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Two modern masters of military history make their case for the twenty most pivotal battles of all time, in a riveting trip through the ages to those moments when the fate of the world hung in the balance.
In the grand tradition of Edward Creasy’s classic Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, James Lacey and Williamson Murray spotlight only those engagements that changed the course of civilization. In gripping narrative accounts they bring these conflicts and eras to vivid life, detailing the cultural imperatives that led inexorably to the battlefield, the experiences of the common soldiers who fought and died, and the legendary commanders and statesmen who matched wits, will, and nerve for the highest possible stakes.
From the great clashes of antiquity to the high-tech wars of the twenty-first century, here are the stories of the twenty most consequential battles ever fought, including
• Marathon, where Greece’s “greatest generation” repelled Persian forces three times their numbers—and saved Western civilization in its infancy
• Adrianople, the death blow to a disintegrating Roman Empire
• Trafalgar, the epic naval victory that cemented a century of British supremacy over the globe
• Saratoga, the first truly American victory, won by united colonial militias, which ensured the ultimate triumph of the Revolution
• Midway, the ferocious World War II sea battle that broke the back of the Japanese navy
• Dien Bien Phu, the climactic confrontation between French imperial troops and Viet Minh rebels that led to American intervention in Vietnam and marked the rise of a new era of insurgent warfare
• Operation Peach, the perilous 2003 mission to secure a vital bridge over the Euphrates River that would open the way to Baghdad
Historians and armchair generals will argue forever about which battles have had the most direct impact on history. But there can be no doubt that these twenty are among those that set mankind on new trajectories. Each of these epochal campaigns is examined in its full historical, strategic, and tactical context—complete with edge-of-your-seat you-are-there battle re-creations. With an eye for the small detail as well as the bigger picture, Lacey and Murray identify the elements that bind these battles together: the key decisions, critical mistakes, and moments of crisis on which the fates of entire civilizations depended.
Some battles merely leave a field littered with the bodies of the fallen. Others transform the map of the entire world. Moment of Battle is history written with the immediacy of today’s news, a magisterial tour d’horizon that refreshes our understanding of those essential turning points where the future was decided.
A MAIN SELECTION OF THE HISTORY BOOK CLUB AND THE MILITARY BOOK CLUB
“Two world-class historians present, eloquently and persuasively, twenty battles that fundamentally changed the course of history. Moment of Battle is a must acquisition for anyone seeking to understand the nature of human development—and its turning points.”—Dennis E. Showalter, professor of history, Colorado College, author of Armor and Blood
“In a single volume, James Lacey and Williamson Murray have distilled a lifetime of learning and insight into the most influential battles in world history. This is a readable and compelling primer and a feast for the student of military history.”—James D. Hornfischer, author of Neptune’s Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal
- Sales Rank: #552958 in Books
- Published on: 2013-05-21
- Released on: 2013-05-21
- Format: Deckle Edge
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.51" h x 1.27" w x 6.48" l, 1.81 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 496 pages
From Booklist
Two distinguished military historians offer yet another (and undeniably successful) effort to update Sir Edward Creasy’s classic, TheFifteen Decisive Battles of the World (1908). The 20 battles range from classical antiquity (Marathon) to the Second Iraqi War, and each battle (or as with Vicksburg, campaign) is placed in its historical context, with economic and social factors added as relevant. The criterion for decisiveness—Would a different outcome have changed the world?—seems to be reasonable, and the actual battle narratives have notes for scholars and clarity for lay readers. The focus is definitely on Western history, and not all of the minor details are quite right (e.g., Nelson’s Victory did not have 50 32-pounders on each broadside), but literate narratives and balanced conclusions should attract a deservedly large readership. --Roland Green
Review
A MAIN SELECTION OF THE HISTORY BOOK CLUB AND THE MILITARY BOOK CLUB
“Two world-class historians present, eloquently and persuasively, twenty battles that fundamentally changed the course of history. Moment of Battle is a must acquisition for anyone seeking to understand the nature of human development—and its turning points.”—Dennis E. Showalter, professor of history, Colorado College, author of Armor and Blood
“In a single volume, James Lacey and Williamson Murray have distilled a lifetime of learning and insight into the most influential battles in world history. This is a readable and compelling primer and a feast for the student of military history.”—James D. Hornfischer, author of Neptune’s Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal
“Moment of Battle is an exciting account of important battles in history from Marathon in 490 B.C. to Baghdad in 2003. Its authors are excellent military historians with personal experience in modern warfare and a command of the character of warfare throughout the ages. They write in clear and lively prose in a way that will capture the reader’s interest even as they communicate their own learning and excitement with the subject.”—Donald Kagan, Sterling Professor of Classics and History, Yale University
“Lacey and Murray have performed a signal service by reminding readers of the transcendent importance of major battles in shaping history. Readers can disagree with some of their selections, but that is part of the fun of a work like this: It makes you think even as it entertains and informs. This is an invaluable primer on military history.”—Max Boot, author of Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present
“The world’s greatest battles are common book themes; but Lacey and Murray offer two twists to the well-known genre. First, they focus on mostly unappreciated encounters such as Yarmuk, Vicksburg, Kursk, and Dien Bien Phu. Second, their accounts are not mere strategy and tactics, but human stories of the soldiers that won and lost these horrific battles. The result is a riveting human story about how 2,500 years of history were changed by a few remarkable individuals.”—Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow, the Hoover Institution, author of Carnage and Culture and The Savior Generals
“Moment of Battle is a more than worthy successor to Sir Edward Creasey’s classic, The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World. It has extraordinary value because it accomplishes three things unusually well: It has a necessarily largely tactical (and operational) organizing idea and focus that is executed superbly; it is written with a strategic sense that is ever alert to the vital strategist’s question ‘So what?’; and it is accessibly written. It is a really good read.”—Professor Colin S. Gray, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Reading
“From Marathon to the Iraq War, Moment of Battle offers an unflinching account of the reality of conflicts that have shaped human history. Its wise and crisp chapters make ancient history fresh and put current events in perspective. This is a book for every student of military history to read and learn from.”—Barry Strauss, author of Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of Leadership
“At last, two eminent military historians have explained how the world’s most critical battles affected the course of civilization. Moment of Battle is a fresh, lively, and remarkable explanation about how the power of armies has shaped history.”—Bing West, co-author of Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War
“Undeniably successful . . . Literate narratives and balanced conclusions should attract a deservedly large readership.”—Booklist
“Will open interesting doors for casual readers and provide plenty of debate fodder for military-history buffs.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Engaging, well written, and thoroughly researched, this book will appeal to amateur and professional historians alike.”—Publishers Weekly
About the Author
James Lacey is the author most recently of The First Clash, about the battle of Marathon, and is a widely published defense analyst who has written for Time, National Review, Foreign Affairs, and other publications. He currently teaches at the Marine Corps War College and Georgetown University.
Williamson Murray is the author of a wide selection of articles and books, including, with Allan R. Millett, the acclaimed A War to Be Won, an operational history of World War II, and has held numerous distinguished academic chairs. He is presently a defense analyst at the Potomac Institute and teaches at the Naval War College.
Most helpful customer reviews
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful.
FROM ONE OF THE AUTHORS
By Historian
TO ALL REVIEWERS -- Thank you very much for your comments. I am very pleased that the overwhelming number of you appear to have really enjoyed the book. I am even more pleased that the almost everyone who gave MOMENT OF BATTLE less than four stars did so because of quibbles over our selection of battles, or over maps. That means that almost everyone enjoyed our writing and stories we told. --- This is very pleasing to both of us.
When we sat down to write this book my co-author and I discussed - with a minimum of threats and violence upon one another - one or two hundred battles before selecting the 20 we included. From the start we knew we would get beat up over our choices... there is just no way to make everyone happy. If we had done 50 battles, I am sure that we would have included all the ones our reviewers say we missed (maybe not Manzikert). Moreover, if we ever do a second volume, I think we will draw most of our selections from the Amazon reviews of Moment of Battle. We did actually consider making a list of 100 battles at the end, with a short explanation of why each did not make our final selection list. In retrospect, we should have done that.
Why no Asian, African, or South American Battles? For a number of reasons. For one, both authors are experts in Western military history, and was there is a natural tendency to play to our strengths. Next, we go into great depth describing historical backgrounds, as well as the battles themselves. The historical material necessary to do the same for many non-Western battles does not, unfortunately, exist in anything near the volume available to those researching Western battles. Moreover, this is a commercial publication... not an academic book (though we stand by our scholarship in each chapter), as such it is always wise to select battles that English speaking readers have an interest in.
As for maps. We both talk to a lot of persons who publish military history books, and the map issue upsets us all. For, we all love maps... richly detailed maps... for every phase of a fight. It really is impossible to have too many maps. Unfortunately, in almost all circumstances, maps are commissioned and paid for by the author. My co-author and I paid many thousands of dollars out of pocket for the almost two dozen maps in the book (authors pay for picture/photo rights also... many thousands more dollars). So, if all of you will just buy 50 or more copies of this book, and then hand them out as Christmas presents, we promise to commission more maps for our next book. In the meantime, given a choice between food, mortgages, and more maps... we were forced to opt for postponing starvation.
In closing... we really are grateful for the reviews posted here. We could not be happier that so many of you enjoyed the book. It helps us as we begin our next work - GODS OF WAR: WHEN GREAT CAPTAINS CLASH - we are sure that our selection of great captains will disappoint a few folks... but it is going to be a rousing read.
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
Popcorn for Newcomers to Military History
By Severian
No one really reads Creasey any more, but a need remains for newcomers to military history to have a good starting point that can set them on the road to learning about various periods and conflicts. Moment of Battle (hereafter MOB) is a good replacement for Creasey, at least for newcomers or single period specialists just branching out (e.g. you like WW2 and want to start to read about other eras). More experienced military lit buffs will find little new here, which is a mild disappointment given Murray's name on the cover. I loved "A War to Be Won" and expected the same "intermediate level" approach here, but the subject and / or the different co-author keeps things a bit more basic.
As can be predicted, some of the choices of battles are cliched. Midway, Normandy, Marathon, ho-hum. If you've ever read anything about these battles, you will find little new here. As might also be predicted, there are a few odd choices that fans of the various conflicts might disagree with: Vicksburg rather than Gettysburg, Trafalgar rather than Waterloo, Kursk rather than Stalingrad or Moscow. The authors do not make much of an effort to justify why one battle rather than another was selected, so its kind of take it or leave it as far as selection rationale goes. There are some inexplicable exclusions (Lepanto) and at least one inexplicable inclusion: "Operation Peach" in the Second Gulf (Iraq) War which seems to be in here solely because one of the authors fought in it. The Peach chapter goes on about how the Iraq War was probably significant one way or the other, triumph or failure, and then goes right into detail with no further analysis. With no disrespect at all intended for the brave soliders who fought in the Iraq conflict, I think it is far too premature to call the war or any battle in it the equivalent of a "clash that changed the world".
Some of the work herein is sloppy. Three battles lack maps, a big no-no. At least two other maps are abstract to the point of silliness (Adrianople and, inexcusably, Kursk). If the primary sources for the battle are limited, we get the same old same old (Marathon, Teutoberg Forest). And if the primary sources for the battle contain nonsensical folktales (Yarmuk), then these are trotted out as fact, with angry Muslim women first intimidating their menfolk into returning to battle and then facing down Byzantine troops themselves. Call me a skeptic, but I think this was just as likely to have happened as the angels at Mons... To call Yarmuk significant is fine, but just admit the historical sources are limited and discuss comparative Muslim / Byzantine tactics and strategy rather than bringing out the tall tales.
Some of the analysis is also a bit fast and loose. If the Romans had won in the Teutoborg Forest, would the 20th Century World Wars have really been averted? (As later Roman history itself shows, Latin cultures do not necessarily get on well with each other...) Would Napoleon or Hitler really have been able to invade England if Trafalgar or the Battle of Britain panned out differently? It seems sometimes that the writers are striving for drama as opposed to probity.
There also appear to be a few scholarly lapses. We have the "thoughts of the great general" trend mocked by Keegan in Face of Battle "Alexander must have thought xyz as he gazed out at the ranks of his cavalry". This isn't a Jeff Shaara novel, guys. We also have a denunciation of intellectual historians who minimize the destruction caused by Germanic raiders in the Roman Empire in the Adrianople chapter; it would be interesting to have a cite as to who these callous eggheads were / are, and it would also be interesting to hear some historical evidence rebutting their views. Instead, in the section notes, we get neither! We also have some odd colloquialisms like "The forces arrived higgledy piggledy" in the text.
These seem like a lot of criticisms, but it can also be seen that these critiques are from a military history fan perspective. If you are new to the field, or are branching out, this is a fun read and the faults are less obvious and meaningful. Grognards can always get this book by Paul Davis which has a greater number and variety of battles in it: 100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present and / or Hanson's meatier more ideological "Carnage and Culture" if they want some controversy in their great battle reading. If you are a relative newbie to the field, this is a good survey with decent intros to many great campaigns that gives you at least some idea as to what conflict in varying periods felt like. I would call this a three and a half star book, which I am rounding up due to the nice added campaign histories for many of the battles that give the novice a goodly amount of extra historical perspective.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Superb Update to Creasy
By James V. Di Crocco III
This is an outstanding work by two renowned military historians that updates Creasy's 19th century classic, "The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World." Each of the battles described and dissected are well chosen and set in proper context. This work is highly recommended and should find a prominent place on the bookshelves of all military officers.
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