Battle of Weybridge/Shepperton

Battle of Weybridge/Shepperton

Infobox fictional conflict
conflict=Battle of Weybridge and Shepperton


caption=
partof=The War of the Worlds
date=June, "early in the twentieth century"
place=Weybridge, Surrey, England
result=British Pyrrhic Victory
combatant1=flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
combatant2=Martians
commander1=Brigadier-General MarvinKIA
commander2=Martian Commander
strength1=8th Hussars
12th Horse Artillery
strength2=5 fighting-machines
casualties1=Both towns destroyed, sizeable civilian and military casualties and total loss of materiel
casualties2=1 fighting-machine lost, remaining fighting-machines retired to Horsell Common
depictions = "The War of the Worlds" (1898) by H. G. Wells

The Battle of Weybridge and Shepperton was a fictional battle described in H. G. Wells' book "The War of the Worlds".

Brief

The battle is [http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/www/warworlds/b1c12.html described in detail] in Wells' book. It took place in the early afternoon on Day three of the invasion from Mars and ended up as a pyrrhic British victory.

Battle

After British military positions were overrun and destroyed at Chertsey, Chobham and Byfleet, the Martians (an attacking force of five fighting-machines) proceeded to Weybridge, which at the time was the local military headquarters. A hidden artillery battery near Shepperton Church hit and destroyed one Martian fighting-machine. This forced the Martians to retreat to their then-primary base at Horsell Common (near Woking), but Weybridge and Shepperton were destroyed with heavy loss of life. The retreating Martians managed to retrieve the wreckage of the destroyed fighting machine during their retreat.

Conclusions

Despite the heavy loss of life and material, and the total devastation of Weybridge and Shepperton, this destruction of a fighting-machine served as a brief morale boost to the civilian populace of London when the first detailed reports of the invasion were released to the public. The Martians realized from this battle that the British artillery was a real threat (further reinforced by a Martian fighting-machine damaged by an artillery shell later on that same day at approximately 7pm near St. George's Hill), which forced them to resort to using black smoke when they resumed the offensive at 9pm that evening.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Shepperton Lock — Infobox Waterlock lock name = Shepperton Lock [ [http://www.visitthames.co.uk/uploads/a users guide to the River thames.pdf Statistics from Environment Agency A User s Guide to the River Thames:Part II ] ] caption= Shepperton lock (2005) waterway …   Wikipedia

  • Weybridge — infobox UK place country = England latitude=51.37204 longitude= 0.45270 official name= Weybridge map type= Surrey population = 19,463 shire district= Elmbridge shire county = Surrey region= South East England constituency westminster= Runnymede… …   Wikipedia

  • Walton-on-Thames — Coordinates: 51°23′12″N 0°24′48″W / 51.386797°N 0.413394°W / 51.386797; 0.413394 …   Wikipedia

  • Surrey — This article is about the county of England. For other uses, see Surrey (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Surry (disambiguation). Surrey Motto of County Council: Making Surrey …   Wikipedia

  • List of schools in the South East of England — The following is a partial list of currently operating schools in the South East region of England. You may also find of use to find a particular school. See also the List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom.Listed by local education… …   Wikipedia

  • The War of the Worlds — War of the Worlds redirects here. For the various other adaptations, see Adaptations of The War of the Worlds. For other uses, see The War of the Worlds (disambiguation). The War of the Worlds   …   Wikipedia

  • New Year Honours 2008 — The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 29 December 2007, [cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7163660.stm| title= Parkinson and Minogue top honours] to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of… …   Wikipedia

  • 2008 New Year Honours — The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 29 December 2007,[1] to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour,… …   Wikipedia

  • Newsquest — Type Public Industry Media Founded 1995 Headquarters …   Wikipedia

  • Cotswold Line — Overview Type Rural, Heavy rail System National Rail …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”