Which was the last pitched battle fought by Western powers?
Upvote:2
For the British army the Zulu wars (1879) may be the last campaign where the standard practise was to line up and face the enemy. Entering into the Zulu wars the British had the newly developed martini Henry rifle, this had the advantage of comparatively rapid rates of fire and the ability to suppress large advancing forces. The British's first pitched battle with the Zulus was at Isandlwana. They followed their training perfectly, lining up in ranks and volley firing into the Zulu hoards. However the superior tactics of the Zulus (what we would call today "flanking") proved too much. It was the single greatest defeat of the British army to date. (There are numerous reasons why Isandlwana was a defeat for the British so if interested it's definitely an interesting battle). Through the ensuing conquest of Zululand the British had to adapt their tactics from the "stand and advance" methods of the previous centuries to "take cover behind defences and suppress the enemy with superior fire power".
The next major conflict of the British army was the Boer war, again in South Africa around 1890. The Boers were not a traditional force, today we might call them a militia group. The Boers would try and avoid direct conflict with the British simply because they knew they would lose. Instead they approached their battle with intellect, they hid in grasses, attacked supply lines and scuppered communication lines. The British in their dazzling redcoats stood out against the grasses of The African countryside and were easily picked off. We see the first trend of officers starting to dress like any other troops to avoid being targeted by sharpshooters.
By the end of the Boar war the British army had major revolutions in camouflage technologies and the pitched battle was no longer the standard approach. This, along with the more advanced S.M.L.E rifle (which held 10 rounds as opposed to the martini's 1 breech loading mechanism) meant that the individual soldier was able to put more firepower downrange) the need to bunch soldiers up to have superior firepower was nullified. We haven't even mentioned technologies such as rockets or Gatling guns, whose maximum effect is seen on groups of soldiers.
I truly don't know about other European countries and their fighting styles. Maybe the Sudan/Afghan campaign or the French-Africa wars would be another example of the paradigm shift to an evolved fighting style. I would imagine though most would follow due to the technology advancements of that time.
Upvote:4
How big would a battle have to count? And how determined would both sides have to be? Often one side is less motivated than the other, but the battle can still have a few pitched hours or days.
- Basra? The Iraqis mostly retreated.
- 73 Easting? The Iraqis were smashed, but they didn't all run.
- Goose Green? The Argentine surrendered at the end.
More post
- 📝 Did small rural newspaper offices in 1895 use rotary presses with rolls of paper or sheets?
- 📝 How did the US Navy raise sunken battleships in WWII?
- 📝 Is there any history magazine like "Foreign Policy" for politics?
- 📝 How do we know this bust is Aristotle?
- 📝 Polytheism and war
- 📝 What did the Phoenician sailor trader eat?
- 📝 Could the leader of the Soviet Union have been removed legally?
- 📝 chests for transporting bedding furnishings (and mattresses)
- 📝 Did Robert F. Kennedy call Police Review boards a "sinister movement against law enforcement" in the 1960's?
- 📝 Why is Jesus' crucifixion dated to AD 30–33?
- 📝 How did gong farmers see when cleaning out cesspits?
- 📝 Is there any historicity to the concept of Ghost Fences / Walls?
- 📝 Why were steering wheels so big, even in 20th century ships?
- 📝 What did medieval European knights do if they were defeated in battle?
- 📝 What jobs were available for migrants from the country to Rome?
- 📝 How did the Japanese treat captured "Flying Tigers" in World War II?
- 📝 How was Washington and Jefferson's relationship in Dec 1799?
- 📝 Why did Drexler acquiesce to Hitler's demand?
- 📝 Has anyone ever got more than a 21 Gun Salute?
- 📝 Why do revolutions "eat their own?" What is the sociological dynamic here?
- 📝 When and by whom was the Tirupati Tirumala temple in India built?
- 📝 What is the difference between galli and metragyrtai?
- 📝 During the U.S. Prohibition, how did they get away with drinking alcohol?
- 📝 Did Tirol annex land (right flank of Val d'Avigna) from Switzerland between 1859 and 1869?
- 📝 Which specific day of 1964 was the tree Prometheus (WPN-114) cut down?
- 📝 How effective were longbow archers against plate-armored infantry?
- 📝 Were new forms of communication and media usually condemned similar to how television/video games are now?
- 📝 Key points of a strong dictatorship
- 📝 Broad and deep historical causes of gang violence in Mexico and El Salvador
- 📝 Why did ZANU (instead of ZAPU) come to power after the Rhodesian Bush War?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Which was the last pitched battle fought by Western powers?
- 📝 What was the last battle fought mainly by sail-powered ships?
- 📝 Why was the last battle of the War of 1812 fought fully half a year after the official end of the war?
- 📝 Which battle was the most lopsided result in terms of casualties?
- 📝 What was the first battle in history fought by vast-majority-% "distance-shooting" non-mechanized force?
- 📝 Which was the last major war in which horse mounted cavalry actually participated in active fighting?
- 📝 Was there Western tactical air support during the Battle for Berlin?
- 📝 Are there notable incident(s) where Russia/SU was wrongfully accused by Western powers in the 20th century?
- 📝 What was the largest battle fought by ancient Rome?
- 📝 Which was the last war in which swords were used?
- 📝 Why was Africa colonized last of the continents in the Age of Discovery?
- 📝 Was the tugboat ever part of a WWII battle group?
- 📝 Who was the last leader of a country to call himself a dictator, or the last regime that called itself a dictatorship?
- 📝 Which religion was the first monotheistic one?
- 📝 When was the last time a reigning monarch personally participated in battle?
- 📝 Was there an assassination attempt against Xerxes in the battle of Thermopylae?
- 📝 How difficult was to escape from a naval battle after engaging into one during the Age of Sail?
- 📝 Was there really a navy officer named Picard at the Battle of Trafalgar?
- 📝 In which document was the exact course of the northern part of the German-Polish border decided?
- 📝 When was the last documented occasion that Arab or Ottoman slave traders abducted people from Europe?
- 📝 Which was the first civilization to ban slavery?
- 📝 Who was the last European king to actively engage in combat?
- 📝 Why was the Western Front so static in World War I?
- 📝 What was the size of surface of a cereal crop needed per man per year during the Dark Ages in Western Europe?
- 📝 What was the first successful mass tank battle of WW1?
- 📝 Which was the first war in which photography was employed?
- 📝 What was the liquor that was based on petrol which was produced in the USSR during the Second World War?
- 📝 Who was the last US president who did not start a war?
- 📝 Was there ever any doubt which side the USA would join?
- 📝 When was the last cavalry charge?