History's Greatest Battles

• The Siege of Badajoz, 1812. Total Carnage, Absolute Gore. Napoleon's Spanish Divisions Decimated by Wellington.

   When the guns fell silent and the blood-soaked ruins of Badahose lay under British control, the last obstacle between Wellington and Spain was gone. The fortress had been the key, the final lock on the door that led into Napoleon’s empire. Now, the British held that key, and there would be no turning back. The invasion of Spain had begun: not as a probing raid, not as a cautious advance, but as a declaration of war against the French occupation itself. The road to Madrid lay open, and with it, the future of the entire Peninsular War.Badajoz. March 17 - April 6, 1812.British Forces: 51,000 Infantry, 52 Siege Guns.French Forces: 4,700 Infantry, 140 Guns.Additional Reading and Episode Research:Lawrence, James. The Iron Duke.Myatt, Frederick. British Sieges of the Peninsular War.Glover, Michael. Wellington's Peninsular Victories.Support the showSocial Media:www.HistorysGreatestBattles.comYoutube | TikTok Support The Show:https://covertwars.com

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• The Siege of Gibraltar, 1779- 1783. The Longest Siege in British History. Key to WWII Centuries Later.

   The last great effort to reclaim Gibraltar ended in defeat, sealing Britain’s hold over the gateway to the Mediterranean. The Rock remained under the Union Jack, and with it, Britain maintained the power to dictate the movement of fleets, the flow of commerce, and the balance of influence in one of the world’s most contested waterways. Every empire that challenged British naval supremacy in the centuries that followed would have to contend with the fact that this fortress, at the crossroads of Europe and Africa, was still in British hands... and with it, command over the sea that shaped the course of history.Gibraltar. July 11, 1779 - February 2, 1783.British Forces: 5,380 Soldiers and Five Ships.Spanish Forces: 21,000 Soldiers and 19 Ships.Additional Reading and Episode Research:McGuffie, T.H. The Siege of Gibraltar, 1779-1783.Russel, Jack. Gibraltar Besieged, 1779 - 1783.Bradford, Ernle. Gibraltar: The History of a Fortress.Support the showSocial Media:www.HistorysGreatestBattles.comYoutube | TikTok Support The Show:https://covertwars.com

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• The Siege of Carthage, 146 BC. Rome Annihilates an Entire Civilization. A General Shames Himself Before his Wife.

   Carthage... was annihilated. Its streets, once filled with merchants and soldiers, became killing grounds. Its walls, once impenetrable, were torn apart stone by stone. Its people, once masters of the sea, were either slaughtered in the ruins of their homes or marched away in chains. The war was over, but this was not a victory. It was an execution. The city that had defied Rome for over a century no longer existed, and with it, an entire civilization was erased. There would be no rebuilding, no resurgence, no legacy beyond the scorched earth where it once stood.Carthage. 149 B.C. - 146 B.C. Roman Forces: 80,000 Infantry, 4,000 Cavalry.Carthaginian Forces: City Forces: Unknown; Field Forces: ~25,000 - 30,000 Infantry.Additional Reading and Episode Research:Dudley, D.R. Rome Against Carthage.Collon Translation: Picard, Gilbert. The Life and Death of Carthage.Abbott, Jacob. History of Hannibal of Carthage.Other Pertinent Episodes:The Battle of Zama.The Battle of Metaurus River.Support the showSocial Media:www.HistorysGreatestBattles.comYoutube | TikTok Support The Show:https://covertwars.com

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• The Siege of Vicksburg, 1863. The Death Knell Moment of the Rebellion. The South Reduced to Eating Rats.

  With the fall of Vicksburg, the Union seized the entire length of the Mississippi River, cleaving the Confederacy in half. The South’s western states... Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas... were now isolated, their soldiers and resources cut off from the Eastern war effort. What had once been a united rebellion was now a fractured resistance, fighting a war it could no longer sustain.Vicksburg. May 19 - July 4, 1863.Union Forces: 75,000 Soldiers.Confederate Forces: 30,000 Soldiers.Additional Reading and Episode Research:Foote, Shelby. The Civil War, A Narrative.McPherson, James. Battle Cry of Freedom.Newman, Ralph. The Civil War: An American Iliad.Donald, David. The Civil War and Reconstruction.Other Episodes on the Civil War:The Battle of Gettysburg.The Siege of Fort Fisher. The Battle of Antietam.Support the showSocial Media:www.HistorysGreatestBattles.comYoutube | TikTok Support The Show:https://covertwars.com

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• The Siege of Port Arthur, 1905. Russia Humiliated. Mechanized Slaughtering Ushered in as New War Standard.

  Japan’s triumph sent a shockwave through Russia... a psychological wound as devastating as the battlefield losses. Defeat at the hands of an Asian power shattered the empire’s confidence and exposed the weaknesses of its military. Meanwhile, Japan now held a strategic gateway, a fortified port that would fuel its next offensives. From here, men, weapons, and supplies would pour northward, driving deeper into Russian-held territory, pushing the enemy further toward collapse.Port Arthur. June 1, 1904 - January 2,  1905.Russian Forces: 40,000 Soldiers, 506 Guns.Japanese Forces: 80,000 Soldiers, 474 Guns.Additional Reading and Episode Research:Connaughton, R.M. The War of the Rising Sun and the Tumbling Bear.Okamoto, Shumpei. The Japanese Oligarchy and the Russo-Japanese War.Relevant Episodes:S01 EP77. The Naval Battle of Tsushima.S01 EP04. The Battle of Mukden.Support the showSocial Media:www.HistorysGreatestBattles.comYoutube | TikTok Support The Show:https://covertwars.com

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