Decisive Battles - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) The Battle of Marathon. The first battle in Creasy's tome was historically important because it was the first Greek victory over the Persians on land (and we still recognize it today with the marathon running race).
• A2) The Battle of Hastings. This victory sealed the Norman Conquest of England (William would become king ten weeks later) and is commemorated by the Bayeaux Tapestry.
• A3) The Battles of Saratoga. This pair of battles in New York convinced France to aid the cause of the American Revolution.
• A4) The Battle of Waterloo. After Napoleon's Hundred Days return from exile, his loss here permanently removed him from emperor and settled Europe into a long period of peace. This was the last battle in Creasy's book, whose full title is The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo.
• A5) The Vicksburg Campaign. After several unsuccessful attempts, Ulysses S. Grant landed his troops unopposed at Bruinsburg, Mississippi, then captured Jackson and finally Vicksburg over ten weeks, gaining full Union ownership of the Mississippi River and splitting the Confederacy in half.
• A6) The Battle of Koniggratz (also known as the Battle of Sadowa). The Kingdom of Prussia effectively ended the Austro-Prussian War and the Austrian Empire at peace talks three weeks later.
• A7) The Battle of Tsushima (also know as the Sea of Japan Naval Battle and the Battle of Tsushima Strait). Japan routed Russia, losing only 117 men and 3 ships while killing 4,380 men and sinking 21 ships. The Land of the Rising Sun strengthened its position and took a major step toward World War II.
• A8) The First Battle of the Marne (also known as the Miracle of the Marne). Despite very heavy losses on each side (about a quarter million casualties each), the Allies forced the Germans to retreat, preventing a quick end to World War I. The Second Battle of the Marne four years later stopped the last major German offensive of the war.
• A9) The Battle of Warsaw. Poland secured its independence from Russia in the three-year Polish-Soviet War.
• A10) The Battle of Midway. U.S. forces not only held on to the strategic outpost, but damaged enough Japanese ships to establish superiority on the water for the rest of the war. In 1949, Chicago Municipal Airport was renamed Midway to honor this battle.
• A11) The Battle of Stalingrad. The bloodiest battle in human history left one and a half million dead, split almost evenly across the sides, and Russia in possession of their city, which they renamed Volgograd in 1961.
• A12) The Tet Offensive. The North attacked despite an agreement for a three-day Vietnamese New Year cease fire. Although the Allied side suffered far fewer casualties, the Communists gained strategically, and American civilian anti-war sentiment grew much stronger.