History's Greatest Battles

• 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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• The Siege of Malta, 1565. Ottoman Power Halted in its Tracks. Muslim Invasion of the Central and Western Mediterranean Sea Ends, Forever.

  The triumph of the Knights of Malta shattered the momentum of Sultan Suleiman’s ambitions, halting the Ottoman drive for total dominance over the Mediterranean. Though his empire still loomed over the region, the siege had exposed its vulnerabilities. That dream of turning the sea into an Ottoman stronghold lingered for a few more years, only to be obliterated in full at Lepanto, where the Christian fleets delivered the final, decisive blow.Malta. May 21 - September 8, 1565.Maltese Forces: 700 Knights of Malta with 8,500 Maltese Men-at-ArmsIslamic Ottoman Army: ~ 32,000 soldiers.Islamic Ottoman Navy: 185 Ships, comprising of ~ 130 galleys and ~ 30 Galliots.Additional Reading and Episode Research:Sire, H.J.A. The Knights of Malta.Balbi Translation: Correggio, Balbi di. The Siege of Malta.Hoppen, Alison. The Fortification of Malta by the Order of St. John.Support the showSocial Media:www.HistorysGreatestBattles.comYoutube | TikTok Support The Show:https://covertwars.com

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• The Siege of Rhodes, 1522. One Small Order of Knights Stops Islam from an Open Door to Europe.

  With the fall of the city and the island, Suleiman secured uncontested Ottoman dominance over the eastern Mediterranean. No Christian stronghold remained to challenge his fleets, no force lingered to disrupt his empire’s control over these waters. The sea, once a battleground, was now an Ottoman domain, its trade routes and strategic ports firmly in the sultan’s grasp.Rhodes. July 28 - December 21, 1522.Ottoman Turkish Forces: unknown but likely ~ 100,000 soldiers.Knights of St. John: 500 Knights and Sergeants. Possibly ~ 6,000 Rhodian Citizen Militia.Additional Reading and Episode Research:Brockman, Eric. The Two Sieges of Rhodes.Sire, H.J.A. The Knights of Malta.Bradford, Ernle. The Shield and the Sword.Support the showSocial Media:www.HistorysGreatestBattles.comYoutube | TikTok Support The Show:https://covertwars.com

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