The Decisive Battles of World History

How warfare changes the course of historical events; the factors that make a military battle decisive, such as its role in transfers of power and its social and political effects; the study of battles as an analytical tool for understanding history.

The battle of Kadesh ushers in an era of peace in the ancient Near East; the strategy and tactics of the Egyptian and Hittite armies; the unusual sequence of battlefield events that lead to a remarkable treaty; a forerunner of peaceful diplomacy.

In the 479 B.C. battle of Plataea, Greek hoplite forces fighting in phalanxes meet the army of the Persian superpower; the unfolding of this dramatic engagement; how it ends the Persian threat to Greece; the flowering of Greece's cultural Golden Age.

The victory of Alexander at Gaugamela results in the spread of Greek culture throughout the Macedonian Empire; Alexander's campaign against the Persians and his confrontation with the Persian forces; how he overcomes his foe's advantages.

In 197 B.C., two rival military systems clash; the forces of Philip V of Macedon, with their phalanx system; the legacy of Alexander; the ambitious Romans with their manipular army based in flexible subunits of soldiers; the battle's consequences.

This naval battle results from conflict within republican Rome; the rivalry between Mark Antony and Octavian for Rome's domination; the fateful events of the confrontation; how it marks the end of the Roman Republic; the dawn of the Roman Empire.

The wars of the third and second centuries B.C. are crucial in the later history of China; the military technology of the ancient Chinese; the conflicts through which the first Qin and Han emperors weld together antagonistic kingdoms; a united China.

The Islamic Rashidun armies defeat two long-standing empires; their defeat of the Byzantine army at Yarmouk and the Sassanid forces at al-Qadisiyyah; shaping the cultural, linguistic and religious nature of the Middle East for the next 1,500 years.

Military engagements between widely differing cultures; the 751 battle between the Chinese Tang forces and the Abbasid Caliphate, which alters the religious fabric of Central Asia; the 1192 clash between the Indian Rajputs and a Turkish Islamic army.

The Battle of Hastings changes the course of both English and world history; the figure of William the Conqueror and his 1066 invasion of England to claim the crown; the engagement at Hastings; orienting England away from Scandinavian influence.

The religious and cultural effects of the Christian Crusades are still felt in today's world; the origins of the Crusades; the events leading to the confrontation at Hattin between Islamic and Christian forces; it alters the course of the wars.

Imagining a militaristic society that threatens nearly all the civilizations of Asia and Europe; the rise of the Mongols and their military expertise; their clash with the Egyptian Mamluks, a rare Mongol defeat; it halts their Western expansion.

This 15th-century conflict pits the armies of Poland and Lithuania against the fearsome Germanic order of the Teutonic Knights; the political background of the confrontation at Tannenberg; the symbolic significance of the battle that echoes today.

Discussing battles that have extremely important effects; considering the battles of the Frigidus River and Badr, both vital turning points for world religions; the battle of Diu marks the moment when Europe begins its rise to world domination.

The 16th-century Spanish conquest of the Americas results in some unusual military encounters; the campaign under Hernan Cortes to conquer Mexico fewer than 1,000 Spaniards defeat the mighty Aztec Empire, whose armies comprise thousands of warriors.

Spain's campaign against the highly organized Inca Empire; the daring maneuvers of the forces under Francisco Pizarro, aided by European military technology; the kidnap and ransom of the Incan emperor; it enables 190 men to defeat an army of 40,000.

Two significant 16th-century battles are fought at the Indian town of Panipat; the rise of the Mughal emperors; the military clashes that open the door to their advance into India and then solidify their control; a dynasty that lasts for centuries.

The conquests of the Ottoman Turks lead to the largest naval battle of the Renaissance; the Holy League is an alliance of Christian powers against the raiding Ottomans; the events leading to Lepanto; the naval engagement that ends Turkish incursions.

These great naval conflicts leave deep imprints on two nations; the 1592 Japanese conquest of Korea; the stunning victories of Korean admiral Yi Sun-shin, whose strategic actions defeat two invasions; one of the greatest admirals of all time.

A journey through the samurai era; the underlying politics and the major figures in the conflict; one whose wavering loyalty takes an astonishing turn on the battlefield; the events that unify Japan under a dynasty of shoguns who rule for 250 years.

The Ottoman campaign to capture Vienna is one of the largest in Ottoman history; the background of the siege; the military technology on both sides; the role of the Polish-Lithuanian armies; Vienna marks a turning point for the Ottoman Empire.

In the 17th century, Sweden emerges as a powerful state in Northern Europe; Charles XII's ambition to conquer Russia; his opponent is the resourceful Tsar Peter I; the battlefield events that constitute a reversal of fortunes for the two countries.

This incident between England and France shapes the future of North America; the conflict through the eyes of the opposing commanders as the British assault Quebec City; the remarkable serendipity favors the British; historic political effects.

In late 1776, the rebellion of the American colonists appears to be heading for a failure; the dramatic events that are the pivot point of the war; George Washington undertakes bold actions to outwit the British; saving the revolutionary movement.

In 1805, after subduing much of Europe, Napoleon Bonaparte turns his sights on England; the events leading to the largest naval battle of the age; Napoleon's combined French and Spanish fleet meet the British navy; the beginning of Napoleon's fall.

A coalition of seven European powers unite to oppose Napoleon; the preliminary military actions culminating at Leipzig, where four armies finally converge on Napoleon's forces; the incident that transforms it into an outright disaster for the French.

The rise of numerous independence movements in Central and South America; three key leaders who are prominent in these struggles; their bold plan to liberate Peru; the showdown on the plain of Ayacucho that ends Spanish rule in Latin America.

Sam Houston and Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna are key commanders; the tensions between the Mexican government and the province of Texas; the 18-minute battle that gains Texas independence; the US acquires nearly one-third of its continental territory.

At the time of this landmark battle in the American Civil War, the Confederacy seems poised to achieve its goal of independence; the protracted struggle between North and South; how a marginal Union victory nevertheless alters the course of the war.

The encounter at Koniggratz brings a united Germany into being; the opposing Prussian and Austrian forces; the Prussian initiative to capture the German-speaking states allied with Austria; how easily Prussia's crushing victory could end as a defeat.

A modern Japanese naval force stuns the world in this history-making battle; Japan's 19th-century industrialization and militarization; its conflict with an expansionist Russia; the maritime confrontation that alters the Western perception of Japan.

This providential clash shapes World War I; the German and French preparations for warfare and vital errors in planning by each side; the German commander's fateful change of plans; the ensuing battle that leaves both sides enmeshed in a stalemate.

An obscure battle in Mongolia produces global effects; the tensions between Russia and Japan that lead to a bloody border conflict; this one event contributes to both the outbreak of war in the Pacific and Europe and the outcome of the war itself.

The advent of aircraft carriers brings a new era in naval warfare; the most dramatic and pivotal of the carrier versus carrier battles; the events of a short span of minutes permanently tilt the balance of power in the Pacific to the United States.

The German raid of Russia at the height of the war in Europe, which masses the full force of Hitler's war machine; the clash of the seemingly invincible German panzer units with the Red Army and the Russian winter; it ends the ascendancy of Nazis.

Looking at some of the historically decisive battles of the six decades following World War II; considering two famous conflicts often thought to be among the most decisive of all time; how careful analysis casts doubt on that conclusion.