“Very few battles actually change history”, posits Gordon Corrigan in his latest book Tipping Points of History: The Battle of Aegospotami. Intriguing the reader from the outset, he goes on to explain how inaccurately the phrase ‘crossroads of history’ is applied to many battles. More often than not, he eloquently writes, these battles simply “reinforce the status quo, restore the status quo ante, buy a temporary advantage for the victor, or replace one unpleasant regime with another equally unpleasant”.
Corrigan introduces examples of Trafalgar, Waterloo and the Battle of Britain to illustrate his point. All are fascinating moments in history but they cannot be defined as ‘tipping points’. For Trafalgar, if the battle ended in a defeat, Britain could have afforded the loss, whilst France and Spain could not. If Napoleon won the Battle of Waterloo, there were 120,000 Prussians in the field as well as Russian and Austrian armies making their way towards the engagement. Britain would have stayed in the war as “the paymaster”. For the Battle of Britain, if the Germans had succeeded, an invasion of England was never a realistic prospect. So, Corrigan argues, how can it be a tipping point if the result would have been the same? In this pacy yet detailed book, Gordon Corrigan delves into the Battle of Aegospotami 405 BC: a true tipping point.
The Battle of Aegospotami was the naval confrontation between the Athenians and Spartans that resulted in the end of the Peloponnesian War. It was a battle that could have been won by either side. But the Athenians got their timings wrong. The Spartans, under Lysander, defeated the Athenian navy. Only 10 out of the 180 Athenian ships were not sunk or captured. Lysander then decreed the death penalty for those who would attempt to bring Athens grain. Athens surrendered in March 404. If Athens had won, it is probable that Greek democracy would have flourished and developed. We would be the product of a Greek victory. Instead, Rome provided a greater legacy.
The real strengths of this book lie in its attention to detail. One particularly enlightening moment is Corrigan’s vivid descriptions of the armour and weapons the soldiers would have worn and fought with, giving us a firm and clear picture of the lives these soldiers lived. Furthermore, Corrigan does well to set the scene of the Peloponnesian War with great contextual detail. In his chapter ‘The Greek World’ he introduces the two Mediterranean superpowers, Athens and Sparta, and discusses the different historical accounts (ranging from Thucydides to Xenophon) of the battle as well as the events leading up to it. His writings on the fascinating personality of Alcibiades are also a real highlight: his constant switching of sides (depending on which direction the political wind was blowing) is vividly brought to life.
Corrigan’s book is a fast moving, detailed and well written account of the historical events. The book is well structured and leads the reader through each event marvellously. An enlightening and educating read that encourages readers to think twice about throwing around the phrase ‘crossroads of history’.
Gordon Corrigan is the author of Mud, Blood and Poppycock and Wellington: A Military Life.
