Favourite Battle - Page 3 - Historum

**Salah** · May 1st, 2010, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverWolf

Thermopylae. stoopid phoencians lettin the spartans die -_-

You mean the Persians? The rulers of one of history's greatest empires were far from *stoopid*

Gaius · May 1st, 2010, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salah ad-Din

You mean the Persians? The rulers of one of history's greatest empires were far from *stoopid*

The Phoenicians let the flank open by retreating, basically "lettin the spartans die"

**Salah** · May 1st, 2010, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaius

The Phoenicians let the flank open by retreating, basically "lettin the spartans die"

Oh gotcha. I need to bone up on the Greeks, the obsessed Romanophile that I am

Gaius · May 1st, 2010, 04:02 PM

Nothing wrong with being a Romanophile!

Here's a decent link I found of that time period:
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeol...pe/sparta.html

Quote:

Battle of Thermopylae

Xerxes's army finally reached the plain in front of the mountain pass and encountered seven thousand Greek soldiers, most of whom were Peloponnesians. Also during this time the Persian fleet was moving along the Greek coast with its auxiliaries. They were hit by a storm off Magnesia that destroyed over 800 of their 4,000 ships. This cut in to the large naval force that had been amassed by the Persians. Also part of Xerxes's plan called for the navy to branch off in to two separate fighting groups. A detachment of 200 ships was to move around the Greek fleet and box them in. At that exact moment Xerxes planned to break through at Thermopylae and advance to the mainland and then the coast. In one swift movement he hoped to bottle up the Greeks and slaughter them.

The Spartan contingent at Thermopylae was able to hold off the Persians for three days. Fighting was hand to hand, and the Persians were repeatedly striking and retreating quickly. This continued until it was brought to Xerxes's attention that there was another pass which could be used to outflank the Greeks. The bulk of the Spartan army had been celebrating festivals at Delphi and Olympia, and because the Spartan contingent was able to keep the Persians at bay they were given time reach the battlefield. It also took the huge Persian cavalrymen out of the picture.

During this time the navies engaged each other too. The Greek navy, because it was a smaller fleet, took up a defensive position in a circle. In doing so, the Persians were unable to overrun them. Although there was not decisive victory by either side, the smaller Greek force was able to hold them off. When night fell a storm once again blew in. The Persian fleet of 200 ships that had broken from the main fleet earlier were caught in the savage storm, smashing them into the rocks. The next day 53 reserve ships arrived. At nightfall the Greeks attacked again, sinking a number of Cilician vessels (Persian allies).

On the third day of fighting the Persians found the alternate pass and advanced towards the Spartans at Thermopylae. The Phoenicians, who were supposed to defend the pass, retreated and gave way freely. When the Spartan general Leonidas heard of the advancing Persians he ordered everyone except the 300 Spartans retreat. The Spartans fought the Persians to the very last man, sacrificing their lives for the good of Sparta. On sea the fighting resumed as well. Since the Persians enjoyed their numbers they assumed a crescent shape, hoping to envelop the Greek navy. The fighting was fierce and the Greeks lost half of their fleet. Under the cloud of night they would retreat once again.

When Xerxes advanced once more over 20,000 of his best troops were dead and half of his fleet was sunk or unfit for battle. At the battle of Thermopylae only 4,000 lay dead; most of them were helots. The Greeks had shown superiority in man-for-man warfare.

**Solidaire** · May 1st, 2010, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lawnmowerman

has to be the Battle of Karánsebes. The Austrian army gets drunk and fights itself, when the turks show up 2 days later they find 10,000 dead Austrians and an army in full retreat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kar%C3%A1nsebes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kar%C3%A1nsebes

That is, em, no disrespect to the dead meant, hilarious!

My favourite battles are the Somme, Stalingrad, Gaugamela, Marathon.

**Sargon of Akkad** · May 1st, 2010, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaius

Nothing wrong with being a Romanophile!

Here's a decent link I found of that time period:
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeol...pe/sparta.html

I'm pretty sure they mean the

Phocians

. I can't see what the Phoenicians would have been doing there...!

Gaius · May 1st, 2010, 05:45 PM

^Haha, that makes more sense than some traders from Canaan battling the Persian army in Greece.

/sigh... I tried to give SilverWolf an excuse but I failed

HadleyH · May 1st, 2010, 06:23 PM

I hate battles, battles are not good for you. "Oh Gee, look at all the blood, look at all the dead ...

but if you push me ... i guess the battle of Waterloo, for all what it meant to Europe and where the greatest of the great, Napoleon was defeated in such a sad way...