1945 Phil Cavarretta Chicago 1B
1944 Marty Marion St. Louis SS
1943 Stan Musial St. Louis OF
1942 Mort Cooper St. Louis P
1941 Dolph Camilli Brooklyn 1B
1940 Frank McCormick Cincinnati 1B
1939 Bucky Walters Cincinnati P
1938 Ernie Lombardi Cincinnati C
1937 Joe Medwick St. Louis OF
1936 Carl Hubbell New York P
1935 Gabby Hartnett Chicago C
1934 Dizzy Dean St. Louis P
1933 Carl Hubbell New York P
1932 Chuck Klein Philadelphia OF
1931 Frankie Frisch St. Louis 2B
Famous Battles—Part One
IN THE MAIN, history springs from both noble and petty sources—from jealousy and murder as much as the dreams of great men and women. As well as being formed in new laws and sweeping cultural movements, history is made on the battlefield, with entire futures hanging on the outcome. You will find further study of these examples both enlightening and rewarding. Each is an extraordinary story in itself. Each had repercussions that helped to change the world.
1. THERMOPYLAE 480 BC
Darius the Great ruled the Persian lands known today as Iran and Iraq, pursuing an aggressive policy of expansion. He sent his heralds to Greek cities to demand submission. Many accepted, though Athens executed their herald and Sparta threw theirs down a well. War followed and Darius’ ambitions came to an abrupt end when he was beaten at the Battle of Marathon in Greece. Although he planned another great invasion, his death prevented his return. It would fall to his son, Xerxes, to invade northern Greece with a vast army of more than two million in the spring of 480 BC.
The Persian fleet had already won control of the sea and the Greeks could not hold the north against such a vast host. Instead, they chose to defend the pass at Thermopylae in the south. Here, the way through the mountains was a tiny path only fourteen feet wide at its narrowest point. Thermopylae means “Hot Gates,” named after thermal springs in the area.
The Spartan king, Leonidas, took his personal guard of three hundred Spartans and about 7,000 other foot soldiers and archers to the pass. Of all the Greek leaders, he alone seemed to understand the desperate importance of resisting the enemy horde. When he reached the pass, his men rebuilt an ancient wall and 6,000 of them waited at the middle gate, the other thousand guarding a mountain trail above. They did not expect to survive, but Spartans were trained to scorn fear and hardship from a young age. They prided themselves on being elite warriors. The members of Royal Guard were all fathers, allowed to attend the king only after they had contributed to the gene pool of Sparta. They revered courage above all else.
The Persian king sent scouts to investigate the pass. He was surprised to hear that the Spartans were limbering up and braiding their hair for battle. Unable to believe that such a small group would honestly wish to fight, he sent a warning to withdraw or be destroyed. They made him wait for four days without a reply. On the fifth, the Persian army attacked.
From the beginning, the fighting was brutal in such a confined space. The Spartans and the other Greeks fought for three solid days, throwing the Persians back again and again. Xerxes was forced to send in his “Immortals”—his best warriors. The Spartans proved they were poorly named by killing large numbers of them. Two of Xerxes’ brothers were also killed in the fighting.
In the end, Leonidas was betrayed by a Greek traitor. The man went to Xerxes and told him about a mountain track leading around the pass at Thermopylae. Leonidas had guarded one track, but for those who knew the area, there were others. Xerxes sent more of his Immortals to the secret path and they attacked at dawn. The other Greek soldiers were quickly routed, but Leonidas and the Spartans fought on.
When Leonidas finally fell, he had been cut off from the rest of the Spartans. A small group of the guard fought their way into the heaving mass, recovered his body, and carried him to where the others were surrounded, fighting all the way. The Persians simply could not break their defense and finally Xerxes ordered them to be cut down with flight after flight of heavy arrows. He was so furious at the losses his army had suffered that he had Leonidas beheaded and his body nailed to a cross.
Coast at Middle Gate of Thermopylae in 480.
Scale, 8” to 1 mile.
1, 2, 3, mark the three positions of the defenders of the Pass.
The Spartans went on to play a crucial part in the war against the Persians. Leonidas and his small guard had established an extraordinary reputation, and larger forces of Spartans struck terror into the Persians at later battles. They had seen what only 300 could do and no one wanted to face 10,000 or 20,000. The Greeks won classic sea battles at Salamis and Eurymedon, destroying the Persian fleet. Over the next eight years, they beat the Persian host on land with battles at Plataea and Mycale. They lost Athens twice to the enemy and saw it completely destroyed. Much of the war has been forgotten, but the battle at Thermopylae still inspires writers and readers today. When peace returned, the Spartans placed a stone lion at the Hot Gates to mark where Leonidas created a legend. The epitaph reads: “Go tell the Spartans, Stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie.”
2. CANNAE 216 BC
When the Latini tribe consolidated their hold on southern Italy, they joined two settlements into a city named Rome on seven hills. In the centuries that followed, they continued to explore their lands and boundaries, north and south, eventually crossing into Sicily. There, they came face-to-face with an outpost of the ancient and sophisticated Carthaginian empire. It was a clash of force and culture that launched generations of bitter conflict in what have come to be known as the Punic Wars and the first real test of Rome.
The Battle of Cannae is famous in part because the Roman legions were utterly annihilated. This is a surprisingly uncommon event. History has many more examples of battles where the defeated enemy was allowed to leave the field, sometimes almost intact. Cannae was a complete destruction of an army in just one day. It was very nearly the death knell for Rome herself.
The Romans had actually won the First Punic War, which lasted for seventeen years (264–241 BC), but it had not been a crushing defeat for the Carthaginians. They had had a gifted general in Hamilcar Barca, who had brought southern Spain under the rule of Carthage. Yet it was his son Hannibal who would invade Italy from Spain, cross the Alps with elephants and threaten the very gates of Rome. He commanded Carthaginian forces for the Second Punic War (218—201 BC).
Cannae is in southern Italy, near the heel of the “boot.” Hannibal had come south the previous year, after destroying Roman armies of 40,000 and 25,000. Rome was in real danger.
The senate appointed a dictator, Fabius, who tried to wear Hannibal’s forces down by cutting lines of supply. It was a successful policy, but unpopular in a vengeful city that wanted to see the enemy destroyed rather than starved to death. New consuls were elected: Gaius Terentius Varro and Lucius Aemilius Paullus. The senate mustered an army of 80,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry over which the consuls assumed joint leadership.
Hannibal’s army had very few actual Carthaginians. When he entered what is today northern Italy, his forces consisted of 20,000 infantry (from Africa and Spain) and 6,000 cavalry. He recruited more from Gallic tribes in the north, but he was always outnumbered. In fact, the Romans had every possible advantage.
The two armies met on August 2, 216 BC. Hannibal and his army approached along the bank of a river so he could not easily be flanked. He left 8,000 men to protect his camp. His cavalry was placed on both flanks and his infantry took position in the center.
Varro was in command on the Roman side that day. He was not an imaginative leader and marched the Roman hammer straight at Hannibal’s forces, attempting to smash them. Varro thought he had protected his wings from flanking maneuvers with his own cavalry. In fact, Hannibal’s horsemen were far superior. They crushed one Roman flank almost immediately, circling behind them to destr
oy the other wing as well. They then wreaked havoc on Roman lines from behind.
Varro pressed on, however, his front line pushing the forces of Carthage further and further back, like a bow bending. Hannibal’s front line had become completely concave and Varro had no idea that it was part of the plan. The Roman force marched further and further into the cup Hannibal had created for them. They believed they were winning.
Hannibal signaled for the wings to move and the cup began to close. Hannibal’s cavalry completed the boxing in of the Roman legions behind. They were so compressed they could hardly move and their numerical advantage had been completely canceled out. More than 60,000 died over the next few hours as they were butchered, unable to escape. Hannibal lost 6,000 men.
One result of this battle was that the Romans learned from it. Three years later they had more than 200,000 men under arms and had renewed the struggle. There were successes and disasters on both sides, and Rome teetered on the brink of destruction until they appointed Publius Cornelius Scipio—known as Scipio Africanus. He had the vision and tactical skill to counter Hannibal. Though Rome was near bankruptcy and Italy was starving, the fortunes of Rome began to turn.
3. JULIUS CAESAR’S INVASIONS OF BRITAIN 55 and 54 BC
Though neither invasion really came to anything, this has traditionally been the official starting point of recorded British history. In fact, Julius Caesar’s own commentary is the only written source for some of the information that has survived today, such as the names of tribes around the south coast.
The Romans’ first landing was on the beaches near Deal in Kent, having sailed from Gaul (France). The Britons (meaning “painted ones,” as they painted themselves blue) fought in the sea to prevent the landing, accompanied by huge dogs. Caesar’s reference to the dogs makes the English mastiff the oldest recorded breed. The Roman force fought their way onto dry land and made a truce with the local inhabitants. It is important to remember that Britain was practically off the edge of maps at this time. The existence of “foggy islands” or “tin islands” somewhere past Gaul was considered a myth in some places. Caesar was overstretched and spent only three weeks in Britain before heading back across the Channel to Gaul.
The second landing in 54 BC was much better organized. Caesar returned with a fleet of 800 ships, five legions and 2,000 cavalry. As the Spanish Armada would discover fifteen hundred years later, the coast can be violent and a storm smashed a large number of his ships, scattering many more.
Caesar marched north, destroying the tribes who had gathered under their war chief, Cassivellaunus of the Catuvellauni. Cassivellanus was forced to sue for peace near modern St Albans. Caesar accepted and returned to Gaul. Events such as the great Gaul rebellion under Vercingetorix, a civil war in Rome, falling in love with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra and, finally, assassination would prevent him ever returning. The Romans did not come back to Britain until AD 43, under Emperor Claudius.
4. HASTINGS October 14, 1066
This is one of the most famous dates in English history—the last successful invasion up to modern times. At first, after the Romans left, Britain was almost constantly invaded. First the Saxons proved bothersome, then just as everyone was settling down to being Anglo-Saxon, the Vikings arrived. The Danish king Canute (sometimes written Cnut), created a small, stable empire early in the eleventh century, ruling England, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. He had taken the English throne from Ethelred the Unready, and after Canute’s death, his feckless sons lost it back to Ethelred’s son Edward, known as the Confessor for his piety. He named Harold Godwinson as his heir, crowned King Harold in January 1066—the last Anglo-Saxon king before the Normans arrived and spoiled it for everyone.
In fact, William of Normandy had probably been named heir by Edward the Confessor—as far back as 1051. William had also extracted a promise from Harold Godwinson to support that claim when Harold was shipwrecked off Normandy in 1064. In that sense, the 1066 landing was to protect his rightful throne, though that isn’t the usual view. We don’t know the exact size of his army and estimates vary enormously. It was probably around 12,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry.
In September, Harold was busy repulsing Norwegian invasions. They had promised Harold’s brother Tostig an earldom for his aid. Harold marched north from London to relieve York from a Norse army. He met them at Stamford Bridge on September 25, fighting for many hours. Of the 300 ships the Norwegians had brought over, only twenty-four were needed for the survivors. Tostig was killed. Stamford Bridge resulted in heavy casualties among Harold’s best soldiers, which was to prove of vital importance to the later battle at Hastings.
On September 28, William of Normandy landed on the Sussex coast. Harold heard of the landing by October 2 and immediately marched 200 miles south—which his army covered in less than five days. That is 40 miles a day with weapons and armor.
Harold rested his men in London from October 6 to 11, then marched to Hastings, covering 56 miles in forty-eight hours. Again we have only estimates of the size of his army, but it is believed to have been around 9,000 men. He was badly outnumbered and only a third of his men were first-rate troops. Still, it is difficult to see what else he could have done.
Harold took position on Senlac Ridge, about eight miles northwest of Hastings. On October 14, the Norman army advanced in three lines: archers, pikemen and cavalry. William’s archers fired first at too long a range, then fell back through their own lines to allow the pikemen to reach the enemy. The second line stormed forward, but was battered back from the ridge by rocks, spears and furious hand-to-hand fighting.
William then led a charge up the ridge, but it too failed to penetrate. The Normans’ left wing fell back and Harold’s soldiers rushed forward to take advantage of their weakness. Harold’s army was set to crush the invaders as a rumor went around that William had fallen.
William threw off his helmet and rode up and down his lines to let his men see he was alive. As well as being a splendid moment, his action does show the importance of charismatic leadership at this time, a tradition going back to Thermopylae and beyond. When they saw William, the Normans rallied and crushed their pursuers. Seeing how this strategy had worked to his advantage, William used the technique again. He staged a false cavalry panic and succeeded in drawing more of Harold’s men from their position, his cavalry returning to cut them down. Yet most of Harold’s men remained on the ridge and the battle was far from over.
Many assaults by infantry, archers and cavalry followed. Harold’s forces were exhausted by midafternoon, but their courage had not faltered and they had sent back every attack against them. At that point, a chance arrow struck Harold in the eye, wounding him mortally. Morale plummeted and the English lines began to fail.
In terms of historical effect, this battle was the seed that would flower into the largest empire the world has ever known. Countries like Germany, Belgium and Italy have existed as nation-states only in the last couple of centuries, but England has maintained her identity through a thousand years.
On Christmas Day 1066, in Westminster Abbey, William I was crowned King of England.
5. CRÉCY August 26, 1346
This battle was part of the Hundred Years War. Fighting was not absolutely constant between 1337 and 1453, but there were eight major wars over the period between France and England. In addition, the French supported the Scots in their almost constant wars with England. It was a busy time and the period is fascinating and well worth a more detailed look than can be attempted here.
Edward III of England had declared himself King of France in 1338, a statement that did not go down well with the French king, Philip VI. In support of his claim, Edward invaded with a professional, experienced army of 3,000 heavy cavalry knights, 10,000 archers and 4,000 Welsh light infantry. An additional 3,000 squires, artisans and camp followers went with them. It is worth pointing out that the English longbow took more than a decade to learn to use well. It could not simply be picked up and shot, even after w
eeks of training. The strength required to fire an arrow through iron armor was developed only after years of building strength in the shoulders. It was necessary to start an archer at a young age to achieve the skill and power of those at Crécy.
Edward had failed to bring Philip to battle on two previous occasions. In 1346, he landed near Cherbourg and began a deliberate policy of the utter destruction of every French village and town he came to. In this way, Philip had to make an active response and his army marched against the English at the height of summer.
(The story of the early maneuvers make excellent reading, especially Edward’s crossing of the Somme River, made possible only by his archers and neat timing. The Osprey Military book Crécy 1346: Triumph of the Black Prince by David Nicolle is well worth buying.)
To counter the English longbows, Philip did have Italian crossbowmen, but they needed a protective wicker shield while they reloaded and these were still with the baggage train for this battle, leaving them vulnerable. Nevertheless, the French force outnumbered the English three to one, with 12,000 knights and men-at-arms, 6,000 crossbowmen, 17,000 light cavalry and as many as 25,000 foot conscripts. They were not well prepared when they came up against the English lines, however.
Philip’s first action was to send his crossbowmen out to lay down fire. They moved forward and shot at 150 yards. Most of the bolts fell short and they advanced to fire again. This brought them inside the killing range of the English longbows and a storm of arrows struck them.
The French knights saw the Italian crossbowmen falter and assumed they had lost their nerve. The knights were so eager to attack that they rode down their own allies to get through to the front, killing many. Then they too were in range of the English longbowmen and the thundering cavalry charge was torn apart. Those who did make it to the English lines were met by unsmiling veterans carrying axes and swords.
The Dangerous Book for Boys Page 7