Timeline 1850-1899

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Military History Timeline 1850-1899

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1850
1853	October	Outbreak of Crimean War (to 1856)
1854	20 September	Battle of the Alma (Crimean War), First major battle on Crimean peninsular
	25 October	Battle of Balaclava (Crimean War), Russian attempt to break allied supply lines.
	5 November	Battle of Inkerman (Crimean War), allied victory over Russians.
1856	30 March	Treaty of Paris ends Crimean War (from 1853)
1859		The Second War of Italian Independence (1859-61) was the most significant of the four wars, and resulted in the establishment of a Kingdom of Italy that contained all of Italy apart from the Venetia and the area around Rome.
	20 May	The battle of Montebello (20 May 1859) was the first major clash between French and Austrian forces during the Second War of Italian Unification and saw a French division force part of the Austrian IX Corps to retreat.
	26 May	The battle of Varese (26 May 1859) was Garibaldi’s first success during his Alpine campaign of 1859 and saw his volunteers repulse an Austrian force that attempted to push him out of Varese.
	27 May	The battle of San Fermo (27 May 1859) was Garibaldi’s second victory in two days and forced an Austrian army under General Karl von Urban to abandon Como.
	30 May	The combat of Laveno (30 May 1859) was a rare defeat for Garibaldi during his Alpine Campaign of 1859 and saw him fail to take an Austrian stronghold on Lake Maggiore
	30-31 May	The battle of Palestro (30-31 May 1859) was a Piedmontese victory over the Austrians that helped cover the movement of their French allies from their original position on the Austrian left to a new position on the weaker Austrian right, and that prepared the way for the first major Allied victory of the Second War of Italian Independence, at Magenta.
	3 June	The battle of Turbigo (3 June 1859) saw the French secure two crossing points over the Ticino River, allowing them to get a foothold in Austrian Lombardy
	4 June	The battle of Magenta (4 June 1859) was the first decisive battle of the Second War of Italian Independence and was a badly managed encounter battle that ended as an Austrian defeat, and that forced them to evacuate Lombardy, surrendering it to Napoleon III and Piedmont.
	8 June	The battle of Melegnano (8 June 1859) was a costly action during the Austrian retreat after their defeat at Magenta (4 June 1859) and was a result of a French attempt to discover if the Austrians were planned to abandon all of Lombardy, or were planning to make a stand
	15 June	The battle of Tre Ponti (15 June 1859) was the last battle during Garibaldi’s Alpine Campaign of 1859 and was a drawn battle in which the retreating Austrians were unable to defeat Garibaldi's isolated force of volunteers.
	24 June	The battle of Solferino (24 June 1859) was the decisive battle of the first phase of the Second War of Italian Unification and was a hard fought French and Piedmontese victory that defeated an Austrian counterattack and forced Franz Josef to retreat back into the Quadrilateral fortresses of north-eastern Italy.
1860	15 May	The battle of Calatafimi (15 May 1860) was the first of Garibaldi's victory during his invasion of Sicily in 1860 and saw his 'Thousand' defeat a somewhat larger Neapolitan army that had been sent from Palermo to block the roads to the Sicilian capital.
	27-30 May	The battle of Palermo (27-30 May 1860) was the most important moment in Garibaldi and The Thousand's conquest of Bourbon Sicily, and saw them seize the island's capital despite being massively outnumbered by the garrison.
	20 July	The battle of Milazzo (20 July 1860) was won by Garibaldi over a strong detachment of Neapolitan troops based in a fortress town west of Messina, opened up the road to the straits of Messina, and helped cleared his way to cross to the Italian mainland
	21 August	The battle of Cathedral Squadron, Reggio (Battaglia di Piazza Duomo) of 21 August 1860 was Garibaldi's first victory after he crossed from Sicily to the mainland of Italy and helped secure him a foothold on the mainland.
	18 September	The battle of Castelfidardo (18 September 1860) was the most significant battle during the brief Piedmontese invasion of the Papal States and split the Papal field army into several weak fragments.
	18-29 September	The siege of Ancona (18-29 September 1860) was the last major action during the brief Piedmontese invasion of the Papal States in 1860, and saw the fall of the only port that might have been used by an Austrian expeditionary force, greatly reducing the risk of foreign intervention in the war.
	1 October	The battle of the Volturno (1 October 1860) was the last major clash during Garibaldi's invasion of the Kingdom of Naples, and saw him defeat a major Neapolitan counterattack that if successful would have forced him to abandon Naples and might have allowed Francis II to save his throne.
	October-2 November	The siege of Capua (October-2 November 1860) was the first major contribution that the Piedmontese regular army made to the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples, after Garibaldi and his army had conquered Sicily, occupied Naples and defeated the last major Bourbon counterattack on the Volturno (1 October 1860).
	3 November	The siege of Gaeta (3 November 1860-13 February 1861) was the last stand of Francis II, Bourbon King of Naples. After a siege that lasted 100 days he was forced to surrender, but by then his kingdom had already voted to join with Piedmont.
1861		Patent registered for the Gattling Gun
	13 February	End of the siege of Gaeta (3 November 1860-13 February 1861)
	12-13 April 1861:	Siege of Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The battle that started the American Civil War. The Federal fort in Charleston Harbour was bombarded into surrender by the Confederates.
	3 June	Battle of Philippi: A Union army surprises the Confederate troops who had been blocking the railroad and force them into a rapid retreat.
	10 June 1861:	Battle of Big Bethal, Virginia, defeat of a Federal attack on the fort at Big Bethal in Virginia.
	12 July	Battle of Rich Mountain: The Confederate army at Beverly is outflanked and forced into another retreat.
	13 July	Skirmish at Corrick's Ford: Action during the pursuit of the army defeated at Rich Mountain, in which the Confederate commander General Garnett becomes the first civil war general to be killed in action.
	21 July 1861:	First Battle of Bull Run/ Manassas, Virginia. Confederate victory over a Union army invading Virginia. Bull Run ensured that the Confederacy would survive past its first few months but also increased determination to fight on in the North.
	10 August 1861	Battle of Wilson’s Creek - an early Union defeat in Missouri that saw the death of Nathaniel Lyon, the Union commander in the state.
	28-29 August 1861,	Battle of Hatteras, North Carolina. The first of a series of battles that saw the Confederates loose control of most of the North Carolina coastline.
	3 September	Confederate attack on the Union position at Gauley Bridge repulsed with some ease
	10 September	Battle of Cheat Mountain: Robert E. Lee's first battlefield command, and a Confederate defeat caused in part by the over-complexity of his plan (to 15 September)
		Battle of Carnifex Ferry: Confederate forces in the south of West Virginia defeated by General Rosecrans
	15 September	Battle of Cheat Mountain ends.
	17 September	Union forces capture Ship Island a useful base on the Gulf Coast
	21 October 1861:	Battle of Ball’s Bluff, Virginia, defeat of a Union attempt to capture Leesbury (Virginia), forty miles up-river from Washington.
	7 November 1861:	Battle of Belmont, Missouri. An early battle in the career of U.S. Grant. An attempt to create a diversion in the Mississippi campaign, most significant for the battlefield experience it gave Grant.
		The Battle of Port Royal was a major Union victory early in the American Civil War that demonstrated how difficult it would be for the Confederacy to defend its coastline
1862	19 January	Battle of Mill Springs or Logan Cross Roads: Union victory in eastern Tennessee that had little long term impact
	6 February	Siege of Fort Henry: Union capture of a poorly designed Confederate fort on the Tennessee River.
	7-8 February 1862	Battle of Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Federal seizure of Roanoke Island gave them control over Albemarle Sound, North Carolina.
	10 February 1862:	Battle of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Naval battle that saw the destruction of a small Confederate fleet on the North Carolina coast.
	12-16 February	Siege of Fort Donelson: Union capture of a second fort, this time guarding the Cumberland River.
	7-8 March	The Battle of Pea Ridge, or Elkhorn Tavern was the biggest battle fought west of the Mississippi during the American Civil War.
	8-9 March	Battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia. The first battle between two ironclad warships. Ending in a draw, the battle preserved Union control of the James River.
	13 March	Battle of New Madrid, part of the Union advance down the Mississippi that slowly split the Confederacy in half
	14 March 1862:	Battle of New Berne, North Carolina. Second Union success during the Burnside expedition on the North Carolina coast. New Berne remained in Union hands for the rest of the war
	23 March	First Battle of Kernstown, Stonewall Jackson's only defeat in the Shenandoah in 1862
	29 March-26 April 1862:	Siege of Fort Macon, North Carolina. Union capture of Fort Macon closes Beaufort, one of the last ports open to the Confederates on the North Carolina coastline.
	7 April 1862:	The Battle of Island No. 10 was a Union victory that further reduced Confederate control of the Mississippi river
	10-11 April 1862:	Siege of Fort Pulaski: The Union capture of Fort Pulaski virtually closes the port of Savannah to Confederate blockade runners.
	18-29 April 1862:	Capture of New Orleans, a Union fleet captured the largest city in the Confederacy
	8 May	Battle of McDowell. Stonewall Jackson defeats a small detachment of General Fremont's army in the mountains west of the Shenandoah Valley.
	10 May 1862:	Battle of Fort Pillow. Minor Confederate victory on the Mississippi when their gunboat fleet surprises the Union fleet attacking Fort Pillow.
	23 May	Battle of Front Royal. Stonewall Jackson overwhelms a small Union outpost at Front Royal.
	25 May	First Battle of Winchester. Stonewall Jackson forces Banks's Union army out of the Shenandoah Valley.
	31 May-1 June:	Battle of Fair Oaks/ Seven Pines, Virginia: Confederate attack on the Union army outside Richmond, notable mainly for the wounding of the Confederate commander Joe Johnston, allowing Robert E. Lee to be promoted to command the armies around Richmond.
	6 June	Naval battle of Memphis. A Union fleet defeats the Confederate defenders of the city on the Mississippi and seizes control of Memphis
	8 June	Battle of Cross Keys. Stonewall Jackson turns to attack Fremont's forces chasing him down the valley.
	9 June	Battle of Port Republic. Jackson attacks the second force chasing him down the Shenandoah Valley, forcing it to pull back.
	25 June 1862:	Battle of Oak Grove, Virginia. First fighting of the Seven Days, triggered by McClellan’s only offensive move, a probing reconnaissance.
	26 June 1862:	Battle of Mechanicsville, Virginia. Part of the Seven Days’ Battles. A Confederate attack launched despite the absence of a large part of the force allocated for it. A clear Union victory.
	27 June 1862:	Battle of Gaines’s Mill, Virginia. Seven Days’ Battles. Another Confederate attack that achieved its main aim, but at a high cost.
	29 June 1862:	Battle of Savage’s Station, Virginia. Failed Confederate attack on the Union army withdrawing from Richmond towards the James River.
	30 June 1862:	Battle of Glendale/ Frayser’s Farm/ White Oak Swamp, Virginia. Another unsuccessful confederate attack during the Seven Days’ Battle.
	1 July 1862:	Battle of Malvern Hill, Virginia. Final Confederate attack of the Seven Days’ Battle, and another Confederate defeat. Despite this, McClellan continued to retreat.
	5 August 1862:	Battle of Baton Rouge Failed Confederate attempt to recapture Baton Rouge, defeated in part by Union gunboats on the river.
	9 August 1862:	Battle of Cedar Mountain, Virginia. A rare Confederate victory from a position of strength. Stonewall Jackson commanded twice the troops of his Union opponent, who still launched an attack which was initially successful but eventually defeated. Cedar Mountain confirmed that the main battle front had moved away from McClellan in the peninsular and back into the area between Richmond and Washington.
	29-30 August:	Second Battle of Bull Run/ Manassas, Virginia. Another Confederate victory on the same ground, against a much larger, but very badly handled Union army. The Confederate victory moved the scene of the fighting from the vicinity of Richmond to that of Washington and was a massive boost to the Confederate cause
	30 August	Battle of Richmond, Kentucky. Confederate victory over a small Union army, most of which was captured.
	1 September 1862:	Battle of Chantilly, Virginia. Aftermath of Second Bull Run. Lee drove the Union army back to Washington.
	13-17 September 1862:	Confederate capture of Munfordville, Kentucky during their invasion of Kentucky
	14 September 1862:	Battle of Crampton’s Gap, Maryland. Sluggish Union victory in the campaign that led to Antietam.
		The Battle of South Mountain was a delaying action that helped Robert E. Lee unite his army to fight at Antietam
	18 September 1862	The Siege of Lexington, (to 20 September 1862), was the high point of Confederate success in Missouri.
	19 September 1862	Battle of Iuka. Confederate forces attempting to invade western Tennessee avoid capture in a Union trap
	30 September 1862	Battle of Newtonia, a minor battle in southern Missouri during the American Civil War
	3-4 October 1862	Battle of Corinth. Confederate forces fail to capture Corinth, a key base in western Mississippi, while attempting to invade Tennessee
	5 October 1862	Skirmish at Hatchie Bridge. Confederate forces defeated at Corinth narrowly avoid being cut off during their retreat.
	8 October 1862:	Battle of Perryville, Kentucky. Botched battle in which half of a Union army fought a Confederate army that thought most of the Union army was elsewhere. The Confederates withdrew when it became clear that they were outnumbered three to one.
	22 October 1862:	The Battle of Old Fort Wayne, saw the defeat of a pro-Confederate Native American army.
	7 December 1862:	The Battle of Prairie Grove was a minor Federal victory in north western Arkansas that effectively ended a period of campaigning in that part of the state
	29 December 1862:	Battle of Chickasaw Bluffs, Mississippi. Heavy defeat for Sherman in an assault made as part of Grant’s already aborted first campaign against Vicksburg.
1863	9-13 January 1863:	Battle of Arkansas Post, Arkansas. Federal combined operation against a Confederate position on the Arkansas river that succeeded but at too high a cost for General Grant, who ordered a withdrawal.
	17 April 1863:	Grierson's Raid, (to 2 May 1863), was probably the most effective cavalry raid of the entire American Civil War
	1 May	Battle of Port Gibson, Mississippi, Part of Grant’s Vicksburg campaign in which a small Confederate army of 6,000 was defeated by 23,000 Union soldiers.
	2 May 1863:	End of Grierson's Raid
	2-5 May	Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, a Confederate victory that ended a Union offensive and opened the chance of a Confederate invasion of the north.
	7 May	Start of the Big Black River campaign, aimed at the capture of Vicksburg, the key to the Mississippi.
	12 May	Battle of Raymond, Mississippi, First battle during the Big Black River campaign
	14 May	Battle of Jackson, Mississippi, Second victory for Grant during his Vicksburg campaign.
	16 May	Battle of Champion’s Hill, Mississippi, Union victory in Grant’s Vicksburg campaign that defeated General Pemberton’s mobile army defending Vicksburg.
	17 May	Battle of Big Black River, Mississippi, Second defeat inflicted on the remnants of Pemberton’s army.
	19 May 1863:	First Union attack on Vicksburg defeated, marking the start of the siege (to 4 July)
	7 June 1863	Battle of Milliken’s Bend, a failed Confederate attempt to relieve the siege of Vicksburg
	9 June 1863:	Battle of Brandy Station. Largest cavalry battle of the war. A confederate victory in which a large Union cavalry force, sent on to find General Lee, was repulsed after some initial success.
	14-15 June 1863	Second battle of Winchester, an early battle in the Gettysburg campaign.
	1-3 July 1863:	Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Defeat of General Lee’s invasion of the North. The confederate army suffered severe casualties, and was never as effective again. Over a third of Lee’s army became casualties.
	4 July 1863:	The Battle of Helena, Arkansas, 4 July 1863, was an unsuccessful Confederate counterattack aimed at relieving the pressure on Vicksburg
	11 and 18 July 1863	The Battle of Fort Wagner was a failed Union attack on the defences of Charleston, famous for being the first serious action of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment
	10 September 1863:	Battle of Bayou Forche: Battle just outside Little Rock during the Union conquest of Arkansas that saw the Confederate defenders of the city forced to retreat south.
	4 July 1863:	Surrender of Vicksburg. The garrison of 30,000 was released on parole, on the expectation that they would spread gloom around the Confederacy. General Grant was later to say that the surrender of Vicksburg was the decisive event of the war.
	14 October 1863:	Battle of Bristoe Station, Confederate army under General Hill attacked one Union force, just to find itself under attack by a second.
	25 October 1863:	The Battle of Pine Bluff was a minor cavalry battle in the aftermath of the Federal capture of Little Rock, Arkansas
	28-29 October	Battle of Wauhatchie, the only Confederate attempt to break the newly established Cracker Line, getting supplies into Chattanooga.
	7 November	The Action of the Rappahannock Redoubts, was a minor battle in the aftermath of Gettysburg
	16 November	Battle of Campbell's Station, successful delaying action that allowed the Union forces under Burnside to get back inside the defences of Knoxville
	24 November	Battle of Lookout Mountain, part of General Grant's plan for lifting the siege of Chattanooga
	25 November	Battle of Missionary Ridge: General Grant drives the Confederate army away from Chattanooga.
	29 November	Battle of Knoxville, unsuccessful Confederate attempt to recapture Knoxville, Tennessee.
	14 December	Battle of Bean's Station, Tennessee, A minor Confederate victory that ended the serious fighting in the Knoxville campaign.
1864	8 April 1864	Sabine Crossroads, 8 April 1864, was the first of two battles that ended any chance of Union success in the Red River campaign
	9 April 1864	The Battle of Pleasant Hill was the second of two battles in two days that ended any chance of success for the Red River campaign
	12 April 1864	The Fort Pillow Massacre was a Confederate victory tainted by a massacre of black prisoners after the battle.
	4-7 May	Battle of the Wilderness, the first battle during U.S. Grant's overland campaign against Richmond. The battle was a Confederate victory, but unlike earlier Union commanders Grant did not retreat, instead continuing with his advance.
	10-12 May 1864:	Battle of Spotsylvania, Virginia. The first sign of the sort of attritional warfare that was about to take over on the eastern front of the civil war. Lee was forced to withdraw to another defensive line, but Grant did not achieve his aim of a breakthrough.
	14 May	Battle of Resaca, Georgia: Confederate victory during Sherman’s advance towards Atlanta. Sherman’s manoeuvres forced the Confederates to retreat anyway.
	15 May	Battle of Newmarket, Virginia. Defeat of a Union army that had been sent into the Shenandoah valley as part of Grant’s plan for 1864.
	16 May 1864:	Battle of Drewry’s Bluff, Virginia. Battle that ended any chance of General Butler achieving the major breakthrough he had gained a chance to achieve after getting between Petersburg and Richmond.
	20-26 May 1864:	Battle of North Anna River, Virginia. Something of a drawn battle in the Grant’s Richmond campaign. Neither Lee or Grant performed well in this battle.
	25-28 May	Battle of New Hope Church, Georgia: A period of unproductive fighting during Sherman’s advance towards Atlanta.
	31 May-3 June 1864:	Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia. The main assault comes on 3 June, when Grant fails to break Lee’s line yet again.
	5 June	Battle of Piedmont, Virginia: Union victory over a Confederate force that had moved out of their defences to launch their own attack.
	10 June 1864:	Battle of Brice’s Crossroad, Mississippi. Confederate victory in Mississippi in which a force of 8,000 Union soldiers sent to defeat Forest’s cavalry force found them, and was defeated by a force half their size.
	11-12 June 1864:	Battle of Trevilian Junction, Virginia. Bloodiest cavalry battle of the war, between a raiding force under Sheridan and Wade Hampton’s confederate cavalry. Something of a draw, but the raid soon withdrew.
	15-18 June 1864:	Battle of Petersburg, Virginia. Failed Union attack on Petersburg, one of the great missed chances of the war. After the battle, the Union settled down to a regular siege (to 3 April 1865)
	18 June 1864:	Battle of Lynchburg, Virginia. Repulse of a Federal attack on Lynchburg.
	27 June 1864:	Battle of Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia. Confederate victory where Sherman’s union army attacked well built defences on Kennesaw Mountain.
	9 July 1864:	Battle of the Monocacy River, Maryland. Early’s 15,000 strong confederate army of the Shenandoah Valley defeated a scratch Union force north of the Potomac and headed towards Washington.
	14 July 1864:	Battle of Tupelo, Mississippi. Force of 14,000 Federal troops sent to deal with Forrest’s raiders in Tennessee defeat a Confederate force half their size, wounding Forrest.
	20 July 1864:	Battle of Peachtree Creek, Georgia. First of two confederate attempts to defeat the union army attacking Atlanta.
	22 July 1864:	Battles of Atlanta, Georgia. Second of two confederate attempts to defeat the Union army threatening Atlanta that resulted in heavy confederate casualties.
	23 July 1864:	The Second Battle of Kernstown was a minor Confederate victory in the Shenandoah Valley
	28 July 1864:	Battle of Ezra Church, Georgia. Union victory in the campaign that led to Sherman’s capture of Atlanta.
	30 July 1864:	Battle of the Crater, Virginia. Incident during the siege of Petersburg. The Union exploded a giant mine under the Confederate lines, which caused massive disruption to the Confederates, but the Union follow up was botched, and the line was held.
	5 August 1864	Battle of Mobile Bay, Union victory that closed the port of Mobile to Confederate blockade runner
	30 August 1864	Battle of Jonesborough, Georgia, A failed Confederate attempt to defeat a Union army blocking railway access into Atlanta.
	29 November 1864	Action at Spring Hill, Tennessee, Failed Confederate attempt to trap part of the army defending Tennessee against Hood's invasion.
	30 November 1864	Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, General Hood, commanding the Confederate army left behind by Sherman, attacked a well defended Union position. Although the Union troops withdrew overnight, Hood’s men suffered three times their loses, crippling the army.
	15-16 December 1864	Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, Union victory that destroys General Hood’s Army of the Tennessee. The 40,000 strong army eventually returned to Mississippi with only 20,000 men left.
1865	13-15 January 1865:	Capture of Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Union victory that finally isolated Wilmington, the last southern port capable of helping Lee’s army.
	16 March 1865:	Battle of Averasborough, North Carolina. Confederate delaying action whose main significance was that it told the Confederates that Shermans’ army was split into two wings, with a twelve mile gap.
	19 March 1865:	Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina. Confederate attempt to defeat one wing of Sherman’s army before the other wing could come to its assistance. The attempt failed, and two days later Union reinforcements forced a Confederate retreat.
	25 March 1865	Battle of Fort Stedman. Confederate attack on Fort Stedman in the Richmond/ Petersburg line, repulsed after initial successes. Results in the weakening of the Confederate line to the point where Lee orders the evacuation of the line, and with it Richmond.
	1 April 1865:	Battle of Five Forks, Virginia. A Confederate force guarding a key crossroads was overwhelmed by Sheridan’s cavalry. The defeat showed Grant that the Confederate army was starting to collapse.
1866	June	The Austro-Prussian or Seven Weeks War of 1866 was the second of three wars that led to German unification under the leadership of Prussia. The Prussians easily defeated their Austrian and German enemies, and became the dominant power in Northern Germany, while Austrian had to abandon her remaining influence in the rest of Germany.
	26 June	The combat of Huhnerwasser (26 June 1866) was the first clash between Austrian troops and the Prussian Army of the Elbe at the start of the Prussian invasion of Bohemia (Austro-Prussian War). The combat of Liebenau (26 June 1866) was the first significant combat during the Austro-Prussia War and saw the Prussians force the Austrians to abandon the village of Liebenau and gain their first foothold across the River Iser.
	26-27 June	The action of Podol (26-27 June 1866) saw the Prussians defeat an Austrian counterattack which was designed to expel the Prussians from their footholds across the River Iser. Instead the battle ended as a Prussian victory which saw them gain control of another major river crossing over the Iser.
	27 June	The battle of Langensalza (27 June 1866) was the only significant Prussian setback during the campaign against their German enemies during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, but despite their victories the Hanoverians were forced to surrender two days later. The battle of Trautenau, 27 June 1866, was the only serious Prussian setback during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and saw the right-hand column of the eastern wing of the advancing Prussian armies suffer a defeat at the hands of the Austrian 10th Corps. The battle of Nachod (27 June 1866) saw the Prussians defeat a series of Austrian attacks aimed at recapturing a key position in the Bohemian mountains that had been abandoned without a fight on the previous day.
	28 June	The battle of Müchengrätz (28 June 1866) was a missed chance for the Prussians to isolate and destroy the western part of the Austrian army on the River Iser (Austro-Prussian War). The battle of Skalitz (28 June 1866) was the second of two victories in two days won by the Prussian V Corps, and helped secure the Prussian position in Bohemia (Austria-Prussian War of 1866) The battle of Soor or Berkersdorf (28 June 1866) was a Prussian victory that made up for their defeat at Trautenau on the previous day, and opened up a route to the River Elbe for the Prussian Guard Corps
	29 June	The battle of Gitschin (or Jicin), 29 June 1866, saw the western wing of the Prussian army invading Bohemia inflict a significant defeat on the retreating Austrian and Saxon troops who had been unable to stop them on the River Iser. The combat of Schweinschadel (29 June 1866) saw the defeat of the last major Austrian attempt to retain a foothold east of the Eble, and completed the series of operations that brought the Crown Prince of Prussia's 2nd Army across the mountains into Bohemia. The action of Königinhof (29 June 1866) saw the Prussian Guards Corps capture the town and its bridge over the River Elbe, badly disrupting the Austrian plan of campaign (Austria-Prussian War, 1866).
	3 July	The battle of Sadowa or Königgrätz (3 July 1866) was a decisive Prussian victory during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Although the Prussian commander von Moltke failed to achieve the total destruction of the Austrian army that had been his objective, the battle helped break the Austrian will to resist, and peace was made on Prussian terms by the end of July.
	4 July	The battle of Dermbach (4 July 1866) was a Prussian victory over a Bavarian army that prevented the Bavarians from joining up with their German allies (Austro-Prussian War, 1866).
	10 July	The battle of Hammelburg (10 July 1866) was one of two defeats suffered by the Bavarians on the same day, as they retreated south in the aftermath of a failure to join up with their German allies. The battle of Kissingen (10 July 1866) was the bigger of two battles lost by the Bavarians on the same day in the aftermath of their failure to unite with their German allies (Austro-Prussian War, 1866).
	13 July	The battle of Laufach (13 July 1866) was a Prussian victory over German Federal troops who were trying to defend the exits from the Spessart Mountains and prevent the Prussians from approaching Frankfurt (Austro-Prussian War of 1866).
	14 July	The battle of Aschaffenburg (14 July 1866) saw the Prussians gain a foothold on the Main River east of Frankfurt and made it more difficult for the two Federal forces opposing them to join up (Austro-Prussian War of 1866).
	16 July	The battle of Tobitschau (16 July 1866) saw the Prussians attack the Austrians as they attempted to retreat south in the aftermath of their defeat at Königgrätz, forcing the Austrians to abandon their original line of retreat and instead move east across the Carpathian Mountains (Austria-Prussian War of 1866).
	22 July	The battle of Blumenau (22 July 1866) was the final battle of the Austrian phase of the war and saw the Prussians attack an Austrian position north-west of Pressburg (now Bratislava), continuing the battle even after news arrived that an armistice was due to come into effect later on the same day (Austro-Prussian War of 1866).
	23 July	The combat of Hundheim (23 July 1866) was a Prussian victory over German Federal troops that began to disrupt an over-ambitious plan for a counterattack aimed at expelling the Prussians from Frankfurt (Austro-Prussian War of 1866).
	24 July	The battle of Werbach (24 July 1866) was one of two battles on the same day that saw the Prussians defeat an attempt by their German opponents to defend the line of the River Tauber (Austro-Prussian War of 1866). The battle of Tauberbischofsheim (24 July 1866) was a Prussian victory that prevented the Federal 8th Corps from defending the line of the River Tauber, and that ended any chance of a coordinated Federal and Bavarian counterattack against the Prussian Army of the Main (Austro-Prussian War of 1866).
	25 July	The battle of Gerchsheim (25 July 1866) saw the Prussians defeat the retreated Federal 8th Corps as it attempted to retreat from the line of the River Tauber towards the Main near Würzburg. The battle of Helmstadt (25 July 1866) saw the Prussians defeat a Bavarian force that was moving south to aid its Federal allies, who suffered a separate defeat of their own a little further to the south-east, at Gerchsheim
1879	4 July	Battle of Ulundi (South Africa), British victory ending 1879 Zulu War
1894	25 July	The battle of Phung-Tao or Asan (25 July 1894) was an encounter battle between Chinese and Japanese naval forces that took place before the official outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95.
	29 July	The battle of Songhwan (29 July 1894) was Japan's first overseas battle for three hundred years, and saw the Japanese army in Korea defeat a Chinese force on the road to Asan in a battle that took place several days before the official outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95.
	1 August	Outbeak of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), Japan's first overseas war after she came out of isolation in the 1860s, and saw the rapidly modernised Japanese armed forces inflict an embarrassing defeat on less successfully modernised Chinese forces.
	17 September	The Naval Battle of the Yalu River (17 September 1894) was a Japanese victory that saw them inflict heavy losses on the main Chinese fleet early in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95.
1895	17 April	Treaty of Shimonosek ends First Sino Japanese War
1896	1-2 March	The Battle of Adwa (also called Adowa and Adua) was fought over two days (1st / 2nd March 1896) between Ethiopian forces under Emperor Menelik II and invading Italian forces, and was the deciding battle in the First Italo-Ethiopian war and a turning point in modern African history with a European Colonial power being defeated and Ethiopia being recognised as a sovereign nation state by the European powers
1899	11 October	Expiry of Transvaal ultimatum marks official start of the Second Anglo-Boer War.
	20 October	Battle of Talana Hill, first battle of the Second Anglo-Boer War, and a British victory
	21 October	Battle of Elandslaagte, a second victory in two days for the British in Natal.
	24 October	Battle of Modderspruit or Rietfontein, inconclusive battle as the British pull back into Ladysmith
	30 October	"Mournful Monday" sees two British defeats around Ladysmith - one at Nicholson's Nek and one at Lombard's Kop.
	2 November	Start of the Siege of Ladysmith (to 27 February 1900)
	23 November	Battle of Belmont, first fighting during Lord Methuen's attempt to relieve the siege of Kimberley and a minor British victory
	25 November	Battle of Rooilaagte, second British victory in three days during the relief of Kimberley
	28 November	Battle of Modder River, the first setback during the first attempt to relieve Kimberly. The British were pinned down all day but the Boers retreated overnight
	10 December	Battle of Stormberg. The first British defeat during Black Week. A British army attempting a night march got lost and walking into an ambush.
	11 December	Battle of Magersfontein. Boer victory that ended the first attempt to relieve the siege of Kimberley. The second British defeat during Black Week
	15 December 1899	Battle of Colenso. Boer victory that ended the first attempt to relieve the siege of Ladysmith. The third British defeat during Black Week.

Please note this index only includes subjects covered on the site

4000 BC • 1000 BC • 300 BC • 1 • 1000 • 1500 • 1700 • 1800 • 1810 • 1850 • 1900 • 1925 • 1950

1850

1853

1854

20 September

25 October

5 November

1856

30 March

1859

20 May

26 May

27 May

30 May

30-31 May

3 June

4 June

8 June

15 June

24 June

1860

15 May

27-30 May

20 July

21 August

18 September

18-29 September

1 October

October-2 November

3 November

1861

13 February

12-13 April 1861:

3 June

10 June 1861:

12 July

13 July

21 July 1861:

10 August 1861

3 September

10 September

15 September

17 September

21 October 1861:

7 November 1861:

1862

19 January

6 February

7-8 February 1862

12-16 February

7-8 March

8-9 March

13 March

23 March

7 April 1862:

10-11 April 1862:

18-29 April 1862:

8 May

10 May 1862:

23 May

25 May

31 May-1 June:

6 June

8 June

9 June

25 June 1862:

26 June 1862:

27 June 1862:

29 June 1862:

30 June 1862:

1 July 1862:

5 August 1862:

9 August 1862:

29-30 August:

30 August

1 September 1862:

13-17 September 1862:

14 September 1862:

18 September 1862

19 September 1862

30 September 1862