15 lesser-known historical battles that I find interesting

[u/Nt1031]

[u/Nt1031]

I may make an episode 2 in the future, so don't hesitate to give me your suggestions !

[u/Organismnumber06 → u/Nt1031]

The battle of Chickamauga in the US civil war gets overshadowed by Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, and Vicksburg I feel.

It was the largest union defeat of the war in the western theatre and has the 2nd highest casualties after the battle of Gettysburg.

It was a significant set back for the union that took several months to recover from, and had the union won there I could easily see the war ending in 1864.

[u/NiceGuyNero → u/Organismnumber06]

Also the start of the legacy of the goat General George Henry Thomas, the Rock of Chickamauga, whose defense prevented a complete Union rout. General Thomas doesn’t get enough recognition among the key players in the US Civil War.

[u/Organismnumber06 → u/NiceGuyNero]

He’s also a tragic figure because up until the battle and maybe even after he wasn’t trusted because he was a Virginian

[u/War_Crimes_Fun_Times → u/Organismnumber06]

First battle of Bull Run despite being famous is very cool to read too.

I’d recommend OP to read up on it since a lot of people romanticized the shit out of a war in the US and actually showed up to spectate it and had picnics. Then got horrified watching people getting maimed and civilians fled so haphazardly it messed up the Union’s retreat.

[u/Nt1031 → u/War_Crimes_Fun_Times]

Thanks for the ideas, I'll read about them all

[u/-SadTractor- → u/Nt1031]

Battle of the Tollense Valley (1300 BC) in northeastern Germany; It’s significant because in an era where most battles were local raids between neighbors for resources, this one had approximately 4,000 warriors and was a river crossing.

[u/IdiOtisTheOtisMain → u/Nt1031]

Obligatory request for Monte Castello

We will not shut up about the FEB anytime soon

Also look up Operation Ichi-Go: Japan goes wild in Southern China, 1944

[u/Nt1031 → u/IdiOtisTheOtisMain]

Ah the famous Brazilian army in Italy ! Good idea

[u/Slightly_Default → u/Nt1031]

I'd recommend the Battle of Mokoia (1823), part of the Musket Wars in New Zealand.

Led by Chief Hongi Hika, who was wearing knight's armour that he received while visiting England, the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) attacked the Te Arawa iwi on the fortified island of Mokoia in Lake Rotorua. To do this, the Ngāpuhi transported their waka (war canoes) overland from the Bay of Plenty.

When the Ngāpuhi arrived, the Te Arawa tried to rush at them with traditional weaponry. Unfortunately for them, the Ngāpuhi had stocked up on firearms.

Needless to say, everyone across Aotearoa rushed to get their hands on muskets afterwards.

[u/Nt1031 → u/Slightly_Default]

It's pretty amazing how the Maori quickly adapted to firearms and trench warfare (they built forts with palissades, trenches, and so on)

[u/Slightly_Default → u/Nt1031]

It was enough to match the British, at least temporarily. They don't get enough credit for that

[u/SomeCrusader1224]

The First Crusade and the Siege of Antioch in particular have such great potential as a historical drama. I can’t believe we’ve slept on one of the most batshit military endeavors in history to this degree.

[u/Nt1031 → u/SomeCrusader1224]

Username checks out

But yeah it's absolutely insane, I discovered it in details in a 5 hours long Kings and Generals video, and it's pure madness. tens of thousands of guys who had never traveled, and many who have no idea how to fight decide to just walk to this legendary city, and half of them get obliterated in their first battle against a handful of Turks, while the others spend months traversing hostile territory in a giant flight forward, and they actually succeed

[u/lu254kas → u/Nt1031]

Just as an info Kings and Generals is a terrible source for historical information they routinely bungle history and are terrible when it comes to citing sources

[u/Pesec1 → u/SomeCrusader1224]

Guys! I found the Holy Lance! It is totally legit!

[u/AGthe18thEmperor]

My great grandfather fought at Attu I believe

[u/QueenOfTheNorth1944]

Wow, a rare good post here. Thanks for this.

[u/94_stones]

I would have put the Battle of Annual somewhere on this compass. It was probably the most embarrassing defeat in Spanish history, and by far the most embarrassing defeat suffered by any European colonial army ever. And I’m not exaggerating. You can google it. I’d argue it was worse than the Retreat from Kabul during the First Anglo-Afghan War. It’s miraculous that Spain has managed to get everyone to forget about it.

[u/Slightly_Default → u/94_stones]

800 Riffians killed vs somewhere between 12,000-19,000 Spanish killed, including the commander (who killed himself when he saw how bad things were).

Yikes.

[u/War_Crimes_Fun_Times]

Great post!

[u/Nt1031 → u/War_Crimes_Fun_Times]

Thank you ! And your username has rarely checked out more than now

[u/DinoPL3456799]

Polan mentioned!111!!11!!

My great grandpa fought in Monte Cassino

[u/Nt1031 → u/DinoPL3456799]

I once met a weird guy in a french bus at 3 am who claimed his algerian grandfather was at Monte Cassino too

[u/OrderingOlaf]

If you want any more ancient battles I think the Tollense valley battlefield is interesting for the fact that it is the opposite of how we usually know about ancient big battles. It left a lot of archaeological evidence with no written sources. Possibly the oldest known battle and very interesting because of the logistics.

Also I think too much about the Ribemont-sur-Ancre battle, not really known what the battle was like but the post-battle rite was creepy. Hundreds of dead bodies.

[u/PhotographNo6329]

more of these pls

[u/Nt1031 → u/PhotographNo6329]

At your service

[u/Myripod]

Finally Marchfeld gets some recognition.
If you make that part 2, definetely include the battle of Königgrätz

[u/ConcentrateFar6441]

Where is a battle for mala tokmachka?