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The Battle 100: The Stories Behind History's Most Influential Battles (Hardcover)

~ Lanning Lt. Col. (Author) "The Battle of Yorktown was the climax of the American Revolution and directly led to the independence of the United States of America..." (more)
Key Phrases: most influential battles, most influential military leaders, infantrymen armed, United States, Soviet Union, Native Americans (more...)

3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This handy browser's reference from retired Army officer and decorated Vietnam veteran Lanning offers brief accounts of the author's choice of the 100 most influential battles in history. The selections are wide-ranging: the first three are household words-Yorktown, Hastings and Stalingrad-while the last three are Tel-el-Kebir, which established the British protectorate over Egypt in 1882, Vyborg, the White victory over the Reds in 1918 that ensured the independence of Finland, and Little Big Horn, whose major importance is the amount of controversy it has generated since 1876. The author has impartially included wars of colonial conquest (Cajamarca, which gave Pizarro and Spain rule over the Inca Empire) and colonial liberation (Carabobo, which freed Venezuela, and Dien Bien Phu). He also offers useful perspectives on naval battles (Actium, Trafalgar, Tsushima, Lepanto and Midway, to name a few). Each article features a clearly written if brief narrative, including analyses of what is known about the tactics and weapons, and an excellent map. Some of them also have flaws, such as the article on Tsushima-not all the Russian ships were old-and the political attack on Walter Cronkite in the article on the Tet Offensive. This work is very similar to Lanning's The Military 100, a volume in the same format on the most influential commanders, but unusual and even witty insights also abound, such as the comment that the Battle of Kadesh was the first example of a general's publicity machine (in this case, Ramses II of Egypt) turning a drawn battle into a victory. The wide range keeps depth of each article limited, but these are useful introductions to many battles that are not household words.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up-Lanning has presented what, in his opinion, are the most important military battles in world history. The foreword stresses that the ranking is according to the battle's "influence on history," rather than by "decisive engagement." Each essay discusses participants, leaders, and location, and gives an evaluation of the battle's impact. The land, sea, and air battles included range in date from 1479 B.C.E. to 1967 and include such significant engagements as the battles of Yorktown, Hastings, Stalingrad, Cajamarca, Waterloo, Normandy, and Dien Bien Phu. Military jargon is kept to a minimum; however, students will need some background knowledge to fully appreciate many of the entries. While informative half- to full-page, black-and-white maps show each battle's setting, there are no world and/or regional map(s) to show the relative location of each conflict. The bibliography is extensive. This readable resource provides more information and analysis on individual battles than a general encyclopedia, and will be useful for students needing an overview on an engagement.
Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KS
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.; illustrated edition edition (May 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1570717990
ISBN-13: 978-1570717994
Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds

Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #968,180 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
The Battle of Yorktown was the climax of the American Revolution and directly led to the independence of the United States of America. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
most influential battles, most influential military leaders, infantrymen armed

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Soviet Union, Native Americans, Roman Empire, North Africa, Port Arthur, South America, Pearl Harbor, Santa Anna, North America, Great Britain, New World, Viet Minh, New York, Ibn Saud, Mexico City, Asia Minor, Eastern Front, Golan Heights, Middle East, South Vietnamese, United Nations, Alexander the Great, American Civil War, American Revolution

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 100 books:

AIR POWER by M Armitage in Back Matter
The Greco-Persian Wars by Peter Green in Back Matter
The Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan in Back Matter
The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution & Revenge (Rev. Ed.) by Paul Preston in Back Matter
Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Rawson Gardiner in Back Matter

See all 100 books this book cites

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19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, even for the novice!, September 23, 2003

By	Gary E. Robbins "Flagstaff DVD Owner" (Flagstaff, AZ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This was a most engrossing book. It lists the 100 most important battles, in the author's order of importance. He begins with the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, where the colonies won their independence. (The Battle of Saratoga is #15, and ths shots fired at Lexington and Concord are #74.)

Second is the Battle of Hastings in 1066, with the Norman Conquest of England. This would be the last time that England was every invaded. (The Spanish Armada in 1588 is #16, and the Battle of Britian in 1941 is #40.)

Third is the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-43, which was the turning point of World War II. (Normany in 1944 is #13, the Seige of Moscow in 1941 is #22.)

Fourth is the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, which was the first significant cooperation among European nations against Napoleon.

Fifth, is the Battle of Antietam, where the United and Confederated States suffered 23,000 casualties, the most of any day in history for America, outnumbering the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the Spanish-American War combined. (The Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 is #17, and the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863 is #49.)

Sixth is a battle that I had never heard of, the Battle of Cajamarca in 1532 where the Spanish were able to claim most of South America. (The Battle of Tenochititlan in 1521, where Mexico City was captured, is #12.)

Seventh is the Atomic Bombing of Japan in 1945. (The Battle of Midway in 1942 is # 44, Pearl Harbor in 1941 is #62.)

Eighth is the Battle of Huai-Hai in 1948 which was the final major fight between the Chinese Communists and the forces of Chiang Kai-shek.

Ninth is Waterloo in 1815, after Napolean escaped from his exile in Elba.

Tenth is the Ottoman Turks' unsuccessful siege of Vienna in 1529 which marked the end of the march of Islam into eastern Europe. (The Battle of Tours which halted the Muslim invasion of France in 732, is #24, and the Battle of Granada in 1491-92 which ended seven centuries of Muslin control of Spain, is #35.)

This is a great book. I couldn't put down. I recommend it highly.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting collection of short essays, but there are problems, May 2, 2006

By	Michael K. Smith (Gonzales, Louisiana) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Battle 100 (Paperback)

Anytime you put together a list of the "100 Most" anything, you can expect to start arguments, and this collection of two- and three-page summaries of military and naval engagements is no exception. The coverage ranges from Megiddo, around 1479 BC, to only one more recent than the Golan Heights in 1967. All the obvious choices are here, including Gettysburg, Inchon, Trafalgar, Plassey, Normandy, Stalingrad, and Hastings, but many others are probably new even to many military history buffs, like Alexander's victory at Arbela-Gaugamela in 331 BC, which spelled the end of the Persian Empire, or Muhammad's success in battle at Mecca in 630, which virtually guaranteed the continued existence of Islam in the Near East, or Yenan in 1934, where Mao Tse-Tung ended the Long March by destroying the Nationalist Chinese army and ensured the survival of the People's Republic of China, with enormous repercussions on the second half of the 20th century. However, Lanning shows an uncomfortable America-centrism in ranking battles. The Number One spot goes to the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 -- which, while a key event in establishing the United States as an independent nation, may turn out to have been considerably less important if it's looked back on a thousand years from now. On the other hand, without Charles Martel decisively bringing to a halt the Muslim advance into Western Europe at the Battle of Tours in 732 (only no. 24 on his list), Medieval and Renaissance Europe would never have taken place and the entire cultural and philosophical milieu which gave rise to the American Revolution -- or even, perhaps, to the colonization of the New World in the first place -- would never have happened. I count twenty-two battles in the list -- nearly a quarter of the total -- in which the U.S. or the American colonies played a major role, and that's far too many when you consider the whole history of the world. While I don't see any important engagements that were omitted, some, like San Jacinto (which is certainly important to Texans like me), are much too minor on the global scale to be included on this list in the first place. Likewise, Desert Storm in 1991 is turning out to be much less significant in the long run than the present U.S. administration would like us to believe.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Missed a few, June 12, 2008

By	CER (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Battle 100 (Paperback)

Anytime a book of lists is published, everyone has their own opinion about the content. As with the author, I'm a retired Lieutenant Colonel with an interest in military history. However, my view concerning influtential battles differs somewhat from his. When any historian looks at a battle, one has to decide whether the result of a battle was inevitable or not. In other words, if the result of the conflict was a foregone conclusion, then the battle wasn't all that influential. it just happened to be fought there. This doesn't mean that they weren't decisive; many of the battles I would have left out of this book were decisive, they just weren't influencial and this book lists influential battles. Examples include Waterloo (Napoleon was bound to lose, question was when), Huai-Hai, Mexico City, Sedan, and Carabobo. Other battles I would have left off include: San Juan Hill (extremely overrated), Kursk (did not change the situation in the Eastern Front), Cerignola/La Bicocca (one or the other not both), Golan Heights (no more influential than other parts of 73 war), Agincourt (did not influence the eventual victory by France), Desert Storm (I have to cut some slack here, because the book was written before the current situation there and greatly reduces its impact), Malplaquet (was not influential), San Pasqual (same), Paardeberg (same), and Little Big Horn (no way).
Now before I'm roasted over the coals, the following are my substitutes (in no particular order) and why they are more INFLUENTIAL. Judge for your self.
Sluys-1340-Established England's control of the English Channel until now.
Diu-1509-Established European Dominance in the Asian Naval Theater until the end of WWII.
Hakata Bay-1281-Prevented the Mongol conquest of Japan.
Meggido-1917-The first successful use of combined arms (integrating ground and air power).
Cape St Vincent-1797-Ended threat of invasion of England by Revolutionary France.
Sekigahara-1600-Created a unified Japan.
Borodino-1812-Lead to Napoleon's defeat in Russia and his final defeat.
Lake Peipus-1242-Alexander Nevesky's defeat of the Teutonic Knights kept Russia Orthodox and isolated from Catholic Europe.
Assaye-1803-Established Wellington's reputation as a field commander.
Mohacs-1526-Ottoman Turks's farthest advance into Europe.
Gravelotte/Saint Privat-1870-Instead of Sedan; this battle established Prussian superiority over France.
Barfluer/LaHague-1692-Trafalgar of the 17th Century; ended naval warfare by Louis XIV.
Mount Badon-5th Century- prevented Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britian for a century.
Alamo-1836-what would have been the outcome, if they abandoned the site as originally ordered.
Bunker Hill-1775-Boosted the morale of the Americans and lead to the withdraw of the British troops in Boston to Canada.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Indulgently Nationalistic
Whereas the actual battle accounts are reasonably worthy, Michael Lanning's ranking system is a farce making this book historically irrelevant. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Captain Lightfoot

2.0 out of 5 stars Silly
Lanning is a pretty good writer, and his summaries of these 100 engagements are capably done. However, an historian Lanning is NOT, and it certainly does show in his interpretive... Read more

Published 19 months ago by Scholar

3.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining read, but what defines a "battle?"
Attempting to rank important events or individuals in history always ignites debate, and this book is no exception. Read more

Published on June 26, 2006 by bixodoido

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