num_pages: 384
description: Their very names--Gettysburg Waterloo Stalingrad--evoke images of great triumph and equally great suffering moments when history seemed to hang in the balance. Considered in relation to each other such battles--and others of less immediate renown--offer insight into the changing nature ofarmed combat advances in technology shifts in strategy and thought as well as altered geopolitical landscapes. The most significant military engagements in history define the very nature of war.In his newest book Richard Overy plumbs over 3000 years of history from the Fall of Troy in 1200 BC to the Fall of Baghdad in 2003 to locate the 100 battles that he believes the most momentous. Arranged by themes such as leadership innovation deception and courage under fire Overy presentsengaging essays on each battle that together provide a rich picture of how combat has changed through the ages as well as highlighting what has remained consistent despite advances in technology.The battles covered here offer a wide geographic sweep from ancient Greece to China Constantinople to Moscow North to South America providing a picture of the dominant empires across time and context for comparison between various military cultures. From familiar engagements like Thermopylae(480 BC) Verdun (1916) and the Tet Offensive (1968) to lesser-studied battles such as Zama (202 BC) Arsuf (1191) and Navarino Bay (1827) Overy presents the key actors choices and contingencies focusing on those details--sometimes overlooked--that decided the battle. The American victory atthe Battle of Midway for example was determined by only ten bombs. It was as Wellington said of Waterloo a near run thing.Rather than focusing on the question of victory or defeat Overy examines what an engagement can tell us on a larger level about the history of warfare itself. New weapons and tactics can have a sudden impact on the outcome of a battle--but so too can leadership or the effects of a cleverdeception or raw courage. Overy offers a deft and visually captivating look at the engagements that have shaped the course of human history and changed the face of warfare.
language: English
title: A History of War in 100 Battles
publisher: Oxford University Press