I love history. American, British, Roman, Greek, and just plain history. Knowing the past is the key to knowing the future. I find myself questioning situatutions in history. What if events were different from what they are. What if the American colonists lost the Revolutionary war against Britain. What would America be like today? Would all of us have British accents and have scones and tea time? Americans have made a impact on the world. Whether good or bad. Americans have influenced history of the world and the countries that lived in it. And just imagine if the British won the Revolutionary war? Or think about a situation in your own country. What if the Crusade into Portugal never happen? Would Portugal be the same? What if the Ivan won the war against the Polish and its allies? Would Russia still be the same today? Perhaps. If Nelson lost the battle of Trafalga, would the British Empire held on to the French/Spanish invasion?
The battle of Tours is one of those major what if circumstances. The Muslim army under command of Abd-er Rahman wa on a task to invade land and destroy Chrstiananity. He had conquered Syria, Eygpt, North Africa, with Western Europe being his next target. Next to the city of Tours, present day France, the Frankish Army under Charles Martel. The Franks were outnumbered but were better trained. Martel's forces managed to capture Rahman and the Muslim forces retreated out of Europe. The significance of the battle determined alot in present day Europe as well as America. If the Franks lost the battle of Tours, the Muslim army might of swept across Europe. Destroying the Chrstian religion and possiibly forcing the Muslim way of life for Europeans. And in America, most of our ancestors come from Europe. And Muslim culture might of found its way in present day America.
The Battle of Britain was significant event in World War II and some schlors say effected the outcome of the war. With Adolf Hitler managing to conquer France, Great Britain was left standing alone. With Prime Minister Winston Churchil saying, " the battle of France is over, I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin." Knowing that it would be impossible to invade Britain by land, Germany needed to control the skies. The Lutwaffe (German Fighter Command) needed the air superiority over southern England so the British Navy could have no air support and face the German fleet by itself. This was a grim time for all Britons. The Lutwaffe targeted airfields, destroying British airplanes. A tactical blunder on Germany's part lead to the defensive victory for Britain. On Setmber 7th, 1940, Germany switched its bombing prioritys to London and other cities. In doing this, the Royal Air Force (RAF) had gained desperatly needed time to regruop and rearm. And in doing this it lead to the RAF on Setember 15 to leave devastating losses to the Germans that the Lutwaffe could never have air superiority over the British Isles. And in securing the British Empire, the United States and Great Britain managed to consolidate troops for the invasion of Normandy. And if the Battle of Britain was lost, the invasion of Normandy might of never happened. And that might of lead to Germany winning the second World War. A very grim future that would of been. |
