Conflict throughout history has shaped the modern world in countless ways. Unfortunately, by its very nature,warhas also left a trail of devastation and destruction behind it too. However, horrific as the toll andconsequences of warcan be on those affected by it, cinema has also shown us how many great battles have been colored by stories of unimaginable bravery, courage, and the indomitable spirit of the often nameless soldiers who have fought and died in them.
Over the decades, there have been many epic war films that depicted both the horrors and the sheer spectacle of war. Significant historical battles have often featured amazing portrayals throughthe famous movies made about them.
However, for every one of those, there have been countless other historically fascinating and significant battles that remain largely unknown to audiences since they never had movies made about them, or haven’t featured movies that did them any justice yet. Here’s a look at some ferocious wars and battles in history that would make amazing movies if they were done right.
10The Battle of Yorktown (1781)
The history of American warfare is well-known and has been frequently documented. While the American Revolutionary War has had films likeThe Patriotdepict portions of it, it hasn’t yet hada conclusive epic filmabout it.
Hugely significant in a historical sense, and better known as The American War of Independence, this was the war that saw the original 13 colonies of the US break away from British rule and fight for the right to self-governance. The wildly successful musical play Hamilton is proof enough that such a concept is ripe for film.
Related:10 Awesome War Epics to Check Out if You Loved Ridley Scott’s Napoleon
The Decisive Battle of the Revolutionary War
The Battle of Yorktownwas the decisive battle ofthe Revolutionary Warand saw George Washington, with the help of his French ally Marquis de Lafayette, defeat General Lord Charles Cornwallis' forces.
That event led to the Treaty of Paris which finally recognized the 13 Colonies as an independent and sovereign nation, essentially clearing the way for the birth of the USA as a nation of its own. The battle was an intense one, with plenty of action, close-quarters fighting, and a bombardment that would all likely play well as a big-budget epic.
Rent The Patriot on Apple TV
9The Battle of Belleau Wood (1918)
Movies about the various conflicts and individual battles from World War II are common. However, far less common are films aboutthe major battles of World War I.The Battle of Belleau Woodbegan with the Germans who were fighting on both the Eastern (Russia) and Western Fronts (France, Britain, USA). With success against Russia, they turned their attention to the Western Front and launched a massive attack in the hope of defeating France before the US and the Allies could properly deploy to the region.
A Tense Back and Forth Fight
The battle was known for its brutality and its pendulum-like nature, which saw it swing in favor of and away from a German victory at different points. Taking place near the Marne River and Belleau Wood, a boulder-strewn forest, the US Marine Corps eventually defeated and expelled all Germans from the area.
Related:The Fugitive Director Is Making a World War I Film Written by Gene Wilder
Although casualties were heavy, the courageous fighting led to a legend that Germans used the wordTeufelshunde,which roughly translates to “hellhounds,” to describethe bravery and tenacity of the Marineswho fought in it.
8The Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902)
The Boers were the descendants of the proto-Afrikaans speaking Dutch colonists who settled in the Cape Colony, inthe country now known as South Africa. Still under British rule at the time, the settlers became disgruntled with their treatment by the British, leading to conflicts.
Although outmatched and outnumbered, the Afrikaaners were known to be proud and tenacious, and used a variety of guerrilla tactics to hold their own during many battles.
A Brutal and Bloody African War
Full of stories of immense heroism, courage, and struggle,The Anglo-Boer Wardragged on for three years, with the British eventually winning. However, that victory only came after their losses drove them to adopt scorched-earth policies that led to over a hundred thousand Afrikaaner women and children dying in internment under horrible conditions at concentration camps.
The war gained the Afrikaaners many concessions, and decades later, their people would eventually gain control of the country. Unfortunately, for the country itself, their rule sent it on the path to a long and bloody struggle for freedom and democracy that only ended with Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1994.
For the majority of native African people and other non-white races in the country, Afrikaaner rule was worse than it was under the British. The reason is that it was the descendants of the Boer people who establishedthe infamous racist system of Apartheidin the country.
7The Battle of Vienna (1683)
In the massiveconflicts between Islam and Christianityover the course of history, it wasn’t often that the epic scale featured in theBattle of Viennawas seen. The battle took place near a mountain in Vienna and came after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months.
Movies likeMedievaldo a great job depicting The Holy Roman Empire, which in this battle, backed by a monarchic alliance, fought back after it assembled 70,000 troops and 20,000 cavalry to do it.
A Battle That Expelled the Ottoman Empire From Europe
The Ottoman Empire was vast and had conquered many parts of the world. However, this battle was one of the most decisive in European history, since it expelled the Ottomans and dissuaded them from ever trying to conquer Europe again by warfare. The consequences were enormous in the context of world history. Without this victory, western civilization as we know it today may never have flourished.
Stream Medieval on Hulu
6Battle of Longewala (1971)
This one took place near the infamous border between India and Pakistan. It may not have been a “great battle” but theBattle of Longewalawas certainly memorable. Although there has beena Bollywood moviemade about it calledBorder, it remains a famous battle still largely unknown by western audiences. It took place during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and saw a regiment of 120 Indian soldiers facing over 40 Pakistani tanks by themselves.
Related:10 War Books That Should Be Adapted into Movies
A Somewhat Comedic Border Dispute
With this one, there was a story behind it filled with a lot of tension and action, but unexpectedly,some comedic elementstoo. While the Pakistani tanks had the Indian soldiers at their mercy, a series of questionable decisions by their commander changed everything.
For one, the tanks kept getting stuck in the mud, which slowed down their advance. Then, seeing barbed wire and suspecting land mines, they held their position waiting for a clearance team. Meanwhile, this gave the Indian army a chance to call in air support, which forced the Pakistanis to make an embarrassing retreat.
Rent Border on Prime Video
5Battle at the Milvian Bridge (312AD)
The Battle at the Milvian Bridgecame when Constantine the Great led his army against a much larger one duringthe Roman Civil War. He managed to win and became Emperor Constantine in the process. There have been movies about Constantine, notably an Italian-made film in the ’60s. However, no mainstream Hollywood epic has ever been made about this battle, which changed the course of history.
The Battle That Was the Foundation of Christianity
The night before the battle, Constantine supposedly saw a cross sign in the sky, with the words, “by this sign you will conquer.” He ordered his soldiers to paint this sign on their armor and hands. After winning and becoming Emperor, he decreed that Christianity was to become the official state religion, taking a persecuted belief system and making it the dominant one throughout the empire.
That sparked Christianity spreading throughout the world.If that never happened, one of the dominant religions of the world would possibly now be about as popular as the Cult of Isis, based on the Egyptian deities, Isis and Osiris.
4The Second Battle of Tarain (1192)
Back in the 12th century,the Islamic worldhadn’t yet gained a foothold in South East Asia. When a ruler named Muhammad of Ghor, from the region that’s now Afghanistan, attempted to change this, he initially conquered the area where Pakistan is now, and then turned his attention to a large part of India. He was defeated, but then returned with a much larger army.
Coming Back From Defeat
The Second Batte of Tarainwas hugelysignificant for the historyof the region. Once Muhammad returned, he conquered large parts of India, and the result was that Indian Buddhism was largely wiped out there. In its place, the Islamic world began to grow and led to the states of Pakistan and Bangladesh being established in the subcontinent.
To this day, the largest concentration of Muslim people in the world is still in South Asia, and all of those historical shifts came about as a result of Muhammad’s victory at The Second Battle of Tarain.
3The Battle of Badger Mouth (1210)
One of the most decisive battles for the Mongol Empire,The Battle of Badger Mouth, was waged against the Jin dynasty and was one of the empire’s most significant victories in the region. It hastened the decline of Jin dynasty, and helped establish Mongol control in China.
The Brilliant Tactics of the Mongol Empire
The aftermath was brutal, and resulted in inhabitants of cities having to resort to cannibalism to survive. The sheer size and underlying politics of the greater war at play made for a macabre but fascinating historical shift. The scale, tactics, and might ofGenghis Khan’s forceshad been underestimated greatly, and those mistakes sparked a massive shift in the historical legacy of the Mongols.
Here’s a great video describing why the Mongol’s tactics were often superior against the Jin dynasty:
However, despite the sheer size and might of the empire, today, things have shifted in the opposite direction. Now China is one of the most powerful countries in the world, while Mongolia is a poor country and struggles with many economic hardships.
2Battle of Kapyong (1951)
The Korean Wartook place after hostilities between North Korea (a communist state administered by Russia) and South Korea (a capitalist state administered by the US) led to North Korea invading South Korea. The resulting war between them had their allies and United Nations forces dragged into the fighting.
The Morth’s offensive saw Chinese forces backing them push South Korean forces and UN battalions, mostly comprising Australian and Canadian soldiers, into the Kapyong Valley.
Related:10 Underrated TV Shows About the Cold War
Massively Outnumbered, and They Still Won
While South Korean forces mostly fled due to the size of the threat faced, the Canadian and Australian soldiers stayed and defended the valley against an army five times their own size, inThe Battle of Kapyong. This stunning act of bravery eventually resulted in the Chinese being forced to retreat.
Had the Chinese prevailed, South Korea would likely have fallen to communism and suffered the same fate their Northern neighbors do today, rather than being one of the most developed countries in Asia, with a thriving economy and the 13th largest GDP in the world.
1The Emu War (1932)
Finally, if you’ve never heard of this one, that’s becauseit wasn’t a conventional warin any sense. It took place in Australia in 1932 and came about as a result of the population of emus (large flightless birds similar to ostriches) growing out of control and being deemed pests that were destroying crops in western parts of the country. The army was called in and tasked with culling them, and the operation wound up being an absolute fiasco.
A Ridiculous War With Birds — That Was Lost
Packed with stories of comedic missteps by the army, their attempts to execute their orders resulted in some hilariously infamous failures that saw the birds mostly evade them at every turn. In the end, the emus continued destroying crops, and the entire thing became a much-derided debacle.
However, a second attempt was more successful, with thousands of rounds of machine gun rounds eventually being used to kill scores of Emus — actions that were roundly criticized despitethe positive impactfor farmers.
Fortunately, it looks like this one will become a movie soon. Earlier this year, there was a film made aboutThe Emu Warthat showed at Monster Fest. Famous Australian comedian Jim Jeffries, in collaboration with others like John Cleese, are reputedly now working on a mainstream action-comedy film about the event. Yaniv Raz will be directing, and hadsome choice commentsabout the upcoming project.
“I’m grateful that our wise emu overlords have seen fit to allow me the opportunity to blend satire with slapstick and tell a poignant story about humanity’s war against nature. I couldn’t be more delighted to helm a picture that is simultaneously so entertaining, meaningful, and relevant.”
Lastly, here’s an awesome rendering ofan AI-generated fictional filmabout the Emu War.
