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Actium
the naval battle in which Antony and Cleopatra were defeated by Octavian's fleet under Agrippa in 31 BC
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Aegadean Isles
islands west of Sicily (now known as the Egadi Islands) where the Romans won a naval victory over the Carthaginians that ended the first Punic War in 241 BC
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Aegospotamos
a river in ancient Thrace (now Turkey); in the mouth of this river the Spartan fleet under Lysander destroyed the Athenian fleet in the final battle of the Peloponnesian War (404 BC)
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Agincourt
a battle in northern France in which English longbowmen under Henry V decisively defeated a much larger French army in 1415
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Alamo
a siege and massacre at a mission in San Antonio in 1836; Mexican forces under Santa Anna besieged and massacred American rebels who were fighting to make Texas independent of Mexico
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battle of Atlanta
a siege in which Federal troops under Sherman cut off the railroads supplying the city and then burned it; 1864
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battle of Austerlitz
a decisive battle during the Napoleonic campaigns (1805); the French under Napoleon defeated the Russian armies of Czar Alexander I and the Austrian armies of Emperor Francis II
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Bannockburn
a battle in which the Scots under Robert the Bruce defeated the English and assured the independence of Scotland
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Corregidor
the peninsula and island in the Philippines where Japanese forces besieged American forces in World War II; United States forces surrendered in 1942 and recaptured the area in 1945
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Battle of Britain
the prolonged bombardment of British cities by the German Luftwaffe during World War II and the aerial combat that accompanied it
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Battle of Kerbala
a battle in 680 in which the grandson of Mohammed and his followers were killed
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Battle of the Ardennes Bulge
a battle during World War II; in December 1944 von Rundstedt launched a powerful counteroffensive in the forest at Ardennes and caught the Allies by surprise
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Battle of the Marne
a World War I battle in northwestern France where the Allies defeated the Germans in 1918
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battle of the Bismarck Sea
a naval battle in World War II; Allied land-based bombers destroyed a Japanese convoy in the Bismarck Sea in March 1943
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Blenheim
the First Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy defeated the French in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession
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Borodino
Napoleon defeated the Russians in 1812 in a pitched battle at a village in western Russia west of Moscow, but irreparably weakened his army
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Bosworth Field
the battle that ended the Wars of the Roses (1485); Richard III was killed and Henry Tudor was crowned as Henry VII
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Bouvines
in 1214 the French under Philip Augustus defeated a coalition formed against him in one of the greatest battles of the middle ages
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battle of Boyne
a battle in the War of the Grand Alliance in Ireland in 1690; William III defeated the deposed James II and so ended the Catholicism that had been reintroduced in England by the Stuarts
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battle of Brunanburh
a battle in 937 when Athelstan defeated the Scots
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Buena Vista
a pitched battle in the Mexican War in 1847; United States forces under Zachary Taylor defeated the Mexican forces under Santa Anna at a locality in northern Mexico
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Battle of Bull Run
either of two battles during the American Civil War (1861 and 1862); Confederate forces defeated the Federal army in both battles
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battle of Bunker Hill
the first important battle of the American War of Independence (1775) which was fought at Breed's Hill; the British defeated the colonial forces
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Cannae
ancient city is southeastern Italy where Hannibal defeated the Romans in 216 BC
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battle of Caporetto
battle of World War I (1917); Italians were defeated by the Austrian and German forces
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Caudine Forks
a battle in the Apennines in 321 BC in which the Samnites defeated the Romans
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Chaeronea
a battle in which Philip II of Macedon defeated the Athenians and Thebans (338 BC) and also Sulla defeated Mithridates (86 BC)
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Chalons-sur-Marne
the battle in which Attila the Hun was defeated by the Romans and Visigoths in 451
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Chancellorsville
a major battle in the American Civil War (1863); the Confederates under Robert E. Lee defeated the Union forces under Joseph Hooker
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Chapultepec
a pitched battle in the Mexican War that resulted in a major victory for American forces over Mexican forces at a locality south of Mexico City (1847)
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battle of Chattanooga
in the American Civil War (1863) the Union armies of Hooker, Thomas, and Sherman under the command of Ulysses S. Grant won a decisive victory over the Confederate Army under Braxton Bragg
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battle of Chickamauga
a Confederate victory in the American Civil War (1863); Confederate forces under Braxton Bragg defeated Union forces
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Chino-Japanese War
a war between China and Japan (1894 and 1895) over the control of the Korean Peninsula; China was overwhelmingly defeated at Port Arthur
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battle of the Coral Sea
a Japanese defeat in World War II (May 1942); the first naval battle fought entirely by planes based on aircraft carriers
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battle of Cowpens
battle in the American Revolution; Americans under Daniel Morgan defeated the British
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battle of Crecy
the first decisive battle of the Hundred Years' War; in 1346 the English under Edward III defeated the French under Philip of Valois
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battle of Cunaxa
battle in 401 BC when the Artaxerxes II defeated his younger brother who tried to usurp the throne
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battle of Cynoscephalae
the battle that ended the second Macedonian War (197 BC); the Romans defeated Philip V who lost his control of Greece
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Dien Bien Phu
the French military base fell after a siege by Vietnam troops that lasted 56 days; ended the involvement of France in Indochina in 1954
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Drogheda
in 1649 the place was captured by Oliver Cromwell, who massacred the Catholic inhabitants
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Battle of El Alamein
a pitched battle in World War II (1942) resulting in a decisive Allied victory by British troops under Montgomery over German troops under Rommel
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Battle of Flodden Field
a battle in 1513; the English defeated the invading Scots and James IV was killed
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Battle of Fontenoy
a battle in 1745 in which the French army under Marshal Saxe defeated the English army and their allies under the duke of Cumberland
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Fort Ticonderoga
a pitched battle in which American revolutionary troops captured Fort Ticonderoga from the British in 1775
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Battle of Fredericksburg
an important battle in the American Civil War (1862); the Union Army under A. E. Burnside was defeated by the Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee
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Battle of Gettysburg
a battle of the American Civil War (1863); the defeat of Robert E. Lee's invading Confederate Army was a major victory for the Union
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Battle of Granicus River
the battle in which Alexander won his first major victory against the Persians (334 BC)
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Battle of Guadalcanal
a battle in World War II in the Pacific (1942-1943); the island was occupied by the Japanese and later recaptured by American forces
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Hampton Roads
a naval battle of the American Civil War (1862); the indecisive battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac
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battle of Hastings
the decisive battle in which William the Conqueror (duke of Normandy) defeated the Saxons under Harold II (1066) and thus left England open for the Norman Conquest
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battle of Hohenlinden
a battle during the Napoleonic Wars (1800); the French defeated the Austrians
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battle of Ipsus
a battle between the successors of Alexander the Great (301 BC); Lysimachus and Seleucus defeated Antigonus and Demetrius
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battle of Issus
a battle (333 BC) in which Alexander the Great defeated the Persians under Darius III
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Ivry la Bataille
a battle (1590) in which the Huguenots under Henry IV defeated the Catholics under the duke of Mayenne
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Battle of Jena
the battle in 1806 in which Napoleon decisively defeated the Prussians
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battle of Jutland
an indecisive naval battle in World War I (1916); fought between the British and German fleets off the northwestern coast of Denmark
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Kennesaw Mountain
battle of the American Civil War (1864); Union forces under William Tecumseh Sherman were repulsed by Confederate troops under Joseph Eggleston Johnston
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Battle of Lake Trasimenus
a battle in 217 BC in which Hannibal ambushed a Roman army led by Flaminius
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battle of Langside
(1568) Catholic forces supporting Mary Queen of Scots were routed by Protestants
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Battle of Lepanto
Turkish sea power was destroyed in 1571 by a league of Christian nations organized by the Pope
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battle of Leuctra
Thebes defeated Sparta in 371 BC; the battle ended Sparta's military supremacy in Greece
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Lexington and Concord
the first battle of the American Revolution (April 19, 1775)
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Lucknow
the British residents of Lucknow were besieged by Indian insurgents during the Indian Mutiny (1857)
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battle of Lule Burgas
the principal battle of the Balkan Wars (1912); Bulgarian forces defeated the Turks
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battle of Lutzen
a battle in the Thirty Years' War (1632); Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeated the Holy Roman Empire under Wallenstein; Gustavus Adolphus was killed
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Macedonian War
one the four wars between Macedonia and Rome in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, which ended in the defeat of Macedonia and its annexation as a Roman province
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Battle of Magenta
a battle in 1859 in which the French and Sardinian forces under Napoleon III defeated the Austrians under Francis Joseph I
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Battle of Maldon
a battle in which the Danes defeated the Saxons in 991; celebrated in an old English poem
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Manila Bay
a naval battle in the Spanish-American War (1898); the American fleet under Admiral Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet
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Mantineia
the site of three famous battles among Greek city-states: in 418 BC and 362 BC and 207 BC
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battle of Marathon
a battle in 490 BC in which the Athenians and their allies defeated the Persians
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Marengo
a battle in 1800 in which the French under Napoleon Bonaparte won a great victory over the Austrians
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battle of Marston Moor
a battle in 1644 in which the Parliamentarians under the earl of Manchester defeated the Royalists under Prince Rupert
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Metaurus River
a battle during the second Punic War (207 BC); Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal was defeated by the Romans which ended Hannibal's hopes for success in Italy
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Battle of Midway
naval battle of World War II (June 1942); American planes based on land and on carriers decisively defeated a Japanese fleet on its way to invade the Midway Islands
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battle of Minden
a battle in the Seven Years' War (1759) in which the English forces and their allies defeated the French
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Battle of Monmouth Court House
a pitched battle in New Jersey during the American Revolution (1778) that ended with the withdrawal of British forces
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Battle of Naseby
a battle in 1645 that settled the outcome of the first English Civil War as the Parliamentarians won a major victory over the Royalists
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battle of Navarino
a decisive naval battle in the War of Greek Independence (1827); the Turkish and Egyptian fleet was defeated by an allied fleet of British and French and Russian warships
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battle of Omdurman
a battle (1898) in which an English and Egyptian army under Kitchener defeated the Sudanese
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siege of Orleans
a long siege of Orleans by the English was relieved by Joan of Arc in 1429
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battle of Panipat
battle in which the ruler of Afghanistan defeated the Mahrattas in 1761
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Cape Passero
a naval battle in the Mediterranean Sea off Cape Passero in which the Spanish navy was destroyed by France and England while attempting to recover Sicily and Sardinia from Italy (1719)
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Petersburg Campaign
the final campaign of the American Civil War (1864-65); Union forces under Grant besieged and finally defeated Confederate forces under Lee
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battle of Pharsalus
Caesar defeated Pompey in 48 BC
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battle of Philippi
Octavian and Mark Antony defeated Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC
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battle of the Philippine Sea
a naval battle in World War II (1944); a decisive naval victory for the United States fleet over the Japanese who were trying to block supplies from reaching American troops on Leyte
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battle of Plassey
the victory in 1757 by the British under Clive over Siraj-ud-daula that established British supremacy over Bengal
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battle of Plataea
a defeat of the Persian army by the Greeks at Plataea in 479 BC
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Pleven
the town was taken from the Turks by the Russians in 1877 after a siege of 143 days
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battle of Poitiers
the battle in 1356 in which the English under the Black Prince defeated the French
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Port Arthur
a battle in the Chino-Japanese War (1894); Japanese captured the port and fortifications from the Chinese
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Battle of Puebla
a battle in which Mexican forces defeated the French in 1862
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Battle of Pydna
a major victory by the Romans over the Macedonians in 168 BC; resulted in the downfall of the ancient Macedonian kingdom
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Battle of Ravenna
a battle between the French and an alliance of Spaniards and Swiss and Venetians in 1512
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Battle of Rocroi
a battle in the Thirty Years' War (1643); the French defeated the Spanish invaders
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battle of Rossbach
a battle in the Seven Years' War (1757); Prussian forces under Frederick the Great defeated the armies of France and Austria
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battle of St Mihiel
a battle in the Meuse-Argonne operation in World War I (1918); the battle in which American troops launched their first offensive in France
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Santiago de Cuba
a naval battle in the Spanish-American War (1898); the United States fleet bottled up the Spanish ships in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba and destroyed them when they tried to escape
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battle of Saratoga
a battle during the American Revolution (1777); the British under Burgoyne were defeated
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battle of Sempatch
the Swiss Confederation escaped Hapsburg domination by their victory in 1386
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battle of Pittsburgh Landing
the second great battle of the American Civil War (1862); the battle ended with the withdrawal of Confederate troops but it was not a Union victory
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battle of the Chemin-des-Dames
a battle in World War I (May 1918); the Germans tried to attack before the American numbers were too great to defeat; the tactical success of the Germans proved to be a strategic failure
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battle of Solferino
an indecisive battle in 1859 between the French and Sardinians under Napoleon III and the Austrians under Francis Joseph I
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Battle of the Somme
battle in World War I (1916)
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Battle of the Somme
battle of World War II (1944)
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Battle of the Spanish Armada
in the English Channel a small fleet of British ships successfully defeated the large armada sent from Spain by Philip II to invade England
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battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse
a battle between the armies of Grant and Lee during the Wilderness Campaign
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siege of Syracuse
the Athenian siege of Syracuse (415-413 BC) was eventually won by Syracuse
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siege of Syracuse
the Roman siege of Syracuse (214-212 BC) was eventually won by the Romans who sacked the city (killing Archimedes)
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battle of Tannenberg
a battle in World War I (1914); decisive German victory over the Russians
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battle of Tertry
a battle in France in 687 among the descendants of Clovis
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battle of Teutoburger Wald
a battle in 9 AD in which the Germans under Arminius annihilated three Roman Legions
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battle of Tewkesbury
the final battle of the War of the Roses in 1471 in which Edward IV defeated the Lancastrians
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battle of Thermopylae
a famous battle in 480 BC; a Greek army under Leonidas was annihilated by the Persians who were trying to conquer Greece
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battle of Trafalgar
a naval battle in 1805 off the southwest coast of Spain; the French and Spanish fleets were defeated by the English under Nelson (who was mortally wounded)
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battle of Trasimeno
a battle in central Italy where Hannibal defeated the Romans under Flaminius in 217 BC
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Tsushima
a naval battle in the Russo-Japanese War (1905); the Japanese fleet defeated the Russian fleet in the Korean Strait
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battle of Valmy
the French defeated the Austrian and Prussian troops in 1792 (with a famous cannonade from the French artillery)
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battle of Verdun
a battle in World War I (1916); in some of the bloodiest fighting in World War I the German offensive was stopped
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siege of Vicksburg
a decisive battle in the American Civil War (1863); after being besieged for nearly seven weeks the Confederates surrendered
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battle of Wagram
a battle in the Napoleonic campaigns (1809); Napoleon defeated the Austrians
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Battle of Waterloo
the battle on 18 June 1815 in which Prussian and British forces under Blucher and the Duke of Wellington routed the French forces under Napoleon
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Yalu River
a battle in the Korean War (November 1950); when UN troops advanced north to the Yalu River 200,000 Chinese troops crossed the river and drove them back
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siege of Yorktown
in 1781 the British under Cornwallis surrendered after a siege of three weeks by American and French troops; the surrender ended the American Revolution
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first battle of Ypres
battle in World War I (1914); heavy but indecisive fighting as the Allies and the Germans both tried to break through the lines of the others
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second battle of Ypres
battle in World War I (1915); Germans wanted to try chlorine (a toxic yellow gas) as a weapon and succeeded in taking considerable territory from the Allied salient
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third battle of Ypres
battle in World War I (1917); an Allied offensive which eventually failed because tanks bogged down in the waterlogged soil of Flanders; Germans introduced mustard gas which interfered with the Allied artillery
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battle of Zama
the battle in 202 BC in which Scipio decisively defeated Hannibal at the end of the second Punic War
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United States Civil War
civil war in the United States between the North and the South; 1861-1865
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Arab-Israeli War
tension between Arabs and Israeli erupted into a brief war in June 1967; Israel emerged as a major power in the Middle East
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Arab-Israeli War
Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in October 1973 (on Yom Kippur); Israel counterattacked and drove the Syrians back and crossed the Suez Canal into Egypt
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Balkan Wars
two wars (1912-1913) that were fought over the last of the European territories of the Ottoman Empire and that left the area around Constantinople (now Istanbul) as the only Ottoman territory in Europe
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Boer War
either of two wars: the first when the Boers fought England in order to regain the independence they had given up to obtain British help against the Zulus (1880-1881); the second when the Orange Free State and Transvaal declared war on Britain (1899-1902)
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Crimean War
a war in Crimea between Russia and a group of nations including England and France and Turkey and Sardinia; 1853-1856
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English Civil War
civil war in England between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists under Charles I; 1644-1648
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Franco-Prussian War
a war between France and Prussia that ended the Second Empire in France and led to the founding of modern Germany; 1870-1871
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French and Indian War
a war in North America between France and Britain (both aided by American Indian tribes); 1755-1760
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Hundred Years' War
the series of wars fought intermittently between France and England; 1337-1453
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Iran-Iraq War
a dispute over control of the waterway between Iraq and Iran broke out into open fighting in 1980 and continued until 1988, when they accepted a UN cease-fire resolution
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Korean War
a war between North and South Korea; South Korea was aided by the United States and other members of the United Nations; 1950-1953
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Mexican War
after disputes over Texas lands that were settled by Mexicans the United States declared war on Mexico in 1846 and by treaty in 1848 took Texas and California and Arizona and New Mexico and Nevada and Utah and part of Colorado and paid Mexico $15,000,000
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Napoleonic Wars
a series of wars fought between France (led by Napoleon Bonaparte) and alliances involving England and Prussia and Russia and Austria at different times; 1799-1815
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Peloponnesian War
a war in which Athens and its allies were defeated by the league centered on Sparta; 431-404 BC
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Persian Gulf War
a war fought between Iraq and a coalition led by the United States that freed Kuwait from Iraqi invaders; 1990-1991
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Punic War
one of the three wars between Carthage and Rome that resulted in the destruction of Carthage and its annexation by Rome; 264-241 BC, 218-201 BC, 149-146 BC
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Russo-Japanese War
Japanese victory in the war with Russia (1904-1905) gave Japan power over Korea and Manchuria
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Seven Years' War
a war of England and Prussia against France and Austria (1756-1763); Britain and Prussia got the better of it
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Spanish-American War
a war between the United States and Spain in 1898
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Spanish Civil War
civil war in Spain in which Franco succeeded in overthrowing the republican government; during the war Spain became a battleground for fascists and socialists from all countries; 1936-1939
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Thirty Years' War
a series of conflicts (1618-1648) between Protestants and Catholics starting in Germany and spreading until France and Denmark and Sweden were opposing the Holy Roman Empire and Spain
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Trojan War
(Greek mythology) a great war fought between Greece and Troy; the Greeks sailed to Troy to recover Helen of Troy, the beautiful wife of Menelaus who had been abducted by Paris; after ten years the Greeks (via the Trojan Horse) achieved final victory and burned Troy to the ground
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Vietnam War
a prolonged war (1954-1975) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States
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War of Greek Independence
the Greeks rebelled against Turkish rule in 1821; with the support of England and France and Russia they won independence in 1828 at Navarino (although the country included only half its present size)
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War of the Austrian Succession
Prussia and Austria fought over Silesia and most of the rest of Europe took sides; 1740-1748
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War of the League of Augsburg
an aggressive war waged by Louis XIV against Spain and the Holy Roman Empire and England and Holland and other states (1689-1697)
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War of the Spanish Succession
a general war in Europe (1701-1714) that broke out when Louis XIV installed his grandson on the throne of Spain; England and Holland hoped to limit Louis' power
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Wars of the Roses
struggle for the English throne (1455-1485) between the house of York (white rose) and the house of Lancaster (red rose) ending with the accession of the Tudor monarch Henry VII
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War of 1812
a war (1812-1814) between the United States and England which was trying to interfere with American trade with France
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First World War
a war between the allies (Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Rumania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Montenegro) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria) from 1914 to 1918
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Second World War
a war between the Allies (Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, USSR, Yugoslavia) and the Axis (Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Rumania, Slovakia, Thailand) from 1939 to 1945