meeting, unaware of the Spanish plans for treachery.
21:30As Atahualpa entered the square, he was approached by a Spanish friar,
21:34Vincente Valverde, who tried to persuade him to convert to Christianity
21:38and accept the sovereignty of the Spanish king.
21:40According to Spanish accounts, when Atahualpa dismissed these demands,
21:44Valverde signaled for the attack.
21:46At Pizarro's signal, the Spanish forces launched a surprise assault.
21:50They unleashed their firearms, artillery, and cavalry upon the unarmed Incas,
21:54creating chaos and panic.
21:56The Incas, unfamiliar with such warfare and hampered by the crowded square,
22:00were unable to mount an effective defense.
22:03The Spanish quickly captured the city and Atahualpa himself,
22:07and used it to demand a ransom from the Incas.
22:09They offered a room filled with gold and two more with silver for his return,
22:13which the Spanish melted down and divided amongst themselves.
22:18Despite receiving the ransom, they never released Atahualpa,
22:21which led to the collapse of the Incan Empire,
22:23paving the way for the Spanish expansion across the Andes
22:26and the ultimate establishment of Spanish colonial rule in South America.
22:36The Siege of Baghdad in 1258 was a major event that led to the end of the Abbasid Caliphate.
22:41Led by Hulagu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan,
22:45the Mongol forces surrounded the city from January 29th to February 10th, 1258,
22:50in what was one of the most important battles of the medieval period.
22:54The Abbasid Caliphate, with Baghdad as its capital,
22:57was once a center of learning, culture, and commerce,
23:00representing the peak of Islamic civilization.
23:03By the 13th century, though, the Caliphate's power had weakened,
23:06and it struggled to defend itself against external threats.
23:09The Mongols, having already conquered territories across Asia,
23:12began to turn their attention to the Islamic regions under Hulagu Khan's command.
23:16Hulagu's campaign was part of a wider Mongol strategy
23:19to extend their influence and eliminate potential threats to their empire.
23:23Before advancing on Baghdad, Hulagu had already conquered several major cities and regions,
23:27leaving a trail of destruction.
23:29When he demanded Baghdad's surrender, the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustasim refused,
23:34perhaps not realizing the Mongol threat or overestimating his city's defensive capabilities.
23:39After 12 days of intense fighting, the Mongols entered Baghdad on February 10th, 1258.
23:44The city's grand libraries, including the famed House of Wisdom, were destroyed,
23:49resulting in a tragic loss of knowledge and cultural heritage.
23:52Books and manuscripts were thrown into the Tigris River,
23:56reportedly turning its waters black with ink,
23:58and everything that Baghdad had once stood for had been destroyed.
24:02This was such a loss that it saw the end of the Islamic Golden Age,
24:05and was a significant blow to Islamic civilization.
24:08The city's destruction disrupted the trade routes
24:11and all of the intellectual exchanges that had flourished under the Abbasids.
24:15There were wider effects, too, as the siege showed the overwhelming military power of the Mongol Empire
24:20and its capacity for destruction, causing fear across the Muslim world.
24:24Over time, though, many of the Mongols who settled in the Middle East converted to Islam
24:28and contributed to the region's cultural and intellectual life,
24:32but it never quite restored Baghdad to its former glory.
24:363. The Battle of Waterloo, 1815
24:40The Battle of Waterloo, which was fought on June 18th, 1815,
24:45was an influential event that saw the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte
24:49and ended over two decades of war that had taken place across the continent.
24:53The battle, near the town of Waterloo in present-day Belgium, was fought by the Seventh Coalition,
24:59which was an alliance of European powers including Britain, Prussia, Austria, and Russia
25:03that had decided to work together to win Napoleon's rule once and for all.
25:07With the Duke of Wellington leading the British and General Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher leading the Prussians,
25:13Napoleon aimed to defeat the Coalition forces separately before they could unite.
25:18He first moved against the Prussians, achieving a tactical victory at the Battle of Ligny on June 16th, 1815.
25:24It wasn't a total success, though, as the Prussian forces managed to retreat in good order
25:29and moved to support Wellington.
25:31On the morning of June 18th, a battlefield near Waterloo was set.
25:35Napoleon's forces, approximately 72,000 strong, faced Wellington's army of around 68,000.
25:41The terrain played a critical role, as the battlefield was a shallow valley
25:45with Wellington troops positioned on a ridge.
25:48The ground was muddy from heavy rains, which made it much more difficult for cavalry and artillery to be effective.
25:53Napoleon began the battle with an artillery bombardment, hoping to weaken Wellington's center.
25:58Things didn't work out as well as had been hoped,
26:01so at late in the day, Napoleon launched a major infantry assault on the center of Wellington's line,
26:06known as the Attack on La Haye Sainte.
26:08The French failed to break through the allied center,
26:11and a later attack by their cavalry was similarly ineffective.
26:14Things turned late in the afternoon when Blücher's Prussian forces arrived on the field
26:18and reinforced Wellington's troops.
26:21The Prussians attacked Napoleon's right flank, forcing him to divert troops to counter this new threat.
26:26The combined pressure from both forces began to overwhelm the French.
26:30In a final desperate move, Napoleon committed his elite imperial guard to breaking Wellington's center.
26:36This charge was repelled by the British and allied forces,
26:38leading to the guard's retreat and the collapse of the French army by evening,
26:42leading to the end of the Napoleonic Wars and a period of relative peace in Europe,
26:46known as the Concert of Europe.
26:49Number 2. The First Battle of the Marne, 1914
26:53The First Battle of the Marne took place between September 6th to September 12th, 1914,
26:58and while it stopped the German advance into France,
27:01it would pave the way for the entrenched stalemate that would become synonymous
27:05with the First World War on the Western Front.
27:08At the start of the war, the German army's Schlieffen Plan
27:11was a strategy that was designed to quickly defeat France
27:14by sweeping through Belgium and northern France, and then to capture Paris.
27:18By early September 1914, the German forces had moved deep into French territory,
27:22and the French capital was under imminent threat.
27:25Seeing how the German First and Second Armies had overextended, though,
27:29the French saw an opportunity to counterattack.
27:32The German right flank was vulnerable due to the quick advance
27:35that had created gaps between their army groups.
27:38This, along with logistical challenges and exhaustion among the German troops,
27:41set the stage for a decisive battle.
27:44On September 6th, the Allies launched their first counteroffensive along the Marne River.
27:48The French Sixth Army attacked the German First Army from the northwest,
27:51while the BEF and the French Fifth Army engaged the Germans head-on.
27:55This was done so quickly that as many as 6,000 troops were taken to the front lines
28:00by Parisian taxis, which bolstered the French forces just at the right moment.
28:04The Germans, realizing the threat, attempted to regroup and counter the Allied attacks.
28:09However, the pressure from multiple directions proved too much.
28:12By September 9th, the German High Command decided to withdraw to more defensible positions,
28:17effectively abandoning their push towards Paris.
28:20There was a long-lasting consequence, though, as in the aftermath of the battle,
28:24the German and Allied forces began to dig extensive trench systems,
28:29setting the stage for the protracted trench warfare that would become so common in the war.
28:34The failure of the Schlieffen Plan meant that Germany would now have to fight a prolonged two-front war,
28:39as they also faced Russia's forces in the east.
28:42Number 1. The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863
28:47The Battle of Gettysburg, between July 1st and July 3rd, 1863,
28:52is often said to be the turning point of the American Civil War.
28:56The confrontation was between the Union and Confederate armies
28:59and would turn the momentum of the war towards a Union victory.
29:03The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, led by General Robert E. Lee,
29:07began its second invasion in the north in the summer of 1863,
29:11following their victory at Chancellorsville.
29:13Lee aimed to move the war out of Virginia, draw Union forces away from the southern states,
29:19and potentially influence northern public opinion to push for peace.
29:23The Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General George G. Meade,
29:28moved to intercept Lee's forces.
29:30The battle began on July 1st, when Confederate forces clashed with Union cavalry
29:34to the west of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
29:37The Union cavalry held off the initial Confederate attacks until infantry reinforcements arrived.
29:42Throughout the day, the fighting intensified, drawing in more troops from both sides.
29:47By the end of the day, Union forces had been pushed back through the town
29:50to establish strong defensive positions on the high ground south of Gettysburg.
29:55July 2nd saw intense fighting, as Lee sought to break the Union lines by attacking both flanks.
30:01On the Union left, Lieutenant General James Longstreet led the assaults
30:05on positions such as Little Round Top, the Wheat Field, and the Peach Orchard.
30:10Despite fierce fighting, Union forces managed to hold their ground.
30:13On the Union right, attacks on Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill were simply repelled after heavy fighting.
30:19The third and final day of the battle, July 3rd, is most famously known for Pickett's Charge.
30:24Lee, believing the Union center on Cemetery Ridge to be vulnerable, ordered an assault.
30:30This frontal attack involving around 12,000 Confederate soldiers
30:33was preceded by a massive artillery bombardment, aimed at softening Union defenses.
30:38The bombardment, though, was largely ineffective,
30:41and when the Confederate infantry advanced, they were met with fierce resistance.
30:45The charge failed disastrously, and effectively ended the battle.
30:50In the aftermath, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the famous Gettysburg Address
30:54on November 19th, 1863, where he redefined the purpose of the war,
31:00emphasizing the principles of liberty, equality, and democracy.
31:04He understood the significance of the Union's cause,
31:07and the importance of preserving a nation conceived in liberty,
31:10and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
31:15Thanks for watching, everybody. I'll see you tomorrow.
31:18Thank you to our channel members.