The Decisive Battles of World History

and American strategic bombing campaign, which greatly reduced

Germany’s industrial capacity.

x The D-Day landings actually were a pivotal moment in history,

although not for the reason usually supposed. Consider what would

likely have happened to postwar Europe if the Western Allies had

not landed in France and overrun most of Western Europe. There

is a good chance that Russian armies would have claimed those

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x In the end, the Normandy landings were a decisive moment

in history, not because they saved the freedom of Western

Europe from the domination of Nazi Germany, but because they

preserved the freedom of Western Europe from domination by

Communist Russia.

Conclusions and What Ifs
x Trying to pick and defend a list of the most decisive battles in
history forces us to consider the reasons that history has unfolded
as it has and to try to discover the complex webs of connections and
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x Viewing history through the lens of decisive battles naturally

leads to a great many questions that begin with the phrase “What

if?” Such questions are fun as a kind of mental game, help us

comprehend history, and hone our ability to tease out the crucial

threads that weave the course of events. Such processes of debate

and argument may be the best way both to appreciate the historical

process and to gain a deeper understanding of it.

Beevor, D-Day.

Fall, Hell in a Very Small Place.

Glantz and House, When Titans Clashed.

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