Wars and Battles

Except for the first couple of sections, I've attempted to present this page in chronological order – categorised by subject.

Which War?

In this section, each answer is the name of a war.

Ended in 1648 by the Peace of Westphalia (the collective name for the treaties of Münster and Osnabrück)		Thirty Years War
Name used in the English colonies for the North American theatre of the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–13)		Queen Anne's War
1739–48: arose from an incident in 1731 on board the brig Rebecca, related to Spanish attempts to prevent Britain trading with Spanish colonies. Subsumed, after 1742, in the War of the Austrian Succession		War of Jenkins' Ear
Name used in the English colonies for the North American theatre of the War of the Austrian Succession (1744–8)		King George's War
Series of battles and raids fought among Maoris in New Zealand, in the early 19th century: seen as an example of the "fatal impact" of indigenous contact with European settlers		Musket Wars
1807–14: Britain supports Spain and Portugal against Napoleon's invasion		Peninsular War
Seen by many British historians as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars: included the Burning of Washington, when British troops occupied Washington and set fire to many public buildings, including the White House (then known as the Presidential Mansion) and the Capitol		War of 1812
The Battle of Navarino (1827) – when an Ottoman and Egyptian fleet was heavily defeated by a combined Russian, British and French fleet – was a major turning point in the War of Independence fought by		Greece
Fought in the 1850s on the shores of the Black Sea		Crimean War
The Lancashire cotton famine coincided with, and was party caused by, the		American Civil War
The greatest number of Victoria Crosses to be awarded for actions on in a single day is 24, the day in question being 16 November 1857 – during the		Indian Rebellion / Mutiny
Austria v. Prussia, 1866: ostensibly over Schleswig–Holstein, but in reality engineered by Bismark in order to establish Prussia's succession over Austria as the most powerful German state		Seven Weeks' War
1870: conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German states, over control of the southern German states; the swift German victory led to the downfall of Napoleon III of France, the establishment of the Paris Commune and the proclamation of the Third Republic		Franco–Prussian War
Stromburg, Colenso (1899), Diamond Hill (1900)		Second Boer War
The terms 'Commando' and 'concentration camp' were first used during the
Ended by the Treaty of Vereeniging (1902)
Soviet invasion of Finland, November 1939 – led to the Soviet Union's expulsion from the League of Nations		Winter War
Alternative name for the third Arab–Israeli war, of 1967, when Israel captured the Golan Heights		Six–Day War
Ended by the Paris Peace Accords – signed on 27 January 1973		Vietnam War
Alternative name for the fourth Arab–Israeli war, of October 1973, when Israeli forces were taken by surprise on the holiest day of their year		Yom Kippur War

Treaties of Paris

Beware of questions that ask which war was ended by the Treaty of Paris. Wikipedia listed almost 40 Treaties of Paris – at the last count! Here are some of the better–known ones:

Year		Ended
1229		Albigensian Crusade
1763		Seven Years War
1783		American War of Independence
1815		Napoleonic Wars (following Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo )
1856		Crimean War
1898		Spanish–American War

The last one wasn't actually about a war:

1951

The Ancient World

490 BC: the Athenians, supported by Plataea, inflict a crushing defeat on the more numerous Persians – marking a watershed in the Greco–Persian wars, ending the First Persian Invasion and showing the Greeks that the Persians could be beaten		Marathon
480 BC: a Greek force (led by 300 Spartans under Leonidas I) held off a much larger Persian army led by Xerxes I		Thermopylae
Participants in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC)		Athens vs. Sparta
Participants in the Punic Wars (264–241 BC, 218–202 BC, 149–146 BC)		Rome vs. Carthage
216 BC: Hannibal defeats a numerically superior Roman force – one of the greatest feats in military history, and the Roman Empire's second greatest defeat		Cannae
202 BC (modern Tunisia): Scipio defeats Hannibal and his elephants, ending the Second Punic War – Hannibal's only defeat		Zama
105 BC (Gaul): the Roman Empire's greatest defeat		Arausio
Opposed Julius Caesar in the Roman Civil War, 49–45 BC		Pompey
42 BC: the final battle in the Wars of the Second Triumvirate: a decisive victory for Mark Antony and Octavian over Brutus and Cassius		Philippi
Augustus (Octavian) defeated Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC at		Actium
King of the Silurians, defeated at Clunbury Hill, AD 51 and taken to Rome		Caradog (Caractacus)

Alfred the Great

May 878: Alfred the Great routs the army of Guthrum, king of the Danelaw Vikings, who converted to Christianity under the terms of the resulting treaty and took the name Æthelstan

The Crusades

First Crusade – called by Pope Urban II, in response to a plea from Byzantine emperor Alexius I to defend his empire against the Seljuk Turks; captured Antioch in 1098 and Jerusalem in 1099		1095–9
Second Crusade – called by Pope Eugene III in response to the fall of the County of Edessa, which was established during the First Crusade – led by Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany		1145–9
Third Crusade – called by Pope Gregory VIII – led by Philip II of France, Richard I of England, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, after Saladin recaptured Jerusalem in 1187		1189–92
Fourth Crusade – called by Pope Innocent III		1201–4

There were various other, later campaigns that were known as Crusades. Wikipedia lists 15 crusades that reached the Holy Land, before the fall of Acre in 1291 brought an end to the permanent crusader presence there; but confusingly, only eight or nine of them are given ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.). The Eighth Crusade was launched by Louis IX of France against the city of Tunis in 1270, and was extended by one led by the future King Edward I of England. The latter is known either as the Ninth Crusade or Lord Edward's Crusade. It saw some impressive victories over Baibars, the 4th Sultan of Egypt, but Edward was forced to withdraw, unable to resolve the internal conflicts within the remnant Outremer territories.

The Ninth Crusade (Lord Edward's Crusade) took place in the years 1271 and 1272, and while Edward was away, his father (Henry III) died. Edward didn't hurry back, and was crowned on his return to England in 1274.

Other crusades that Wikipedia lists as having taken place in the Holy Land between 1096 and 1291 (but don't have ordinal numbers) are the Crusades of 1101, 1197 and 1267, and the Norwegian, Venetian and Barons' Crusades. And it didn't even stop there ... (for more details, please refer to Wikipedia).

Kurdish military leader, the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, 1175–93; re–captured Jerusalem from the Christians in 1187, after defeating the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin; defeated by Richard I (the Lionheart) in 1191 at the Battle of Arsuf; made peace with Richard in 1192 after the Battle of Jaffa; died in 1193

1066 and All That

20 September 1066 (near York): King Harald Hardrada of Norway, and his English Tostig Godwinson (brother of Harold II of England) defeat Edwin, Earl of Mercia, and Morcar, Earl of Northumbria		Fulford
25 September 1066 (also near York): Harold II of England defeated his brother Tostig and King Harald Hardrada of Norway		Stamford Bridge
14 October 1066: fought on or near Senlac Hill; the first time crossbows are known to have been used in England; celebrated by the Bayeux Tapestry		Hastings

1264: Simon de Montfort captures Henry III		Lewes
1403: Henry IV defeats a rebellion led by Henry Percy (Hotspur) and his uncle, Thomas Percy; the Prince of Wales (the future Henry V) is seriously wounded with an arrow in the face		Shrewsbury

England and Ireland

King of Ireland, defeated the Vikings, but was himself killed, at the Battle of Clontarf (1014)		Brian Boru
Nickname of Richard de Clare, 12th–Century Earl of Pembroke who helped Henry II in the conquest of Ireland		Strongbow
1 July 1690: William III defeated James II, near Drogheda, Co. Louth, after the latter rallied Irish Catholics to his cause		Battle of the Boyne
21 June 1798: British troops attacked an Irish rebel camp in Co. Wexford		Battle of Vinegar Hill

England and Scotland

11 Sep 1297: the Scots under William Wallace defeated the English at		Stirling Bridge
Wallace was finally defeated, in 1298, at		Falkirk
1314 battle commemorated in the 1966 "folk" song Flower of Scotland (not Flodden Field)		Bannockburn
Led the Scots to victory over the English at Bannockburn (1314)		Robert the Bruce
Leader of the defeated English troops at Bannockburn		Edward II
Bannockburn is 2 miles south of		Stirling
9 September 1513: English under the Earl of Surrey defeated the Scots near Coldstream, Northumberland; many Scots, including King James IV, were killed; commemorated in the traditional song The Flowers of the Forest (not Flower of Scotland)		Flodden (Field)
14 November 1542: an army raised by James V of Scotland was defeated by the troops sent by Henry VIII of England		Solway Moss

Hundred Years War (1337–1453)

1346: Edward III defeated Philip VI of France		Crecy
"Let the boy win his spurs" – Edward III (of the Black Prince) before
1356: Edward the Black Prince defeated John II of France		Poitiers
1415: Henry V won the hand of Catherine of Valois		Agincourt
Fought on St. Crispin's Day (25 Oct 1415) near the village of Maisonelle

Meanwhile ...

15 July 1410: the Teutonic Order of knights (founded during the Crusades to help Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land) was defeated by a combined Polish and Lithuanian army, resulting in the loss of most of its power; one of the largest battles in medieval Europe, and one of the most important victories in the histories of Poland, Lithuania and Belarus; referred to in both Nazi and Soviet propaganda in the 20th century

Wars of the Roses (1455–85)

There is a common misconception that the Wars of the Roses were fought between Lancashire and Yorkshire. Although I have no problem with cricket matches between those two counties being known by analogy as 'the Roses Match', the original Wars of the Roses were between two cadet branches of the House of Plantagenet: the houses of York and Lancaster (and their respective supporters). They had little or no connection with the actual counties, and (unless I'm much mistaken) to represent the Wars of the Roses as Lancashire folk fighting Yorkshire folk – as people often do – is well wide of the mark.

They weren't even known as the Wars of the Roses (according to Wikipedia) for more than a century after their conclusion; at the time they were known as the Civil Wars. The wars extinguished the male lines of both dynasties, and the Lancastrian claim was inherited by the Tudor family. Following the war, the Houses of Tudor and York were united, when Henry Tudor married Elizabeth of York (daughter of Edward IV, and sister of Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury – the 'Princes in the Tower'). A new royal dynasty was thus created, and the rival claims were resolved.

First battle of the Wars of the Roses (22 May 1455)		St. Albans (1st battle of)
Commander of the Lancastrian troops, killed in the above battle; his son (Henry, the 3rd Duke) led at Wakefield, 2nd St. Albans and Towton		Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
The second battle of the Wars of the Roses, and the first major one – fought near Market Drayton, Shropshire, but actually in Staffordshire – Sept. 1459		Blore Heath
30 December 1460: Richard, 3rd Duke of York – father of Edward IV and Richard III, and Henry VI's rival for the throne – was killed (near his stronghold at Sandal Castle)		Wakefield
29 March 1461 (Palm Sunday): fought near Selby, North Yorkshire; said to be the bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil; ended in a decisive victory for the Yorkists under the future Edward IV		Towton
14 April 1471: a decisive victory for the Yorkists under Edward IV: Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick – known as 'the Kingmaker', and on this occasion leader of the Lancastrian forces – was killed was killed		Barnet
4 May 1471: a further decisive Yorkist victory, at which Prince Edward, heir to Henry VI, was killed; along with the previous conflict, this secured the throne for Edward IV		Tewkesbury
Last battle of the Wars of the Roses: Henry Tudor (Lancastrian) defeated Richard III who was killed; Henry took the throne as Henry VII		Bosworth Field (1485)

Various (1513–71)

English name for Guinegatte (1513, Henry VIII beat the French)		Battle of the Spurs
1520: Henry VIII met Francis I of France on the		Field of the Cloth of Gold
1555 treaty between the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the Schmalkaldic League (a defensive alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire): authorised rulers of the 225 German states to compel their subjects to follow either Catholicism or Lutheranism		Peace of Augsburg
Fought in the Gulf of Corinth, in 1571: the Ottoman (Turkish) fleet was defeated by a combined Spanish and Italian fleet, marking the end of the Ottoman supremacy in the Mediterranean		Lepanto

Spanish Armada (1588)

Set fire to the Spanish fleet at Cadiz, 1587 – "singed the King of Spain's beard"		Francis Drake
Commander of the Spanish Armada		Duke of Medina Sedonia
Commander of the English fleet against the Armada		Lord Howard of Effingham
Flemish port (then in the Spanish Netherlands, now in France) where the English fleet gained a significant victory over the Armada on 8 August 1588		Gravelines

Thirty Years War (1618–48)

Event of 1618 that is said to have prompted the Thirty Years' War		Defenestration of Prague
French city besieged by Louis XIII's chief minister Cardinal Richelieu, 1627–8		La Rochelle
Major German city, sacked and destroyed in 1631 by the armies of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic League, resulting in around 20,000 deaths; much of the city remained rubble until at least 1720		Magdeburg
King of Sweden, confirmed as a great tactical leader by his victory at the first Battle of Breitenfeld (1631); killed the following year during the Battle of Lützen		Gustavus Adolphus (Gustav II Adolf)
Collective name for the treaties of Münster and Osnabrück (which ended the Thirty Years War in 1648)		Peace of Westphalia

English Civil War (1642–51)

At the start of the war (22 August 1642), Charles I raised his standard at		Nottingham
Nickname of Cromwell's troopers		Ironsides
Nephew of Charles I, who commanded Royalist cavalry; later became the first Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company; an uncle of George I (but died in 1682, 32 years becore the latter came to the throne)		Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Commander–in–Chief of Parliamentary forces, including the New Model Army		Sir Thomas Fairfax
23 Oct 1642: first battle of (Charles I v the Earl of Essex; indecisive) – named after a hamlet and escarpment in Warwickshire		Edge Hill
City where Charles made his headquarters, after he was forced to retreat there following a stand–off at Turnham Green (Chiswick, London) in November 1642		Oxford
2 July 1644: the bloodiest battle of the war; 27,000 Parliamentarians defeated 18,000 Royalists, near York, securing the North of England		Marston Moor
14 June 1645: Charles I's final and decisive defeat, and the first victory of Fairfax's New Model Army; Cromwell and Fairfax defeated the Royalists under Prince Rupert		Naseby
17 August 1648: Fought largely in the village of Walton–le–Dale; Cromwell's victory effectively ended the Second Civil War		Preston
3 Sep 1651: Cromwell's final victory in the Third Civil War (now usually known as the Anglo–Scottish War), against the future Charles II (who famously hid in an oak tree while making his escape)		Worcester

Kentish Knock (1652), Lowestoft (1665), Sole Bay (1672): Britain vs.

Last major battle on English soil – fought in Somerset		Sedgemoor (1685)
Sedgemoor was the final and decisive engagement between the Government forces of James II and rebels led by		James Scott, Duke of Monmouth

Ottoman–Habsburg Wars (1526–1791)

Despite lasting for more than a quarter of a millennium, these wars are rarely mentioned in school history lessons in the UK. In quizzing circles they are relevant in reference to one particular event:

The largest cavalry charge in European (if not world) history occurred in 1683 when 20,000 Polish, Austrian and German troops led by the Polish king Jan III Sobieski, and spearheaded by 3,000 heavily–armed Polish hussars, charged the Ottoman lines during the siege of

Jacobite Wars (1685–1746)

Jacobite victory near Edinburgh in 1745; took place in the village of Gladsmuir, and is sometimes (or was historically) known by that name		Prestonpans
Leader of the English troops at Prestonpans		Sir John Cope
16 April 1746: final defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie's '45' rebellion; fought on Drumossie Moor, 4 miles east of Inverness; the last major (pitched) battle to be fought on British soil		Culloden
Leader of the Government troops at Culloden		Duke of Cumberland

War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14)

13 August 1704: Marlborough's greatest victory, fought on the Danube to prevent a Franco–Bavarian thrust on Vienna; also known as the Second Battle of Hochstadt		Blenheim
23 May 1706: Marlborough defeats the French under Villeroi		Ramillies
30 June to 11 July 1708: Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy defeat the French under the Dukes of Burgundy and Vendome		Oudenarde
11 Sep 1709: Marlborough and Eugene defeat the French under Villars		Malplaquet
1713 treaty: ended the War of the Spanish Succession		Utrecht

War of the Austrian Succession (1740–8)

27 June 1743: George II became the last British sovereign to lead his troops into battle		Dettingen
Leader of British naval forces in the War of Jenkins' Ear: gave his nickname 'Old Grog' to the navy's favourite tipple		Admiral Edward Vernon
1748 treaty that ended the War of the Austrian Succession		Aix–la–Chapelle

Seven Years War (1756–63)

Britain's allies against France, Austria and Russia		Prussia
City captured by the British following the storming of the Plains (or Heights) of Abraham (1759)		Quebec
British general who died in the above action		James Wolfe
French general who died in the same action		Montcalm

American War of Independence (1775–83)

The American War of Independence is known in the USA as the American Revolutionary War.

19 April 1775: the first skirmishes in the American War of Independence; remembered on Patriots' Day (traditionally on the 19th, but since 1969 on the third Monday in April)		Lexington, Concord
19 April 1775: one of the first battles in the War of Independence; commemorated in Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem, which includes the famous line "the shot heard round the world"		Concord
17 June 1775: often described as the first major (or pitched) battle of the war; British troops capture the Charlestown peninsula (near Boston) following a Pyrrhic victory		Bunker Hill
River crossed by Washington and his troops on the night of Christmas Day 1776 – surprising British troops and resulting in a victory at Trenton on the 26th		Delaware
11 September 1777: decisive British victory at the Battle of Brandywine (Saratoga) led to the occupation of		Philadelphia
US Naval captain who sacked Whitehaven on 23 April 1778		John Paul Jones
Last battle in the American War of Independence – a decisive victory for the combined American and French forces; prompted a successful vote of no confidence against prime minister Lord North, who subsequently resigned		Yorktown (1781)
Leader of the US troops in the above battle		George Washington
... and the leader of the British troops that surrendered there		Cornwallis
US soldier who plotted to betray West Point to the British		Benedict Arnold
1783 treaty that ended the American War of Independence		Treaty of Paris
Last battle between Britain and the United States (1815)		New Orleans
General and future president, led the US troops in the above battle; commemorated in a famous square in the city's French Quarter		Andrew Jackson

9–12 April 1782: a British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse (who is captured), forcing the French and Spanish to abandon a planned invasion of Jamaica; its French name translates as the Battle of Dominica, but it's known to the British by the name of a group of islands between Guadeloupe and Dominica

The British in the Far East (1757–1860)

23 June 1757: victory for the army of the British East India Company under Robert Clive over the Nawab of Bengal, which led to British control over Bengal and eventually the whole of India		Plassey (Palashi – rhymes with marshy)
23 September 1803: early victory for Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington)		Assaye
Controversial commodity that caused two wars between Britain and China in the mid–19th century (1839–42 and 1856–60)		Opium
Scottish general who led the suppression of the Indian mutiny in 1857 (later ennobled as Lord Clyde)		Sir Colin Campbell

Napoleonic Wars

French marshal, nicknamed "the Bravest of the Brave" by Napoleon after the retreat from Moscow, when he was said to be the last Frenchman to leave Russian soil		Michel Ney
14–15 Jan 1797: a key victory in Napoleon's early campaign against Austria in Italy; gave its name to one of Paris's most fashionable shopping streets (also known for its hotels and restaurants)		Rivoli
2 Dec 1805: probably Napoleon's greatest victory, when French forces defeated a much larger combined army of Austria and Russia – known as the Battle of the Three Emperors		Austerlitz
16 January 1809 (Peninsular War): French victory over the British under Sir John Moore, who was fatally wounded and buried there		Corunna
7 September 1812: the principal battle of Napoleon's Russian campaign, paving the way for his march on Moscow; 75 miles west of Moscow, a Pyrrhic victory for Napoleon		Borodino
16–19 October 1813: the culmination of the German Campaign – a.k.a. the Battle of the Nations; Napoleon's first decisive defeat in battle		Leipzig
Chateau Hougoumont (a large farmhouse) was a strategic landmark at		Waterloo
Hamlet that gave its name, meaning a crossroads, to a preliminary engagement to the above – fought two days before it		Quatre Bras
Title of Henry William Paget (later created the Marquess of Anglesey) – commander of the British cavalry at Waterloo, and second–in–command to Wellington: lost a leg to one of the very last shots fired in the battle		Earl of Uxbridge
Prussian commander at Waterloo		Blücher blucher

Nelson

Lost the sight in his right eye in 1794, when hit by stones and other debris at		Calvi, Corsica
Lost his right arm in 1797, after being hit by a musket ball at		Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Commander of the British Mediterranean fleet, 1796–9, under whom Nelson served; created Earl of St. Vincent after the battle of that name		Admiral John Jervis
August 1798: Nelson routed the French squadron in Aboukir Bay		Battle of the Nile
"I really do not see the signal" Nelson (putting the telescope to his blind eye, to avoid seeing an order to disengage): at (1801)		Copenhagen
Battle named after a headland in southern Spain (approx. midway between Cadiz and the southernmost point)		Trafalgar
At Trafalgar, the British fleet defeated those of		France
At Trafalgar, the British fleet defeated those of		Spain
Commander of the French fleet at Trafalgar		Pierre–Charles Villeneuve
Commander of HMS Victory (Nelson's flag captain) at Trafalgar		Thomas Hardy
Nelson's second–in–command at Trafalgar, took command of the British fleet after Nelson's death		Collingwood
After his death, Nelson's body was preserved in a barrel of		Brandy (not rum)
Date of the Battle of Trafalgar		21 October 1805
Number of British ships lost at Trafalgar		None
20 October 1827: the last major naval battle fought entirely by sailing ships (during the Greek War of Independence: Britain, France and Russia defeated the Ottoman Empire and Egypt)		Navarino (Bay)

Crimean War (1853–6)

Britain, France, Turkey and Piedmont–Sardinia opposed			Russia
20 September 1854: the first battle of the Crimean War; began with the landings of British and French troops at Calamita Bay			Alma
25 October 1854: the phrase "the thin red line" was coined for the 93rd Highland Regiment, after it broke up a Russian attack at			Balaclava
Charge of the Light Brigade (673 took part, 272 died)
The Battle of Balaclava was caused by a Russian attempt to break the siege of (naval base on the Black Sea)			Sevastopol
Commander of British forces (including Balaclava)			Lord Raglan
Commander of the British Cavalry			Lord Lucan
Commander of the Light Brigade, ordered by Lord Lucan (acting on an order from Lord Raglan, but probably misinterpreting it) to lead the Charge of the Light Brigade			Lord Cardigan
5 November 1854: heroic British–French victory; known as 'The Soldier's Battle', in reference to the ferocity of the fighting, the importance of the role of battalions, companies and even smaller parties of men, and the isolation of the soldiers who were thrown onto their own initiative by foggy conditions			Inkerman
Suburb of Istanbul where Florence Nightingale established a hospital (name used in English)			Scutari
Roger Fenton went to Crimea – some say he was encouraged by such as Prince Albert and the Secretary of State for War, the Duke of Newcastle – and is often described as the first accredited			War Photographer

American Civil War (1861–5)

Name given to the eleven states that opposed the Union		Confederacy
Number of Confederate states		11
President of the Confederacy, through out the war; imprisoned for two years after it; previously (from 1857) leader of the Southern Democrats in the Senate		Jefferson Davis
The first shots in the American Civil War were fired at		Fort Sumter
... in the harbour of (city)		Charleston
Town in West Virginia, at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers (at the junction of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia) famous for John Brown's raid on the armoury there in October 1859		Harpers Ferry
2 July 1861: the first pitched battle in the American Civil War, at which Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson earned his nickname (named after a stream near Washington DC); also 29 August 1862		Bull Run
Confederates' name for the above two battles – after the city near which they were fought		Manassas
6–7 April 1862: the bloodiest engagement of the Civil War up to that point, with 23,000 casualties. Named after a small church that the Union troops were camped around, when attacked by the Confederate army; also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing		Shiloh
December 1862: one of the most one–sided battles in the war – Burnside's Union forces suffer terrible casualties in futile frontal attacks on Confederate defenders under Robert E. Lee		Fredericksburg
1–3 July 1863: often cited as the turning point of the war, involved the largest number of casualties; famous for Abraham Lincoln's address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery there four months later		Gettysburg
5–7 May 1864: the first, inconclusive battle of Ulysses S. Grant's Virginia Overland Campaign against Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia		Battle of the Wilderness
Virginia community where confederate forces surrendered		Appomattox Court House
Union general, captured Atlanta in September 1864 after a 4–month siege; burned it to the ground 10 weeks later		William Tecumseh Sherman
Accidentally shot by his own troops at Chancellorsville, 1863		'Stonewall' Jackson
Confederate general who surrendered at Appomattox; nicknamed 'the King of Spades' early in the war, for his obsessive digging of trenches around the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, and 'Granny' for his timid style of command at the Battle of Cheat Mountain (September 1861)		Robert E. Lee
Union general who accepted Lee's surrender		Ulysses S. Grant
Nickname for a confederate soldier		Johnny Reb(el)

The Wild West (battles of)

The Alamo

The 13–day siege and battle of the Alamo Mission began on (date)		23 February 1836
Mexican General who besieged the Alamo		Santa Anna
The Alamo was in (Texas city)		San Antonio, Texas

Custer's Last Stand

River that gave its name to the battle known to the Native Americans (Lakota) as the Battle of Greasy Grass Creek, and to 'European' Americans as Custer's Last Stand		Little Bighorn
Date of the above battle, when 700 US troops under Custer were massacred by 3,000 Dakota under Crazy Horse, inspired by the leadership and visions of Sitting Bull		25 June 1876
The battle site is now in (state)		Montana

Other

Last major pitched battle between native Americans & US Cavalry (1890)

Italian War of Independence

1859: the last major battle in world history where all the armies involved were under the personal command of their heads of state; the French under Napoleon III, and the Sardinians under Victor Emmanuel II, defeated the Austrians under Franz Josef; witnessed by Swiss businessman Henri Dunant, inspiring him to found the International Red Cross		Solferino
Lombardy town where a combined French and Sardinian force defeated a much larger Austrian army, in 1859 – the battle gave its name to a colour		Magenta
Led the French troops to victory at Magenta; created Duke of Magenta by Napoleon; later became the first President of the Third French Republic (1873–9). His ancestors had emigrated from Ireland in the reign of James II to escape the Penal Laws		Patrice de Mac–Mahon
Led 1,000 Italian patriots in the conquest of Sicily and Naples, 1860		Giuseppe Garibaldi

The British in Africa (etc.)

1838: 470 Boer 'Voortrekkers' (Pioneers) fought off 15,000 Zulus – killing 3,000 of them and suffering only three injuries; its anniversary (16 December) is now a public holiday in South Africa, known as the Day of Reconciliation		Battle of Blood River
Zulu War (1879): Comander–in–chief of British forces		Lord Chelmsford
Leader (king) of the Zulu nation during the Anglo–Zulu war		Cetshwayo
22 January 1879: the first major engagement of the Anglo–Zulu war, ending in Britain's worst defeat by a colonial force		Isandlwana
22–23 January 1879: mission station and temporary garrison, defended by 139 British soldiers of the 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot (later known as the South Wales Borderers) against over 4,000 Zulus, following the British defeat at Isandlwana earlier on the 22nd – immortalised in the 1964 film Zulu		Rorke's Drift
VCs won at Rorke's Drift (more than any other single military action)		11
British general murdered at Khartoum, 1885, after a 10–month siege by the Mahdi's army		Charles George Gordon
Minor battle of the Mahdist War (30 December 1885), noted as the last battle in which British soldiers certainly fought in red coats		Battle of Ginnis (Gennis)
City on the White Nile, opposite Khartoum, where Kitchener defeated the Mahdi in 1898		Omdurman
Defeated by Britain in the shortest war ever (38 minutes, 1896)		Zanzibar

1880: Ayub Khan inflicts the British army's biggest defeat of the Second Afghan War; Sherlock Holmes's collaborator Dr. Watson was said to have been injured; a 19–year–old girl called Malalai (after whom the Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai was named) rallied local fighters and has been credited with the victory; she was killed, but became a national hero (as did Ayub Khan)

Boer Wars

First Boer War

Second Boer War		1899 – 1902
Chief of Staff, British forces		Lord Kitchener
Town in Transvaal, besieged by Boers from 13 Oct 1899 to 17 May 1900		Mafeking
Led the defence of Mafeking		Robert Baden–Powell
Town in Natal, besieged by Boers from 30 Oct 1899 to 28 Feb 1900		Ladysmith
Led the relief of Ladysmith		General Redvers Buller
Battle of the Second Boer War: name lives on in many football grounds (most famously Anfield, Liverpool)		Spion Kop (1900)
Treaty of 1902 that ended the Second Boer War		Vereeniging

Spanish–American War (1898)

The ten–week Spanish–American War was fought over the independence of (USA intervened in its war of independence from Spain)		Cuba
Treaty that ended the Spanish–American War: Spain gave up its rights to Cuba, surrendered Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States, and also surrendered the Philippines for a payment of $20 million		Treaty of Paris

Russo–Japanese War (1904–6)

1905: the final, decisive battle of the Russo–Japanese war – a.k.a. the Battle of the Japan Sea; after sailing 18,000 miles to get there, the Russian fleet suffered a devastating defeat; described as "by far the greatest and the most important naval event since Trafalgar"		Tsushima (Strait)
Russo–Japanese War: ended by the Treaty of		Portsmouth (USA)

Russian Civil War (1917)

Russian Civil War		1917
Commander of the Red armies; deported 1929		Trotsky

World War I (1914–18)

See separate file.

War between Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932–5

Spanish Civil War (1936–9)

Chief of Staff of the Spanish Army, 1936		Francisco Franco
German aircraft unit sent by Hitler to help Franco		Condor Legion
Spanish city destroyed by the German air force in 1937		Guernica
Volunteers from different countries who fought against Franco's Nationalists (said to be 32,000 people from 53 countries)		International Brigades
July–Nov 1938: the last major Republican offensive of the Spanish Civil war – the final defeat of the International Brigades; named after the country's most voluminous river, which flows into the Mediterranean at the southernmost extremity of Catalonia		Battle of the Ebro

World War II (1939–45)

See World War II (Index).

Opposed the Soviet Union in the so–called Winter War, 1939–40		Finland
Commander of the Arab Legion, 1939 – 56		(Sir John) Glubb Pasha

Korean War (1950–3)

Parallel that was the focus of activity		38th
Commander of the United Nations forces		Gen Douglas MacArthur
Name given to the hill formerly known as Hill 235, in recognition of the regiment that made a heroic last stand there during the Battle of the Imjin River, in April 1951		Gloster Hill
The armistice was signed (on 27 July 1953) at		Panmunjom

Suez (1956)

Prompted by Egypt nationalising the Suez Canal to raise funds for the

Cuba

1958: city captured by revolutionary forces under Che Guevara, leading within hours to Batista's flight and Castro's overall victory in the Cuban revolution		Santa Clara
Bay of Pigs		17 April 1961
Bay of Pigs: the attacking force was made up of		Cuban exiles

Vietnam

Decisive battle in the Indochina war of independence from France (1954)		Dien Bien Phu
Start date of the Vietnam War, according to the US Government		1 November 1955
South Vietnamese village where US troops massacred between 347 and 504 unarmed men, women and children in 1968, in what has been called "the most shocking episode of the Vietnam War"		My Lai
US Army Lieutenant, found guilty of murdering 22 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre		William Calley
Popular name for the North–South supply route in support of the Viet Cong		Ho Chi Minh Trail
Code name for carpet bombing of North Vietnam by the US air force		Operation Rolling Thunder
Word from the NATO phonetic alphabet, used by US troops to refer to the Viet Cong		Charlie
Name used in the American media for the fortified hill (Hill 937) controversially attacked and captured (using infantry rather than firepower) by US troops in May 1969, and abandoned soon after – subject of a 1987 film		Hamburger Hill
Capital of Vietnam from 1955 – later the capital of South Vietnam; its fall to the Viet Cong on 30 April 1975 ended the Vietnam War; renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1976		Saigon

Various (1969–76)

The two countries that went to war over a football match in 1969		El Salvador
		Honduras
Country that opposed the UK in the so–called 'Cod Wars' (1958–61, 1972–3 and 1975–6)		Iceland

The Falklands (1982)

First island invaded by Argentine forces, before the Falklands		South Georgia
Isolated volcanic island, roughly midway between the horn (easternmost point) of South America and Africa: used as a staging post by the British Task Force, and by the RAF as a base to supply the Task Force		Ascension Island
President of Argentina at the time of the Falklands War (in office from 22 December 1981 to 18 June 1982)		Leopoldo Galtieri
Foreign Secretary who resigned over the Falklands crisis		Lord Carrington
Defence secretary at the time of the Falklands crisis		John Nott
Code name for the British military action to re–take the Falklands		Operation Corporate
Col. 'H' Jones of 2–para won his posthumously–awarded VC at		Goose Green
High point near Port Stanley, successfully attacked by British forces on the night of 13–14 June 1982; the battle and its aftermath were the subject of a 1988 BBC TV film starring Colin Firth		Mount Tumbledown
Welsh Guardsman, suffered horrific burns when the Sir Galahad was set on fire; subsequently set up a charity to tackle issues facing young people		Simon Weston

Gulf War (1991)

US operation to defend Saudi Arabia from Iraqi invasion, July 1990		Desert Shield
Operation to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation, starting in January 1991		Desert Storm
Leader of the British troops		General Sir Peter de la Billiere
Commander of coalition forces – nicknamed Stormin' Norman		Norman Schwarzkopf
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff		Colin Powell
Iraqi Foreign Minister (died 2015)		Tariq Aziz
Soviet tactical ballistic missiles used by Iraqi forces		Scud
American anti–missile missiles, used (with limited success) to intercept Scuds		Patriot

Bosnia (1992–5)

Popular name(s) for the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzogovina (1995): after the US city near the US Air Force at which negotiations took place

Iraq, etc. (2003–)

Code word for the US/UK air attacks on Iraq, December 1998		Desert Fox
Operation Red Dawn (2003) led successfully to the capture of		Saddam Hussein
First living recipient of a VC since 1969 – for twice saving the lives of the members of his unit in Iraq in 2004		Pte. Johnson Beharry
Prison near Baghdad, where accounts of torture of Iraqi prisoners by US army personnel, beginning in 2004, were found to be at least partially true		Abu Ghraib

Afghanistan (2001–)

Cave system in eastern Afghanistan (near the Khyber Pass) attacked by US forces in December 2001 in the belief that Osama bin Laden was hiding there		Tora Bora
US attack on al–Quaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan, March 2003: code name		Operation Anaconda

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