The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: From Marathon to Waterloo

by Edward Shepherd Creasy

Undoubtedly the most famous work of military history of the nineteenth century, Edward S. Creasy's Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World has been read and re-read for close to 150 years. It is not only the authoritative account of each battle that makes Creasy's work such a classic--it is his command of narrative, his interest in human struggle, his profound deductions as to effects of the battles, and his striving after truth. Furthermore, his selections seem as wise and well-considered today as when Fifteen Decisive Battles first appeared in 1851: Nobody since has made better ones, nor given us better accounts.





Apart from the scholarship and literary skill of Creasy's book, there is another reason it has Creasy was essentially fair-minded. He had been a judge, and when he became England's great military critic and historian, he maintained a thoroughly judicial attitude. He was not a British partisan, nor French, nor German--he was a cosmopolitan observer of great events.




Out of 2300 years, Creasy only found fifteen battles which he called decisive in the highest sense. He chose them not for the number of killed and wounded, nor for their status in myth and lore, but because they fundamentally changed the course of world history. In doing so, he made his book a miniature military history of the western world, a classic that will repay continued study for generations to come, as it has for generations.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, Military Fiction, Military History, Classics, World History

424 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1851

About the author

Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy was a British historian. He was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge and called to the Bar in 1837. In 1840, he began teaching history at the University of London. He was knighted in 1860 and assumed the position of Chief Justice of Ceylon. His best known contribution to literature is his Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World (1851). Other works include; Historical and Critical Account of the Several Invasions of England (1852), History of the Ottoman Turks, The Rise and Progress of the English Constitution, and Imperial and Colonial Institutions of the British Empire (1872).

Reviews

[Marijan Šiško · Rating 4 out of 5]

IMHO, the only proper way to read this book is to consider it not only a historical book, but a historical document itself. being written in 1851, three years after a string of revolutions shook Europe, and when napoleonic wars still were in memory of living people, it reflects the opinions of it's age and time. Even choice of battles (never mind the Marathon, or Chalons, which is not that surprising, but there are Athenian expedition to Sicily, Metaurus, Teutoburg forest, Poltava) reflects this. There is not a single battle fought outside Europe included. And on several occasions author clearly states that it's the European, germanic, and particularly anglo-saxon side that was destined to 'bring forth civilization' to the 'savage and barbaric' parts of the world. Occasionaly disgusting in its blatant eurocentism, it does have it's shining moments, when gallant foe is appriciated, such as Joann of Arc, or Napoleon and his marshals. A bit dry, but enjoyable reading for someone interested in military history.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became a military historian, and the book that sent me down this path was Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World - From Marathon to Waterloo by Edward S. Creasy, which I first read in junior high. It was originally published in 1851 and, in effect, created a new genre. Until then, the study of military history was limited to army or navy officers, if at all. Creasy's wildly popular book (it is still in print) popularized the subject, not least because the battle pieces are both authoritative and beautifully-written. I still read it today. One can argue, I guess, about which battles he chose, why they were decisive or even if such a thing as "decisive battles" can exist, but I have no doubts. My only complaint is that my version the book has no maps, but that is to quibble.

[Chris Bumpas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't get through the end. It slowly got more and more boring and life is too short to read boring books.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I inherited this book from a family friend. It starts with the Battle of Marathon between the early Greeks and moves up through to the Battle of Waterloo. The biggest insight for the whole book is how people make the difference in every single conflict; it comes out over and over again that crucial decisions by people are what win wars. My favorites were the Battle of Hasting and the Roman's defeat by Arminius. The language can be a little difficult for modern readers, but it's well worth the effort. This is a great book for anyone who wants to understand human nature.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me a good while to get through. The writing is at times quite interesting, but is marred by its age (it has a British imperial attitude) and by a tendency to write too much about each battle (in my opinion). I don't mind a good amount of explanatory material, but it felt like many battles just had too much detail on things not directly relevant to the battle. The Battle of Waterloo seemed to drag on forever for me, as I would prefer a nice summary of each battle with some extra information. If you want an exhaustive account (though no longer up-to-date) account of the battles, this should quench your thirst for such a thing.

I can't say I'd recommend this unless you really, really like reading about battles and having lots and lots of background.

[Perry Whitford · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his preface to this quixotic attempt to label the fifteen most 'decisive' battles in history up to the time of writing in 1850, Creasey announces himself loud and proud as a classically educated Victorian, asserting with brazen chauvanism how the battle of Marathon "confirmed the superiority of European free states over Oriental despotism", then ultimately crediting all that happens in love and war to "the design of The Designer".
The point about Marathon is subsequently echoed twice more in the chapters that focus on the battle of Chalons (AD 451) where a combined Roman and Gothic army finally stalled the extraordinary advance of Attila the Hun across mainland europe and the battle of Tours (AD 732), where Charlamagne did the same with regards the Saracens. So, you know the eastern half of the globe won't get much of a look in here, but it's still a compelling list, beautifully written with extensive quotations from a timeless set of sources.

In truth, knowledge about the east was pretty thin to early Victorian historians. Creasey does acknowledge the (then) recent translation work of Rawlinson, which decoded the writing on the monuments of the Persian kings, conceding, rather poetically, how those kingdoms "appear before us through the twilight of primeval history, dim and indistinct, but massive and majestic, like mountains in the early dawn."
Generally though he paints all wars between east and west as straight up battles between free thinking democracies and despotism, which limits "the extent to which it shall be lawful for the human mind to prosecute its inquiries". Even pointed reference to the slaves the Athenians brought into battle with them is an irony that passes Creasey by. Yep, it's the democratism of the elite that he favours, with kings as benign heads of state and proletarians as canon fodder!

When it comes to his treatment of other historians, however, Creasey is entirely contemporary in his outlook, or, rather, timeless. He slags them off from the preface onwards, at one stage accusing a particular one of partiality whilst seemingly oblivious to his own shameless tub-thumping towards all things British. Of Hastings (AD 1066) he says "no one, who appreciates the influence of England and her empire upon the destinies of the world, will ever rate that victory as one of secondary importance".
Well, maybe that's true, but elsewhere he gets a bit carried away whilst drawing parallels between Victorian colonial successes and those of Alexander, then likening the sight of a British officer on the battlefield in India to the inspiration the Syracuseans took from the support of a Spartan general whilst defending themselves against the besieging Athenians in BC 413.

That said, his inherent belief in the essential rightness of all things British makes the book more than just an excellent introduction to some of the world's greatest battles, it is also an interesting period piece. Most compelling though is his mid-19th century view of the burgeoning powers of America and Russia.
He marvels at their express acquisition of territory and rise in influence, taking a vicarious pride in the achievements of the english-speaking Americans whilst delivering a stern warning about the Russian's adoptive status as "protectors" of the Slavic peoples. The advent of the USSR was less than a hundred years in the future.

A seminal work, still of value and highly enjoyable, but utterly Victorian in tone and outlook.

[Akshay Gahlaut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Or the 15 battles that shaped europe.

[Emma Hatcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book. It definitely explained the battles in a narrative way that allowed a reader without a background in military history and tactics to understand. However, this was definitely written in the 1860s by an Englishman, and you can tell. Explicitly, Creasy discusses how European victories proved European superiority over other peoples, especially those of the Middle East and Asia. Implicitly, Creasy shows a lot of bias in the battles he chooses to label as the 15 most decisive. Many of them involve England in some way and every single one has a European victor. At the level of the individual battle (minus the racist commentary), this book provides a good play by play of the events that occurred and how they affected European history, but readers should be aware that the author was heavily biased and that this book can be a small part of a larger understanding of European military history.

[Brian]

I did not finish this book because I did not find it all that useful or interesting. It is a very old book and show the thinking of the time that it was written. The author writes a lot about battles of long ago. As I read it I wondered how much was made up by the author. I did not think it worthwhile to continue reading it.

[Diego Lopez Jollivet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really descriptive book of the battles that ended up empires and started new ones. The author takes time to put the battles in context describing the political, economical situation of both parties and presenting the important dates chronogically before the confrontations.

[Charles van Buren · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great books, August 21, 2016

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo (Kindle Edition)

This is one of the great books of the world. Educated people should at least be familiar with it, even if just in summary. Anyone interested in military history and the history of the west should read it.

I found a copy in our high school library and was fascinated with it. Creasy is a great writer, explaining the battles clearly. His description of the defeat and death of Hasdrubal (Hannibal's brother) at Metaurus is still clear in my mind. As is his explanation of the importance of the outcome to Western Civilization.

This free Kindle edition, released March 24, 2011, contains neither illustrations nor maps.

[Chuck Shorter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading about ancient wars and the rise and fall of empires especially when they are of great biblical importance. I discovered this work while perusing the internet looking for some information on the Battle of Marathon. As you can see from the title I got fifteen battles for the price of one. Although the book was free on my Kindle. Several of the battles that were covered involved conflicts with the Persian, the Greek and the Roman Empires which is all Daniel chapter 2 kind of stuff. I read as far as the Battle of Tours (AD 732) which stopped the spread of Islam into Europe. This book was written in the mid-nineteenth century, contains a wealth of background information on the major participants, the current political and social climates and is surprisingly easy to read for being so old.

[Sudeeksha Maheshwarappa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading this book, specially the strategy parts of the battles.

[Alex Dove · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should be titled The Fifteen Most Important Battles for the British Empire

[River Florian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I, too, can quote the fights historical, from Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical. :)

This was, overall, a fun read. The prose is excellent, for one thing. And I've also found that I have a certain preference for horizontal over vertical learning: having an overview of fifteen battles, as well as key events between them, taking place over almost 2,500 years, is more interesting to me than zooming in on any single one of these battles and examining it in more detail.

That being said--this book isn't perfect. It is definitely a product of the time and place in which it was written. For one thing, it can't cover any battles that took place after about 1850. For another, there is a definite bias toward the British and their place in the world. The author, throughout the text, adds little editorial asides like "...even as England's present mission is to break up the mental and moral stagnation of India and Cathay [China], by pouring upon and through them the impulsive current of Anglo-Saxon commerce and conquest." I'm not sure they saw it that way.

On the whole, though, as I said, this was an informative, entertaining read. The author made an admirable attempt to be charitable and even-handed to all parties involved, and the personal accounts of the participants of the battles, especially some of the later ones for which primary sources are available, add a lot of flavor. I also appreciated, at the beginning and the end, the discussion on the nature of war and peace: there is no single-minded fixation on and glorification of war here, but an awareness that it is sometimes necessary and involves a great deal of courage and intellect. At the same time, the author regards the relative peace of his time as "an infinitely prouder spectacle" than "the stern excitement of martial strife", and reflects that "Peace hath her victories/No less renowned than War."

[Peter Herrmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

For historicity=5 stars. For verbosity=1 star. Written in 1851; so replete with British colonial arrogance, endless racism and really stupid blather - and it really is verbose, with run-on sentences that would do credit to Marcel Proust - about the ethnic superiority of the 'West' over Rest of the World, and of the superiority of Germanic/Anglo-Saxon 'race' over the rest of the Europeans (I wonder what Creasey would have said had he written this after World War I). A typical example: "Accustomed to govern [referring to a Roman consul] over Syria, a country where courage in man, virtue in woman, had for centuries been absent ..." On page after page are these unsubstantiated, racist and mindless generalizations. OTOH, I did learn a great deal about the geopolitical significance of some of these battles (only some, because I had to skim). As for the military minutiae - and there was a lot - it didn't interest me (i.e. how many spear carriers, how many horses), but might well interest other readers. Actually, reading about these battles is heartbreaking: not because of the tens of thousands of dead soldiers - I couldn't care less about them - but the poor suffering animals - the terrorized and slaughtered horses, the tortured elephants (being forced by Hannibal to cross the Alps), etc. Human cruelty is endless.

[Christian Dibblee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is apparently the first of its kind, and as a result certain expected elements are missing. In general, there isn’t enough discussion of why each battle was significant. Creasy describes the forces allayed on either side and the stakes at a high-level, but he fails to discuss in any depth how history would have changed if the battle had ended differently. In addition, some of the battles get shorter shrift than others. This is largely due to the time of publication in the 1850s—the Waterloo chapter is 100 pages probably because it was still in recent history for readers at the time. My final bugaboo was Creasy’s habit of excerpting other authors for long quotes. I eventually stopped reading those.

On the plus side, the book is a fun historical document in and of itself. For one thing, it’s interesting to see what battles were considered most important before the World Wars, the American Civil War, the rise of Prussia, etc. Creasy also uses some wonderful language in his prose, and I enjoyed certain passages. But overall, the book gets worse and more boring as it progresses. I would probably recommend specific chapters rather than the entire thing.

[Adam Windsor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Creasy's selection of battles strongly reflects his European heritage, and any prospective reader should go in well-warned that his text also strongly reflects the prejudices of a wealthy Victorian, with frequent glowing remarks about the mission of the Anglo-Saxon race.

Are the military and political insights worth stomaching the racism? Eh, not really, I'd say. He does better with the political - that is, the establishment of the situation leading up to the battle, and the reasons why he considers it a decisive encounter - than he does with the purely military. The actual conduct of some battles is barely touched on, while others include details that I suspect have very little evidence to support them. Most notable in the latter category is the Battle of Hastings, where we get accounts of the actions of numerous individual soldiers within the melee.

If this is a subject matter of interest to you, I'd suggest looking for a more recent text, with more academic rigour and fewer - or at least less pervasive - cultural prejudices.

[Harry Harman]

Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy (1812–1878) was a student at Eton College and later studied at the University of Cambridge. He was called to the Bar in 1837 and was made the assistant judge at Westminster court. Three years later Creasy was appointed Professor of History at the University of London.

The battles in this volume are arranged in chronological order ranging from 413 B.C. to 1815 and are discussed in length covering every detail including who was fighting, what led up to the conflict, how the parties implemented their plan of attack, where the battle took place, and who won the campaign.

The conflicts selected by Creasy include: the Battle of Marathon, the defeat of the Athenians at Syracuse, Battle of Arbela, Battle of the Metaurus, the victory of Arminus over the Roman Legions under Varus, Battle of Chalons, Battle of Tours, Battle of Hastings, Joan of Arc’s victory over the English at Orleans, defeat of the Spanish Armada, Battle of Blenheim, Battle of Pultowa, victory of the Americans over Burgoyne at Saratoga, Battle of Valmy, and Battle of Waterloo.

[Thomas Serges · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Patton favorite

When I found this was a highly rated book by General Patton's personal library, I was most intrigued to read and this book certainly did not disappoint. These were not just battles described, but how the military down to the regiment aligned, attacked, defend, and most illuminating strategically retreated. The author concluded his writing in 1851, finding all of Europe seemingly happy at the end of these 15 world changing battles, but similar to authors at the end of such historical battles sensing a conclusion to great wars, not expecting even greater horrors were to follow.

[EA · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a fantastic book. It is, however, the product of the 19th (and the 18th) centuries, so one must bear that in mind. Creasy is unabashedly a product of his time. He looks at history through a Euro-centric lens and his writing is marked by elongated passages of flourishes typical of the period. But, if the reader can cast aside their own anachronistic encumbrances and biases, this is an enjoyable discourse on 15 of the most important battles fought in history (up to the American Civil War).

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. Heard about this book from Elon Musk's book recommendations. This was written in the thick of the Victorian era and changed how people write about war. The battles are interestingly chosen. Creasy could have written the famous battles like Cannae or Borodino but instead chose the most decisive, even if more obscure such as Valmy (1792). The descriptions are not written in today's historians' more cautious scholarly tone, but more authoritative and judgmental.

[Eric Winter · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting but now dated read. The casual arrogance of the British Empire of the mid-19th century is palpable. It was interesting getting used to the writing style, but edifying. The main problem I had was that many of the early footnotes (which are many) were in, not just Greek and Greek characters, but *ancient* Greek. Even my Greek colleagues could not read them. But I guess every educated person back then could read and write Ancient Greek and Latin, so that's on me I guess :^).

[Jack Mcgwyne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cool to hear about all of these battles although it is a bit dull at times because it focuses on play by plays of cavalry and infantry manoeuvres. It is also very much a product of its time with a eurocentric focus and some derogatory depictions of non white civilizations and the dreadful outcomes for history if they had won their battles.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading about the histories of Alexander the Great, and Joan of Arc were insightful. There were other significant battles of course, which brought my thoughts to prophecies to be found in the Holy Bible. I'm happy I read this book.

[Anthony Contreras]

Tough to give this one a rating. Interesting read, and the author gives a detailed play by play of these battles, as well as contextualizing them and explaining why he considers them so important. That said, his biases as an Englishman writing in the 1850s are very apparent throughout.

[N J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read.

This has been an interesting book to read. Clearly, written in 1851, it was a product of its time, but many of the comments that author made are still valid I think.

[Kevin Wolters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read

I gave this book four stars because it was interesting and detail oriented. I wish each battle ward accompanied with maps and/or pictures.

[Gary Howells · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great book

[Ron Weddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anglophilic

Definitely an anglophilic account of 15 great battles of history up through Waterloo. Too much in other languages without translation.