From top: Attrition, fatigue, and shifting allegiances shaped the outcome of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, which slogged on from 1337 to 1453; Napoleon Bonaparte’s two-hour delay in attacking the Russian army at Borodino in 1812 contributed to his cataclysmic defeat at the hands of “General Winter.” (Pantheon De Paris; Musée Des Beaux-Arts, Rouen/ Bridgeman Images)

From top: Attrition, fatigue, and shifting allegiances shaped the outcome of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, which slogged on from 1337 to 1453; Napoleon Bonaparte’s two-hour delay in attacking the Russian army at Borodino in 1812 contributed to his cataclysmic defeat at the hands of “General Winter.” (Pantheon De Paris; Musée Des Beaux-Arts, Rouen/ Bridgeman Images)