Essay on The Battle of Crete

There are times in history that something will happen and it will defy all logic. It was one of those times when a few Greek city/states joined together and defeated the invasion force of the massive Persian Empire. The Greeks were able to win the Greco-Persian War because of their naval victories over the Persians, a few key strategic victories on land, as well as the cause for which they were fighting. The naval victories were the most important contribution to the overall success against the Persians. The Persian fleet was protecting the land forces from being outflanked and after they were defeated the longer had that protection. While the Greeks had very few overall victories in battle they

The following case study will be about the Battle of Antietam that took place on September 17, 1862 in Sharpsburg, Maryland along the Antietam Creek. Known as “…the bloodiest single day in American History,” by the end of the day there would be approximately twenty-three thousand casualties of which forty-five hundred to six thousand were dead. The first topic of discussion will be on the history leading up to the morning of the seventeenth in order to establish the mindset of the commanders on both sides of the creek. After the stage is set for the battle the dialogue will be guided through the three major battles of the day that encompass the Battle of Antietam. Lastly the dissertation will wrap up the Battle of Antietam and focus

The military tactics used and created during the Italian Campaign lead to the rest of the victories in Europe. Thomas Tandy Lewis’ article “Operation Mincemeat” explains, “...Hitler was persuaded that the … planned attack will be directed mainly against Sardinia and the Peloponnesus….On July 10, the Germans were unprepared. Of the 300,000 defending troops on the island, more than two-thirds were poorly armed and ill trained Italian soldiers.” Operation Mincemeat was an ingenious military plan created by the Allies

Instead of having RAF fighter support or understanding the “new war of movement”, the British generals were grossly underprepared. Luftwaffe bombarded the British fleet so much that the British evacuated Crete after only ten days of

Because of the Allied’s overconfidence and refusal to listen to their men on the ground, Germany was able to push back and reclaim the ground which included a large oil complex up close to Lake Valenton in Hungary (Porter). The Germans however, were not able to maintain the momentum of this forceful attack because they simply did not have the fuel to keep it

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the events that happened on a tiny island called Peleliu located within the Palau Islands in September 1944 during World War II. This paper will cover the background of the operation, and controversial decision by the commander to attack that led to many losses in battle, and reason was why it was the right decision to attack and the lessons learned by the American forces at the end. Peleliu would go down as one of the bloodiest battles of the war. It was a very controversial choice by the US commanders to attack the Peleliu, but the decision by the US military commanders was the correct one which contributed to the American military acquiring some critical

Dating back to 449 B.C., Sparta and Athens always had an alliance, but as time grew that balance slowly began to fall as one felt threatened by another. Before any sight of unsteadiness the Spartans and Athenians had a bound partnership. Beginning after their domination of the Persian war, the two states slowly became aware of one another’s growing power. More time went by, and the Spartans began to grow conscious of the other states, feeling wary and paranoid around them (Fox, 170). No state was particularly to blame for the strain on their peace treaty, nor for the war, it came as the two states developed. Eventually the two states had clashed enough and declared war. Although the Spartans gave the Athenians a chance to back down and

G.C. Kiriakopoulos is a dentistry professor at Columbia University. Kiriakopoulos is a Fellow of the Royal Society in Great Britain and is a highly decorated veteran of World War II. He has written two books “Ten Days to Destiny: The Battle for Crete” and “The Nazi Occupation of Crete, 1941-1945.” His first book, “Ten Days to Destiny: The Battle for Crete,” has been praised as the most authentic documentation of the battle.

The Peloponnesian War was a battle between Athens and Sparta for about 30 years. Athens controlled a mass empire with a dominant Navy; however by the end of the war Athens lost their empire and lost control. There are many reasons how this conflict started and how it escalated. In the end both powerful empires fall after many years of fighting.

The Peloponnesian War actuated a series of political and social changes that substantially altered the hegemonic balance in Greece that would have far reaching consequences for Western Civilization. Moreover, the Peloponnesian War represented not only the nadir of Greek morality, but, the apogee of the Spartan mirage of invincibility and domination. For the Spartans, winning the Peloponnesian War was a catastrophe that culminated in the atrophy of the Spartan system as well as the perpetual irrelevancy of the Spartan polis in the Greek world. According, to Ober “the real, original Sparta broke with a sharp snap because it could not bend.”

The purpose of this paper is to analyze an alternate outcome to the Omaha Beach landing in Normandy, France. On June 6, 1944, the U.S. conducted an assault into Nazi occupied France. The Nazi’s terrain advantage and overwhelming forces at Omaha Beach nearly defeated the assault. Applying SIGINT and HUMINT assets to discover the Nazi’s had reinforced the beach, the U.S. could have justified increased bombing runs and heavy naval gunfire prior to the assault. This would have increased U.S. lethality, decreased the loss of life and equipment, and decreased the time it took to advance through the objective.

Firstly, Hitler left only 46 000 troops on the island, because he anticipated an attack on Greece and Sardinia, unaware he was being fooled by Operation Mincemeat. He planned to attack Allied forces along Cape Araxos and Sardinia. “Now, instead of waiting for the Allied armies to attack somewhere, anywhere, the Germans and their Italian allies could lie in wait at Kalamata, Cape Araxos, and Sardinia and then hurl the British and Americans back into the sea.” (Macintyre-548) Sensing the opportunity, the Allies knew they’d need a large force to completely overtake the Germans, and reduce the amount of casualties. The author states, “If the combined British and American armies were to free Europe, prize Italy out of the fascist embrace, and roll back the Nazi behemoth, they would first have to take Sicily.” (Macintyre-85) Deceived by Operation Mincemeat, Hitler and the Nazis were caught completely off-guard when Allied forces invaded Sicily with 160 000 troops, against only 46 000 Nazi troops. The author states, “...when 160 000 British, American, and Commonwealth troops and an armada of 3200 ships began assembling for the invasion...” (Macintyre-86) By the end, more than 153 000 Allied men were left alive, meaning the Allies had successfully captured the island, with hardly any casualties. Next,

The Persians staged a preemptive defensive posture in the plains of Gaugamela. The recently manicured landscape was ideal for the implementation of the scythed chariots. They were placed up front with a tiny group of fighters. There were a left and right wing of mixed fighters from throughout the land. The front forces led the attack followed shortly by an element that expanded to attack the left flank of the Macedonians. Darius was at the center, engulfed by his finest fighters, a Persian King tradition. On the right were Greek mercenaries and the Persian Horse Guards with the famous Immortals at the right and center.

Mussolini and his country were an independent cause. Mussolini was a fascist who didn't want handouts from other countries or people. Hitler knew this, and began to persuade him into joining forces with Germany. Mussolini objected at first; he despised Hitler, jealous of his success and eager to achieve it with Italy alone. But Hitler persisted, talking highly of Mussolini and his troops everywhere, about his invasions of Ethiopia and all of his successes as a dictator and general. This made Mussolini feel good, and eventually, it swooned him over to Hitler's plea for Italy to work with Germany. Mussolini, in the end, believed this would be a good idea, because if the strong countries- Italy and Germany- took on the rest of the weaker countries, they wouldn't stand a chance. So, he issued a

'I want to make Italy great, respected and feared' said Mussolini in 1925. Mussolini's foreign policy included a number of positive and negative factors which all contributed to the rise, and the ultimately to the downfall, of both Mussolini and the Italian empire. Mussolini was intent on revising the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles and was very keen to show off Italy's power. He felt that Italy had been hard done by at the end of world war one and sought to claim what he felt Italy deserved. Mussolini's foreign policy clearly reflected his ambition to reinstate the Italian empire.