major wars of 20th century

Years 1947 1948 Battle deaths 4,009 The 1947 48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine lasted from 30 November 1947, the date of the United Nations General Assembly vote for the Partition Plan for Palestine, to the termination of the British Mandate itself on 14 May 1948.This period constitutes the first phase of the 1948 Palestine war, during which the Jewish and Arab communities of Palestine clashed, while the British, who had the obligation to maintain order, organized their withdrawal and intervened only on an occasional basis.The next phase of the conflict was the 1948 Arab Israeli War, which began on 15 May 1948, on the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, when the conflict in Palestine became an outright war between the State of Israel and its Arab neighbours.

Years 1947 1948 Battle deaths 200,000 The partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics. This led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan (that later split into the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh) and the Union of India (later Republic of India). The Indian Independence Act 1947 had decided 15 August 1947 as the appointed date for the partition. However, Pakistan came into existence a day earlier, on 14 August.The partition of India was set forth in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Indian Empire and the end of the British Raj. It resulted in a struggle between the newly constituted states of India and Pakistan and displaced up to 12.5 million people with estimates of loss of life varying from several hundred thousand to a million (most estimates of the numbers of people who crossed the boundaries between India and Pakistan in 1947 range between 10 and 12 million). The violent nature of the partition created an atmosphere of mutual hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan that plagues their relationship to this day.

While some argue that the violence that erupted at the moment of Partition was popular and spontaneous and that it cant be considered as a general phenomenon due to the non involvement of large scale organizations (Alam, 1998 98), the nature and the extent of the violence clearly underline the organized and planned character of the attacks. Furthermore, it suggests the involvement of private armies such as the Muslim League National Guard, the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) and the Akal Fauj, counting respectively 42,300, 59,200 and at least 8,000 members (Hansen, 2002 135). Although the State did not directly participate in the violence, the communalized role of the police, the complicity if not direct involvement of the political leaderships and the States attitude of laissez faire point to its responsibility (Virdee, 2007 16 36; Khan, 2007 36 60). During its existence, between August 1 and 31, the 50,000 men Punjab Boundary Force was unable or unwilling to maintain peace and order (Jeffrey, 1974 491 520).

Violence was not just a marginal phenomenon, a sudden and spontaneous communal frenzy that accompanied Partition. It was on the contrary at the very heart of the event. Nor was it merely a consequence of Partition but rather the principal mechanism for creating the conditions for Partition. Violence constituted the moral instrument through which the tension between the pre Partition local character of identity and its postcolonial territorial and national redefinition was negotiated (Gilmartin, 1998 1069 1089). Violence operated as the link between the community and its new national territory. That is precisely what gave it its organized and genocidal dimension as it was meant for control of social space so as to cleanse these territories from the presence of other religious communities (Hansen, 2002).

Years 1947 1949 Battle deaths 3,200 The Indo Pakistani War of 1947 sometimes known as the First Kashmir War was a war fought between India and Pakistan over the region of Kashmir from 1947 to 1949.India and Pakistan achieved their long sought after independence from the United Kingdom on August 15, 1947. The subcontinent was split along religious lines with the Muslim northwest and north east going to Pakistan and the rest of the area going to India. The region of Kashmir was a principality still ruled by a prince, Maharaja Hari Singh.Singh was a Hindu as were most of the elites of Kashmir. Three quarters of the population were Muslims, however. When the plans for partition were drawn up the decision of which country to join was left to Singh. He was reluctant to join the Muslim state of Pakistan, but also did not want to join democratic India where his autocratic powers would be curtailed. Thus he delayed and the status of the region was still in question upon the departure of the British.This position soon became untenable, however. The religious rioting and violence that had started in the Punjab was spreading north. On October 20 groups of tribesmen from Pakistan moved into Kashmir and began to march on the captial of Srinagar.In desperation Hari Singh fled to India and asked for Indian troops to stop the uprising, the Indians demanded that Singh sign Kashmir over to India, which he reluctantly did. The Indian troops arrived and quickly blocked the advance of the Muslims, preventing the imminent sacking of Srinigar.

In response to what Mohammed Ali Jinnah saw as the invasion of Kashmir by the Indians he ordered Pakistani military forces into Azad Kashmir as volunteers. They also supplied the anti Indian forces with arms and vehicles.With the arrival of winter little fighting could be carried out in the mountainous region, but the next May India launched a massive offensive routing the Pakistani backed forces in the region. As a result Pakistan sent three brigades of the Pakistani army into the region. The fighting soon stalemated and both sides waited for international mediation to help resolve the situation.After protracted negotiations a cease fire was agreed to by both parties which came into effect January 5, 1949. The cease fire line created what were meant to temporary borders between Indian and Pakistani zones of control, and promised a plebiscite would be held to determine the future of the territory.

Years 1955 1964 Battle deaths 164,923 The 1959 to 1963 phase of the Vietnam War started after the North Vietnamese had made a firm decision to commit to a military intervention in the guerrilla war in the South, a buildup phase began, between the 1959 North Vietnamese decision and the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, which led to a major US escalation of its involvement. Vietnamese communists saw this as a second phase of their revolution, the US now substituting for the French. Between the 1954 Geneva accords and 1956, the two states created by the talks were still forming; the influence of major powers, especially France and the United States, and to a lesser extent China and the Soviet Union, were as much an influence as any internal matters. There is little question that in 1957 1958, there was a definite early guerilla movement against the Di?m government, involving individual assassinations, expropriations, recruiting, shadow government. The insurgents were South Vietnamese rebels or northerners who had been living there for some time. While there was clearly communications and perhaps arms supply from the north, there is little evidence of any Northern units in the South, although organizers may well have infiltrated.There was endemic insurgency in South Vietnam throughout the period 1954 1960. It can also be established but less surely that the Di?m regime alienated itself from one after another of those domestic sectors which might have offered it political support, and was grievously at fault in its rural programs. That these conditions engendered animosity toward the Southern dictatorship seems almost certain, and they could have led to a major resistance movement even without North Vietnamese help.

There is little doubt that there was some kind of Viet Minh derived stay behind organization between 1954 and 1960, but it is unclear that they were directed to take over action until 1957 or later. Before that, they were unquestionably recruiting and preparing.While the visible guerilla incidents increased gradually, the key policy decisions by the North were made in 1959. Early in this period, there was a greater degree of conflict in Laos than in South Vietnam. US combat involvement was, at first, greater in Laos, but the activity of advisors, and increasingly US direct support to South Vietnamese soldiers, increased, under US military authority, in late 1959 and early 1960. Communications intercepts in 1959, for example, confirmed the start of the Ho Chi Minh trail and other preparation for large scale fighting. North Vietnam declared its public support for communist insurgents in South Vietnam. The communist forces in South Vietnam established the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (Viet Cong). At the same time, the United States helped the South Vietnamese regime conduct its war strategy. Despite this assistance, the communist forces still won on the battlefield, fighting several large campaigns next to the big cities. Di?m was unable to take control of political crisis and was overthrown by the Council of Revolutionary Military (some documents of both sides suggest that it was the United States which had given the green light for this coup). After several years of chaos, the Ng

Years 1956 1956 Battle deaths 2,142 On October 29, Israel invaded the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula and made rapid progress towards the Canal Zone. As per the agreement, Britain and France offered to reoccupy the area and separate the warring armies. Nasser (whose nationalisation of the company had been greeted with delirium by Egyptian crowds) refused the offer, which gave the European powers a pretext for a joint invasion to regain control of the canal and topple the Nasser regime. To support the invasion, large air forces had been deployed to Cyprus and Malta by the UK and France and many aircraft carriers were deployed. The two regularly available airfields on Cyprus were so congested that a third field which was in dubious condition had to be brought into use for French aircraft. Even RAF Luqa on Malta was extremely crowded with RAF Bomber Command aircraft. The UK deployed HMS Eagle, Albion and Bulwark and France had FS Arromanches and Lafayette on station. In addition, two smaller British carriers were acting as jumping off points for the worlds first helicopter borne assault. The United Kingdom and France began to bomb Egypt on October 31 to force the reopening of the canal with Operation Musketeer. Nasser responded by sinking all 40 ships then present in the canal, closing it to further shipping until early 1957.On late 5 November the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment dropped at El Gamil Airfield, clearing the area and establishing a secure base for incoming support aircraft and reinforcements. At first light on the 6 November Commandos of No42 and 40 Commando Royal Marines stormed the beaches, using landing craft of WW2 vintage. Salvos from the battlegroup standing offshore opened fire, giving good covering fire for the landings and causing considerable damage to the Egyptian batteries and gun emplacements. The town of Port Said sustained great damage and was seen to be alight.

Meeting stiff resistance as they moved inland, No45 Commando assaulted by helicopter and upon landing, moved inland. Several helicopters were hit from shore batteries and casualties were sustained. Friendly fire from British carrier borne aircraft caused heavy casualties to 45 Commando and HQ. Street fighting and house clearing was the order of the day. Again, stiff opposition came from well entrenched sniper positions which caused a number of casualties.

Years 1965 1965 Battle deaths 5,000 The 1965 war, also known as the Second Kashmir War, between India and Pakistan was the culmination of a series of skirmishes that occurred between April 1965 and September 1965. Details of this war, like those of most India Pakistan wars, are sketchy and riddled with media biases.

Years 1967 1967 Battle deaths 10,047 The 1967 Arab Israeli War, also known as the Six Day War or June War was fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. As a result, Israel gained control of the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. The results of the war affect the geopolitics of the region to this day.

Years 1985 2000 Battle deaths 7,247 The conflict taking place in the north western Indian state Punjab saw the Indian government fighting a number of Sikh insurgent outfits aiming for the establishment of a Sikh state, Khalistan (Land of the Pure). The conflict became active in 1983 and throughout its duration displayed much violence, generating high death tolls. Following large counterinsurgency operations, the government pronounced the insurgency defeated in 1993.

Years 1991 2005 Battle deaths 8,295 The Burundi Civil War (1993 2005) is driven by ethnic rivalries between Hutu and Tutsi tribal factions of Burundi. Rivalry escalated into a bloody power struggle following the presidential election of June 1993. The swearing in of Pierre Nkurunziza as president in August 2005 was seen as a formal endpoint to the conflict, but one major rebel group remained outside the peace process. Over 300,000 people perished in the war. (comment the number 300,000 probably includes excess deaths, Globalsecurity puts the figure at 200,000 and UUCD states 7125 battle deaths) Background Burundis first multiparty national elections were held on June 27, 1993. Melchior Ndadaye of the Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU) won the presidential election, the first person from the Hutu tribe to become the president since the country secured independence from Belgium in 1962. Hutus are the majority ethnic group, at about eighty five percent, in the country, but the government has been dominated by Tutsis, through the Union for National Progress (UPRONA) political party. Ndadaye was killed in a coup detat by Tutsi military officers on October 21, 1993.

Years 1992 1998 Battle deaths 6,834 When Tajikistan became independent in 1991, communist leaders continued to control the country. Unified in their opposition, democratic and Islamist parties formed UTO (United Tajik Opposition). UTO fought against the government until 1998 in spite of the several peace agreements signed during the period. In 1998 another opposition group, the Movement for Peace in Tajikistan, attacked government forces as it rejected the power sharing agreement between UTO and the government signed in 1997.