True. Mr. Caine is the better presense.
“Carry on, do have fun with your mud-pies.”
Youtube - Michael Caine the Final Attack
What a chilling scene.
I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near the battle for the Kokoda track in Papua, New Guinea. The second largest island in the world a mere 11 degrees off the equator with heat and humidity as expected except in the mountains where the temperature drops, mold and fungus everywhere, clothes rotting on your back and boots rotting on your feet, metal corroding before your eyes, thunderous downpours every day, slogging through volcanic mud with an ungodly stench, every animal in the jungle and more than a few plants poisonous or venomous, dysentery, pneumonia and a whole host of exotic diseases. And then there’s the enemy with a moral code so utterly at odds with your own as to provoke thoughts of not just defeating them, but extermination or, at least, annihilation.
And if that’s not enough, commanding officers accusing you of shirking when, in fact, your success changed the outcome of the war in the Pacific every bit as much as the battle of Midway.
On the other hand I’d like to have been at the bombardment of Ft. McHenry (in or around the fort). Only four killed and 24 wounded. I’d take my chances.
And the assegais became things to sell to tourists.
Of course, it was the Sergeant Major who was the true hero. 
Dad threatened me early on not to join the military from his experiences in the Army Air Corps.
I wouldn’t mind being at the Battle of San Jacinto, on Sam Houston’s side of course.
With Travis at the Alamo or Fannin at Goliad…not so much.
The Civil War battles would have to have been terrifying. They were shredding people by the thousands.
Siege/battle of Alesia as one of Ceasar’s legion…though perhaps as an officer with special, modern built replica armor (say some nice titanium with an arrow resistant suit underneath ;)). Perhaps the Battle of Bryn Glas…again in modern, replica period armor (say as a full armored knight, even though the Welsh didn’t really have many of those).
-XT
The Romans built such extensive fortifications (including spikes, stakes, trenches, and pits) that one night attack by the Gauls came to grief without even physically reaching the Romans. Allegedly the Romans heard screaming in the night and manned their walls, but never came under attack. In the morning, they could see large numbers of dead and injured Gauls scattered among the traps and spikes.
OK, I read down in the thread enough to get that the OP wants us not to examine the chance of changing history. We just have to participate. I’m not going to read in any farther, to avoid tainting my answer.
Want to be on: Battle of Tsushima (Russo-Japanese war, naval battle). On Admiral Togo’s flagship, Mikasa. Damn, that battle would have been something to see. Of course I would have had to have a job that let me see it. Powder Monkey wouldn’t have done, at all.
Don’t want to be on: Any Russian ship in that battle. Or else with Pickett at Gettysburg. Lots of death, no accomplishment, both cases.
This brings up a question for the OP – do we get any specialized training to participate in the role we want? I like Sailboat’s idea, though I think I’d improve my odds by flying a P-51 in a raid in Berlin in early 1945. Or flying a Zero at Pearl Harbor. But if I don’t get the flight training I wouldn’t survive 10 feet past the end of the runway.
If I’m going to be forced into a battle it’s going to be on the winning side of the most one-sided slaughter in history. Which brings up another question – what exactly constitutes a “battle”? Many battles consist of multiple clashes over days or months, like Stalingrad or Normandy. My little weaselly self wants to define a battle as one single exchange of fire between two opposing groups. For instance, I could see going in with an infantry squad to clean out a building in Stalingrad, ONCE, but if I’m expected to do that day after day for months until the “battle” is over, forget it.
How about the riot at Attica? The guards fired into a mass of prisoners, and killed pretty much everybody, hostages included. But they called it a battle. I could do that one, so long as I was one of the guys up on the wall with a gun.
Hmmm…the Flashman scenario.
I concur.
It would be interesting to observe many of the legendary ancient battles: Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, Actium…
I would not ever want to be on the beaches in the Normandy invasion durring WWII, that just sounds like hell. There is one interesting thing about it though, the US won mainly because of an old trick, give your forces nowhere to flee, and they’ll fight the enemy with extreme prejudice (cornered animal basically, a Sun Tzu tactic).
As far as a battle I’d like to have been in, I’d have to say anything from the Middle Ages, in fact, I’m not particular what nation I’d be fighting for. Seeing as how much I like Norsemen, I’d have to go for pillaging, but then again, it’s not all that brave, so maybe something where I was fighting Genghis Khan (I’d fight alongside him, but I’d also like the opportunity to go head to head with him personally…merely for honor of course… :D).
The US won?:dubious:
There’s not a single battle one would like to participate in.
But if I had to fight I’d like to think I was fighting for something, so I’d probably choose Chamberlain’s Maine division to be with, at the battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863.
73 Easting. My old unit was knee deep in it; my current (at the time) unit was miles away, haulin’ ass through the desert, playing “catch-up” with VII Corps.
**Love: **Pickett’s Charge, Battle of Gettysburg, Union side.
Hate: Pickett’s Charge, Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate side.
Gettysburg on the Union side would be my preference, so I could maybe meet my great- or great-great-grandfather who fought there.