EDIT: I should also clarify that the battles described by me ITT have been selected based solely on one factor: decisiveness. The battles may be wholly uninteresting in other respects, and in many cases I lack good hard facts about the circumstances that led to battle, and even the battles themselves. Accordingly, my rating of poasters is not reflected in the descriptions I give of the battles, but is reflected in the DECISIVENESS of their outcomes.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4971323&forum_id=2...id#43498605)

In spite of their significant limitations, the Arab armies have had a string of victories and are looking to spread their influence and power, but a dustup in Tashkent draws them into conflict with the Tang chinks. The chink army is perhaps the most formidable fighting force int he world, but chinks being chinks, they are unable to form stable alliances with the nearby the turks they rely upon to provide them with mercenaries.

While there is no way to know the precise order of battle, we know that the first four days of battle were inconclusive, and that on the fifth day the Chinese fled. Sources disagree on why this happened. The Chinese claim their turkish "allies" defected at the last minute, but Arab sources suggest the treachery was planned well in advance.

Regardless, chinks lose somewhere between 90% of their finest men. Captured chinks are interrogated and forced to reveal the chink technology of papermaking. Muslims put this technology to devastating use as they use the written word spread their poisonous propaganda.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4971323&forum_id=2...id#43498885)

Christian irregular forces have captured Jerusalem but have since become factionalized. Saladin, a man of unusually high moral character, has formed a multi-ethnic force and is able to bring the muslim territories surrounding Jerusalem under his political control.

The Christians are formally under the control of Raynald of Châtillon, who is prone to diplomatic blunders. These blunders have caused many Christian and pro-Christian factions to ally with a rival king, Guy of Lusignan. Saladin seizes the moment by attacking one of the Guy's fortresses in July. To defend the fortress, Guy's army will to leave Jerusalem and march north under peak summer temperatures. Reynald is opposed to the plan, but his hand is forced by his own men. As Guy's army marches through the heat in awkward formation, it suffers unrelenting archery attacks that slow its advance to crawl.

Overwhelmed by the heat and the constant attacks, Guy changes plans and orders his men to march to Hattin, where they can find water. The men are too slow however, and Saladin sends mobile detachments to block their advance. The Christians are forced to camp overnight with no water and no hope while the Arabs set up comfortably with water brought in from nearby lakes. To top things off, the next morning Saladin builds an enormous bonfire of dry sticks just downwind of the Christians, enveloping Guy's men in choking clouds of acrid smoke.

Saladin then launches a general attack, causing the Christians to break away. A long section of the Christian infantry, driven by thirst, marches towards a nearby lake. They reach the Horns of Hattin, where they are promptly overrun by Arab forces. Nearly every major Christian leader from the Holy Land is captured for ransom, with the exception of Reynald, who is beheaded as payback for his diplomatic failures. The Crusader kingdoms are all destroyed as muslims take control of the holy land, and the true cross is lost to all of Christendom.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4971323&forum_id=2...id#43499110)

Napoleon has thousands of barges ready to ferry his army across the English channel. He only needs to seize control of the English channel long enough to cross, famously stating “let me be master of the strait for six hours, and I will be master of the world." However, standing in his way are the warships of the English navy. Napoleon cannot move ships out of France, as his ports are being swarmed by English warships 24/7.

To achieve his goal of world domination, Napoleon has formed an alliance with Spain, and combined Spanish/French naval forces sail north from Cadiz. The combined forces include 33 ships of the line, and these include the four-deck, 136-gun Santisima Trinidad. Not even England’s greatest ship of the line, the HMS Victory, can match its firepower.

In terms of state resources, construction of a single ship of the line is the rough equivalent of constructing a Saturn V rocket. A single hull requires wood from the equivalent 60 acres of old growth forest. Five acres of canvas is used to construct her sails, and five miles of rope secure them to her enormous masts. To lift a single anchor requires the strength of 250 men, and a single cannon weighs several tons. A single volley discharges some four hundred pounds of gunpowder, and a thirty-two poung iron ball shot from one of these cannons can smash through two feet of oak a mile away. The only nagging limitation of this arrangement is that a ship of the line cannot concentrate fire on objects that are directly in front of it, but must instead be facing its target from the side in order to make effective use of its firepower.

The English people live in constant fear of Napoleon's army showing up on their shores. Figure 1. https://ibb.co/3CHHcQY They have constructed 27 ships of the line and put them under the command of small, sickly, paraplegic named Nelson. This one-eyed son of a reverend has come up with a plan. He will sail directly into the French line, exposing the entire English navy to concetrated French and Spanish cannon fire. Figure 2 https://ibb.co/G5mbvKF

This results in a confused melee of ships blasting at one another at point blank range. Figure 3 https://ibb.co/52qSddG Soldiers up in the rigging fire muskets down at the decks of enemy ships, aiming for the officers. Figure 4 https://ibb.co/HDhT2V9 Aboard nearly every ship, dozens of men needing amputation wait in queue for the surgeon. For each one of these men, perhaps a dozen more are wounded but able to keep up the fight. One admiral reports:

"I found 14 men awaiting amputation of either an arm or a leg. A marine who had sailed with me in a former ship was standing up as I passed with his left arm hanging down. 'What's the matter, Connelly?' 'Not much, sir' he replied, 'I am only winged above my elbow, and I'm waiting my turn to be lopped'. His arm was dreadfully shattered by grape-shot."

For whatever reason, the mighty Santisima Trinidad becomes an instant shitshow. A French naval officer comments:

"Simply infernal. She could not move. The English shot had torn our sails to tatters. It was if huge invisible talons had been dragging at them. Fragments of spars, splinters of wood, thick hempen cables cut up as corn is cut by the sickle, fallen blocks, shreds of canvas, bits of iron and hundreds of other things that had been wrenched away by the enemy;s fire were piled along the deck. Blood ran in streams about the deck, and in spite of the sand the rolling of the ship carried it hither and thither until it made strange patterns on the planks."

As the battle rages on, the HMS Victory is surrounded and Nelson is fatally struck by enemy musket fire. He lives only long enough to hear that his fleet has won a crushing victory.

The combined French and Spanish fleet has lost all but eleven vessels, and 7,000 men. The English do not lose a single ship and have only 1,600 casualties, but they are gravely demoralized by Nelson’s death. To overcome their psychological wounds, they immerse his corpse in a barrel of brandy so that it can be brought back to England and be buried on land. France’s defeat ensures that there will always be a powerful European nation that can (and WILL) provide a focal point for opposition to Napoleon, and the English victory at Trafalgar marks the beginning of his decline.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4971323&forum_id=2...id#43506530)

The American colonies are firmly entrenched along the eastern seaboard and include about 1.5 million inhabitants. However, terroritory west of the appalachians is considered "French." The French only have some 70k subjects on the continent and are content to trade furs with the natives.

Notwithstanding their small numbers, the French have laid claim to an enormous expanse of territory stretching from the St. Lawrence river all the way to New Orleans. Figure 1: https://ibb.co/Y4Cpqqj This sparsely populated land includes a network of trading posts that restrict British westward expansion. The British are determined to end this absurd arrangement by seizing Quebec, severing French lines of communication, and gaining control of the St. Lawrence river.

The French and English military leaders are, respectively, Marquis de Montcalm and Major General James Wolfe. Wolfe is an ambitious and polarizing figure. He is a strikingly ugly man who is given to bouts of severe illness. He descends from a long lineage of notable military figures, though his own military judgment is questioned at times. He leads his men from the front and is a relentless self promoter. He has a weak chin, a very long, beaked nose, and red hair. In preparation for his campaign against the French, he pens the following poem, titled "Hot Stuff":

Come, each death-doing dog who dares venture his neck,

Come, follow the hero that goes to Quebec;

Jump aboard of the transports, and loose every sail,

Pay your debts at the tavern by giving leg-bail;

And ye that love fighting shall soon have enough:

Wolfe commands us, my boys; we shall give them Hot Stuff.

Montcalm is a respected military commander who exemplifies much more aristicratic values. He is charming and sophisticated, but his aritocratic impulses cause him to look down on his social inferiors. He is not afraid to openly express his disdain for the both the Indians and the local French settlers, which has won him no friends among the local leaders of New France. The governor general of New France has advocated a guerilla war using the local Indians to strike the English forces, but Montcalm believes the war should be fought using regular troops fighting pitched battles. Relations have broken down to the point that the two are no longer in regular communication.

To the west of Quebec lies the Plain of Abraham. Along the edges are a line of sharp cliffs along the St. Lawrence river. To prevent the British from landing, Montcalm has built a series of fortifications along cliffs on the north shore. The majority of his field army is also stationed here.

Wolfe's forces, while only numbering some 8,000 men, are very well trained. They include grenadiers, artillerymen, and six companies of rangers in addition to several battalions of regular British infantry. The Royal Navy ensures that Wolfe is kept supplied with spare canons, gunpowder, supplies, and new men. Montcalm commands some 10-15,000 troops, but they are of dubious quality and loyalty. The core of his force consists of some 5,000 French infantry, supplemented by ~4,000 local fur trappers, some conscripted sailors, and even some conscripted jesuit priests.

In June, Wolfe establishes an artillery battery on the Île d'Orléans, an island about four miles south of Quebec. Wolfe is able to identify weaknesses in the French defenses has mercilessly shells Quebec, turning it into a smoking wasteland.

The French dig in, making amphibious assault exceptionally dangerous. Meanwhile Wolfe becomes ill and rumors of his imminent death begin to spread. Wolfe is therefore able to formulate his plans in near total secrecy. Wolfe knows of a landing spot with a narrow trail leading up the cliffs he believes he can exploit. He sends an assault force to penetrate French fortifications under cover of night so that the British can attack the plateau from overland.

Due to a fortuitous misunderstanding, Montcalm's elite forces miss the British landing force. As luck would have it, the French are expecting a French naval convoy to arrive with supplies that night, but unbeknownst to them the convoy has been cancelled. French sentries mistakenly believe the British ships to be the French convoy. Their confusion is compounded by the fact that French-speaking British naval commanders are able to respond to French requests for information and maintain the facade.

The British miss their landing destination however. Unable to find the trail, they begin to scale the cliff, grabbing onto trees and bushes to pull themselves upward. Figure 2: https://ibb.co/yYC295m Coming from this totally unexpected direction, the British catch French forces off guard. French-speaking British officers, who had previously claimed to be leading the French naval convoy, now announce that they've come to relieve the sentries of their duty stations. The unwitting French forces leave the scene, and the British safely land the remainder of their troops.

It is several more days before the French leadership even accepts that the British have so many forces in theater. When Montcalm eventually realizes the reports are true, he rapidly deploys ~2,000 men in line formation. Figure 3: https://ibb.co/Fkpjpmp Figure 4: https://ibb.co/GQD6Hgg The French follow their customary tactic of advancing toward the enemy while soldiers reload and shoot as rapidly as possible, while the British hold the line and wither the French advance. When the french are within ~50 yards, the British begin to open fire. The battalions at the center of Wolfe's lines hold their fire even longer before unleashing a single, coordinated volley. Their muskets are loaded with two balls instead of one, and this single volley so devastates French ranks that within minutes French forces break formation and flee. The British pursue and are eventually ambushed by irregular forces, suffering horrific losses. Montcalm is injured by canon fire and dies a few days later. Wolfe is shot in the chest an ultimately dies, but not before being informed of the overwhelming British victory. The British crown is now firmly in control of North America and is free to institute harsh new taxes on its colonial subjects. A monument to Wolfe is built in Quebec and continues to be vandalized for the next several centuries.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4971323&forum_id=2...id#43500993)

Author: Trump Did Nothing Wrong

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4971323&forum_id=2#46192159)

Poltava, 1709.

In 1697, 15-year-old Charles XII takes the throne in Sweden. Sweden’s chief victims over the previous century - Denmark, Poland, and Russia - sense an opportunity to take advantage of the inexperience and youth of the new monarch. The result is the Great Northern War: Denmark invades Schleswig-Holstein, Poland attacks Riga, and Russia invads Livonia.

Charles, now 18, personally leads the counterattack, defeating the Danes before embarking on a years long campaign to subjugate Poland. Charles' chief opponent is another young, determined ruler: Peter I of Russia, who is fascinated by technology. Peter wants to make Russia a major world power, but he needs access to the Baltic or the Crimean sea, preferably both, and the Swedes block him to the north and Turks block him in the south. Peter begins his modernization of the Russian army, upgrading the army’s gunpowder weapons, from the common soldier’s musket up to heavy siege cannons. The Russian army is especially well-equipped with a large number of modern artillery pieces.

Peter adopts a quixotic approach on the battlefield. His army retreats before the advancing Swedes and destroys farms and burns crops, forcing the invaders to maintain long supply lines. His secret weapon is the vast size of Russia. He can afford to surrender huge chunks of territory, luring the Swedes farther from reinforcements and supplies.

In December 1707, Swedish forces cross Poland and Lithuania before halting for the winter in February. The army moves forward again in June, and there are several skirmishes and minor battles with the Russians. However, the Russians mostly shadow the Swedes and will not commit to a decisive battle, thus drawing Charles deeper into Russia. Swedish supplies begin to run thin, and Charles’s best bet seems to be to turn south toward the Ukraine, even though this would divert his march away from Moscow. When some Ukraine-based Cossacks offer to join Charles and feed his starving army, his decision to turn south is reinforced.

During the winter of 1708-09, Charles’s army plods forward but comes to a stop on the main road from Kiev to Kharkov, at a point between the Vorskla and Psiol river. The Russians are encamped nearby, outside the small town of Poltava (a town that doesn't matter).

Disease, combat, and the winter have taken a toll on Charles' army. He is running short on food and gunpowder. Moreover his remaining gunpowder is of poor quality. On June 17, Charles is struck in the foot by a Russian musket ball. His injury is severe enough that he has to be carried in a litter at the Battle of Poltava, both limiting his mobility and depriving his men of his crucial inspiration. Moreover, by now Peter has entrenched his main army, about 25,000 infantry and 73 cannons, a few miles north of Poltava. To get at the camp, the Swedish army will have to pass through a gap between two dense woods to the southwest. Across this gap, Peter has erected a row of six earthen forts spaced at 150-meter intervals. He then builds four more redoubts at a right angle to the first set. Charles’s plan is to rush his forces past the lines of redoubts before dawn, then assault the main Russian camp.

Things begin to go wrong almost at once. Swedish infantry lose communication with the cavalry and have to pause until the cavalry catch up. At the same time they are detected by the Russian redoubts, which open fire at point blank range. If the Swedish units continue moving forward they might prevail, but a group of six battalions, one-third of the entire Swedish infantry, are frozen in battle at the third redoubt. The remaining infantry and the cavalry forge past the redoubts toward the Russian camp, but they too have been badly mauled by Russians stationed at the redoubts. It is at this time that Charles realizes a third of his army is missing.

Back at the third redoubt, the Swedes have lost 40% of their men and must withdraw into the forest. Russians follow them into the forest and butcher them. Another 40% of Swedish forces are slaughtered and their commander surrenders to Russia. Meanwhile, Charles halts his advance, still waiting for the remainder of his forces to show up, unaware that they are already dead.

Now, 22,000 fresh Russian troops began to march forward against the thin line of tired Swedish infantry. As they near the Swedish line, they open fire with cannons, blasting gaps in the Swedish line. They switch from solid balls to grapeshot and scrap metal, spewing lethal fragments that tear through Swedish armor. At 50 meters, Russian infantry begin firing. They close the gap to 30 meters before the Swedes are able to fire a single shot. The longer Russian line now closes around the Swedes, trapping and attacking them from three sides. The battle becomes an all out slaughter and Swedes are helplessly unable to advance.

The Battle of Poltava marks the end of the Swedish empire, and Sweden's role as a great military power. A once promising and dynamic monarchy is reduced to a minor polity. Conversely, the battle marks the rise of Russia as an important military power that will continue to play a role in European politics for the next four centuries.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4971323&forum_id=2...id#46192300)

us? we still post

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4971323&forum_id=2...id#47389012)