A distinguished team of 26 military historians reveal the decisive conflicts that have shaped world history from the 5th century BC to the 21st century

The course of history rarely changes so swiftly and decisively as on the battlefield. In this masterly overview, an international team of historians reconstructs and analyses seventy key clashes from 490 BC to the 21st century and appraises their impact on the world order.

Their studies encompass not only the great land battles, but sieges such as Constantinople and Tenochtitlan; naval battles at Trafalgar and Tsushima; and aerial struggles including the Battle of Britain. Truly global in scope, the collection marches from the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9, where the German tribes annihilated a Roman army, to Hakata Bay in 1281, where the Japanese defeated the Mongols, to the heart of the American Civil War at Gettysburg in 1863 and beyond. Together they show how technology and tactics advance in tandem as battlefield commanders respond to advances in mobility, communications and firepower, how certain principles endure – and how victory in battle may not win the war.

Illustrated with over 80 specially commissioned battle plans, this is an essential introduction to some of the great battles in history.

Contents List

Contributors
World map
Introduction

Ancient World
Introduction
1 Marathon (490 BC)
2 Salamis (480 BC)
3 Gaugamela (331 BC)
4 Cannae (216 BC)
5 Gaixia (203 BC)
6 Actium (31 BC)
7 Teutoburg Forest (AD 9)
8 Adrianople (378)

Medieval World
Introduction
9 Poitiers (732)
10 Lechfeld (955)
11 Hastings (1066)
12 Manzikert (1071)
13 Hattin (1187)
14 Liegnitz (1241)
15 Hakata Bay (1281)
16 Bannockburn (1314)
17 Crécy (1346)
18 Ankara (1402)
19 Agincourt (1415)
20 The Fall of Constantinople (1453)
21 Bosworth (1485)

Sixteenth Century
Introduction
22 Flodden (1513)
23 Tenochtitlan (1521)
24 Pavia (1525)
25 Panipat (1526)
26 Mohács (1526)
27 Lepanto (1571)
28 The Armada (1588)

Seventeenth Century
Introduction
29 Sekigahara (1600)
30 Breitenfeld (1631)
31 Nördlingen (1634)
32 Shanhaiguan (1644)
33 Naseby (1645)
34 Vienna (1683)

Eighteenth Century
Introduction
35 Blenheim (1704)
36 Poltava (1709)
37 Belgrade (1717)
38 Rossbach (1757)
39 Plassey (1757)
40 Quebec (1759)
41 Saratoga (1777)
42 Yorktown (1781)
43 Jemappes (1792)

Nineteenth Century
Introduction
44 Trafalgar (1805)
45 Leipzig (1813)
46 Waterloo (1815)
47 Ayacucho (1824)
48 Mexico City (1847)
49 Inkerman (1854)
50 Antietam (1862)
51 Gettysburg (1863)
52 Sadowa (1866)
53 Omdurman (1898)

Modern Times
Introduction
54 Tsushima (1905)
55 Tannenberg (1914)
56 Jutland (1916)
57 Verdun (1916)
58 The Western Front (1918)
59 Battle of Britain (1940)
60 Battle for Moscow (1941)
61 Stalingrad (1942-43)
62 Midway (1942)
63 Battle of the Atlantic (1940-43)
64 Battle for Normandy (1944)<
br/> 65 Operation Bagration (1944) 66 The American Air Attack on Japan (1945)
67 Huai-Hai (1948-49)
68 Dien Bien Phu (1953-54)
69 The Tet Offensive (1968)
70 The Iraq War (2003)

Further Reading
Sources of Illustrations
Sources of Quotations

About the Author

Jeremy Black is one of the UK’s most respected and prolific historians. He is a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange, Emeritus Professor of History at Exeter University and a renowned expert on the history of war. His recent books include France: A Short History, also published by Thames & Hudson.