History has seen its fair share of bloodshed, and thankfully the places where humanity’s wars were waged have repaired from the damage quite nicely. It’s highly unlikely the scars and history of these places will ever completely fade away, but at least life has continued its course here.
Let’s take a look at some battlefields and what they look like today.
The Battle of Hastings, East Sussex, England
Fought between the Duke of Normany, the Norman-French army of William and an army commanded by Harold Godwinson, an Anglo-Saxon King on October 14th in 1066. The Normans won this battle, which started their conquest of England.
Battle of Agincourt, Agincourt, France
The 100 year war sounded like a fun century, didn’t it? On October 25th, 1415, the English beat the French in the county of Saint-Pol.
Siege of Orléans, Orléans, France
This was the first French victory with Joan of Arc leading the fight. The battle took about 7 months, from October 12th, 1428 until May 8th, 1429.
The Battle of Adrianople, Edirne, Turkey
Also known as ‘The Battle of Hadrianopolis,’ this battle was fought on August 9th, 378 A.D. between the Eastern Roman army and the Gothic rebels. The result was a huge victory for the Gothic rebels led by Fritigern.
The Battle of Actium, Ionian Sea, Greece
This was a battle between Cleopatra and Octavian in 31 B.C. Octavian won.
The Battle of Megiddo, Megiddo, Canaan
This 15th-century battle was fought between Pharaoh Thutmose III of Egypt and a collection of Canaanite vassal states headed by the king of Kadesh. It featured the first use of the composite bow but didn’t include Hawkeye in any way, shape or form. I double-checked. And oh, the Egyptians won.
The Battle of Red Cliffs, Yangtze, China
Also known as the ‘Battle of Chibi,’ this battle took place in 208 A.D. and was fought at the end of the Han Dynasty. The result was a victory for Sun Quan and Liu Bei. These people sound like characters from Dynasty Warriors.
Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Ponte Milvio, Rome
I know, fighting over a bridge doesn’t seem particularly exciting. It was apparently an important route over the Tiber, though. On October 28, 312 A.D., Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius went to battle with nearly 250,000 men between the lot of them. The battle resulted in a Constantinian victory.
The Invasion of Normandy
Well – you all know this one. On June 6th, 1944, allied forces launched a huge assault against the Nazis. After a long battle, the allied forces won, which is still considered to be a turning point of World War II.
The Battle of Bosworth, Ambion Hill, England
On August 22, 1485, the last major battle of the ‘War of Roses’ was fought near Ambion Hill between the Houses of Lancaster and York. The overthrow of the House of York resulted in a Tudor victory.
The Battle of Marathon, Greece
In 490 B.C. the Persians tried to invade Greece, which resulted in the Battle of Marathon. The Greeks won the battle, however, and kept the Persians out of Greece for another century or so.
The Battle of Adwa, Ethiopia
This battle took place on March 1st, 1896, between the Ethiopian Empire and the kingdom of Italy. The battle ended when, against all odds, the Ethiopians won.
