Yorktown (Sept. 28-Oct. 19, 1781)

Gen. George Washington and his Continental Army had a decision to make in the spring of 1781. They could strike a decisive blow to the British in New York City or aim for the South, in Yorktown, Va., where Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis’ troops were garrisoned. Washington and his French ally, Lt. Gen. Rochambeau, bet on the South, where they were assured critical naval support from a French fleet commanded by Adm. de Grasse. The American and French soldiers marched hundreds of miles from their headquarters north of New York to Yorktown, making theirs the largest troop movement of the American Revolution. They surprised the British in a siege that turned the tide toward an American victory in the War for Independence. It took Americans two more years of diplomacy to secure their independence through the Treaty of Paris, but the war was won at Yorktown.

Guadalcanal (Aug. 7, 1942-Feb. 9, 1943)

In August 1942, Marines mounted the first major U.S. amphibious landing of World War II at Guadalcanal, using innovative landing craft built by Higgins Industries in New Orleans. By seizing a strategic airfield site on the island, the U.S. halted Japanese efforts to disrupt supply routes to Australia and New Zealand. The invasion ignited a ferocious struggle marked by seven major naval battles, numerous clashes ashore, almost continuous air combat and significant casualties for both sides. American forces fought for six long months to hold the island. The Allies prevailed in the end, taking the first vital step in driving the Japanese back in the Pacific theater.

Saratoga (Sept. 19 & Oct. 7, 1777)

The Battle of Saratoga occurred in two crucial battles just 18 days apart. Despite being overcome during the Battle of Freeman’s Farm, the Continental Army persevered and won a decisive victory at Saratoga. The Americans decimated British Gen. John Burgoyne’s troops, cut off supply routes and Burgoyne never received his promised and desperately needed reinforcements. The British had planned a divide-and-conquer attack against the Americans in upstate New York. However, a series of mishaps and delays, as well as offensive actions taken by the Continental Army, forced Burgoyne’s troops to fight Gen. Horatio Gates’ fast-growing army alone. The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the American Revolution. It gave the Patriots a major morale boost and persuaded the French, Spanish and Dutch to join their cause against a mutual rival. France’s naval support eventually helped the Continental Army win the final Battle of Yorktown, leading to the end of the American Revolution.

Manila Bay (May 1, 1898)

Before dawn, Commodore George Dewey's flagship Olympia led seven U.S. Navy cruisers and gunboats into Manila Bay. By 8 a.m., Dewey's Asiatic Squadron located and destroyed virtually the entire Spanish naval force in the Philippines. Damage to the American ships was negligible, and crews suffered no fatalities and few injuries. The Battle of Manila Bay was a singular demonstration of the daring and decisive application of sea power. In a few hours, Dewey had eliminated any threat that the Spanish navy might pose to the U.S. Far Eastern commerce and placed Spain's centuries-long rule of the Philippines in grave jeopardy. A few days later, with the capture of Cavite arsenal, Dewey also gained a repair and refueling base, essential for maintaining his squadron under wartime conditions thousands of miles from home. The victory established the United States as a naval force and marked its emergence as a global power.

D-Day (June 6, 1944)

The D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, officially named Operation Overlord, saw nearly 160,000 Allied troops assault by sea and air from 5,000 vessels and 13,000 aircraft in Nazi-occupied Western Europe. It would prove a turning point in World War II and the beginning of the end for Hitler’s Nazi regime.

U.S. Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the largest amphibious assault in history as he sought to push the German army from France and force the Nazis to fight on a second front in Europe. Allied forces – including 73,000 Americans – attacked a 50-mile stretch of shore where troops crossed wide-open beach under heavy German fire, scaled cliffs and steep bluffs, and ultimately pushed back the German lines to establish a foothold from which they began the campaign to liberate Europe.

More than 4,400 Allied troops were killed in the battle – including about 2,500 Americans — but the assault proved a critical step toward Germany’s surrender in May 1945.

Battle of the Meuse-Argonne (Sept. 26-Nov. 11, 1918)

The final battle of World War I, the Meuse-Argonne offensive was then the largest military campaign in American history and remains the single deadliest battle for U.S. forces.

The offensive saw some 600,000 American troops – backed by 2,700 artillery pieces, 189 tanks and 821 aircraft – under Gen. John J. Pershing’s command moved northward against fortified German positions in France’s Argonne Forest and Meuse River valley. The American Expeditionary Forces spent weeks engaged in intense combat with highly experienced German troops, slowly pushing back the enemy, cutting off supply lines and breaking a stalemate along the Western Front.

By the battle’s end, after 47 days, more than 1.2 million Americans had participated, some 26,000 had been killed and nearly 100,000 were wounded. Despite the heavy losses, Pershing’s offensive achieved its objective in helping force a German surrender on Nov. 11, 1918, and an end to the Great War.

Santiago (July 3, 1898)

The battle of Santiago de Cuba proved to be the decisive naval skirmish of the Spanish-American War. The battle began as the Spanish Caribbean fleet made a desperate attempt to flee the harbor off Santiago, Cuba, where they had been blockaded by U.S. Naval forces, as American land troops closed in on the city.

One-by-one, the American fleet decimated Spain’s ships with superior firepower and speed. In four hours, the U.S. ships had sunk or driven aground all six of the Spanish vessels – four armored cruisers and two destroyers – essentially eliminating Spain’s naval power in the Western Hemisphere. The Spanish saw 323 sailors killed, 151 wounded and 1,800 captured. The Americans suffered one sailor killed and one wounded in the engagement.

Spain surrendered Santiago shortly after the battle, ending major fighting in Cuba. In August, Spain agreed to a ceasefire leading to the war’s official end Dec. 10, 1898. The victory demonstrated America's growing naval power and paved the way for U.S. global expansion.

Iwo Jima (Feb. 19-March 26, 1945)

U.S. Marines launched an amphibious assault Feb. 19, 1945, against an entrenched Japanese garrison on an 8-square-mile volcanic island to obtain a Pacific airfield to support B-29 bombing raids. The Battle of Iwo Jima lasted 36 days and claimed nearly 7,000 American lives. It also produced one of the most iconic photographs of World War II – the flag raising over Mount Suribachi.

U.S. Marines and sailors faced some of the most intense fighting of the war on Iwo Jima, as they fought a battle of attrition against some 21,000 Japanese soldiers dug into an extensive series of underground tunnels and bunkers. For weeks, some 70,000 American troops faced close-quarter fighting while they rooted out Japanese strongholds and fighting positions.

By the battle’s end, nearly the entire Japanese garrison was killed and the U.S. suffered more than 26,000 casualties, including those killed in action, as they took control of Iwo Jima.

Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863)

U.S. and Confederate troops fought the bloodiest single battle of the Civil War in Gettysburg, Pa., which ultimately led to the preservation of the United States. It was Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s second attempt to invade the North after defensive victories in Virginia in the year prior. The Union’s 93,900 troops fought against 71,700 Confederate soldiers. After the armies collectively suffered more than 50,000 casualties in the battle, Lee retreated south. Union Gen. George Meade did not pursue the retreating army and missed a critical opportunity to trap Lee and force a surrender. However, the battle marked a turning point in the war, which continued for more than two years. Months later, on Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln dedicated a portion of the battlefield as a cemetery to honor the fallen and delivered his famous Gettysburg Address.

Vicksburg (May 18-July 4, 1863)

It took 47 days, but Union troops took control of Vicksburg, Miss., strategically located along the Mississippi River. Lt. Gen. John Pemberton's Confederate troops surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant just one day after the U.S. claimed victory at Gettysburg. Taking Vicksburg – as well as Port Hudson five days later – allowed the Union full control of the entire Mississippi River and cleaved the South in two. The battle included 77,000 Union troops and 33,000 from the Confederacy. There were about 37,370 casualties – more than 32,000 from the Confederate army. Roughly 4,000 civilians were trapped in the city during the siege and dug caves to survive the Union’s artillery fire. Coupled with the victory at Gettysburg, Vicksburg helped shift momentum to the North and toward the preservation of the Union.

Battles of Lake Erie and the Thames (Sept. 10 & Oct. 5, 1813)

The two battles in the fall of 1813, fought during the War of 1812, were a one-two punch against British forces in the Northwest. On Sept. 10, the U.S. spotted six British navy vessels approaching Put-in-Bay, Ohio, sparking the Battle of Lake Erie. In the end, Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry’s ships delivered a resounding U.S. triumph – securing control of the lake and forcing the British to abandon Fort Malden in Ontario, Canada, and retreat up the Thames River. In the Battle of the Thames, U.S. troops led by Gen. William Henry Harrison seized onto that success and pushed the British and their Native American allies further into Canada on Oct. 5. Native American leader Tecumseh died in the battle, ending the confederacy of several Native American tribes.

Operation Torch (Nov. 8-16, 1942)

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower led Allied forces on this first major involvement of U.S. troops in the European-North African theater during World War II. It also was the first major joint Allied amphibious landing of the war. On Nov. 8, 1942, roughly 107,000 British and U.S. troops landed at Casablanca, Morocco, and Algiers and Oran in Algeria. An armistice was reached three days later, marking the beginning of the end of Axis power in North Africa. The move also stretched the Germans into fighting on another front, straining its resources and relieving pressure on the Soviet Union.

Midway (June 4-7, 1942)

The U.S. turned the tide of World War II in the Pacific at Midway in June 1942, just six months after the surprise Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The Japanese attacked the U.S. air base at Midway Island, about 1,300 miles northwest of Hawaii. A Navy force under Adm. Chester Nimitz located the Japanese fleet and sent U.S. dive bombers and torpedo planes from the carriers USS Yorktown, USS Enterprise, and USS Hornet to attack. Four Japanese carriers that had taken part in the Pearl Harbor attack – Akagi, Hiryu, Kaga, and Soryu – all were sunk. The Yorktown was severely damaged and later sunk by a Japanese submarine. The Japanese lost four carriers and 3,057 men, while the U.S. lost one carrier and 362 men. The battle put Japan on the defensive for the rest of the war.

Cerro Gordo (April 18, 1847)

U.S. Army engineers under Capt. Robert E. Lee carved out a rough road to flank the Mexican Army near Veracruz, Mexico, in April 1847. The attack turned into a rout, with Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna forced to retreat so suddenly that he left his prosthetic left leg at his camp. Fewer than 70 Americans were killed in the battle, compared with more than 1,000 for the Mexican forces.

The victory, in the Mexican-American War, opened the route south for Americans under Gen. Winfield Scott to capture Mexico City in September. Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo the following year, ceding just under 530,000 square miles of territory to the United States. It included all or part of what became the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.

Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood (June 1918)

A massive surge of fresh American troops turned back the Germans' Spring Offensive in June 1918, with U.S. soldiers and Marines repulsing the attack just 50 miles east of Paris. The U.S. had remained neutral since World War I began in August 1914 but joined the French and British side when President Woodrow Wilson asked for a declaration of war in April 1917. By the following spring, American soldiers and Marines in the American Expeditionary Forces under U.S. Army Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing were defending a line on the River Marne near Chateau-Thierry. Their counterattack regained French ground, while the Marines at nearby Belleau Wood pressed an attack despite heavy casualties. The tenacity of the Marines earned them the nickname “Teufelshunde” – "Devil Dogs" – from the Germans. U.S. losses included 11,000 killed and wounded. By September, more than 1.2 million American "doughboys" were part of the fight. Germany capitulated on Nov. 11.

Incheon (Sept. 15-26, 1950)

The amphibious end-run ordered by Gen. Douglas MacArthur in September 1950 flipped the tables on the 100,000 communist North Korean troops who had invaded across the 38th Parallel in June. Pushed behind a 135-mile-long defensive line on the southeastern coast dubbed "the Pusan Perimeter," MacArthur ordered an amphibious landing at Incheon (then called Inchon), 250 miles behind North Korean lines. The 40,000-strong invasion force, including troops of the 1st Marine Division and the Army's 7th Division, took back the South Korean capital of Seoul. When the communist retreat neared the Yalu River border with China, Mao Zedong ordered Chinese “volunteers" to counterattack. U.S. forces, along with Canadian, Australian, and British units, were pushed back to roughly the 38th Parallel, where hostilities had begun. Truce talks would drag on for two years as the war settled into a stalemate. An agreement reached in June 1953 created a cease-fire in the Korean War and has kept the Korean Peninsula divided for more than 70 years.