Lecture 1: What Makes a Battle Decisive?
o During the American Civil War, did a messenger’s carelessness
result in the loss of vital battle plans, contributing to the
ultimate defeat of the Confederacy?o During World War II, did a faulty mechanism on an aircraft-
launching catapult cause a fatal half-hour delay in launching a
single plane, resulting in the destruction of the Japanese navy
DQGRYHUDOO$PHULFDQYLFWRU\LQWKH3DFL¿F"x In certain instances, we will explore slightly more obscure battles
rather than more famous ones if an interesting case can be made for
the decisiveness of the less well-known battle. For example, from
the Napoleonic wars, we will look at Leipzig rather than Waterloo.x What makes a battle decisive?
o First, it was one that was militarily decisive in that the defeat
of one military force by another resulted in an immediate and
obvious transfer of political power. A variant of this type is a
decisive battle that results in the near or total destruction of a
vital component of an opponent’s forces. Major naval battles,
with their concentration of high-value units in one place,
are especially prone to fall into this category. The Battle of
Trafalgar, for example, had a profound effect on the rest of
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plans to invade England and drove him to the fatal decision to
invade Russia instead.o Second, perhaps the most common type of decisive battle is one
that subsequently had important social, political, or religious
effects. In many cases, these battles may not have seemed
pivotal at the time but have been recognized only in retrospect
as demarcating a turning point. For example, the American
War of Independence would have ended much sooner but
for Washington’s daring crossing of the Delaware River and
success at the Battle of Trenton. If not for this unlikely victory,
the young American Republic would have been snuffed out of
existence before it ever really got going.