Brisieis

What examples are there in history where a battle had no affect on the outcome of a war?

In other words, battles that had no impact and were a waste of time and human life, because whether the battle happened or not, it had no relevance on the main war at hand and it's failure or success.

Qymaen

I think the Gallipoli Campaign had no discernible impact on World War I beyond wasting the lives of young men.

Virgil

The Battle of New Orleans comes to mind. The soldiers involved did not know that a peace treaty had already been signed. The battle is still quite famous though, and Andrew Jackson became a major force in American politics because of his stature as the general that won the battle.

tomar

I would say the vast majority of battles qualify

harbinger

Pretty much the entire german soviet northern front from 1941-1944.

funakison

Not so much of a battle per se, but all attacks on the morning of 11th November 1918. What stupidity, what waste. Not just stupid but bordering on criminality IMHO.

Spartacuss

Agreed. I've stated my less than positive views on this in other threads. No need to repeat them here. Over time, the actions of that day have been "archived". You don't see it come up in any public relations efforts by the army, and it is very rarely mentioned in American documentaries of WWI. There is an independent production that aired on HC some years back about the American actions that was quite informative, but I've not seen it repeated.

Apachewarlord

Every single battle that was ever fought. If I had to choose however, I'd say Carrhae

Hresvelgr

Eh? The Battle of Carrhae decisively ended a Roman invasion of the Parthian Empire. So I'd say the battle served a purpose. It might have seemed pointless and in vain from a Roman view, but to assign the Roman view as the only one of worth would be kind of Eurocentric, wouldn't it?

bartieboy

It did have a certain effect on the Caucasus campaign.

Only one of the many invasions.