# Great Battles of History



## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 9, 2005)

I'm compiling a list of great battles with historical significance for Christianity. Can anyone add to this list?

* Battle of Milvian Bridge -- October 28, 312

* Battle of Tours -- October 10, 732

* Battle of Edington -- May, 878

* Battle of Hastings -- October 14, 1066

* Battle of Bannockburn -- June 23-24, 1314

* Battle of Agincourt -- October 25, 1415

* Fall of Constantinople -- May 29, 1453

* The Sack of Rome -- April 22, 1527

* Battle of Kappel -- October 11, 1531

* Massacre of Fort Caroline -- September 20, 1565

* Battle of Lepanto -- October 7, 1571

* Battle of Gravelines (Defeat of the Spanish Armada) -- August 8, 1588

* Battle of Breitenfeld -- September 17, 1631

* Battle of Marston Moor -- July 2, 1644

* Battle of Rullion Green -- November 28, 1666

* Battle of Boyne -- July 1, 1690

* Battles of Lexington & Concord -- April 19, 1775

* Battle of Trafalgar -- October 21, 1805

* Battle of Chancellorsville -- May 1-6, 1863

* Battle of Dunkirk -- May/June, 1940

[Edited on 9-16-2006 by VirginiaHuguenot]


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## Plimoth Thom (Oct 10, 2005)

Battle of White Mountain - November 8, 1620.

King Philip's War (1675-6) was very important for the survival of puritan New England and devastating for the Indian population. No one battle stands out as most important. It was the bloodiest war in American history in terms of total casualties compared to the population. The NE colonists were pushed back to the sea, almost every town in NE was burned or attacked, even Plymouth was attacked. It was a total war between the NE colonists and the NE Indians for their very existance. The colonists barely came out on top, and the Indians were virtually wiped out or sold into slavery, including many Christian Indians. 

Battle of the Great Severn - March 25, 1655. The last batle of the ECW, and only battle of the ECW fought in North America.

Battle of Culloden April 16, 1746

Siege of Quebec - June-September, 1759 effectively ended the French & Indian War, securing North America for the British, which directly led to the American War of Independence.

First and Second Battles of Saratoga - September 19 & October 17, 1777. The turning point of the AWI.

[Edited on 10-10-2005 by Plimoth Thom]

[Edited on 10-10-2005 by Plimoth Thom]


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## Steve Owen (Oct 10, 2005)

Two important defeats for the Turkish Empire were
The Siege of Malta, around 1560 and
The Siege of Vienna in 1685 (?). The Turks had already broken through the walls of the city and were commencing to sack it, when the army of the King of Poland and his allies appeared in the nick of time and utterly defeated them. This battle marked the end of the Turkish Empire as a world power. Henceforth it was the 'Sick man of Europe' until its dissolution after the First World War.

Whilst I was on holiday in Hungary this year, I learned about the siege of Eger, where a huge Turkish army was repulsed in around 1530. At one point, the defenders ran out of boiling oil to pour over the attackers, so they used hot beef goulash instead!

Martin


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## New wine skin (Oct 10, 2005)

Battle of Chalon w/ Attila the Hun 451 AD, I have read that upwards of 600-900 thousand men died in this campaign. Don't know how trust worthy the data was on casualties, but the campaign was significant in History.


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## kceaster (Oct 10, 2005)

Wouldn't we say all of them? If it's God's History, then no battle is without significance for Crown and Covenant.

In Christ,

KC


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## Scott Bushey (Oct 10, 2005)

Considered a Confederate victory for halting the Union advance, the Battle of Chickamauga was a costly one. It claimed an estimated 34,624 casualties (16,170 for the Union; 18,454 for the Confederates).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chickamauga


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 10, 2005)

Thanks, gentlemen! These are good suggestions. Much appreciated.



> _Originally posted by kceaster_
> Wouldn't we say all of them? If it's God's History, then no battle is without significance for Crown and Covenant.
> 
> In Christ,
> ...



Certainly any and all battles and other events have some significance in the history of redemption (to use Jonathan Edwards' term), but what I am looking for here are battles of "macrohistorical" significance to the Christian Church.

Battles where the advance of Roman Catholicism (Gravelines, Boyne) or Islam (Tours, Vienna) were stopped from taking over a particular country or else through defeat Renaissance and Reformation were thereby spread (Constantinople) are the kinds of battles that I have in mind.


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## New wine skin (Oct 10, 2005)

Andrew

Might add 30 yrs war resulting in Treaty of Westphalia as key turning point for rise of enlightenment. Stalemate battle for influence of RCC vs Protestant but contributes to Disillusionment w church and sets stage for People to look inward for authority rather than outward.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 10, 2005)

> _Originally posted by New wine skin_
> Andrew
> 
> Might add 30 yrs war resulting in Treaty of Westphalia as key turning point for rise of enlightenment. Stalemate battle for influence of RCC vs Protestant but contributes to Disillusionment w church and sets stage for People to look inward for authority rather than outward.



Thanks, Scott -- I did include the first major Protestant victory in the Thirty Years' War (Battle of Breitenfeld). There are probably others from that war I could include too.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Nov 27, 2005)

The Pentland Rising by the Scottish Covenanters took place on November 28, 1666.


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## Contra_Mundum (Nov 27, 2005)

Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jena-Auerstedt
Failure is often the only serious impetus for change.

In this battle, the Prussian army (the remnants of the pride of Frederick the Great) was annihilated by Napoleon. But this immediate consequence was minor in the grand scheme of world history. Napoleon was kicking everybody's backside.

The real result was the reaction to total failure. The Prussians went back to the drawing board. Their whole officer corps, NCOs, conscription, _everything_ changed. They rewote the whole book.

The result was only begun to be seen in the later defeats of the French in the 1800s. The militarization of the nation, the professional officer corps, Germany's rise as an industrial power, everything was affected. Right down to two world wars in the 20th century.


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## Herald (Nov 27, 2005)

The invasion of Normandy is not listed? The largest amphibious invasion in the history of the world.


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## Bladestunner316 (Nov 27, 2005)

Battle of Nesjar

Saint Olav introduced the Christian faith to Norway.

Saint Olav


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## Bladestunner316 (Nov 27, 2005)

How did Normandy spread Christianity?


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## Herald (Nov 27, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Bladestunner316_
> How did Normandy spread Christianity?



Oppps...didn't see that part of his post. I just read the part about the battles. As we say in New Jersey (where I come from)...forgedabodit.


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## Bladestunner316 (Nov 28, 2005)




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## VirginiaHuguenot (Mar 25, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Plimoth Thom_
> Battle of the Great Severn - March 25, 1655. The last batle of the ECW, and only battle of the ECW fought in North America.
> 
> [Edited on 10-10-2005 by Plimoth Thom]
> ...



More info on the Battle of the Great Severn. From 1655 to 1658 Maryland was controlled by Puritans. For those of us who have lived in modern liberal Maryland, that's pretty hard to imagine!


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## Pergamum (Mar 25, 2006)

Poiters and Tours are key battles.....otherwise Arabic might be spoken in France instead of French....

Wait! That is happening today!


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## Puritanhead (Jun 24, 2006)

Bannockburn Battle

special feature on my blogspot... June 23-24, 1314!! 692 Years to the day!


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Sep 16, 2006)

September 17, 1631 -- King Gustavus Adolphus (Lion of the North)'s victory at the Battle of Breitenfeld


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## govols (Sep 19, 2006)

*And the worst battle??*

Battle of Bull Run (for the blue bellies). A Confederate march into DC after the battle probably would have stopped the war for the defenses DC were minuscule.


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## jaybird0827 (Sep 19, 2006)

The Battle of New Orleans

Well, maybe not "great", but definitely memorable.


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## Swampguy (Sep 19, 2006)

The Battle of the Bulge (I mean my waist )


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## Kevin (Sep 19, 2006)

New Orleans, NOT! If the war is over and you lost--then the battle doesn't count.

Stalingrad, certainly aught to be on any list.


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## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Sep 20, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Bladestunner316_
> How did Normandy spread Christianity?


Didn't you hear Stephen Ambrose say that 88mm converted more people to Christianity than Saint Peter and Paul combined?


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