Worst battle defeat in European and Western history?

[Joe McCarthy]

This will be considered in the context of intergroup relations, i.e., European vs. non-European.

[Loddfafner]

Adowa is a contender.

[Joe McCarthy]

Adowa is a contender.

If worst is defined as embarrassing it may very well get the nod.

[Joe McCarthy]

[Joe McCarthy]

The Battle of the Sit River was fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia on March 4, 1238 between the Mongol Hordes of Batu Khan and the Rus' people under Grand Prince Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Rus. After the Mongols sacked his capital of Vladimir, Yuri fled across the Volga northward, to Yaroslavl, where he hastily mustered an army. He and his brothers then turned back toward Vladimir in hopes of relieving the city before the Mongols took it, but they were too late. Yuri sent out a force of 3,000 men under Dorozh to scout out where the Mongols were; whereupon Dorozh returned saying that Yuri and his force was already surrounded. As he tried to muster his forces, he was attacked by the Mongol force under Burundai and fled but was overtaken on the Sit River and died there along with his nephew, Prince Vsevolod of Yaroslavl.[2] The battle marked the end of unified resistance to the Mongols and inaugurated two centuries of the Mongol domination of modern day-Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Bishop Cyril finds headless body of Grand Duke Yuri on the field of battle of the Sit River.

[Joe McCarthy]

In my opinion the real contenders here are Guadalete, Sit River, and Nicopolis as they had the longest lasting consequences. However, if we assess this by death toll it might go to Mohi given what the Mongols did in the aftermath.

The others can be argued as well though, and perhaps a few others not on my list. The British loss to Japan in Singapore during WW2 was an ugly defeat too.

[Thunor]

Surely, the Russo-Japanese War should be up here?

First time in the modern era that an Asian country defeated a white empire in open war, and changed the whole idea that "this is a white man's world".

[Joe McCarthy]

Surely, the Russo-Japanese War should be up here?

First time in the modern era that an Asian country defeated a white empire in open war, and changed the whole idea that "this is a white man's world".

It's on there, though I accidentally misspelled Tsushima (be good if a mod could fix that). Japan annihilated the Russian navy and effectively ended the war. It's been called the most devastating naval victory since Trafalgar.

[StonyArabia]

The worst battle in Europan and Western history would be te of Battle of Manzikert, which allowed the recently Islamized Turkic tribes to subdue the Byzantine empire and eventually ending it in the process.

[Joe McCarthy]

The worst battle in Europan and Western history would be te of Battle of Manzikert, which allowed the recently Islamized Turkic tribes to subdue the Byzantine empire and eventually ending it in the process.

It was certainly a major battle and defeat, but it helped prompt a major response in the First Crusade. That Byzantium fell almost 400 years later can't be ascribed to this loss so much as Crusader-Byzantine infighting. Compared to, say, Nicopolis which ended any further Western challenge to Ottoman control of the Balkans for over 400 years, it looks minor by comparison.

I agree though there's an argument for including it on the poll, as well as some other battles such as Mohacs or Liegnitz.