major wars of 20th century

Years 1899 1902 Battle deaths 30,800In 1896 Cecil Rhodes sponsored the ineffective coup detat of the Jameson Raid and the failure to gain improved rights for Britons was used as an excuse to justify a major military buildup in the Cape. There was another reason for the British intention to take control of the Boer Republics there was at the time an attempt made by the Transvaal Republic to link up with German South West Africa, a possibility which the British, with an eye to the coming clash with the Empire of the Germans, determined to thwart.

The Boers, under Paul Kruger, struck first. The Boers attacked into Cape Colony and Natal between October 1899 and January 1900. The Boers were able to successfully besiege the British garrisons in the towns of Ladysmith, Mafeking (defended by troops headed by Robert Baden Powell) and Kimberley and inflicted three separate defeats on the British in one week, December 10 to 15, 1899. It was not until reinforcements arrived on February 14, 1900 that British troops commanded by Lord Roberts could launch counter offences to relieve the garrisons (the relief of Mafeking on May 18, 1900 provoked riotous celebrations in England) and enabled the British to take Bloemfontein on March 13 and the Boer capital, Pretoria, on June 5. Boer units fought for two more years as guerrillas, the British, now under the command of Lord Kitchener, responded by constructing blockhouses, destroying farms and confiscating food to prevent them from falling into Boer hands and placing Boer civilians in concentration camps.

The last of the Boers surrendered in May 1902 and the war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging in the same month. 22,000 British troops had died and over 25,000 Boer civilians. The treaty ended the existence of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State as Boer republics and placed them within the British Empire. But the Boers were given

Years 1899 1902 Battle deaths 20,500 The Philippine American War was a war between the armed forces of the United States and the Philippines from 1899 through 1913.This conflict is also known as the Philippine Insurrection. This name was historically the most commonly used in the U.S., but Filipinos and an increasing number of American historians refer to these hostilities as the Philippine American War, and in 1999 the U.S. Library of Congress reclassified its references to use this term.

ORIGINS OF THE WAR In December 1898, the U.S. purchased the Philippines from Spain at the Treaty of Paris for the sum of 20 million United States dollars, after the U.S. defeated Spain in the Spanish American War. The U.S. government made plans to make the Philippines an American colony. However, the Filipinos, fighting for their independence from Spain since 1896, had already declared their independence on June 12. On August 14, 11,000 ground troops were sent to occupy the Philippines. Emilio Aguinaldo, on January 1, 1899, was declared the first President. He later organized a Congress at Malolos, Bulacan to draft a constitution.

Years 1899 1903 Battle deaths 100,000 The Thousand Days War (1899 1902) (Spanish Guerra de los Mil D

Years 1899 1920 Battle deaths 6,000 The Dervish state was an early 20th century Somali Sunni Islamic state that was established by Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, a religious leader who gathered Somali soldiers from across the Horn of Africa and united them into a loyal army known as the Dervishes.In 1900, an Ethiopian expedition which had been sent to arrest or kill Hassan looted a large number of camels. Hassan in return attacked the Ethiopian garrison at Jijiga on 4 March of that year and successfully recovered all the looted animals. He gained great prestige in recovering the looted stock from the Ethiopians and he used it along with his charisma and powers of oratory to improve his undisputed authority on the Ogaden. To harness Ogaden enthusiasm into final commitment, Hassan married the daughter of a prominent leader and in return gave his own sister, Toohyar Sheikh Adbile, to Abdi Mohammed Waale, a notable elder.

Towards the end of 1900, the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II proposed a joint action with the British against the Dervish. Accordingly, British Lt. Col. E.J. Swayne assembled a force of 1,500 Somali soldiers led by 21 European officers and started from Burco on 22 May 1901, while an Ethiopian army of 15,000 soldiers started from Harar to join the British forces intent on crushing the 20,000 Dervish fighters (of whom 40 percent were cavalry).Hassan was driven across the border into the Majeerteen Sultanate, which had been incorporated into the Italian protectorate. The Ethiopians failed to get a hold on the western Ogaden and the British were eventually forced to retreat, having accomplished none of their goals.

1903 Campaign Hassan defeated a British detachment near Gumburru and then another near Daratoleh. With 1,200 1,500 rifles, 4,000 ponies and some spearmen, he occupied the Nugal Valley from Halin in the British protectorate to Ilig (or Illig) on the Italian held coast. The main British force near Galad (Galadi) under General William Manning retreated north along the line Bohotleh Burao Sheekh. This old established line had already been breached by Hassan when he invaded the Nugal. By the end of June, the withdrawal was complete.

1904 CampaignAfter the failure of General Mannings offensive, General Charles Egerton was entrusted with a response. Following extensive preparations, he united his field force at Bacaadweeyn (Badwein) on 9 January 1904 and defeated Hassan at Jibdalli the next day. The British and their allies from Hobyo harassed Hassan along his retreat, and he lost many of his camels and livestock throughout February.In early March, the second phase of operations began. The Ethiopians advanced as far as Gerlogubi, but turned back in early April. The Italian Navy bombarded Ilig in the winter to no effect. On 16 April, some ships of the East Indies Station under Rear Admiral George Atkinson Willes left Berbera to bombard Ilig in cooperation with an advance overland. The capture of Ilig was effected on 21 April, the British losing 3 men killed and 11 wounded, and the Dervishes 58 killed and 14 wounded. The naval detachment which had fought the battle remained ashore for four days, assisted by an Italian naval detachment that arrived on 22 April. Control of Ilig was finally relinquished to Ali Yusuf of Hobyo. Having defeated his forces in the field and forced his retreat, the British offered the Mullah safe conduct into permanent exile at Mecca; Hassan did not reply.In the 1920 campaign by the British, 12 aircraft were used to support the local British forces. Within a month, the British had occupied the capital of the Dervish State and Hassan had retreated to the west.

Years 1900 1900 Battle deaths 3,003 The Boxer Rebellion, Boxer Uprising or Yihetuan Movement was a violent anti foreign and anti Christian movement which took place in China towards the end of the Qing dynasty between 1898 and 1900. It was initiated by the Militia United in Righteousness (Yihetuan), known in English as the Boxers, and was motivated by proto nationalist sentiments and opposition to foreign imperialism and Christianity. The Great Powers intervened and defeated Chinese forces. The uprising took place against a background of severe drought, and the disruption caused by the growth of foreign spheres of influence. After several months of growing violence against foreign and Christian presence in Shandong and the North China plain, in June 1900 Boxer fighters, convinced they were invulnerable to foreign weapons, converged on Beijing with the slogan Support the Qing, exterminate the foreigners. Foreigners and Chinese Christians sought refuge in the Legation Quarter. In response to reports of an armed invasion to lift the siege, the initially hesitant Empress Dowager Cixi supported the Boxers and on June 21 authorized war on foreign powers.

Diplomats, foreign civilians and soldiers, and Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter were under siege by the Imperial Army of China and the Boxers for 55 days. Chinese officialdom was split between those supporting the Boxers and those favoring conciliation, led by Prince Qing. The supreme commander of the Chinese forces, Ronglu, later claimed that he acted to protect the besieged foreigners. The Eight Nation Alliance, after being initially turned back, brought 20,000 armed troops to China, defeated the Imperial Army, and captured Beijing on August 14 (Siege of the International Legations), lifting the siege of the Legations. Uncontrolled plunder of the capital and the surrounding countryside ensued, along with the summary execution of those suspected of being Boxers.The Boxer Protocol of September 7, 1901 provided for the execution of government officials who had supported the Boxers, provisions for foreign troops to be stationed in Beijing, and an indemnity of 67 million pounds (450 million taels of silver) more than the governments annual tax revenue, to be paid as indemnity over a course of thirty nine years to the eight nations involved.

Years 1902 1904 Battle deaths 2,000 The Bailundo Revolt of 1902 was the last attempt by the Ovimbundu peoples to resist Portuguese colonization. The revolt, prompted by the declining price of rubber, pitted rival traders against one another. However, while the Portuguese maintained ethnic and national solidarity, the Ovimbundu continued to engage in slave raids. The Portuguese suppressed the rebellion and annexed the Central Highlands.

Degredado settlers and Boer farmers stole nativeslands, impressing and deporting workers to plantations. Portuguese authorities arrested the king of Bailundo after an Ovimbundu celebration in which natives consumed Portuguese rum, allegedly without paying. The kings advisor, Mutu ya Kevela, allied with Bailundos neighboring kingdoms and launched a liberation war. He told his council, rallying them to fight, Before the traders came we had our own home brewed beer, we lived long lives and were strong. Kevelas troops killed Portuguese colonists and burned down their trading posts. The native revolt spread towards Bie, but Portuguese troops stationed in Benguela and Mo

Years 1903 1903 Battle deaths 6,330 The Ilinden Preobrazhenie Uprising or simply the Ilinden Uprising of August 1903 was an organized revolt against the Ottoman Empire, which was prepared and carried out by the Secret Macedonian Adrianople Revolutionary Organization. The British researcher of the Balkans H. N. Brailsford wrote in his book Macedonia Its Races and Their Future The moment for which the Bulgarian population had been preparing for ten years arrived on the festival of the Prophet Elijahs day the evening of Sunday, August the 2nd, 1903. At the same time on the other end of the SMAROs territory, in Eastern Thrace, the leaders of the Adrianople Vilayet comitajis, had unanimously agreed that they were not ready for uprising , but of a feeling of solidarity, had voted for a rising. So in Strandzha the rising had begun on the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 19, 1903.

The rebellion in Macedonia affected most of the central and southwestern parts of the Monastir Vilayet receiving the support mainly of the local Bulgarian peasants and to some extent of the Aromanian population of the region. Provisional government was established in the town of Kru?evo (to the west of Prilep), where the insurgents proclaimed the Krushevo Republic under the presidency of the school teacher Nikola Karev, which was overrun after just ten days, on August 12. On August 19, a closely related uprising organized by Bulgarian peasants in the Adrianople Vilayet led to the liberation of a large area in the Strandzha Mountains near the Black Sea coast, and the creation of a provisional government in Vassiliko, the Strandzha Republic. This lasted about twenty days before being put down by the Turks.

By the time the rebellion had started, many of its most promising potential leaders, including Gotse Delchev, had already been killed in skirmishes with the Ottomans, and the effort was quashed within a couple of months. The survivors managed to maintain a guerrilla campaign against the Turks for the next few years, but its greater effect was that it persuaded the European powers to attempt to convince the Ottoman sultan that he must take a more conciliatory attitude toward his Christian subjects in Europe.

Years 1904 1904 Battle deaths 1,000 The Battle of Masoller, which occurred on September 1, 1904, was the final battle of the intermittent Uruguayan Civil War which marked much of 19th century Uruguay, resulting in the victory of the Colorado forces.

Years 1904 1904 Battle deaths 30,000 Starting in 1872, after the Sanaa region was firmly under control, Ahmed Muhtar Pasha set about restructuring the administration of the Yemen vilayet, dividing it into four sanjaks, with Sanacity serving as capital of the vilayet. Asir became a sanjak of Yemen in 1872. In the late 19th century, the Zaidis rebelled against the Turks, and Imam Mohammed ibn Yahya laid the foundation of a hereditary dynasty. When he died in 1904, his successor Imam Yahya ibn Mohammed led the revolt against the Turks in 1904 1905, and forced them to grand important concessions to the Zaidis. The Ottoman accepted to withdraw the civil code and restore sharia in Yemen.In 1906, the Idrisi leaders of Asir rebelled against the Ottomans. By 1910 they controlled most of Asir, but they were ultimately defeated by Turkish and Hejazi forces.

Years 1904 1905 Battle deaths 12,800 During the late 19th century, the first Europeans planning to permanently settle entered the land. Primarily in Damaraland, German settlers acquired land from the Herero in order to establish farms; in 1883, the merchant Franz Adolf Eduard L