Moment of Battle: The Twenty Clashes That Changed the World by James Lacey (PDF)

Description

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.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “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 of several books on military history, terrorism, and current affairs, including The First Clash, Keep from All Thoughtful Men, and Takedown.Williamson Murray is professor emeritus of history at Ohio State University. His many books include The Iran-Iraq War.Kevin Foley has over thirty years’ experience in radio and television broadcasting, commercial voice-overs, and audiobook narration. He has recorded over one hundred and fifty audiobooks.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐In the introduction to “Moment of Battle: The Twenty Clashes that Changed the World,” James Lacey and Williamson Murray state the purpose of their effort: that American academics have disregarded the study of war, instead seeing, “…great sweeping social movements and factors other than military power” as history’s primary driver. Further, that the, “…so-called great men of history have in fact played minor roles in the ultimate flow of pivotal events.” The authors seek to demolish these modern academic trends and succeed.Using detailed accounts from 20 battles, Lacey and Murray show the effect of leadership, discipline, technology, tactics, morale and chance in battles ranging from the contest between Greeks and Persians at Marathon 2,500 years ago to the U.S. drive on Baghdad in 2003. In so doing, they restore the intrinsically human contest of war to its proper place as one of the key drivers of history. To show, “…that wars and battles have had a direct and massive impact on the course of history, one that is essential to understanding the world in which we live.”Significantly, the authors explain what was at stake in each battle, discussing the “what if” had the battle gone a different way. This device alone shreds any idea that war plays a minor role in history, standing behind economics, social changes, and the like.I strongly recommend this quick-paced and well-written book for any serious student of history or member of the military.Reviewer: Chuck DeVore is a vice president at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He served as a California State Assemblyman from 2004 to 2010. Before his election, he was an executive in the aerospace industry. He was a Special Assistant for Foreign Affairs in the Department of Defense from 1986 to 1988. He is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army (retired) Reserve. DeVore is the author of “The Texas Model: Prosperity in the Lone Star State and Lessons for America,” and the co-author of “China Attacks.”

⭐The author makes many fine, valid points in applying history and famous battles to the world we live in today. I share the belief that we need to understand history to better understand the world we live in so this is helpful and fits.However, he seems to trust other sources than the Bible where they refer to the same event…such as when Alexander the Great approached Jerusalem and a few events when Jesus and His followers were around. While these are minor points, they do ‘color’ his coverage and analysis of these battles. This makes me wonder how accurate he is with others…But the bottom line is that his premise is quite valid and well worth reading.

⭐First, the selection of the battles described leaves a lot to be desired. Certainly the Battle of the Nile led by Horatio Nelson was a the turning point for British assumption of influence in Egypt and the surrounding area. To leave it out is a travesty. Yes, the battle of Trafalgar is presented but it suffers with the rest of the battle descriptions for lack of maps and specific actions that turned the battle in the favor of the victor. Gettysburg is left out in favor of Vicksburg. Certainly these were two important victories for the Union but to leave out the best and most significant is unforgivable. You are better off going to Wikipedia for battle descriptions and maps that lead to understanding the circumstances. The writing of the book is excellent but it leaves out too much. The author omit the fact there were TWO battles of The Marne in the First World War and BOTH were turning points——the first stopped the initial German drive on Paris and the second essentially ended the war by defeating the Germans last offensive. So yes, the author included the Battle of the Marne (the First) but failed miserably by not including the second.

⭐Brings you to the battlefield to understand the elements contributing to the momentous decisions.

⭐I have borrowed this book twice. I keep returning to reread parts of this book as to what works and what doesn’t work in our lives today in the spiritual realm, and what the best way is to defeat our spiritual enemies.. Very informative

⭐Pretty good summaries of important battles, some relatively obscure. However nothing that any serious reader of military history wouldn’t know. Some of the author’s conclusions as to the far-reaching scope of the effect of the battles are questionable , but make interesting arguments for people like me, who have a truncated life and argue about such things. If you are a student of military history, this is not the book for you. If you are a novice and want to learn more this is a good starting point.

⭐Just a great read with battle details that the histories won’t normally delve so deeply into. It’s one thing to read about the big picture of these wars. Another to see how individual battles affected the overall war itself. This was a great read!

⭐Very interesting and educational as it focuses on the impact on history, rather than the conduct of the battle. Have you heard of the Protestant wind? Read it.

⭐Marathon? Not what Snickers is now called (except by me) but the battle, is regarded as decisive by numerous historians but unlike them the authors have not argued their case sufficiently. Personally I would see Plataea as breaking the Persian back once and fall after which they can meddle in Hellenistic affairs but not much else. The problem is that the authors description of what constitutes a decisive battle is tautological; it is decisive because it is decisive. The introductory chapter provides no over riding analytical framework nor justification. The battles themselves are explained in workman like fashion if a bit perfunctorily for my own tastes. They also seem overly beholden to Victor Davis Hanson’s discredited notion (I won’t grace it with the descriptor “concept”) of a western way of war whilst adhering to a telelogical bias so common to all American historians that World History is, to pervert Hegel, merely the realisation of the American dream or some claptrap. Not a book for the serious student of military history. I was led astray by the presence of Williamson Murray, otherwise an authority on military affairs, who seems have done nothing more than lending legitimacy to a book that reeks of a vanity project.

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