Wars are something we all wish never existed but history has proved otherwise. In every conflict there is often a turning point, for worse or for better.
Rank the most pivotal battles in history and add your own down below.
#1 The Battle of Midway
Six months after the Japanese devastated Pearl Harbor, the US Navy defeated the advance of the Japanese Naval Fleet with such damage that it proved irreversible. It was been called "the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare" and was crucially instrumental in the Allies winning WW2.
#2 Operation Neptune Spear
Operation Neptune Spear, 2011, was a precision strike operation executed by the United State's Navy Seals in which the long sought after Osama Bin Laden was eliminated under cover of darkness in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The entire raid was carried out in approximately 40 minutes with considerable success.
#3 Battle Of Saratoga
Without the Battle of Saratoga, we'd all be living in a very different world. These battles in September and October of 1777 were marked as a turning point for the Americans in the Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led a large invasion army southward from Canada in the Champlain Valley, hoping to meet a similar British force marching northward from New York City and another British force marching eastward from Lake Ontario; the southern and western forces never arrived, and Burgoyne was surrounded by American forces in upstate New York. With nowhere to go, Burgoyne and his army retreated to Saratoga where they later surrendered.
#5 Battle of Gettysburg
Fought on July 1-3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the Battle of Gettysburg is considered by some to be the greatest turning point in the Civil War. General Lee and his Confederate Army was met by Union forces that prevented the Confederacy from moving further into the North. While this battle shaped the history of America, it did so with horrendous causalities. It is estimated that the Union lost approximately 23,000 soldiers while the Confederacy lost approximately 28,000.
#6 Battle of Stalingrad
With more than two million troops fighting in close quarters and with causalities almost reaching two million, the Battle of Stalingrad is considered one of the longest and bloodiest in modern warfare. Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control over the city of Stalingrad in what is now southern Russia. This single battle lasted almost six months.
#8 Battle of Sangin
The Battle of Sangrin is considered the bloodiest conflict involving both American and British troops in Afghanistan. Despite the heavy cover by enemy forces and the IED's littering the landscape, the "Dark Horse" Marines made progress extending their security perimeter and clearing Highway 611, which allowed for the transportation and operation of future units.
#9 Battles of Lexington & Concord
The Battles Of Lexington and Concord were the first battles between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the 13 Colonies in America. These battles are considered the start of the American Revolution. "The shot heard around the world" was coined by Ralph Waldo Emerson in response to the first shot fired by the Patriots at the North Bridge, thus beginning the American Revolution.
#10 Battle of Britain
Considered the first military campaign fought entirely by air forces, the Battle of Britain secured United Kingdom against the air attacks of the Nazi's. While the duration differs between different groups, historians consider this single campaign to have lasted from July 1940 to June 1941. The Battle of Britain is regarded as one of the first major defeat of Germany and the Nazi forces.