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There are many I could name but if I had to name one, it would be the brilliant commando assault on Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium. The biggest fort in the world at that time, considered by many to be the absolute fortress, taken over by a handful of German commandos that arrive via gliders.
Yac.
Ramses III defeat of the Peoples of the Sea, a formidable group who many archaeologists credit for the collapse of the Bronze Age Mediterranean civilizations.
Good one here Kov
However just who were these '''mysterious''' late Bronze age peoples who conquered two of the three mediterranean superpowers at the time i.e. the sea power Mycenaeans and the land power the Hittites and came damn close to conquering Egypt as well?
Last edited by Six Foot Three; 07-10-2013 at 05:17 AM..
Reason: Typo - 6 ft 3
The Battle of Catalaunian Plains 451 A.D. Gaul in which the undermatched Romans under General Aetius (Roman Empire's last great general) along with his Visigothic allies 50,000 force defeated the Huns and their Ostrogothic allies under Attila 80,000 force who at that point had conquered everything before them since entering from the Pontic Steppe of far eastern Europe.
Here is my list of "most impressive" in no particular order...
9. Battle of Isandlwana
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil306
The Battle of Rourke's Drift. Still an impressive victory.
Interesting in that these two engagements, which are usually linked together since Rourke's Drift is an offshoot of Isandlwana, represent two totally opposite battle outcome scenarios. Isandlwana was perhaps the worst defeat a modern army ever suffered at the hands of native forces and Rourke's Drift was one of the most heroic stands by a modern army facing vastly more numeric native forces.
However just who were these '''mysterious''' late Bronze age peoples who conquered two of the three mediterranean superpowers at the time i.e. the sea power Mycenaeans and the land power the Hittites and came damn close to conquering Egypt as well?
Excellent question! Unfortunately there is still a lot of mysteries and uncertainties surrounding the origins and final fate of the Sea Peoples.
Some scholars associate them with tribes that eventually became the Etruscans, Phillistines/Palestine, Achaeans of the Hellenes, while the Dene could be linked to both the Hellenes and the tribe of Dan of the Hebrews/Israelites.
The tales of the Trojan War might have something to do with the exploits of the Sea Peoples and this ties into the Maghreb since the Lebu, Mashwesh and others teamed up with Sea Peoples to invade the Nile. Herodotus even reported the Libyan tribe of Maxyes claimed descent from the men of Troy.
The only thing there is consensus on is that they were bad @zz!
1944 - One year - Two of the most impressive victories.
Operation "Overlord". Beginning of the liberation of Europe.
Russian operation "Bagration". German army group "Center" was completely destroyed.
There are many I could name but if I had to name one, it would be the brilliant commando assault on Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium. The biggest fort in the world at that time, considered by many to be the absolute fortress, taken over by a handful of German commandos that arrive via gliders.
Yac.
Excellent choice Yac. That assault is often overlooked in the general story of the Invasion of France. Even more interesting to me is that it is reported that Hitler himself had a large hand in the planning of the operation including the use of the gliders and the shaped charges.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackShoe
Interesting in that these two engagements, which are usually linked together since Rourke's Drift is an offshoot of Isandlwana, represent two totally opposite battle outcome scenarios. Isandlwana was perhaps the worst defeat a modern army ever suffered at the hands of native forces and Rourke's Drift was one of the most heroic stands by a modern army facing vastly more numeric native forces.
It is interesting. Quite the one-two punch with each side trading "impressive" victories back-to-back.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atai J.
1944 - One year - Two of the most impressive victories.
Operation "Overlord". Beginning of the liberation of Europe.
Russian operation "Bagration". German army group "Center" was completely destroyed.
Definitely impressive given the sheer scale of the battles on the two fronts and the numbers invovled.
I was going to mention Agincourt but a couple of guys beat me. The Bodkin Point (prymidal) armor piercing Arrow should be mentioned.
Modern study indicates that the role played by the English archers at Agincourt has been overstated. Good armor in 1415 was actually pretty effective in turning an arrow and keeping the wearer safe, although arrows could pierce at joints or visor holes, and also armor on arms and legs was not as arrow proof. Many of the French deaths at Agincourt were men that had their horses shot out from under them and become mired in the mud of the battlefield, or had been only wounded by arrows and who were then killed by the English men-at-arms or archers with edged or blunt weapons.
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