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The significance of the battle of Marathon
Battle of marathon example
Battle of marathon example
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The battle of Marathon is one that nearly every historian can recall. Whether do to its Hellenistic nature or the infamous tale that dictates the name of a popular footrace we currently celebrate, the battle itself is of great strategic importance to historians of the militaristic department. The battle is one of the first well documented amphibious landings in written history. The case lends vital information as to the method and the purpose of not only amphibious landings but also the general theme of naval warfare. More specifically the case lends critical information about the strategic importance of foresight, boldness as well as the role that a significant beachhead play’s in amphibious operations. It’s clear to see that when an observer views the information laid out in the case made by Rodgers in his discussion of the battle of Marathon that the role of a beachhead and the lack of boldness on the side of the Persians were the deciding factors in their failure to take Athens and conquer the Greeks.
The establishment of a beachhead is a fairly obvious objective for any amphibious operation. A beachhead serves as a fallback position tactically as well as a head for communications and logistics. Therefore it eludes me why a fairly formidable force such as the Persian army would avoid expanding past their initial landing beach in order to establish a beachhead. Rodgers proposes that the Persians did not expand outward after landing in an effort to reduce the friction of delayed communication. While I do believe this may have been a somewhat relevant reason for not establishing a beachhead, it is obvious that establishing a defensive position from with one could launch a favorable counter attack would be a much more pertinent objective when it came to the overall success of the mission. Since the Persians did not send out an expeditionary force to seize any defensive ground, when the Athenians moved to intercept the Persians they were able to obtain a favorable defensive posture that overlooked the Persian position. This favorable ground combined with the foresight of the Greek commander to realize that he had time to make his decision, allowed for the Athenians to simply wait for the Persians to show their capabilities and force them to split their forces. Once their larger Persian force had boarded the ships and begun their voyage to Athens, the Greeks bore down upon the smaller force that remained on the beach.
The Marine Raider Battalions developed an elite fighting force within an elite service. There still exist today the elite units of the Marine Corps, such as the Force Reconnaissance Battalions and the Special Operation Capable Units, but the Raider Battalions were the first specialist of the amphibious doctrines. Although the amphibious landing has been preformed throughout the ages since the invention of the water-bearing vessels, the Marine Raider Battalions tested and perfected this combat operation. Although the two Raider Commanders had very different views on how to prepare their marine...
Opening to the first page, George Washington is quoted, “perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.” setting the stage for David McCullough’s book, “1776”, a historical narrative that avoided academic debates. His thesis being a tight narrative focused around the Continental Army and their leader George Washington. McCullough continued his popular writing techniques of character building by tracing the roads, reading the books, and seeing the houses of his key characters as they would have in their lifetimes. These techniques can be seen in his many list of books such as: “Path between the Seas”, “Truman”, and “John Adams”. His books have been written in ten languages and are all still in print today. I feel that McCullough’s book “1776” was an adequate companion piece, not only because of its popularity or author, but because of its quality references and resources.
To set the stage for this battle, we must first understand what the British were thinking at the time. The British had not ...
Brigade General Scales, Robert H. JR. Certain Victory. The U.S. Army in the Gulf War.
General Blaskowitz, Commander of German Army Group G had an extremely challenging task of balancing operational factors to achieve his organization’s assigned objectives. The German leader, Adolf Hitler, and his German armed forces high command OKW had a desired end state of German dominance of Europe. In order to achieve this desired end state the theater strategic objective for OB West, the German theater command was the defense of France, both from the ongoing Allied invasion in Normandy and an anticipated Allied amphibious assault in Southern France. General Blaskowitz’s operational objective, as directed from Hitler and the German high command, was to defend Southern France, with the mission of “holding the coast at all costs.” (pg. 16)
The main reason that the Greeks were able to win the Second Greco-Persian War was the fact that their victory on the sea dealt a crippling blow to the land army. The Greeks owe their naval success to a man named Themistocles. If it had not been for him then Athens would have not used some newly found silver to build 200 new ships for their navy. These ships were later used in the war against the Persians. The two forces were working in unison and they were dependent upon each other for victory. The Persian naval forces were there in order to protect the flank of the army's advance. If the Persian navy were not present then the Greeks would have been able to get on ships and sail to a spot behind the Persian lines and outflank them. They also delivered supplies to the armies that were necessary for its survival.
On October 9, 1781, General George Washington surrounded General Lord Charles Cornwallis at the Virginia port city of Yorktown with 8,500 American soldiers and around 10,000 French soldiers. The bruised up British army contained only around 8,000 soldiers. The Siege of Yorktown lasted eight days, and Cornwallis had to surrender to American forces. The British loss crushed their southern army and forced them to give up on the war. The surrender of Yorktown could easily be one of the greatest moments in American history. Not only did the surrender signal the end of the war, but it also signaled that independence had been won by the colonies. No longer would the colonies have to answer to Great Britain and the tyrants that ruled it.
The Revolutionary War started in 1775. The American colonies have had enough of the British occupants and set their foot down in pursuit to freedom and independence. Each battle that happened during the Revolutionary War had its own significance and contributions to the independence of the colonies. Many brave men laid their lives in pursuit of the dream of independence from British control. One particular battle paved the way for that independence to become a reality. That battle is known as the Battle of Yorktown. The Battle of Yorktown took place in what we know today as Virginia. It was a decisive battle that turned the table during the Revolutionary War. The battle ultimately led to the liberty of the American Colonies from the British. The strategy and scheme of maneuver from the American and French soldiers on the lands of Virginia were risky yet impressive. General George Washington and his French counterpart Lieutenant General de Rochambeau were able to take an offensive to General Cornwallis in Virginia. Those actions gave General Washington the advantage to turn the tide of the war.
There were many factors in the war which contributed to the Allied victory in 1918, one of these being the war at sea. It is important to compare the effectiveness of the war at sea with the other factors affecting the victory of the Allies in the First World War; these factors being the American entry into the war, the war on land, the war in the air and the development of weapons. I will be trying to evaluate the extent to which the war at sea was the most important reason for the Allied victory, because I believe that it was the most significant factor that aided the Allies in winning the war in 1918.
Sun Tzu strongly advocates for trickery on the battlefield, saying “All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable.”7 The Athenians use their smaller army to their advantage and planned a tactical military formation outside of Marathon. They placed the majority of the men in the left and right wings of the army, which meant the “ranks of the centre were diminished, and it became the weakest part of the line” in the hopes that the Persian army would break through.8 When the battle commenced, the front line of Athenians charged at the enemy, and to the Persians “it seemed to them that the Athenians were bereft of their senses, an bent upon their own destruction; for they saw a mere handful of men coming on at a run.”9 The Persians were lulled into a false sense of security, thinking that their enemies had much less men than they actually
Darius’ first attempt at capturing Athens was a complete failure from the beginning. He sent an army around the northern coast of the Aegean Sea. However, a storm destroyed his supply ships, forcing him to turn back. Two years later Darius tried again. He sent a large army and fleet of about 200 ships directly across the Aegean Sea to seize ...
In the years following the Persian Wars in 479 B.C., Athens had come out on top being the most dominantly powerful of any Greek city with a navy that had superior strength that increased day by day. The Athenians “ruled with heavy-handed, even brutal force as well as with reason” (Kagan 2). This was due largely to the fact that Athens had a stable and effective government, which only increased their advantage in proving themselv...
...hip failures on the part of Mark Antony. These decisions allowed an outnumbered and outclassed fleet to win an extremely decisive victory. It is truly a lesson in the power of good strong leadership.
At the time of the Persian Wars, King Leonidas saw the Battle of Thermopylae as a way for the Greeks to delay the Persian Advance into Greece.
...mpant Ottoman forces from gaining a strategic foothold in the central Mediterranean." History Today 57.1 (2007): 12+. World History in Context.