major wars of 20th century

Major Wars Of 20th Century

The 20th century was dominated by wars and conflicts.
31. 1st Balkan War
Years 1912 1913 Battle deaths 82,000 The Balkan Wars were two wars in South eastern Europe in 1912 1913 in the course of which the Balkan League (Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria) first conquered Ottoman held Macedonia and most of Thrace and then fell out over the division of the spoils, Bulgaria suffering defeat at the hands of her former allies and losing much of what she had been promised in the initial partition scheme.The wars were an important precursor to World War I, to the extent that Austria Hungary took alarm at the great increase in Serbias territory and regional status. This concern was shared by Germany, which saw Serbia as a satellite of Russia. Serbias rise in power thus contributed to the two Central Powers willingness to risk war following the assassination in Sarajevo of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria in June 1914.

The background to the wars lies in the incomplete emergence of nation states on the fringes of the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century. Serbia had gained substantial territory during the Russo Turkish War of 1877 78, while Greece acquired Thessaly in 1881 (although she lost a small area to Turkey in 1897) and Bulgaria (an autonomous principality since 1878) incorporated the formerly distinct province of Eastern Rumelia (1885). All three as well as tiny Montenegro sought additional territories within the large Turkish ruled regions known as Albania, Macedonia and Thrace.Tensions among the Balkan states over their rival aspirations in Macedonia subsided somewhat following intervention by the great Powers in the mid 1900s aimed at securing both fuller protection for the provinces Christian majority and protection of the status quo. The question of Ottoman rules viability revived, however, after the Young Turk revolution of July 1908 compelled the Sultan to restore the suspended Ottoman constitution.

While Austria Hungary seized the opportunity of the resulting Ottoman political uncertainty to annex the formally Ottoman province of Bosnia Herzegovina, which it had occupied since 1878, Bulgaria declared itself a fully independent kingdom (October 1908) and the Greeks of Crete proclaimed unification with Greece, though the opposition of the great powers prevented the latter action from taking practical effect. Frustrated in the north by Austria Hungarys incorporation of Bosnia with its 825,000 Orthodox Serbs (and many more Serbs and Serb sympathizers of other faiths), and forced (March 1909) to accept the annexation and restrain anti Habsburg agitation among Serbian nationalist groups, the Serbian government looked to formerly Serb territories in the south, notably Old Serbia (the Sanjak of Novi Pazar and the province of Kosovo).On August 28, 1909, demonstrating Greek officers urging constitutional revision and a more nationalist foreign policy secured the appointment of a more sympathetic government which they hoped would resolve the Cretan issue in Greeces favour and reverse the defeat of 1897. Bulgaria, which had secured Ottoman recognition of her independence in April 1909 and enjoyed the friendship of Russia, also looked to districts of Ottoman Thrace and north eastern Macedonia for expansion. In March 1910, an Albanian insurrection broke out in Kosovo. In August 1910 Montenegro followed Bulgarias precedent by becoming a kingdom. Initially under the encouragement of Russian agents, a series of agreements were concluded between Serbia and Bulgaria in March 1912 and between Greece and Bulgaria in May 1912. Montenegro subsequently concluded agreements between Serbia and Bulgaria respectively in October 1912. The Serbian Bulgarian agreement specifically called for the partition of Macedonia. Then on October 8, 1912 the First Balkan War began when Montenegro declared war against Turkey pre empting a warning from Russia and Austria Hungary. Albania declared independence on November 28, 1912. On December 2, the Balkan League signed an armistice with Turkey ending the war. Turkey withdrew to the Enos Media Line. An initial peace was concluded at the Treaty of London in May 1913. By the time of the Armistice, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece had overrun Albania. At the Treaty of London, Austria Hungary and Italy strongly supported the creation of an independent Albania. In light of this, Serbia and Greece sought compensation from the Macedonian territories that had been overrun by Bulgaria. Bulgaria unsuccessfully attempted to resist this by force of arms. Defeated by Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania and Turkey in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria signed an Armistice on July 31, 1913. At the Treaty of Bucharest in August 1913, the final territorial adjustments were made.

32. Kuomintang vs Chinese Army
Years 1913 1913 Battle deaths 5,000 Founded in Guangdong Province on August 25, 1912 by Sung Chiao jen and Dr. Sun Yat sen, the KMT was formed from a collection several revolutionary groups, including the Tongmenghui, as a moderate democratic socialist party.The party gained a majority in the first National Assembly, but in 1913 Yuan Shikai, who was President dissolved the body, had Sung assassinated, and ordered the Kuomintang suppressed.

Sun re established the KMT in the form of a secret society while exiled in Japan in 1914 and returned in 1918 to establish a rival government at Guangzhou. In 1923, the KMT and its government accepted aid from the Soviet Union after being denied recognition by the western powers. Soviet advisers the most prominent of whom was an agent of the Comintern, Mikhail Borodin began to arrive in China in 1923 to aid in the reorganization and consolidation of the KMT along the lines of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, establishing a Leninist party structure that lasted into the 1990s. The Communist Party of China was under Comintern instructions to cooperate with the KMT, and its members were encouraged to join while maintaining their party identities, forming the First United Front between the two parties. Soviet advisers also helped the Nationalists set up a political institute to train propagandists in mass mobilization techniques and in 1923 sent Chiang Kai shek, one of Suns lieutenants from Tongmeng Hui days, for several monthsmilitary and political study in Moscow.At the first party congress in 1924, which included non KMT delegates such as members of the CPC, they adopted Suns political theory, which included the Three Principles of the People nationalism, democracy, and the livelihood of the people.

33. 2nd Balkan War
Years 1913 1913 Battle deaths 60,500 The Balkan Wars were two wars in South eastern Europe in 1912 1913 in the course of which the Balkan League (Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria) first conquered Ottoman held Macedonia and most of Thrace and then fell out over the division of the spoils, Bulgaria suffering defeat at the hands of her former allies and losing much of what she had been promised in the initial partition scheme.The wars were an important precursor to World War I, to the extent that Austria Hungary took alarm at the great increase in Serbias territory and regional status. This concern was shared by Germany, which saw Serbia as a satellite of Russia. Serbias rise in power thus contributed to the two Central Powerswillingness to risk war following the assassination in Sarajevo of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria in June 1914.

The background to the wars lies in the incomplete emergence of nation states on the fringes of the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century. Serbia had gained substantial territory during the Russo Turkish War of 1877 78, while Greece acquired Thessaly in 1881 (although she lost a small area to Turkey in 1897) and Bulgaria (an autonomous principality since 1878) incorporated the formerly distinct province of Eastern Rumelia (1885). All three as well as tiny Montenegro sought additional territories within the large Turkish ruled regions known as Albania, Macedonia and Thrace. Tensions among the Balkan states over their rival aspirations in Macedonia subsided somewhat following intervention by the great Powers in the mid 1900s aimed at securing both fuller protection for the provinces Christian majority and protection of the status quo. The question of Ottoman rules viability revived, however, after the Young Turk revolution of July 1908 compelled the Sultan to restore the suspended Ottoman constitution.

While Austria Hungary seized the opportunity of the resulting Ottoman political uncertainty to annex the formally Ottoman province of Bosnia Herzegovina, which it had occupied since 1878, Bulgaria declared itself a fully independent kingdom (October 1908) and the Greeks of Crete proclaimed unification with Greece, though the opposition of the great powers prevented the latter action from taking practical effect. Frustrated in the north by Austria Hungarys incorporation of Bosnia with its 825,000 Orthodox Serbs (and many more Serbs and Serb sympathizers of other faiths), and forced (March 1909) to accept the annexation and restrain anti Habsburg agitation among Serbian nationalist groups, the Serbian government looked to formerly Serb territories in the south, notably Old Serbia (the Sanjak of Novi Pazar and the province of Kosovo).

On August 28, 1909, demonstrating Greek officers urging constitutional revision and a more nationalist foreign policy secured the appointment of a more sympathetic government which they hoped would resolve the Cretan issue in Greeces favour and reverse the defeat of 1897. Bulgaria, which had secured Ottoman recognition of her independence in April 1909 and enjoyed the friendship of Russia, also looked to districts of Ottoman Thrace and north eastern Macedonia for expansion. In March 1910, an Albanian insurrection broke out in Kosovo. In August 1910 Montenegro followed Bulgarias precedent by becoming a kingdom.Initially under the encouragement of Russian agents, a series of agreements were concluded between Serbia and Bulgaria in March 1912 and between Greece and Bulgaria in May 1912. Montenegro subsequently concluded agreements between Serbia and Bulgaria respectively in October 1912. The Serbian Bulgarian agreement specifically called for the partition of Macedonia.Then on October 8, 1912 the First Balkan War began when Montenegro declared war against Turkey pre empting a warning from Russia and Austria Hungary. Albania declared independence on November 28, 1912. On December 2, the Balkan League signed an armistice with Turkey ending the war. Turkey withdrew to the Enos Media Line. An initial peace was concluded at the Treaty of London in May 1913.

By the time of the Armistice, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece had overrun Albania. At the Treaty of London, Austria Hungary and Italy strongly supported the creation of an independent Albania. In light of this, Serbia and Greece sought compensation from the Macedonian territories that had been overrun by Bulgaria. Bulgaria unsuccessfully attempted to resist this by force of arms. Defeated by Serbia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania and Turkey in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria signed an Armistice on July 31, 1913. At the Treaty of Bucharest in August 1913, the final territorial adjustments were made.

34. World War I
Years 1914 1918 Battle deaths 10,670,868 World War I (also known as the First World War and the Great War) was a conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918. Chemical weapons were used for the first time, the first mass bombardment of civilians from the sky was executed, and some of the centurys first genocides took place during the war. No previous conflict had mobilised so many soldiers, or involved so many in the field of battle. Never before had casualties been so high. The First World War was the first total war. World War I was also a war of change, a last blow to the old order in Europe to pave way for the new. Dynasties such as the Habsburgs, Romanovs, and Hohenzollerns, who had dominated the European political landscape and had roots of power back to the days of the Crusades, all fell after the 4 year war. Many of the events and phenomena that would dominate the world of the 20th century can trace their origins to this war including Communism, World War II and even the Cold War.
35. Russian Revolution and Civil War
Years 1917 1922 Battle deaths 802,225 The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a political movement in Russia that climaxed in 1917 with the overthrow of the provisional government that had replaced the Russian Tsar system, and led to the establishment of the Soviet Union, which lasted until its collapse in 1991. The Revolution can be viewed in two distinct phases. The first one was that of the February Revolution of 1917, which displaced the autocracy of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the last Tsar of Russia, and sought to establish in its place a liberal republic. The second phase was the October Revolution, in which the Soviets, inspired and increasingly controlled by Lenins Bolshevik party, seized power from the Provisional Government.The February Revolution came about almost spontaneously when people protested against the Tsarist regime as they lacked enough food to eat. There was also great dissatisfaction with Russias continued involvement in the First World War. As the protests grew, various political reformists (both liberal and radical left) started to coordinate some activity. In early February the protests turned violent as large numbers of city residents rioted and clashed with police and soldiers. When the bulk of the soldiers garrisoned in the Russian capital Petrograd joined the protests, they turned into a revolution ultimately leading to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.

Between February and October numerous anarchist and communist (Bolshevik) revolutionists attempted to foment further revolution. In July, the St. Petersburg Military section of the Bolshevik Party, in combination with a major working class Bolshevik Party branch and the Petrograd anarchists, fomented a civil revolt. However, this revolt failed.The October Revolution was led by Lenin and was based upon the ideas of Karl Marx. It marked the beginning of the spread of communism in the twentieth century. It was far less sporadic than the revolution of February and came about as the result of deliberate planning and coordinated activity to that end. On November 7, 1917, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin led his leftist revolutionaries in a nearly bloodless revolt against the ineffective Kerensky Provisional Government (Russia was still using the Julian Calendar at the time, so period references show an October 25 date). The October Revolution ended the phase of the revolution instigated in February, replacing Russias short lived liberal government with a bolshevik one. Although many bolsheviks (such as Leon Trotsky) supported a soviet democracy, the reform from above model gained definitive power when Lenin died and Stalin gained control of the USSR. Trotsky and his supporters, as well as a number of other democratically minded communists, were persecuted and eventually imprisoned or killed.

After October 1917, many esers (Socialist Revolutionaries) and Russian Anarchists opposed the Bolsheviks through the soviets. When this failed, they revolted in a series of events calling for a third revolution. The most notable instances were the Tambov rebellion, 1919 1921, and the Kronstadt rebellion in March 1921. These movements, which made a wide range of demands and lacked effective coordination, were eventually crushed during the Civil War. The Russian Civil War, which broke out in 1918 shortly after the revolution, brought death and suffering to millions of people regardless of their political orientation. The war was fought mainly between the Reds, the communists and revolutionaries, and the Whites the monarchists, conservatives, liberals and socialists who opposed the Bolshevik Revolution. The Whites had backing from nations such as the UK and USA. Also during the Civil War, Nestor Makhno lead a Ukrainian anarchist movement which generally cooperated with the Bolsheviks. However, a Bolshevik force under Mikhail Frunze destroyed the Makhnovist movement, when the Makhnovists refused to merge into the Red Army. In addition, the so called Green Army (nationalists and anarchists) played a secondary role in the war, mainly in Ukraine.

36. Finnish Civil War
Years 1918 1918 Battle deaths 15,150 The Finnish Civil War was fought from January to May 1918, between the Reds (punaiset), Communists together with Social Democrats, and the Whites (valkoiset), forces of the Conservative Senate intending to maintain status quo (retained independence and constitutional monarchy without parliamentarism). Finns have many names for this conflict vapaussota (War of Liberty), kansalaissota or sis?llissota (Civil War), luokkasota (Class War), punakapina (Red Rebellion), torpparikapina (CroftersRebellion), veljessota (the war between brothers). All of these names are true in one way or another. The Civil War and the Continuation War have been the two most controversial and emotion loaded events in the history of modern Finland, often seen as the hinges or pivots of Finlands fate. Thus the Civil War has had a great influence also on the foreign relations of Finland.
37. Estonian Liberation War
Years 1918 1920 Battle deaths 11,750 The Estonian War of Independence (Estonian Vabaduss
38. Caco Revolt
Years 1918 1920 Battle deaths 2,102 Between 1911 and 1915, a series of political assassinations and forced exiles saw the presidency of Haiti change six times. Various revolutionary armies carried out this series of coups. Each was formed by cacos, or peasant brigands from the mountains of the north, along the porous Dominican border, who were enlisted by rival political factions under the promises of money, which would be paid after a successful revolution, and the opportunity to plunder. In 1919, a new caco uprising began, led by Charlemagne Peralte, vowing to
39. Third Anglo Afghan War
Years 1919 1919 Battle deaths 2,136 Amanullahs ten years of reign initiated a period of dramatic change in Afghanistan in both foreign and domestic politics. Amanullah declared full independence and sparked the Third Anglo Afghan War. Amanullah altered foreign policy in his new relations with external powers and transformed domestic politics with his social, political, and economic reforms. Although his reign ended abruptly, he achieved some notable successes, and his efforts failed as much due to the centripetal forces of tribal Afghanistan and the machinations of Russia and Britain as to any political folly on his part. Amanullah came to power just as the entente between Russia and Britain broke down following the Russian Revolution of 1917. Once again Afghanistan provided a stage on which the great powers played out their schemes against one another. Amanullah attacked the British in May 1919 in two thrusts, taking them by surprise. Afghan forces achieved success in the early days of the war as Pashtun tribesmen on both sides of the border joined forces with them.The military skirmishes soon ended in a stalemate as the British recovered from their initial surprise. Britain virtually dictated the terms of the 1919 Rawalpindi Agreement, a temporary armistice that provided, somewhat ambiguously, for Afghan self determination in foreign affairs. Before final negotiations were concluded in 1921, however, Afghanistan had already begun to establish its own foreign policy, including diplomatic relations with the new government in the Soviet Union in 1919. During the 1920s, Afghanistan established diplomatic relations with most major countries.
40. Hungarian Romanian War of 1919
Years 1919 1919 Battle deaths 11,000 The seeds of the Hungarian Romanian war of 1919 were planted when Transylvania proclaimed union with Romania on December 1, 1918. In April 1919, the Bolsheviks came to power in Hungary, at which point its army attempted to retake Transylvania, commencing the war. By its final stage, more than 120,000 troops on both sides were involved. The destruction of the Hungarian Soviet Republic and the Romanian occupation of parts of Hungary proper, including its capital Budapest in August 1919, ended the war. Romanian troops withdrew from Hungary in March 1920.