What was, in your opinion, the most pivotal battle in history?

Question

By pivotal I mean it resulted in something which changed the course of the future.

Answer 1

I picked these three battles as the most pivotal ones.

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 A.D. (probably lasting from September 9 to September 11))

Traditionally, it was seen as having caused Augustus to give up his plans for the conquest of Germania. The view was that the later military actions were merely punitive face-saving measures. The current consensus among historians is that this is untenable, especially in light of recent archaeological finds, and not only those at Kalkriese Hill. For one third of the entire Roman army was repeatedly mobilized at great expense and risk for the Germanic campaigns, and its incursions were massive. Moreover, infrastructural measures were undertaken east of the Rhine which would have made no sense unless a full reconquest had been planned. Tacitus is unclear on the subject in Annales 1.3, but clearly his interest is in making Germanicus look good by comparison to his uncle, the emperor; and although Germanicus was definitely defeated, Tacitus tries his best to avoid saying so.

This does not, however, reduce the significance of the battle, since it is clear that without the massive advantage won in the Teutoburg Forest and in the ensuing weeks, the Germanic tribes would have been unable to resist the renewed Roman assault. This victory, on this completely one-sided scale, was not sufficient to ensure the ultimate victory in the war of independence, but it was definitely necessary for that purpose.


Battle of Hastings (October 14, 1066)

It resulted in the Norman control of England. The Norman Conquest was a pivotal event in English history for a number of reasons. This conquest linked England more closely with Continental Europe through the introduction of a Norman aristocracy, thereby lessening Scandinavian influence. It created one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe and engendered a sophisticated governmental system. The conquest changed the English language and culture, and set the stage for rivalry with France, which would continue intermittently until the 20th century. It has an iconic role in English national identity as the last successful military conquest of England.


Battle of Saratoga (September 19 to October 17, 1777)

The Battle of Saratoga was a decisive American victory resulting in the surrender of an entire British army of 9,000 men invading New York from Canada during the American Revolutionary War. The Battle of Saratoga was actually two battles about 9 miles south of Saratoga, New York, namely the Battle of Freeman's Farm and the Battle of Bemis Heights, as well as the Battle of Bennington, about 15 miles east of Saratoga. The surrender of General John Burgoyne, who was surrounded by much larger American militia forces, took place after his retreat to Saratoga.

The capture of an entire British army secured the northern American states from further attacks out of Canada and prevented New England from being isolated. A major result was that France entered the conflict on behalf of the Americans, thus dramatically improving the Americans' chances in the war.

Answer 2

Well I read through and most everyone has said my answers. I tried to narrow it down to one but honestly each of these battles has changed history in such a unique way. To try and point out only one would be impossible. But here are my top choices Battle of Thermopylae - as someone pointed out, w/out the spartians holding off the persians Athens could have been conquered and democracy squelched. (Although I have a feeling it (democracy) would have eventually risen again. It always has) Battle of Malvian Bridge - Constantine winning this battle and attributing that win to Christ helped stop the persecution of Christians (for a while at least) and perhaps even preserved this faith from being lost. (We are considered a christian nation you know) Battle of Hastings - obviously a watershed moment in history. Without it England would be drastically different and if England was different all of Europe would be different because England has played such a vital role in the developement of Europe. Saratoga - This was the turing point in the American Revolutionary war. W/out it most historians believe we would not have won. Obviously then there would be not America. Nuff said. Waterloo - As someone has already said this battle stopped a rising dictator and established a type of order in Europe that would last almost 100 years. Gettysburg - I am a firm believer in the importance of America. History has proven this belief to be true. If the Union had fallen during the Civil War you would not have the great industrial nation of WWI and WWII. Also there would still be slavery. The greatest tradgedy in history. Those are my top picks. Of course you had the major battles of the World Wars and those were essential to win. W/out them everything would be different. But I've gone pretty far back and chosen the battles I feel have affected our world the greatest.

Answer 3

Wow, how do I begin to weigh this one?

The Battle of the Marne? Germany loss doomed the German Empire.

Waterloo, pivotal for Europe not so much the rest of the world.

Yorktown, the British Empire losses a Continent?

I will go with Yorktown. The British loss at Yorktown resulted in the loss of the majrity of a continent, that started the clock on the worlds monarchies, and re-invented the principals of the Republic, that would later alter the face of the planet.

Answer 4

The Battle of Hastings is a good nominee.

I would add the Battle of Tours to the list of nominees. It took place in 732 AD in what is today southern France and pitted the Franks against the Muslims (a combination of Arabs and Moors). The Frankish victory stemmed the advance of Islam in Europe, thus having a huge impact on Western civilization. I've included some links below.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Lemme see the candidates:

Cro Magnon vs. Neanderthal:affected us for all eternity

Yorktown

Stalingrad

The Spanish Armada

battle of Marathon

Battle of Midway

battle of Thermopylae: 250,000 to 7000

Leipzeg, Napolianic wars

Battle of Chalons (451 AD): stopped Atilla

Moscow 1941

Antietam (as opposed to Gettysburg)

Chosin Campaign 1950

Bttle of Britain:Never was so much owed by so many to so few

Battle of la Marne: stopped the German invasion

Cajamarca,Spanish Conquest of Peru, 1532

Waterloo,Napoleonic Wars, 1815

Cannae 216 BC

Vienna, Austria-Ottoman Wars, 1529

Hastings, Norman Conquest of England, 1066

kursk....the largest tank battle ever.

Battle of Tours:Had Europe lost, most the world would be muslim and vastly different than it would be today. We'd been preying to Mecca every day...hooray for Charles Martel!!!


and then there's:

Atomic Bombing of Japan


My pick is:

The US dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 to hasten the end of World War II in the Pacific. Although it would be the first, and to date the only, actual use of such weapons of "mass destruction," the mushroom clouds have hung over every military and political policy since then.

Was it a pivotal battle? Well the human population has stared into the dark abyss of global suicide since those dreadful days in August '45..

Answer 6

The Battle of Tours in the 10th century when the French beat the Muslim army and drove them back over the Pyrenees.
If the French had lost then Europe may well have become entirely Muslim and this would mean that the USA would be a muslim state today.

Answer 7

The Battle of Tours in 732 AD determined that Europe and her Empires would be Christian and that the Middle East would be Islamic. Thats pretty big.

Answer 8

Battle of Hastings changed the entire history, language and culture of England and Western Europe. That's kinda big.

The Spanish Armada was another biggy, but I think Hastings was ultimately bigger.

Answer 9

The American Revolution ..without that many people now and days will still be slaves .. there would be trash talking between races and color... it was a moment in which taxes where made and the battle with the British was won...

Answer 10

The fall of Constantinople in 1453. It was the end of Byzantium, the buffer between the Mideast and the Western world. The consequences were myriad.