Industrial Warfare - Milestones

Milestones

Year Battle Country Significance
1854–1855 Siege of Sevastopol United Kingdom First use of the telegraph in combat.
1859 Austro-Sardinian War France First major use of railroads at the strategic level.
1861 First Battle of Bull Run CSA First battle in which railroads play a decisive role.
1862 Battle of Hampton Roads CSA USA First fight between two powered iron-covered warships.
1863 Battle of Gettysburg CSA USA Largest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere.
1864–1865 Siege of Petersburg CSA USA First example of modern trench warfare.
1866 Battle of Tuyutí Argentina
Empire of Brazil
Uruguay Paraguay		 Largest battle ever fought in South America.
1898 Spanish American War Spain USA Extensive use of steel battleships in naval conflict.
1905 Battle of Tsushima Russia Japan Decisive battle between steel-covered warships.
1911–1912 Italo-Turkish War Italy First use of airplanes in combat.
1914 First Battle of the Marne France First large-scale use of motorised infantry.
1914–1918 First Battle of the Atlantic Germany First major campaign of submarine warfare.
1915 Second Battle of Ypres Germany First large-scale use of chemical weapons in battle.
1916 Battle of Verdun France Germany High point of fixed fortification warfare.
1917 Battle of Cambrai United Kingdom First successful use of massed tanks in combat.
1925 Rif War France Spain First modern amphibious assault using tanks and aircraft.
1937 Bombing of Guernica Germany Italy First major use of terror bombing.
1937 Battle of El Mazuco Spain Germany First major use of carpet bombing against a military target.
1940 Battle of Britain Germany United Kingdom First major battle to be fought entirely in the air.
1940 Battle of Taranto United Kingdom First naval battle in which one side only employed aircraft.
1941 Battle of Crete Germany First major battle in which one side only employed airborne forces.
1941 Operation Barbarossa Germany Soviet Union High point of Blitzkrieg warfare. Largest invasion in history.
1942 Battle of the Coral Sea Japan United States First naval battle in which neither side's ships sighted or fired directly upon each other.
1942 Battle of Midway Japan United States Decisive battle between aircraft carriers.
1942 Battle of Stalingrad Germany Soviet Union Largest single battle in history. Decisive battle of the Nazi-Soviet War.
1942 Battle of Guadalcanal Japan United States First major air-land-sea campaign in history.
1943 Battle of Kursk Germany Soviet Union Largest tank battle in history.
1944 Normandy Invasion United Kingdom United States Canada Largest seaborne invasion in history.
1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf Japan United States Largest naval battle in history.

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