Best fictional battle scenes

What are the best battle scenes in books? And I don't mean fights, I mean big-scale battles.

Two of my favorites are:
The Emond's Field battle in The Shadow Rising
The Big Battle at the end of A Clash of Kings

 

The Battle of Minas Tirith in LOTR. I just loved the way it all came together. Same with the Battle at the Gates of Mordor.

 

The siege of Minas Tirith was cool, as were a lot of the battles in Braveheart.

And how could I forget the Battle of Thyferra?

 

The Battle of Sluis Van in HTTE.

 

The Battle of Tanaab

 

Battle of Selaggis, Battle of ILC-905, Battle of Adumar. Other good ones were real.

 

I would have to agree. The siege of Minas Thirith was phenomenal.

 

The Battle of the Blackwater, courtesy of GRRM, is the greatest fictional naval battle I've ever read. Why, you ask?

One word says it all: WILDFIRE

 

Is the battle of Pelennor fields the same as the siege of minas tirith? If so, that is definitely the greatest battle i have ever read.

 

Yeah, they're one and the same.

 

Best fictional battles huh? Well, I'm going to have to go with some real battles as scene through works of historical fiction. So for starters, the entire novel The Killer Angels since it is a fictional depiction of the Battle of Gettysburg. The Battles of Williamsburg, Antietam, Fredricksburg, and Chancellorsville as seen in Gods and Generals. The Siege of Vera Cruz and the Battles of Cerro Gordo, Padierna, Churubusco, Chapultepec, and Mexico City as seen in Gone For Soldiers. I don't remember what the battle was, but there was a battle fairly early in Rifles for Waite that was pretty good. And for a nonnistoric fiction battle, the battle of good vs. evil in The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus was fairly intresting.

 

I also can't forget the Normandy invasion in Saving Private Ryan.

 

Good one. Using movies, I can come up with several. The last major battle scene in The Patriot. The aforementioned Normandy invasion. The Battle of Pearl Harbor in Tora Tora Tora. The Battle of Midway in Midway. The battle in Sherwood Forest and Nottinham in Robinhood Prince of Thieves. The last two battles in First Knight. As someone already said, several of the battles in Braveheart. That fight at the end of Blazing Saddles is pretty much a battle, thought it's fairly funny.

 

· Gandalf on the bridge in the mines of Moria, staring down a Balrog. (Fellowship of the Ring)
· The Battle of Dumai?s Wells, as an army of male channelers walks onto a battlefield for the first time in over 3000 years? and wipes the floor with 40000 Aiel and over 100 Wise Ones and Aes Sedai. (Lord of Chaos)
· The big fight with the Others in A Storm of Swords

 

"Asha'man! Rolling ring of earth and fire!"

::Mastadge's jaw hits the floor and remains there for the duration of the battle::

 

Well without thinking much :

Pelennor Fields

Thyferra

I'd add some more if I was motivated to think. But right now, I am not.

 

Come against me, if you dare! I am the storm! Come if you dare, Shai'tan! I am the Dragon Reborn!
-Rand al'Thor

 

I agree totally with PrinceXizor.

And Gandalf... Thanks for spoiling the WoT for me... They're only in the 6th book here in Finland, and I'm too poor to buy the original ones, I rely on the local library.

Ah, who cares, i already knew Egwene becoming Amyrlin so this wasn't that bad.

Ara
(Reads too much fantasy and other stuff for her own good...)

 

Battle of Normandy in Saving Private Ryan, the battle in Battle of Midway, Battle of Thyferra, and Battle of Sluis Van.

 

Battle of Midway? I mean, I know about the actual battle, but I've never heard of this one. Is it a book or a movie on the battle? And if a movie, does it have Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, Hal Holbrook, Pat Morita, Robert Mitchum, and Robert Wagner in the cast. If so, the titles simply Midway. If not, think I'll have to look it up.

 

It is a book, but I can't remember who the author is. I believe it's an older book, and I'm pretty sure it's nonfiction.

 

Sounds like it might be a documentary novel. Some of those are so well written that they read more like a fictional novel and a documentary. Thanks for the response. Will have to see if I can find it at the library, or through the inter-library exchange.

 

For great true action, read Black Hawk Down. I forget the author, but it's a really cool book.

 

I don't know. There's a bit of tension at times in the battle scenes in the documentary novel Big E. It's a good book too, if you can find it. I ended up learning about it because my library sells old library books all the time, and it was one of those for sale. Not sure if it can be found in the bookstores anymore.

 

let's see
the two MAJOR battles in "braveheart"
All battles in "gladiator"
the two major land battles in "the patriot"
The battle of Arrekeen in "dune"
fall of corocant X-wing saga
fall of theryfa X-wing saga
battle at end of ROTJ
minus teriff
battle at end of cowboy bebop ep "balled of the fallen angles"(techniqually a dual but the ain charecter DOES shoot his way through a gang to get to the main bad guy)
battle at teh end of ST 6 and ST 2
Major battles of ST DS9
Major battles of B5
and finnaly
destruction of the "resolute"- "exosquad"