- Oh God, I just came from the future.
And the robots have taken over and they're already...
Actually, you know what?
Let's stick with the battles of the past, first.
So, history is riddled with battles of all kinds
from small to large, from civil to international,
and many of these wars have been prominent
going down in the history books
as an important event in human history.
But out of all of the wars that have ever occurred,
there are some battles whose outcome has had
a profound impact on the course of human history.
So in this video, I gathered those battles
from the past that have altered the world.
So here they are.
10 epic battles that changed history forever.
Number one is the Battle of Marathon.
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 B.C.
during the first ever Persian invasion of Greece.
In an attempt to subjugate Greece,
Persian forces, under the rule of King Darius I,
attacked the Greeks with a huge army
of 20,000 infantry and cavalry, greatly outnumbering them.
However, despite being outnumbered, the Greeks led
a forward attack that caused the Persians
to panic and flee to their ships.
More than 6,000 Persians were slaughtered
compared to only 200 Greeks.
This landmark victory showed the Greeks
that the Persians could in fact be beaten
leading to the eventual Greek triumph
over the Greco-Persian wars forever becoming
a pivotal moment in European history.
Interestingly, the legend
of the Greek messenger Pheidippides running to Athens
with news of the victory became the inspiration
for the first ever marathon introduced
in the 1896 Athens Olympics.
Of course, the definition of a marathon has changed
a bit since then, I mean, the only marathons
I participate in are Netflix related.
Number two is the Battle of Hastings.
For a long time, between the eighth and ninth centuries,
England purposefully isolated itself
so as to not get involved in the many wars
that were occurring in the rest of Europe.
That was until 1066 when Norman invader
William the Conqueror set his sights on the island
and decided it was time to invade.
Along with a huge army, William succeeded
in invading England and on Christmas Day
was crowned King William I, marking the first time ever
that a foreign ruler was on the English throne.
This battle officially ended the Anglo-Saxon rule of England
and was the last time
that an army would successfully invade the country.
Interestingly, several French words were integrated
into English, dramatically changing the language forever.
You know, I still don't understand why the French language
has male and female words.
That had never made sense to me.
Show me one verb of the penis.
Number three is the Siege of Orleans.
For 116 years, the rulers of the Kingdom of England
and the rulers of the Kingdom of France
battled in a series of conflicts
known as the 100 Years' War.
However, in 1429, the French finally defeated the English
at the Siege of Orleans, largely because of Joan of Arc.
Joan of Arc was a teenage peasant whose visions of God
led her to fight in the war,
ultimately rallying the citizens and using tactical moves
to defeat the invaders.
The win boosted the morale for the dispirited French
who had been previously badly beaten by Henry IV.
This battle saved France from centuries of English rule
and solidified Joan of Arc
as one of the most famous females in history.
To put what she did into perspective, for six months
the English had been winning, and their siege collapsed
only nine days after her arrival.
Damn, that's a bad bitch.
And you all idolize Beyonce.
Tsk, psssh, Get your priorities straight.
Number four is the Battle of Tours.
Between the sixth and seventh centuries,
Muslim armies were a powerhouse
that routinely toppled superpowers,
claiming massive swaths of land in the process.
As they conquered southern Spain and advanced into France,
they began to take Western Europe.
However, in 732 A.D., when their armies reached
Tour, France, they met Charles the Hammer Martel,
a Frankish statesman and military leader.
Martel, leading a mostly unarmored army,
held their ground against the Muslims
and eventually captured and killed their leader
forcing their armies to retreat.
Had Martel been defeated, there was no other armies
to check the invaders as they entered Western Europe,
meaning that Islam would've become the dominant religion
in Europe, instead of Christianity.
That is not someone you want to mess with.
The Hammer? He sounds really tough.
Well, that or he was blessed.
Ladies, you know what I'm talking about.
Number five is the Battle of Yorktown.
The Battle of Yorktown was a conflict that occurred
on October 19, 1781, between the combined forces
of the American Continental Army troops
and the French troops against the British forces.
Under the command of General George Washington,
the colonists became a fairly efficient fighting machine.
And that, combined with help from the French,
resulted in the last major conflict
of the American Revolutionary War.
After being flanked by the French Naval Fleet at sea
and American forces on land, Franco-American forces
captured British General Charles Cornwallis and his army
forcing them to retreat from the American colonies.
The battle boosted faltering American morale,
ultimately paving the way
for the United States of America to be born.
For those of you who didn't pay attention in history class,
now you know why this guy is on the one dollar bill,
if you're in America.
If you're in Canada, we have a coin,
and there's a loon on it.
That must have been one bad-ass loon.
Number six is the Battle of Poltava.
In the early 1700s, Russia and Sweden were fighting
over who would become the next great regional power player.
At the time, Sweden, which controlled
most of Northern Europe, was seeking to expand into Russia.
And on June 27, 1709, the Swedes surged into Russia,
causing a brutal and bloody battle.
However, the Swedes were no match for Russian forces,
and within only one day, the Russians had defeated them.
This was a significant event because it was the beginning
of Sweden's decline as a great power,
marked by Russia taking its place
as the leading nation in Northeastern Europe.
It's weird to me to think of Sweden as a great power.
I mean, they're the peaceful blond people that yodel.
My how times change.
Number seven is the Battle of Stalingrad.
Everyone knows that the invasion of Normandy
marked the Nazi's decline in power.
However, the Battle of Stalingrad was the defeat
that effectively ended Hitler's quest for world domination
and sent Germany down the long road
towards defeat in World War II.
The five-month Siege of Stalingrad was one
of the most pivotal and dramatic events of World War II.
Russian soldiers, as well as volunteer citizens,
some with no weapons, mounted a counter-offensive
that trapped the Nazis in Stalingrad,
leading to a battle that lasted for months.
Nearly 2 million people died in that siege,
and by February of 1943, the Nazis were out of both food
and ammunition and had to surrender.
After Stalingrad, the Germans no longer advanced
on the eastern front of the war, and just went back
to eating sauerkraut, sausages and bia.
Actually, World War II went on
for two more years, but then they chilled out.
Number eight is the Battle of Tsushima.
In 1905, Japan and Russia fought a major naval battle
that became known as one
of the most decisive sea battles in history.
Known as the First Great War of the 20th century,
the Russo-Japanese War was a contest to see
who would win power over the strait between Korea and Japan.
It ended in a decisive victory for Japan
with what would eventually turn them
into a key power player during World War II.
This was actually the first time
that electronic communication was used in battle
and resulted in the almost complete destruction
of the Russian navy.
This is because the Japanese were using
their own wireless system, while the Russians were using
German sets and had difficulty in their use and maintenance.
Man, Russia, you spent too much time developing good Vodka
and not enough on technology.
Although, I'm not complaining,
I love me some good Russian Vodka.
Number nine is the Battle of Metaurus.
The Punic Wars were a series of three wars
between the world's greatest superpowers, Rome and Carthage,
between 264 and 146 B.C.
At the time, they were the largest wars
that have ever taken place.
The Battle of Metaurus refers to a pivotal battle
during the second war.
Hannibal Barca, general of the Carthaginian army,
had his brother Hasdrubal face off
against the Roman Consul Nero, but lost.
Had Hasdrubal won, and reunited with Hannibal,
Rome would have certainly fallen.
Instead, the Romans later defeated Hannibal,
which is why today we talk
about the Romans, not the Carthaginians.
I'd like to also point out
that Nero had famously had Hasdrubal beheaded
and his head thrown into Hannibal's camp.
Yeah, being a sore winner is a real thing.
And number 10, the Battle of Valmy.
After the French Revolution, there were a number
of revolutionary battles over French territory.
In 1792, the German Kingdom of Prussia
attempted to conquer France, who was weakened at the time,
but during their invasion, they were met by French forces.
But despite having just come out of a revolution
with no stable government structure,
and being completely outnumbered and outgunned,
they defeated the Prussians forcing them to retreat.
This victory made the world take the new France seriously.
In addition, many people see it as the first victory
by an army inspired purely by the pursuit of liberty.
Hey man, have you ever had a croissant?
Mmm, that buttery pastry of deliciousness.
I'd fight to the death for that, too.
And that's it for this time, guys.
Thank you so much for watching.
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Peace.
(electronic music)