The Five Most Decisive Naval Battles Of All Time

Top Five Naval Battles of All Time -- James Holmes, National Journal

Ranking battles by their importance has been a bloodsport among military historians as long as there have been military historians. Creasy's classic Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World(1851) set the standard for the genre.



But what makes a battle decisive? And what makes one such test of arms more important than another?



Defining the term too loosely produces howlers like a recent US News catalogue of decisive battles of the American Civil War. By the US News count, 45 engagements qualified as decisive during that four-year struggle alone. Zounds!



The term must be defined less cavalierly than that to be meaningful. If every battle is decisive, no battle is. That's one reason I always ask students whether some legendary triumph—a Trafalgar, or a Tsushima Strait—was decisive, or just dramatic, or just featured the star power of a Nelson or Togo.



Read more ....



My Comment: No arguments from me on this list .... these naval engagements were decisive.