anyone watched "Letters grom Iwo Jima" and "Flags of our fathers" yet? i just watched both of them. I read somewhere that the Japanese-point-of-view-one is consired to be better. Well I dont think so. It is so very simple. "flags..." are much better. Not that they are good, but much better. these movies made me think of the best known battles in history. Which battles are most significant and known to all Americans. If you asked any Pole of a historical battle or any other event- everyone would answer Grunwald (ger. green forest) 1410, 15 of July. 80%. And you know why? Because when we were on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, soviet propaganda tried to find a most significant vitory over Germans. And what is the most important battle in the US history? Is it Midway? Or Pearl Harbour? Or some in civil war?
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It would probably be during the Revolutionary or the Civil War. Maybe Gettysburg?
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Blayne Bradley
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In WWII actullly from what I read from Paul Kennedy even if the US lost additional carriers they would have that year been replaced several times over, while Mid way and Coral sea checked the Japanese advance the USs overwhelming material advantage is and was just to overwhelming if you count the USSR, UK, and USA vs the Axis.
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I would say that the most important battle in US history would be a collection of battles in the American Civil War.
If we had lost WWII and the Axis had triumphed, the United States would still have endured (although its future would be less than rosy, to say the least). Had the Union lost a few key battles in the Civil War (and not just land battles, either), there would not have been a United States of America.
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Blayne Bradley
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Ild say Battle of Antietam is probably the most decisive in US history, had Lees battle orders not fallen into the hands of the Union Lee wouldve suprised McClellen and trashed him leading to France and England recognizing the South`s secession as Lincoln was under pressure not to issue the Emancipation Proclaration as it wouldve been viewed as a sign of desparation in the aftermath of defeat.
Harry Turtledoves Great War novells go into great detail about this and witha great degree of plausibility.
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Gettysburg would have to be the most important battle of the Civil War. If you're going to talk about the Revolutionary War, it was probably the Battle of Saratoga or the Battle of Yorktown.
Chronologically:
Saratoga - Got us international help to fund the war, as well as foreign militaries supporting us. Namely France.
Yorktown - Cornwallis surrenders and we win.
Gettysburg - Bloodiest battle of the war. Had the north lost, the war probably would have been lost with it. It killed all southern momentum and totally turned the tide of the war against the south. The north virtually dominated against a defeated Army of Northern Virginia from then on.
Blayne, even if the North had been trashed at Antietam the war still would have gone on for years. I think it's doubtful that they would have gained any more international recognition from a single battle that they didn't get from First Bull Run, Second Bull Run and Fredericksburg. Those were all major early victories, and they got nothing but some muted help and smuggled good in return. It wouldn't have been near enough to get France or England to attempt a breach of the Union blockade.
The emancipation proclamation would have been issued anyway in the near future afterwards.
Midway was an important victory, it was a major lifting of homefront spirits, trashed half the Japanese carrier fleet, and put us on the offensive for much of the remainder of the war, but if you want a decisive, most important US battle of WW II, it's the Battle of the Bulge. Losing that would have been a huge victory for the Nazis, but winning it pretty much signaled the end of major resistance. They were done from that point on.
None of the battles after WWII were instrumental to US survival. And really, Rakeesh is right, even if WWII hadn't of worked out, we still would have survived. I'd have to say it's either Saratoga, Yorktown or Gettysburg, if you have to pick a SINGLE battle.
Symbolically maybe Lexington or Concord as the first US battles should get some recognition.
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