There were a number of instances in history where an amazing transport of numerous soldiers had a vital influence on the outcome of a major battle. Excerpted here from the posts are three such instances which – although they are described and explained – the explanation of each is not sufficient except to assert that it was an act of providence.
from The Battle of the Marne
The miracle of the thousands of French reinforcements that appeared at the crucial moment to help deny the German hope to counterattack and smash the Sixth Army of the French. The Sixth Army was reinforced on the night of 7/8 September by 10,000 French reserve infantry ferried from Paris. This included about 3,000 men from the Seventh Division who were transported in a fleet of Paris taxicabs requisitioned by General Gallieni.
from The Battle of Waterloo
The incredible turnaround of a defeated army that was able to reorganize itself. After Ligny, the Prussian army, although defeated, was able to realign its supply train, reorganize itself, and intervene decisively on the Waterloo battlefield within 48 hours![30] Two and a half Prussian army corps, or 48,000 men, were engaged at Waterloo; two brigades under Bülow, commander of IV Corps, attacked Lobau at 16:30, while Zieten’s I Corps and parts of Pirch I’s II Corps engaged at about 18:00.
The shock of the French army at this totally unexpected force seemingly coming from nowhere was likely the single most devastating impact that changed the course of the battle – and of the rest of history.
The French were expecting Grouchy (a French force of 30,000 that went AWOL – see post) to march to their support from Wavre, and when Zieten’s I Corps appeared instead, the disillusionment shattered French morale” and “the sight of Zieten’s arrival caused turmoil to rage in Napoleon’s army”.[148]
from Acts of Providence that Led to the Defeat of Germany in World War II
The amazing success of the evacuation of the British army was nothing short of miraculous. The War Office made the decision to evacuate British forces on 25 May. The docks at Dunkirk were too badly damaged to be used, but the East and West Moles (sea walls protecting the harbour entrance) were intact. Captain William Tennant—in charge of the evacuation—decided to use the beaches and the East Mole to land the ships. This highly successful idea hugely increased the number of troops that could be embarked each day and on 31 May, over 68,000 men were embarked.[21][39] On the first day only 7,669 Allied soldiers were evacuated, but by the end of the eighth day, 338,226 of them had been rescued by a hastily assembled fleet of over 800 boats. Many troops were able to embark from the harbor’s protective mole onto 39 British Royal Navy destroyers, four Royal Canadian Navy destroyers,[4] and a variety of civilian merchant ships, while others had to wade out from the beaches, waiting for hours in shoulder-deep water. Some were ferried to the larger ships by what came to be known as the little ships of Dunkirk, a flotilla of hundreds of merchant marine boats, fishing boats, pleasure craft, yachts, and lifeboats called into service from Britain. It was such a tremendous success that the British viewed it as a great victory. Therefore, in his speech to the House of Commons on 4 June, Churchill stated: “we must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations.”[9]
