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Wars Timeline |
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Below is a list of Wars that led to the World we see today. |
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Alexander the Great 356 BC – 11th June 323 BC Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander III of Macedon, was one of the most successful Military Commanders in history, said to be undefeated in Battle. By the time of his death, he had conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks. Many Military Commanders throughout history, and even to the present day, were influenced by Alexander the Great. |
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Roman conquest of Britain AD 43 The Roman Conquest of Britain began with the expeditions of Julius Caesar in 55 and 54 BC. Britain was an island split into many kingdoms at that time, many of which welcomed the Romans. As most of the Scottish tribes refused to accept the Romans, they built Hadrian's wall across northern England to keep the Scottish tribes at bay. The most famous of the English tribes to try and remove the Romans from Britain was the Iceni tribe of East Anglia, led by Queen Boudica in AD 60 or 61. Although Boudica failed in her attempt to crush the occupiers, ever increasing attacks on the Romans in Britain and Europe forced their departure from Britain in 410. |
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Viking raids across Europe 793 - 1066 Viking refers to Norse (Scandinavian) people, great explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates, who raided and colonized many areas across Europe from the late 700s to the early 1000s. Norsemen used their longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, and as far west as Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland. |
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Battle of Clontarf in Ireland 1014 (April 23) The Battle of Clontarf took place on Good Friday on the 23rd April 1014 between the forces of the Irish Kings, Brian Boru and Mael Morda mac Murchada. Mael Morda mac Murchada had an army boosted by many Viking mercenaries from Dublin and the Orkney Islands. Although killed in the battle himself, Brian Boru and his forces succeeded in removing Viking influence from Ireland. The Battle of Largs (Scotland) on the 2nd October 1263, between king Hakon Hakonsson of Norway, and Scottish forces of king Alexander III, led to the Viking withdrawal from Scotland. |
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Canute the Great Conquest of England 1016 Canute was a son of the Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark, becomming one of the most famous people in history after conquering England in 1016, becoming King of England along with Denmark, Norway and parts of Sweden. Canute died in 1035, at Shaftesbury, in Dorset. He was buried in Old Minster, at Winchester. The weak rule of his descendants led to the French / Norman invasion of England beginning in 1066 by the troops of William, Duke of Normandy (William the Conqueror). William the Conqueror's victory at the Battle of Hastings, was the last successful conquest of England, the beginning of modern day Britain. |
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Crusades 1096 – 1291 The Crusades were a series of religious military campaigns by much of Christian Europe, mainly against Muslims, but also Slavs, Jews, Russians, Greeks, Mongols, Cathars, Hussites, Waldensians, Old Prussians and political enemies of the popes. The first Crusade started in 1095 after Pope Urban II called upon all Christians to join a war against the Turks, promising those who died in the endeavor would receive immediate remission of their sins. The most famous Crusades were battles between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Lands and Jerusalem. |
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Mongol conquests 1205 – 1312 The Mongol Empire expanded dramatically in the 1200s with a series of successful invasions throughout Central and Western Asia, reaching Eastern Europe by the 1240s. Genghis Khan was the founder of the Mongol Empire, declared Khagan (emperor) of one of the largest empires in history. The building of the Mongol Empire is said to have led to the death of between 30 and 60 million people. |
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Wars of Scottish Independence 1296 – 1328 King Alexander III of Scotland died in 1286, and his eight-year-old heir, Margaret, died four years later. As Scotland was then left without a monarch, Edward I (Longshanks) of England sent his troops into Scotland with a view of taking control for himself. John de Balliol and William Wallace tried in vain to remove the English. From 1307, Robert the Bruce began a campaign that ended with the signing of a treaty in Edinburgh on the 17th March 1328, allowing Robert the Bruce to become king of an independent Scotland. The descendants of Robert the Bruce, the Stuart's, ruled Scotland after his death in 1329. The Stuart's went on to rule Scotland from that time, and England from 1603 until 1714. |
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Hundred Years' War 1337 - 1453 The French House of Capet dynasty came to an end in 1328, as the three sons of Philip IV all failed to produce surviving male heirs. This began wars between the French House of Valois and the British kings that were descendants of the French born William, Duke of Normandy, who took control of England in 1066, to see who would take over the throne of France. The British captured Joan of Arc in May 1430, and executed her by burning on the 30th May 1431. The Battle of Castillon in 1453 is said to have been the last battle of the Hundred Years War, seeing the French king Charles VII taking full control. The defeat is said to have pushed Henry VI of England into a state of insanity. Henry VI was then defeated in the War of the Roses by Edward IV and imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he was murdered on the 21st May 1471. |
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Ottoman - Wallachian Wars 1460 – 1476 These wars began between the forces of Vlad III (the Impaler) (Dracula) (Tepes) of Wallachia, and Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire, after Tepes invaded Bulgaria and impaled over 23,000 Turks and Bulgarians. Mehmed raised an army to conquer Wallachia, and after a few skirmishes, reached the Wallachian capital of Targoviste, where he discovered another 20,000 impaled Turks and Bulgarians. This sight led to the Ottomans calling off the campaign. Tepes was killed in battle with the Turks in 1476 near Bucharest. It is thought he was killed by his own men, either by accident, or deliberate. The Turks displayed his head on a pike in Istanbul to prove his death. His headless body was believed to have been buried at a medieval monastery on an island in Lake Snagov, north of Bucharest/Romania. In 1931, archaeologists searching Snagov found a casket partially covered in a purple shroud, embroidered with gold. The contents, thought to be that of Tepes, were taken to the History Museum in Bucharest, they have since disappeared without a trace. |
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Spanish conquest of Mexico & the Aztec Empire 1519 – 1821 The Aztec Empire (modern day Mexico) was destroyed by the arrival of the Spaniards in 1519. For three centuries after, Mexico was colonized by Spain, a time when the majority of its indigenous population died off. The war of independence from 1810, ended with Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821. A war with the United States from 1846, ended with Mexico losing almost half of its territory to the US in 1848. France was the last country to invade Mexico in 1862, ruling the country until their defeat by the Mexican Republican Army in 1867. |
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Wars of Religion 16th and 17th centuries The name Wars of Religion were given to a series of European wars of the 16th & 17th Centuries after Martin Luther, a German monk, had ideas that influenced the Protestant Reformation, splitting the Christian religeon based on the Pope in Rome, into Protestant and Catholic. Kings of Protestant countries then became head of their countries churches, this changing the course of Western civilization, leading to a number of wars. Countries most affected by the wars over Protestantism and Catholicism were, Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Netherlands, England, Scotland, Ireland and Denmark. In France alone, between 2 and 4 million people died during the Wars of Religion. |
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Anglo – Spanish War 1585 – 1604 The Anglo – Spanish War was between the kingdoms of Spain and England. Hostilities escalated after English Privateers (said to be pirates by the Spanish) were encouraged by the Protestant Elizabeth I of England to loot Spanish ships operating in the Atlantic. As the war escalated, the English had naval victories at Cadiz in 1587, and over the Spanish Armada attacks on England in 1588. The war ended in 1604 with the Treaty of London, between representatives of Philip III of Spain, and the new Scottish born king of England, James I (Stewart). James I was a distant relative of Elizabeh I, who took control of England as Elizabeth I failed to produce an heir. Spain agreed to stop their military interventions in Ireland, England and the Netherlands. The English agreed to renounced high seas piracy. |
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Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1639 – 1652 The Wars of the Three Kingdoms took place in Scotland, Ireland, and England between 1639 and 1651. The English Civil War is the most documented of these conflicts, as Oliver Cromwell defeated king Charles I (Stuart) to become Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. Charles I was beheaded at that time. The Wars included the the Scottish Civil War of 1644 – 1645, and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. Cromwell died on the 3rd September 1658, leaving his son Richard in control. With Richard Cromwell loosing support of the troops, Charles II returned from exile in France as King of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1660, restoring the Stuart's to the throne. In 1661, Oliver Cromwell's body was exhumed from Westminster Abbey, hanged in chains at Tyburn for some time, then thrown into a pit. His head was displayed on a pole outside Westminster Abbey until 1685. |
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French and Indian Wars 1689 – 1763 The French and Indian Wars were a series of battles in North America with Great Britain, its colonies and American Indian allies on one side, and France, its colonies and Indian allies on the other. Most of the North American fighting ended when the Marquis de Vaudreuil surrendered Montreal, and most of Canada, to Britain. The war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on the 10th February 1763. The treaty saw France give up all its North American land east of the Mississippi, all of Canada, except Saint Pierre and Miquelon, two small islands off Newfoundland. France was given back the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, that had been occupied by the British. Spain was awarded Louisiana, including New Orleans, in compensation for its loss of Florida to the British. The British were then keen to keep the peace with the various Indian tribes, so stopped colonists from moving further west. By removing the French threat in North America, the colonies no longer needed the military might of Great Britain, leading to talk of American independance. Unpopular taxes and restrictions on colonial expansion west, were the main reasons used to gain support for the American War of Independence that began in 1775. |
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Jacobite Risings Great Britain 1714 – 1691 The Jacobite Risings were battles in England and Scotland after the death of Queen Anne (Stuart) on the 1st August 1714, leaving no heirs. Queen Anne created the Act of Union between Scotland and England, seeing the creation of Great Britain on the 1st May 1707. The English parliament chose her second cousin, the German protestant, George I, of the House of Hanover, to succeed her to the throne. George I was a distant descendant of the Stuart's through his maternal grandmother, Elizabeth, daughter of James I. The Jacobite Risings were an attempt to restore the catholic Stuart's to the throne of Great Britain, people with a more realistic claim to the throne. The last Jacobite battle, led by Charles Edward Stuart (the Young Pretender), was a decisive defeated for the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, ending any hope of a Stuart becoming king again. |
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American War of Independence 1775 – 1783 The American Revolutionary War, or American War of Independence, was a conflict between Great Britain, and thirteen British colonies on the east coast of North America. The main causes of the war were, the colonies began objecting to British rule, taxes they had to pay to Britain, and Britain was against the colonies moving west into native Indian territories. George Washington led the American forces that had the backing of about 45% of the colonists, many of the rest remained loyal to the British. An estimated 13,000 native Americans fought on the side of Britain. After the American forces showed signs they could be successful, France signed a Treaty with the Americans on the 6th February 1778, and Spain entered the war with France in June 1779. The war came to an end after the Treaty of Paris was signed on the 3rd September 1783. The last British troops left New York City on the 25th November 1783. This began a series of wars with the native Indians, as the colonies began spreading out west. |
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Napoleonic Wars 1803 - 1815 By 1789, the French people had turned against King Louis XV1, with revolutionaries gaining control of France by 1792. Louis XV1 was put on trial in December of that year, and executed by guillotine on the 21st January 1793. A reign of terror then followed as the new rulers began executing all potential enemies in the country. During six weeks leading up to July 1794, almost fourteen hundred people were executed by guillotine in Paris alone. France was then ruled by different government factions until Napoleon became ruler of France in 1799, and later, Emperor in May 1804. As Napoleon then had the power he craved, he set out to conquer all of Europe, and defeat countries plotting his demise. Napoleon soon took control of most of Europe, and large areas of Russia, before suffering defeats by the combined armies of many European countries. His final defeat was by the British commander Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon was then forced into exile, spending the rest of his life on the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic. His death on the 5th May 1821, saw him buried on the island. His remains were taken from St Helena in 1840, so they could be reburied at the French army museum at Invalides in the centre of Paris. Napoleon is often credited with being the greatest ever military commander.. |
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Mexican War of Independence 1810 - 1821 The Mexican War of Independence was between the people of Mexico and Spanish colonial rulers, beginning on the 16th September 1810. The Spanish had rules Mexico since invading the country in 1519. On the 24th August 1821, representatives of the Spanish crown signed the Treaty of Cordoba, recognizing Mexican independence, ending Spanish colonial rule. |
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Texas Revolution 1835 - 1836 The Texas Revolution, or Texas War of Independence, began on the 2nd October 1835, between Mexico and the area of Texas, at that time, part of the Mexican state. The war ended at the Battle of San Jacinto, about 20 miles east of where Houston city is today. That battle saw General Sam Houston lead the Texan Army to victory over Mexican forces under the Mexican President, Santa Anna, who was captured after the battle. The war ended with the creation of the Republic of Texas. The most notable battle of the Texas Revolution was at The Alamo in 1836, a mission and fortress compound, defended by about 185 Texans under the command of William Barret Travis, and Jim Bowie. The Battle of the Alamo ended on the 6th of March after a 13 day siege, all Texans were killed. |
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Anglo - Afghan Wars 1839 - 1921 Afghanistan was important to Britain & Russia, as the British Empire in the India wanted control of Afghanistan to their north, and the Russian Empire wanted control of Afghanistan to their south. There were three wars between 1839 and 1921, where the Afghans themselves tried to remove the British and Russians from their land. The most famous battle in the wars was at the Khyber Pass, a mountain pass connecting Afghanistan and Pakistan. In January 1842, about 16,000 British and Indian troops were killed in a battle at the the pass. The wars came to an end with the Treaty of Rawalpindi, signed on the 8th August 1919. The treaty stated the United Kingdom should recognize Afghanistan's independence, and agree the British / Indian empire would never try to extend past the Khyber Pass. |
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Mexican – American War 1846 - 1848 The Mexican–American War began after Mexico refused to recognize the military victory by Texas in 1836, acusing Texas of being a rebel province, and refusing to sell America land. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on the 2nd of February 1848, ended the war with the U.S. taking control of Texas, and the areas of California, Nevada, Utah, parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Mexico was given U.S. $15,000,000, under half the amount the U.S. had offered Mexico before the war. |
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Crimean War 1853 - 1856 The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire, and an alliance of France, United Kingdom, Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire. The war was over European powers wanting influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula, western Turkey, and the Baltic Sea region. Peace negotiations began in 1856 through the Congress of Paris, with Russia agreeing not to establish any naval or military bases on the Black Sea coast. All the Countries involved signed to state they would respect the independence and territory of the Ottoman Empire. The Crimean War is best remembered for Florence Nightingale, who became known as The Lady with the Lamp, a pioneering nurse and writer. Also, the Charge of the Light Brigade, a disastrous cavalry charge led by the British Lord Cardigan during the Battle of Balaclava, on the 25th October 1854. Lord Cardigan received unclear instructs to charge guns. Instead of charging a few British guns that had been captured by the Russians, he led over 600 of the Light Brigade straight into the full force of the Russian army and cannon. Casualties were 156 men killed, 122 wounded and 335 horses destroyed. |
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American Civil War 1861 - 1865 In the presidential election of 1860, the Republican Party, led by Abraham Lincoln, campaigned against the expansion of slavery. The Republican victory in that election led to seven Southern states withdrawing from the Union, even before Lincoln took office on the 4th March 1861. Hostilities began on the 12th April 1861, after Confederate forces attacked a Union military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The war led to about 1,030,000 casualties, around 3% of the population, about 620,000 soldies, two thirds by disease. The war ended after the Confederate General Lee surrendered his Army in Northern Virginia on the 9th April 1865. General Johnston surrendered his troops to Sherman on the 26th April 1865, in Durham, North Carolina. On the 23rd June 1865, at Fort Towson in the Choctaw Nations area of Oklahoma Territory, General Stand Watie signed a cease fire agreement with Union representatives, being the last Confederate general to stand down. Victory for the Union saw the seven breakaway states return to the Union, and slavery abolished. |
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Franco-Mexican War 1861 - 1867 The French invasion of Mexico was by the army of the Second French Empire, supported by the British and Spanish. The war began after Mexican President Benito Juarez stopped interest payments to foreign countries on the 17th July 1861. The British, Spanish and French fleets arrived at the Mexican port of Veracruz between the 6th January and 8th January 1862. The city of Campeche surrendered to the French fleet on the 27th February. After the Spanish and British realized the French intended to conquer Mexico, they withdrew their forces on the 9th April. The French took full control of Mexico in 1864, claiming the Austrian, Maximilian I, was Emperor of Mexico. Many foreign governments refused to recognize this government, especially the United States, that backed the Republican forces led by Benito Juarez. Maximilian I was executed after his capture by Republicans, in Santiago de Queretaro in 1867. The execution of Maximilian I, and backing from the U.S., led to the Republic of Mexico being restored in 1867. |
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Anglo - Zulu War 1879 The British, since 1824, had established a trading post in South Africa at Port Natal, now Durban, with good relations with the indigenous people. Until 1868, Natal had been developing slowly, but after gold and diamonds were discovered at Kimberley, the area developed dramaticaly. As British expansion in the area was held back by the Zulu territory, discussions began between the British and the Zulu chiefs to agree a Confederation of joint control. As no agreement was reached, the first invasions of Zululand took place between January and April 1879. The battle that led to the downfall of the Zulu nation took place at their capital of Ulundi, on the 4th July 1879. There were many historic battles throughout the war with up to 5,000 British troops facing up to 25,000 Zulu warriors at a time. Most Zulu successes, armed mainly with spears, were picking off small British convoys, although they were successful in a few large battles. The British won most of the major battles, such as the most famous, Rorke's Drift. The Martini-Henry single-shot lever action rifle was the weapon British troops used in the campaign. A .45 inch or 11 mm calibre weapon with a killing range of about 400 yards. Today, Zululand is part of the Republic of South Africa. |
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Third Anglo-Burmese War 1885 - 1887 There were three periods of conflict between Britain and Burma from 1823 - 1887, with the wars beginning after Burma tried to expand their land into the British Empire in India. Britain won a series of wars in the early years, taking control of regions of Burma. The Third War led to British rule in 1886, with Burma becomming a province of India, with the capital at Rangoon. The end of WWII, led to Burma gaining independence from Britain on the 4th January 1948. The British were so unpopular in Burma at that time, the Burmese people refused to join the British Commonwealth. India and Pakistan also gained independance from Britain around that time, and did join the commonwealth. The most memorable history of Burma was during WWII, in 1943, when a Japanese invasion, with superior heavy weapons, took thousands of Allied Prisoners of War. These prisoners and Asian labourers, were forced to work on the 415 km long Burma to Thailand railway, including the bridge on the River Kwai. Their are 2 war cemeteries in Burma containing the remains of over 8,000 Australian, Dutch and British war prisoners that lost their lives during the construction of the Death Railway. |
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Russo - Japanese War 1904 - 1905 The Russo – Japanese War was a conflict between the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire, over control of Korea and Manchuria (a region between Russia and China). Japan needed minerals from these countries, and Russia needed warm water ports on the Pacific Ocean for its vast naval fleet. After Japan broke off negotiations and attacked the Russian fleet based at Port Arthur (a Port in China leased to Russia), the world’s military experts were amazed when the mighty Russian Eastern Fleet had either been sunk, or blockaded in port. The Russian Government responded to that attack by sending their main fleet of warships from the Baltic port of Liepaja, to engage the Japanese. They had to travel around the African coast as the deep draught of their battleships prevented them from using the Suez Canal. The Russian fleet was then instructed to call at the port of Vladivostock in Siberia, and from there, attack Japanese Navy and cargo vessels. After covering 18,000 miles, the Russian’s were approaching the Tsushima Strait on the 27th May 1905, when they engaged the entire Japanese fleet. The following battle ended with the Russian fleet destroyed to an extent, only a few ships managed to flee to safety. After that defeat, Russia was forced to sign a peace treaty with Japan, signaling Japan's status as a world power. Most of Japans warships at that time were British built, and their officers British trained. |
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World War I 1914 - 1918 World War One war began after the assassination of the heir to the Austro/Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo on the 28th June 1914. It was believed the Serbian Nationalist Secret Society the, Black Hand, had planned the assassination. As Serbia refused to hand over the conspirators, Austro/Hungary declared war on Serbia on the 28th July 1914. As Russia had signed a treaty with Serbia, they sent their troops to defend Serbia. With Germany having signed a treaty with Austro/Hungary, they declared war on Russia on the 1st August 1914. France declared war on Germany and Austro/Hungary on the 3rd of August 1914 as they had also signed a treaty with Russia. As Britain and France were Allies, Britain declared war on Germany on the 4th August 1914. Japan declared war on Germany on the 23rd August 1914, as they had signed a treaty with Britain in 1902. America declared a policy of absolute neutrality. Italy had signed a treaty with Germany to help defend Germany in the event of war. With Germany being the aggressor, Italy declared a policy of neutrality. Italy maintained that stance until joining the war on the side of the Allies in 1916. America joined the war against Germany in April 1917, as the German unrestricted submarine warfare was threatening United States commercial shipping. As the First World War came to end, after Germany accepted terms of surrender on the 11th November 1918, over 9,000,000 people had lost their lives. The countries to suffer the highest losses were Germany and their Allies over 3,500,000, Russia 1,700,000, France 1,300,000, British Empire 1,000,000, and the USA 116,000. |
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Irish Wars of Independence 1916 - 1922 Until the middle of the 1600s, Dublin had remained a small, walled medieval town. The English Civil War, led to Oliver Cromwell taking control of Dublin in 1649. The town of around only 9000 residents at that time, began to grow dramatically with Protestant refugees from European countries settling in the area. Over the following century, Dublin grew dramatically, becoming the second city of the British Empire. The Act of Union between England and Ireland in 1800, abolished the Irish Parliament, this drastically reducing Dublin's status. With the wealth of the city declining over the following century, Irish Republicans led by James Connolly and Patrick Pearse, began plotting to gain control of Ireland in 1916. The battle that broke out between Republicans and British troops at Easter in 1916, ended with James Connolly, Patrick Pearse and their top men imprisoned. Although the Republicans had little support from Dubliners at that time, the execution of Connolly, Pearse and 12 of their men by firing squad in May 1916, led to the Republicans gaining a massif increase in support, in Ireland and from Irish Americans. That extra support and finance, led to the War of Independence, with Ireland achieving independence in 1922. |
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Chinese Civil War 1927 - 1949 The Chinese Civil War, was a civil war in China between the Chinese Nationalist Party and the Russian supported Chinese Communist Party. On the 21st April 1949, Communist forces crossed the Yangtze River, capturing the city of Nanjing, capital of the Nationalist Party's Republic of China. No legal document to end the Chinese Civil War is said to have been signed. With both the PRC and ROC still existing, it seems the Chinese Civil War has not been resolved legaly. The Communists have ruled China ever since, with a mutual mistrust with capitalist countries around the world. China dramaticaly began opening up for trade with the west in the first years of the 21st Century. With China and its citizens new found wealth, it should only be a matter of time until China becomes a true democratic country. |
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World War II 1939 - 1945 The Spanish Civil War came to an end on the 28th March 1939, with the Spanish dictator Franco taking control of the Country, with the help of the German military. German forces were then set to begin their attacks on countries Hitler had chosen for conquest, mainly countries awarded German land at the end of World War One, and, as Hitler stated, Germany should defeat France in war to avenge the German humiliation of World War One. Before Hitler sent his forces into Poland, he signed a pact of non aggression with the Soviet Union on the 23rd August 1939. This led to Hitler beleiving his invasion of Poland on the 1st September 1939, would be accepted by other countries. Hitler had underestimated governments around the world at that time, as Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand, responded to the invasion of Poland by declaring war on Germany on the 3rd September 1939. Two days later, the United States declared a state of neutrality. Canada spent a week debating the situation, then showed their support for Britain by declaring war on Germany on the 10th September 1939. With the Soviets having invaded Poland by that time, Warsaw was forced to surrender to the Germans and Soviets on the 27th September 1939. Within a month of taking control of Poland, the Nazis started carrying out euthanasia on Germanys sick and disabled. The Soviets were thrown out of the League of Nations after they began invading Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. With Hitler seeing those invasions as encroaching on German lands, he launched operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union on the 22nd June 1941). The United States had imposed severe sanctions on Japan, as Japan had been taking control of Islands and mineral rich areas of other countries throughout the Far East in the late 1930s. These sanctions would have crippled Japan, as they were dependant on the import of oil to sustain their countries needs. Japan had a choice of either giving up all their conquests in the Far East, or go to war with the United States. Germany, Italy and Japan formed an alliance on the 27th September 1940. This led to Italy carrying out attacks on British forces throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa, while the Japanese planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, on the 7th December 1941. The United States declared war on Japan the day after the Pearl Harbor attacks. Germany responded in support of Japan by declaring war on the United States on the 11th December 1941. German forces surrendered in Italy on the 29th April 1945, in Western Europe on the 7th May, and on the Eastern Front on the 8th May. Japan surrendered on the 15th August 1945. The highest number of losses during World War Two were, the Soviet Union over 21,000,000, Germany 7,000,000, Poland 6,850,000, Japan 1,800,000, Yugoslavia 1,700,000, Romania 985,000, France 810,000, Hungary 750,000, Austria 525,000, Italy 410,000, Czechoslovakia 400,000, Great Britain 388,000 and the USA 295,000. |
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Vietnamese War of Independence 1946 - 1954 French Indochina was formed between 1887 and 1893 from the countries of Annam, Tonkin, Cochinchina, Cambodia and Laos (an area that is now Vietnam). The years after the Second World War, saw the countries of French Indo China take part in a series of guerrilla wars to prevent the French ruling them once again. France’s defeat in 1954, led to the Geneva Conference awarding power to the nationalist governments of Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. The North Vietnam government adopted communism with strong backing from Russia, this creating tensions in the region as communism looked like it could take over the entire region. The Vietnam War followed in 1959, between the communist north supported by Russia, and capitalist south supported by the U.S. |
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First Indo-Pakistani War 1947 - 1948 The First Indo-Pakistani War, often referred to as the First Kashmir War, was fought between India and Pakistan, mainly over the region of Kashmir. India gained independence from Britain on the 15th August 1947. India was then split into modern day India, and Pakistan. The borders were drawn to try and split the different religions in the region, Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu. Pakistan was made up of the two Muslim-majority areas in the eastern and northwestern regions of British India. India was to hold most of the Sikh, and Hindu. At that time, up to 1 million people are said to have been killed, and many more forced to relocate to an area more suitable for their religion. Britain gained control of India in 1858, and expanded its borders over the following 90 years. Tension between India and Pakistan has existed ever since they split into two nations, mainly over the Kashmir area. The First Indo-Pakistani War, was mainly over control of Kashmir, in the years 1947 - 1948. Another two wars have been fought over Kashmir, in 1965 and 1999. Currently, Kashmir has been split in two, with India and Pakistan controlling an area each. Kashmir remains one of the worlds military hot spots. Since early in the 21st Century, India and Pakistan have joined China as the fastest evolving economic nations. Western nations are hoping this should lead to more stability in the region, as, the richer and more educated people are, the less likely they are to support, or volunteer for military action. The down side for western nations is, much of the wealth in the west will be lost to these developing nations. India and Pakistan became nuclear powers after developed nuclear weapons in the 1990s. |
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Palestinian Civil War 1947 - 1948 Evidence of a Jewish presence in the area of present day Israel dates back 3,400 years. The British took control of vast areas of the Middle East during WWI. After WWI, in 1920, the British administration changed borders in the area to created the state of Palestine, an attempt to establish a homeland for the Jewish people. This area was mainly carved out of southern Syria, containing a large number of Israelis, and Arabs. The Palestinian Civil War began over the Arab and Jewish people wanting to split Palestine into two different states. On the 14th May 1948, the last British forces left Haifa as the Palestine Civil War escalated between the Jewish and Arab communities. This was the time when the Jews, led by David Ben-Gurion, declared the creation of the State of Israel, in accordance with the 1947 UN Partition Plan. Israel gained most of the land, leading to the Arab Palestinians having ongoing disputes with the Israelis over land, and part of Jerusalem. From that time on, Israel has had disputes / wars with Palestine and other Arab countries in the region over borders, river water, and use of the Suez Canal. The greatest impact these wars had on the world were when the Suez Canal was blocked with damaged ships twice, from 1956 - 1957 and 1967 - 1974. These times caused instability throughout the world, with fuel prices increasing dramatically. Shipyards had to start building Super Tankers from that time to transport oil from the Middle East to the west around the Cape of Good Hope at affordable costs. |
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Korean War 1950 - 1953 The Korean War between North Korea and South Korea began on the 25th June 1950. As WW II ended in September 1945, the Soviets liberated the northern part of Korea above the 38th parallel from Japanese occupiers, and the USA liberated the southern part from Japanese occupiers. This led to the splitting of Korea with a northern government adopting communism, and a southern government capitalism. In an attempt to unify north & south Korea, backed by Stalin and using Soviet weapons, the communist north led by Kim Il-sung, invaded the south on Sunday 25th June 1950. The first large scale foreign military intervention by U.S. & United Nations forces began on the 5th July 1950. Hostilities escalated after China entered the war on the side of North Korea, with Chinese troops engaging U.S. troops for the first time on the 1st November 1950. An armistice was signed on the 27th July 1953, after the death of about 400,000 South Koreans and 500,000 North Koreans. Foreign servicemen to die in combat were about, 33,000 U.S., 2,100 UN, and 110,000 Chinese. |
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Vietnam War 1959 - 1975 French Indochina was formed in October 1887 from Annam, Tonkin, Cochinchina, with the Kingdom of Cambodia added after the Franco-Siamese War of 1893. These countries are now basicaly modern day Vietnam. The years following the Second World War, saw the countries of French Indo China begin a series of guerrilla wars to avoid being taken back under French rule. France’s defeat in the Indo China war in 1954, led to the Geneva Conference awarding power to the nationalist governments of Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, was between the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), supported by its communist allies, and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) supported by the U.S. The U.S. sent its first troops to the war in 1965, in an attempt to prevent comunism spreading throughout the region. Due to the lack of support for the war in America, on the 15th January 1973, President Nixon of the U.S. announced the suspension of offensive action against North Vietnam. The Paris Peace Accords were signed on the 27th January 1973, ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The war ended with about 58,000 U.S. soldiers killed, 3 - 4 million Vietnamese from both sides, and up to 2 million Laotians and Cambodians. Although the U.S. continued to arm and train the South so they could defend themselves, it was not enough to prevent the North from attacking the south again in 1974. The North Vietnamese captured the capital of the south, Saigon, in April 1975, leading to North and South Vietnam being reunified the following year, under comunist rule. |
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Soviet war in Afghanistan 1979 - 1989 Afghanistan had been stable for 40 years under the rule of King Mohammad Zahir Shah from the 8th Nov 1933 - 17th July 1973. The king was overthrown by former Prime Minister Daud in 1973, creating instability in the region once again. The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a 9 year conflict involving Soviet forces supporting the governing Marxist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), against the Mujahideen resistance fighting to overthrow the Soviet backed government. The Mujahideen were supported by a number of sources such as: United States, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other Muslim nations. The Mujahideen, with modern western weapons, and fighters from the Muslim world, made it impossible for the Soviets to remain in Afghanistan. The Soviet withdrawal in 1989 was seen as similar to the the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam. About 15,000 Soviet servicemen had lost their lives, leading to Soviet citizens demanding an end to the war. At that time, no one had won the war, or lost. The Soviet Union collapsed in May 1992 when 12 of 15 republics declared their independence from the Russian Empire. The civil war continued in Afghanistan until Kabul fell to the Mujahideen in April 1992. From that time, war between the Mujahideen factions escalated with each faction hoping to take full control. In 1996, the Taliban, a faction of Mujahideen soldiers, who identified themselves as religious students, took control of Afghanistan. The Taliban ruled until the U.S. backed invasion on the 7th October 2001. That invasion received support from most western countries, as as the Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden for his alleged involvement in the September 11 attacks on New York. Afghanistan was a democratic country from 2002 till the Taliban regained control in 2022. |
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Iranian Revolution 1978 - 1979 The Iranian Revolution (also known as the Islamic Revolution), was a revolution that led to Iran changing from monarchy rule under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to an Islamic republic rule under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had been in control of Iran from the 14th September 1941, until he was forced to flee Iran during the Iranian Revolution in the 1970s. During the Shah's reign, Iran had celebrated 2,500 years of continuous monarchy since the creation of the Persian Empire by Cyrus the Great. The revolution seemed to be set off by a series of events such as the growth of the Islamic revival against Westernization, shortage of goods, strikes, and a claims the Royals were only interested in their own wealth. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini served as the Supreme Leader of Iran from 1979 until his death on the 3rd June 1989. On the 22nd October 1979, the exiled Shah was taken to the United States for medical treatment for lymphoma. This led to revolts in Iran, and on the 4th November 1979, a group of students took control of the United States embassy in Tehran, taking 63 American hostages, creating more tension between Iran and western countries. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini then began calling for an Islamic revolution across the Muslim world. The leader of Iraq, President Saddam Hussein, responded by attacking Iran to secure his own future, and take control of Iranian oil fields. Western governments backed Saddam Hussein at that time, supplying Iraq with weapons. Although Western governments never trusted Saddam Hussein, they used the opportunity to try and destroy Iran, that was seen as threatening world peace. |
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Iran – Iraq War 1980 - 1988 Since records began, wars have been fought throughout the the Middle East for control of the land. After World War One, the British were given the task of defining borders to try and end the unrest. The borders of modern day Iraq were defined at that time. This led to disputes between Iraq and Iran over borders, mainly oil rich regions in Iran, that Iraq believed should have been theirs. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 threatened the rule of President Saddam Hussein of Iraq, as he was a Sunni muslim, leading a country with a majority of Shia muslims. Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran had been calling for the Shia of Iraq to rise up and take control, similar to how Iran had been taken over in the 1979 revolution. With the backing of many western nations, Iraq launching a full scale invasion of Iran on the 22nd September 1980. The war came to and end on the 20th August 1988 with a cease fire agreement. Iraq casualties are thought to have been between 160,000 and 240,000, Iran casualties at least 300,000. Although the war ended with no clear winner, the influence of Iran in the Middle East seemed to be greatly reduced. |
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Gulf War 1990 - 1991 The Gulf War (2nd August 1990 – 28th February 1991) began after Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing Iraq's oil through slant drilling. Another reason was, Kuwait had been influential in keeping the price of oil low at that time. Iraq believed they had an agreement with western countries that backed them in the war against Iran, that oil prices would be higher to allow Iraq to recover financially from their years of war. Representatives from Iraq also seemed to get the idea from some U.S. diplomats, who had been backing Iraq in the war with Iran, that an invasion of Kuwait would be accepted by the U.S. This however proved not to be reality, as, a coalition force from 34 nations authorized by the United Nations, but led by the United States and the United Kingdom, responded to the invasion of Kuwait by setting out to return Kuwait to the control of the Emir of Kuwait. The overwhelming coalition forces soon forced Iraqi forces out of Kuwait, leading to U.S. President Bush declaring a cease fire on the 27th February 1991. U.S. forces had 148 battle related deaths, and the UK 47 deaths. Iraq had between 20,000 and 35,000 fatalities. |
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Yugoslav Wars 1991 - 2001 The Yugoslav Wars were a series of conflicts involving all of the six former Yugoslav republics. These were mainly ethnic conflicts between Serbs on one side, and Croats, Bosnians and Albanians on the other. The wars peaked between 1996 and 1999 during the Kosovo War, between mainly Christian Serbian forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army, that were mainly a Muslim Albanian guerrilla group, trying to break away from the former Yugoslavia. Serbian forces were accused of ethnic cleansing, executing thousands of Muslim men of fighting age. Most people were shocked, after scenes like Hitler's WWII were shown to be taking place in a European country during the 1990s. The Serbian forces received backing from their citizens by spreading hate and disgust over the foreign fighters with the KLA, beheading Serb soldiers and citizens. It is unclear just how many executions by beheading took place, the KLA stated Serb forces made up a lot of the allegations to obtain support for their actions. Although NATO moved into the region in 1999, mainly taking military action against Serb forces, it took a further two years to put an end to the fighting. NATO forces are expected to remain in the region as peace keepers for many years. Leaders from all sides are continually being hunted down and tried for War Crimes. |
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War in Afghanistan (2001 - 2021) The War in Afghanistan began on the 7th October 2001, after the United States and United Kingdom responded to the 11th September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, and Pentagon building in Washington. There were 2,974 deaths by the attacks, mainly civilians, after muslim extremists were claimed to have flew 3 aircraft into the buildings. This began the ongoing War on Terror. The stated purpose of the invasion of Afghanistan was to capture Osama bin Laden, destroy al-Qaeda, and remove the Taliban regime that was accused of providing support and training for al-Qaeda and other terror groups. Within 3 months, the Taliban had been removed from power, although they continued to harass Afghan and foreign troops in an attempt to regain power. The attacks on U.S. buildings and citizens were claimed to have been planned by the Saudi born Osama bin Laden, the son of a wealthy Saudi with a vast construction business. Osama bin Laden provided finances, hardware and fought with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan during the 1980s, in the successful quest to remove the Soviet backed government from power in Afghanistan, and Soviet forces from the region. At that time, foreign, mainly muslim fighters, received military hardware from the U.S. and other western countries for the war. The never ending supply of weapons, especially surface to air missiles, made it impossible for the Soviets to remain in the area due to mounting casualties. The Gulf War of 1990 - 1991 saw U.S. and other western forces based in Saudi Arabia to protect that country and liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. Osama bin Laden had tried to persued the Saudi leaders, that if Iraq invaded Saudi Arabia, he and the Mujahideen fighters from around the Muslim world would fight a war similar to that in Afghanistan against the Soviets. The Saudi refusal to take him serious, and opt for the guaranteed protection of the U.S., is claimed to have led to Osama bin Laden returning to Afghanistan where he began orchestrating the war of terror on the west. The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021 after US forces withdrew from the country. |
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