Brad's Battle Maps

Tsushima (1905) On 27-28 May 1905, the Battle of Tsushima was fought between the Japanese under Togo Heihachiro and the Russians under Zinovi Rozhdestvenski and Nikolai Nebogatov during the Russo-Japanese War. Why did it happen? Following the restoration of the Meiji Emperor in 1868, Japan underwent a period of modernisation and expansion, with its army and navy being reformed along Western lines. In 1898, Russia sought a warm-water port with access to the Pacific for both i

Midway (1942) On 4 June 1942, the Battle of Midway was fought between the United States under Frank Fletcher and Raymond A. Spruance against the Japanese under Isoroku Yamamoto and Chuichi Nagumo during the Second World War. Why did it happen?   On 7 December 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii to cripple the US Navy so that it could not interfere with Japan’s conquest of Southeast Asia. The following day, Britain and the United States declared war on Japan, an

Gallipoli (1915) On 25 April-21 August 1915, the Battle of Gallipoli was fought between the Allies under Ian Hamilton and the Turks under Mustafa Kemal during the First World War. Why did it happen?   By the end of 1914, the trench warfare on the Western Front led Allied generals to look for other ways to break the deadlock. The Gallipoli Campaign was conceived by Winston Churchill in January 1915 as a naval campaign to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war and open a suppl

Marne (1914) On 5-9 September 1914, the Battle of the Marne was fought between the Allies under Joseph Joffre against the Germans under Helmuth von Moltke during the First World War. Why did it happen? On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was assassinated by Serbian nationalists in Sarajevo, Bosnia. On 28 July, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia, and Germany allied with Austria-Hungary before invading Belgium and Fra

Gate Pa (1864) On 29 April 1864, the Battle of Gate Pa was fought in New Zealand between the British under Duncan Cameron and the Maori under Rawiri Puhirake during the New Zealand Wars. Why did it happen? Following the end of the first phase of the New Zealand Wars in 1847, Maori became increasingly concerned over the increasing loss of their lands to British settlers. Some Maori suggested that they would have more luck in defending their lands against the British if they w

Dien Bien Phu (1954) On 13 March-7 May 1954, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought in Vietnam between the French under Christian De Castries and the Viet Minh under Vo Nguyen Giap during the First Indochina War. Why did it happen? Following the end of the Second World War in 1945, France expected to hold on to its colonies in French Indochina (present-day Vietnam) that had been occupied by the Japanese during the war. However, on 2 September 1945, Ho Chi Minh, a member of a

Darwin (1942) On 19 February 1942, the Battle of Darwin was fought in Northern Australia between the Japanese under Chuichi Nagumo and Mitsuo Fuchida and the Allies under David V.J. Blake during the Second World War. Why did it happen? At the start of 1942, the town of Darwin in Northern Australia was being used by the Allies as a supply base for their forces in the Dutch East Indies. Because of its distance from any Japanese-controlled territory, little thought was given by

Eureka Stockade (1854) On 3 December 1854, the Battle of the Eureka Stockade was fought in Australia between Southern Cross Rebels under Peter Lalor and the British under Thomas Queade during the Eureka Rebellion. Why did it happen? In 1851, it was announced that gold had been discovered in New South Wales and Victoria, leading many people around the world to come to Australia to seek their fortunes. This led to Victoria's state population increasing exponentially from 77,000

France (1940) On 10 May-22 June 1940, the Battle of France was fought between the Germans under Adolf Hitler and Erich von Manstein and the Allies under Maurice Gamelin and Lord Gort during the Second World War. Why did it happen? On 3 September 1939, two days after Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Even though most of Germany’s armies were concentrated on the invasion of Poland, France had committed itself to a defensive strategy based