Important Battles & Their Date (490 BC–1945)

Name of the Battle

Year

Countries Involved

Battle of Marathon

490 BC

Athenians and Persians. King Darius of Persia was defeated.

Battle of Thermopylae

480 BC

Spartans led by Leonidas and  Persians led by Xerxes. Greek defeated.

Battle of Salamis

480 BC

The Athenian fleet and the Persian fleet in the Bay of Salamis; the Persian fleet was defeated.

Battle of Plataea

479 BC

Greek and Persian forces; Persian forces defeated.

Battle of Mycale

479 BC

Greek and Persian fleets; the Persian fleet was defeated.

Spartan War I (Peloponnesian War)

459 BC

Sparta and Athens lasted for 30 years.

Spartan War II

431 BC-421 BC

Sparta and Athens; Spartans victorious.

Battle of Arabia

 331 BC

Greek and Persian forces; Greeks victorious.

Battle of Magnesia

190 BC

Syrian and Roman forces; Syrian forces defeated (north-west Lydia),

Battle of Pharasalus

48 AD

Caesar defeated Pompey.

Battle of Hastings

1066

William, the Duke of Normandy, defeated Harold, , the King of  England. England came under the control of Nthe ormans.

Hundred-Year War

1338-1453

Fought between France and England. The cause of the war was the succession question to the throne of France, which was claimed by Edward III of England.
The war was resumed by Henry V and was brought to an end by the heroism of Joan of Arc, A country girl who overthrew the power of England. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431.

War of the Roses

1455-1485

Civil War in England: The cause of the war was a struggle for the throne of England between the two royal houses of Lancaster and York.

Anglo-Spanish War ( Spanish Armada War)

Spanish and English fleets fought in the English Channel; The English fleet under Lord Howard defeated the Spanish Armada.

Battle of Gibraltar

1607

The Dutch defeated the Spanish and the Portuguese.

Thirty-Year War

1618-1648

Started as religious-cum-political war between the Lutherans and the Catholics in Germany and developed into an international war.

Civil War in England

1642-1649

Between Cavaliers (King Charles I supporters)and forces of Parliament led by Oliver Cromwell, King Charles I was executed.

Battle of Blenheim

1704

England and Austria, headed by Marlborough, defeated France and Russia.

War of the Austrian Succession

1740-1748

Queen of Austria, Maria Theresa (daughter of Charles VII), was challenged by King Frederick II of Prussia. England supported the queen, and Frederick II was helped by France. Ended with a Treaty which recognised the Queen's right to the throne after the death of King Frederick.

Seven-Year War (Anglo-French War III)

1756-1763

Britain and France against Austria and Prussia; the British alliance won.

Battle of the Nile

1798

British and French fleets, Britain victorious.

Battle of Trafalgar

1805

British fleet defeated the fleets of France and Spain. British fleets were commanded by Admiral Nelson, who was killed during the battle.

Battle of Austerlitz

1805

Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia on one side and France on the other. Napoleon (France) defeated Austria and Russia.

Battle of Borodino

1812

Between France and Russia. Napoleon invaded Russia at Borodino and nearly defeated the Russians. However ,on reaching Moscow, his army suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat. Napolean's ill-fated attack on Russia marked the beginning of the downfall of the French Empire.

Battle of Leipzig

1813

Germany and the combined forces of Austria, Prussia, and Russia defeated Napoleon.

Battle of Waterloo

1815

British forces led by Duke of Wellington (Sir Arthur Welllesly) defeated French forces led by. Napolean was captured and exiled to St. Helena where he died in 1821.

First Opium War

1840

China and Britain; China yielded opium. It was a trade war.

Crimean War

1854-1856

The combined forces of the British, French, and Turks defeated Russia.

American Civil War

 1861-1865The 

Northern states of America under Abraham Lincoln defeated the Southern states and established a Federal state, and abolished slavery.

Sino-Japanese War

1894-1895

Japan defeated China and occupied Formosa and Korea.

Battle of Omdurman

1898

The British and Egyptian forces defeated the forces of Khalifa (Mehdists).

Boer War

1899-1901

The revolt of Transvaal Boers was suppressed by the British forces; the Boers belonged to Dutch Protestant stock who opposed the British because of the abolition of slavery by Britain.

Russo-Japanese War (Battle of Port Arthur & Battle of Yalu)

 1904-1905

Russia and Japan in the Sea of Japan.  Russia was defeated; It led to the wave of the idea of Asian Resurgence.

Balkan War I

1912

Turkey and the Balkan countries (Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece) defeated Turkey.

Balkan War II

1913

Invasion of Serbia and Greece by Bulgaria. Bulgaria was defeated by the combined forces of Serbia, Greece, Romania, and Montenegro, who stripped Turkey of most of its European territories.

World War I

1914-1918

Central Powers (Germany and its allies) against the Allied Powers (Britain and its allies); the Central Powers were defeated. Famous Battles: 1. First Battle of Marne (1914) - France defeated Germany. 2. Battle of Jutland (1916) - Naval battle between England and Germany. England defeated Germany. 3. Battle of Verdun (1916) - Fought between France & Germany. 4. Second Battle of Marne (1918) -France defeated Germany.

World War II

1939-1945

Axis Powers (Germany and its allies) against the Allied Powers (Britain and its allies); the Axis Powers were defeated. Famous Battle: Battle of El Alamein (1942) - The Allies' victory during World War II and the retreat of General Rommel's forces.