“Not by number, but by skill!” This famous phrase of the great Russian commander Alexander Suvorov, as never before fits in the form of an epigraph to this article. The history of mankind has a very small number of years when no wars and armed conflicts were fought on the planet. But today we’ll talk about the tactics of battles, and consider the battles won over superior enemy forces. In the presented examples, not only the talent of commanders was manifested, but also the fighting spirit of those fighting. For a better perception, we will place the battles won in the minority in chronological order.
1
Neva battle
The fierce military confrontation on the banks of the Neva of Novgorod troops under the command of Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich with the Swedish troops was one of the first victories of Russian weapons.
In the early morning of July 15, 1240, on the left bank of the Neva, Russian and Swedish horsemen converged in a spear battle. In addition to the horsemen, in the Novgorodian army there were foot militias covering the flanks of the main forces.
The battle continued until late in the evening, and 1,200–1,400 Russian soldiers forced the 4–6 thousandth Swedish army to retreat. On the surviving ships, the Swedes crossed to the right bank, and left, leaving the bodies of their dead unburied.
2
The naval battle of Kurzola
In 1293, a war broke out between Venice and Genoa for supremacy in the Mediterranean region. During the confrontation on September 8, 1298, the largest naval battle between the two trading republics took place near the island of Kurzole.
Genoa launched 78 ships against 95 ships of the Venetian Republic. The commander of the Genoese fleet, despite the numerical superiority of the enemy, left 15 out of 78 warships in reserve. The battle was fierce and bloody. The decisive role was played by the crossbowmen and decisive actions of the Genoese sailors.
65 ships of Venice were sent to the bottom, and 18 galleys were captured. As a result of the victory, Genoa forced Venice to sign a diplomatic agreement with a series of concessions.
By the way, there is a very interesting article on the most powerful naval forces of our time on most-beauty.ru.
3
Battle of Curtra
The military clash between the French and Flemings during the Flemish uprising is also called the "Battle of the Golden Spurs." And it took place on July 11, 1302.
Commander of the French army, Count Robert Artois gathered under his banners 2.5 thousand well-armed cavalry and 8 thousand foot soldiers. The Flemings had foot soldiers of 7,500 armed militias.
Flemish militias effectively attacked the French cavalry, and then put the enemy into flight and infantry. The Frenchman, having lost more than 1 thousand dead, left the battlefield. The winners gathered golden spurs from the murdered noble knights, and hung them on the streets of their cities.
4
Battle of Agincourt
The battle at Asencourt became one of the episodes of the Hundred Years War between France and England. The battle took place on October 25, 1415.
According to military historians, the data on the forces of the parties diverge, but all are one in one - the French had a significant advantage over the English army. The British concentrated the heavily armed warriors in the center, and archers settled on the flanks, under the cover of the forest. The French, attacking the battle formations of the British, came under the fire of archers, and were forced to retreat.
The second French attack also failed. Historical sources indicate conflicting loss figures. But the British, fighting in the minority, lost significantly fewer soldiers than the French.
5
Battle of the Young
After a successful ruinous campaign against Russia in 1571, the Crimean Khan Divlet Giray decided to repeat the success and completely conquer Russian lands.
Pushed by the Ottoman Empire, the khan gathered under his command a 40,000th army and led to Moscow. 50 miles from the capital of the Russian kingdom, they were met by the detachments of Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky and the regiment of Andrei Khovansky. They were joined by the Don Cossacks, as well as 7 thousand mercenaries sent to help the king. The total number of Russian troops, thus, amounted to from 23 to 25 thousand people.
The first on July 29, the troops of Dmitry Hvorostin, who attacked the sprawling forces of the Divlet Giray troops, practically destroyed the advanced forces of the Crimean Tatars. Vorotynsky, after a skirmish with the main forces, carried out an imaginary retreat. The enemy launched an assault on Russian positions, and on August 2 Vorotynsky brought his main regiment to the rear and defeated the Divlet Giray army. 15 thousand soldiers who came to conquer Russia died on the field under Molodi, and another 12 thousand drowned in the waters of the Oka.
6
The Miracle of Mönnyang
Naval battle during the Imda war off the coast of the Korean Peninsula. In 1596, the Japanese attempted a second invasion of Korea.
Korean naval commander Lee Songxing brought 13 Panoxon type ships to meet the Japanese fleet. Knowing well the straits and the features of the currents, he lured Japanese ships into a narrow strait, where most of them crashed on coastal cliffs.
After that, using linear battle tactics, Li Songxing finished off the remaining enemy ships. Without losing a single ship, the talented naval commander destroyed 133 Japanese ships.
7
The Battle of Ramnik
One of the most important battles of the Russo-Turkish war took place on September 11, 1789 on the Rymna River in Romania.
The combined Russian-Austrian forces and the 100 thousandth Turkish army came together in battle. The forces of the allies were 18 thousand Austrian and 7 thousand Russian soldiers. Despite the numerical superiority, Turkish troops suffered heavy losses, thanks to the skillful command of the Russian commander Suvorov.
One of the most significant and decisive victories of Alexander Suvorov, after which Empress Catherine II granted him the title of count, and the Austrians began to call him "General Forward."
8
Battle of Marengo
In the final battle of the Italian campaign of Napoleon near the town of Marengo on July 14, 1800, almost equal forces of the Austrians and French converged.
But in the decisive battle, only 16,000 French participated, against almost 40,000 Austrians. The rest of the French military remained deep behind. The French, under the pressure of superior forces, were forced to retreat. But the outcome of the battle in favor of Napoleon’s army was decided by the courageous counterattack of General Dese.
The Austrians, believing that the battle was won, moved in columns in a march, and could not repel the swift attack of the French. Having lost about 20 thousand killed, the Austrians left the territory of Italy.
And about the most beautiful places in Italy on most-beauty.ru there is a very interesting photo material for you.
9
Attack of the dead
We have already seen that not always superiority is the key to success. But I want to end with an unprecedented event in the history of wars, which went down in history under the name “Attack of the Dead”.
In the summer of 1915, the Germans tried unsuccessfully to take the Osovec fortress. After several assaults on August 6, a gas attack was launched against the defenders, after which a massive artillery bombardment of Russian positions was carried out.
After that, the 18th Landver Regiment was thrown into the attack. At this time, the remaining soldiers of the 13th company of the 226th Zemlyansky regiment rose in a counterattack. During a bayonet attack, approximately 60 chlorine-stricken Russian soldiers took to flight 14 battalions of the Reichsheer.
10
Nikolaev landing
In the history of the Great Patriotic War, this military operation went under the name "Olshansky Landing", in honor of the company commander of the sea paratroopers, Lieutenant Konstantin Olshansky.
On the night of March 26, 1944, 68 paratroopers, having crossed the Bugsky estuary, landed in the port of Nikolaev. After several clashes with German units, Soviet soldiers occupied the elevator, and began to hold a circular defense. The Germans threw 3 battalions of infantry and two tanks against the paratroopers.
Bearing losses, Olshansky's soldiers held out until March 28, destroying 700 German soldiers and knocking out 2 tanks. The operation accelerated the liberation of Nikolaev, and out of 68 paratroopers, 11 people remained alive. The only case during the Second World War, when all participants in the operation were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
11
Battle of baston
We went beyond the declared TOP-10 battles, because decided to supplement the article with another important battle after the publication of the material.
The fighting between the Allied forces and the Nazis at the Belgian city of Bastogne in December 1944 - January 1945.
American troops were commanded by Anthony MacAuliffe, and their number was 28 thousand people. Wehrmacht troops were more than 54 thousand people, including the Germans had a tank division. The German offensive against the city of Bastogne was held by the 10th Armored Division and the Artillery Division. To help the defending troops, the paratroopers of the 101st air regiment landed.
Despite the superior enemy forces, the Americans managed to restrain the offensive and break through the blockade. The Germans near Bastogne lost 12 thousand killed, the loss of allied forces amounted to 3 thousand soldiers.
Finally
Starting with the victories of the Spartans and the great campaigns of Alexander the Great, tactics were used to concentrate the main forces on the main direction of the strike. This was the genius of the great commanders to correctly determine the direction of the decisive blow, and to defeat the smaller enemy by smaller forces. But there are examples, as in the case of the Osovets fortress, when the decisive factor in victory is the spirit and a great desire not to let the enemy go to their lands.
Posted by Valery Skiba