Essay on The Battle of Crete

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 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 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

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

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.

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 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

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

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

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 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.

The Peloponnesian War pitted the Athenians against the Spartans. The Peloponnesians’ were an alliance of city-states controlled by Sparta. These two powerful city-states became locked in a struggle for dominance of the eastern Mediterranean area. The roots of the conflict and in particular this expedition is highly complex. As Thucydides says in his history of the war, the underlying cause was Spartan fear of Athens' expansive power. But, the triggering event was Athens' aggressive behavior towards Corinth, an ally of Sparta.

Throughout the Ancient Greek world, there have been many wars and standoffs. However, there has been only one which changed the course of Greek history forever; the Peloponnesian War. Caused by the growing tension between Athens and Sparta, it came and left, leaving only destruction in its wake. The defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War caused the downfall of Greece, and the end of the Classical Age.

Fundamentally, both Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler had the same burning desire to each make their nation a respected and economically impregnable Great Power. Mussolini wanted to return Italy to its glory days of the ancient Roman Empire, a domestic policy amongst others which was used as propaganda and to ultimately consolidate his power. A strong economy and a united state were vital for both countries in case of the outbreak of yet another catastrophic war. "Everything in the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state", stated Mussolini in need of desperate backup at home. Post WWI left both Germany and Italy with grave problems economically, which further repelled into social problems such as high unemployment and

'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.