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 - Battle of Thermopylae 480 BC

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in a narrow pass in northern Greece between the invading Persian Empire under King Xerxes and a vastly outnumbered alliance of Greek city-states commanded by King Leonidas of Sparta. With 300 bodyguards, the Spartan King led the defence of the pass for three days, inflicting enormous losses on the elite corps of the Persian army. The task became impossible, however, when a Greek traitor revealed a mountain track above the pass to one of Xerxes’ commanders. Subsequently encircled by the Persian army, the Spartans and their allies fought valiantly to the death. The courageous last stand by Leonidas inspired the united Greeks to ultimate victory in ensuing battles, thereby securing the rise of classical Greece, with its innovative ideas on politics, philosophy and the arts.

 - Battle of Hastings 1066

The third release from this popular five-coin series marks a pivotal moment in English history. In 1066, William Duke of Normandy’s fleet landed near Hastings where it engaged King Harold’s foot-weary army, recently returned from conflict in the north. A fierce battle raged for much of the day until the persistence of William’s soldiers eventually succeeded in breaking through the English lines. During the mêlée, Harold was struck in the eye by a Norman arrow, a fatal blow depicted in the 11^th century Bayeaux Tapestry.

 - Battle of Balaklava 1854

Balaklava served as a supply port for Britain and her allies during the Crimean War. Having resisted a Russian attempt to capture the town, the British Light Brigade was ordered to disrupt their withdrawal. But the command was misinterpreted, resulting in the charge of 660 men “into the valley of Death”. The realities of the disaster were brought home with startling impact by The Times newspaper’s battlefield correspondent William Howard Russell, and immortalised in verse by Alfred Tennyson in The Charge of the Light Brigade.

 - Battle of Cannae 216 BC

The Second Punic War, which lasted between 218 and 201 BC, saw the Carthaginians under Hannibal inflict a series of crushing defeats on the Roman legions culminating at Cannae. Here, the Carthaginians faced a massive Roman army comprising 80,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry under the command of consuls Paullus and Varro. Flanked on either side by horsemen, the huge Roman infantry was unusually deep and tightly formed. Hannibal’s armoured cavalry charged into the Roman horsemen on the left, cutting them down before riding round the back of the enemy line. Meanwhile, the centre of the Carthaginian infantry pulled back, enveloping the legionaries until they were surrounded on all sides with no means of escape. Hailed as one of greatest tactical achievements in military history, the battle resulted in Rome’s greatest defeat with the loss of up to 50,000 men. Despite its devastating loss, however, Rome prevailed decisively at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC.

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in a narrow pass in northern Greece between the invading Persian Empire under King Xerxes and a vastly outnumbered alliance of Greek city-states commanded by King Leonidas of Sparta. With 300 bodyguards, the Spartan King led the defence of the pass for three days, inflicting enormous losses on the elite corps of the Persian army. The task became impossible, however, when a Greek traitor revealed a mountain track above the pass to one of Xerxes’ commanders. Subsequently encircled by the Persian army, the Spartans and their allies fought valiantly to the death. The courageous last stand by Leonidas inspired the united Greeks to ultimate victory in ensuing battles, thereby securing the rise of classical Greece, with its innovative ideas on politics, philosophy and the arts.

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