From the French bataille, a battle is a combat between two or more forces. It could be said that a battle is a stage or a confrontation that takes place within the framework of a major warlike conflict, such as a war or a military campaign. That is, wars are formed by a series of battles.
Each battle is defined by the geographical space and the time period in which it takes place. In this way it is possible to distinguish the different episodes of this type in the context of war.
Throughout history it is interesting to establish that various criteria have been followed when starting a battle. Thus, they have been used from the date it took place to the name of the space where it took place. However, other elements have also been used for this purpose, such as the geographical coordinates that identified the place where the scene of the confrontation was.
Specialists in military issues point out that wars must be planned from a strategy, while battles require the application of a tactic. The force that wins the most battles will surely win the victory in the war.
“Losing a battle is not losing the war” is a common expression that refers to the magnitude of this type of conflict. An army may lose one or more battles, but ultimately win the ultimate military triumph.
Among the most important battles we would have to talk, without a doubt, of the following:
• Battle of Thermopylae. The year 480 BC was the moment in which it took place, which is part of the Second Medical War and which caused the troops of the Persian Empire to fight against the Greek polis.
• Battle of Waterloo. In 1815, in Waterloo (Belgium) was where this warlike conflict took place, framed within the so-called Napoleonic Wars. The French troops and a coalition, formed by countries such as the United Kingdom or Spain, clashed in the one that made the aforementioned second force triumph.
• Battle of Lepanto. October 1571 was the date on which the development of this aforementioned battle took place, which took place in the Gulf of Corinth, located in Greece. It involved the confrontation between the Turkish Empire, in its eagerness to expand throughout the Mediterranean Sea area, and a Holy League. This was made up of several Christian kingdoms (Spain, Malta, Savoy…) and it was the one that was the winner.
It is possible to distinguish between different types of battles. The encounter battle is one that breaks out almost spontaneously, without the forces having prepared their attacks or defenses. The battle of attrition aims for the enemy to suffer greater losses than its own, which are accepted as normal in this context. The battle of annihilation, the battle ring and battle surround are other types of battles.
In the automotive realm, the battle is the distance between the axles of a vehicle.
