What were some significant upsets in history that nobody (at the time) would have ever guessed actually happening?

What were some significant upsets in history that nobody (at the time) would have ever guessed actually happening?

'Merica.

the first crusade, so much shit just went perfectly right for the crusaders

they really had no business winning that

The Seven Years' War and American Revolutions, as draining as they were to British coffers, were also costly for the ancien régime of France. Their participation in the American Revolution alone, for instance, had cost over one billion livres, all paid for by high-interest loans. Though Louis XVI had attempted Enlightenment-era reforms, such as the abolition of serfdom and tolerance towards non-Catholics, in the end it seemed that every reform he offered just fueled the popular desire for more. On July 14, 1789, these increasing resentments boiled over and the Bastille was stormed.

After seeing the American example, and now the French crisis, the monarchs of Europe did not take this republican threat idly. Once the nascent Republic declared war against the Bourbon Emperor of Austria, and the imprisoned French monarch Louis and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed by guillotine they closed ranks. This became known as the War of the First Coalition. But the coalition fell apart, and France's victory in the war stunned the world.

By the turn of the century a daring officer would rise through the republican ranks following his campaigns in Italy and Egypt. This man, Napoleon Bonaparte, would transform the frail Republic into a powerful and terrifying Empire.

Fr*nce actually getting bullied by the Germans for a change.

They were so "upset" that they literally made up a new word for it.

Polish-Soviet war was a goddamn miracle.

development of printing press

Do you think it was the power of G-d?

The defeat of both the Roman Empire and the Sassanid Persians by the Arab Caliphate

if so, where was god in the other 8 crusades?

they had both weakened each other significantly

Yeah but two great empires beaten by a bunch of desert nomads who fuck camels is still nothing to scoff at. It took hundreds of years for G*rmanics to whittle down WRE.

The WRE wasn't fighting large scale wars with an equally powerful empire for centuries.

>It took hundreds of years for G*rmanics to whittle down WRE

Technically it didn't take very long for the Visigoths to steamroll the WRE and carve out a huge kingdom, precipitating the collapse of several other regions in the next few decades. In many ways it's comparable with the Arab advance, we just categorize the events differently. The Romans and Persians have been fighting and hiring Arabs for centuries before the rise of the Caliphate just like they had with the Germans.

I think it's telling that not many people actually thought it was impossible at the time, and didn't spill much ink over the event. Rather than an upset, it came off more like the revolt that finally succeeded in toppling the shaky house of cards that was the Byzantine/Sassanid state after decades of war, famine, religious revolt, invasion, and plague.

Every war.

>they will never b in war because they're too closely linked by economics

Hence why we won't see American Civil War 2.0 the north rises again for the first time edition

Was that really an upset though? Surely the world realised that Prussia could into war after watching them stomp the Austrians in 1866.

Kill yourself.
The Turk tripfag is actually funny, unlike you.

Genghiz Khan and the Mongols desu.

There's a reason why everyone looks insane/stupid in hindsight.
>Song China allies with Mongols versus Jin
Logic: "Guys, these are just mongols. They have their shit pushed in by other Steppeniggers. How long will they last?"
>Khwarezmian shah beheads Mongol ambassadors
Logic: "Literally WHO THE FUCK does this Mongol- a race of rapebabies and slaves- think he is? So what if he invaded Northern China? Those idiots get invaded by Steppeniggers all the time around that region. Boofuckinghoo."

Nobody really had high opinions of the Mongols at the time.

And to be fair, they went back to that status.

The Great Northern War was a pretty huge upset that changed the balance of power in Europe.

>anything but Alexander's conquests

I still can't believe that actually happened.

Agincourt was pretty spectacular.

The Retreat of the Ten Thousand. Or rather the employment of sufficient numbers of now readily avaiable greek merceneries by Cyrus (I think it was) which resulted in said march. The dude just wanted mercs but ended up instilling the notion of relative Persian weakness into the greeks. The cry against Persia changed from the previous century's 'stop fighting amongst yourselves, we must be united against the Persian threat, come on you faggets' to 'stop fighting amongst yourselves for a minute and get 10k men and some cav together and like just march to Babylon, come on you faggets'.

I have to remind myself every once in a great while that Mongolia exists.

certainly not, but I can see why the crusaders would have felt that way

It was more good timing to hit the Saracens when they were disorganized and unprepared.

Would you say that I'm simply the Wurst?

Frederick the Great beating every non-British great power and overnight elevating Prussia up to great power status.