Most Important Battle in History

Thank you for that history lesson. My battle was also considered a turning point of its respective war, however I will go back a bit farther than world War 2. Battle of Saratoga*: Oct. 7, 1777 Beligerents: British Empire and Continental Army Verdict: Continental Army wins Casualty (both sides): 500+ killed, 900+ wounded, 6000+ captured (1) * Technically, there were 2 battles of Saratoga, but I chose the second of the two, seeing as it was the actual end of the fighting in this region. Military significance: This battle was a marquee victory for the Continental Army. The most important, was that it was the first major victory for the colonies (2). The fledging Americans had had minor wins in skirmishes up to this point, yet the battle of Saratoga was different. The British, led by the famed Burgoyne, were soundly defeated by Gates' rag-tag band of brothers. The Americans faced less than a fourth of the casualties the British experienced (1). The Americans forced Burgy to surrender some 6000 men, and his tattered and defeated army had to trudge back to Quebec (1). However, this was only the tip of the ice berg. Soon, word got to the French about this battle. This was where the french began to negotiate with the American rebels. Thus the Franco-American alliance was born. (The Dutch and Spanish would soon aid on the side of France.) France was the reason the Americans won their war for independence. France opened up a small theater of operations in Europe, in naval warfare. The French would later play a vital role in several other battles, most notably in the siege of Yorktown, which is typically agreed to be the fiinal battle in the War of Independence. Without French aid, the Americans would have had no chance against the Empire. (3) Psychological: The win here at Saratoga was perhaps the equivalent to drinking 4 five hour energy bottles at once for the American rebels. Finally, the Americans forced the British into a massive surrender. The Americans outnumbered the Brits 3 to 1 (1), and for once the Continental army looked like the proffesionals. The surrender was huge (see numbers above) and americans now had confidence that their little rebellion could succeed. And what is one man's 5 hour energy can be another man's breakdown. What was the first major win for the Americans, was conversely the first major defeat for the British. Now, questions arose when the Empire realized that one of its best generals had been bested by the ungrateful children of Britain. the war became loseable On a different note, the battle gave America the leverage it needed to convince a skeptical France to join in. The French definitely wanted to best their natural rivals, but they would not stick their necks out for a lost cause. Saratoga gave them peace to back the Yankees. Historically: Easily, The Battle of Saratoga turned the tide for the Americans. With this momentum and French aid, they defeated the might of the British Empire. Now, after the war, a new nation would be born. A nation that would later become the most influential nation in the world during the 20th and arguably 21st centuries. The United States began more or less because of what happened on October 7, 1777 at Saratoga. Obviously there were more battles to comes, and the war would not end for years, but the events at Saratoga paved the way for the Americans to face what came down the road. There is little argument of the historical significance America has had in the modern world. The world as it is known today would be seismically different had the American revolution been a failure, and there is good reason to think that had the Battle of Saratoga been lost, the revolution may have crumbled in its infancy. Without the French, the Americans would have had 0 chance. While Yorktown will always be the battle thought to have given birth to America, it ought to be remebered that what happened at Yorktown could never have happened without Saratoga. And may the US olympians do unto the Bristish in London as they did at Saratoga. (Not literally, this is in reference to winning medals, not killing and capturing) Thank you, I rest my case. 1) http://en.wikipedia.org... 2) http://www.historyplace.com... 3) http://en.wikipedia.org...