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Article History. This is a list of wars ordered chronologically by the year that hostilities were initiated. ( See also war; law of war; military technology; collective violence .) 1300–1200 bce. Trojan War (dates uncertain) 1200–1100 bce. Trojan War (dates uncertain) 800–700 bce. First Messenian War ( c. 735–715 bce)
- Vietnam War
By nearly every metric, the Vietnam War was, in the common...
- Persian Gulf War
Persian Gulf War, conflict (1990–91) triggered by Iraq’s...
- Messenian Wars
Messenian Wars, (8th–7th century bc), contests between...
- Lelantine War
Home World History Wars, Battles & Armed Conflicts....
- The War of a Thousand Days
A History of War The Conservative government, suffering from...
- Black War
Black War, (1804–30), term applied to hostilities between...
- Dirty War
Dirty War, infamous campaign waged from 1976 to 1983 by...
- War of The Eight Saints
War of the Eight Saints, (1375–78), conflict between Pope...
- World War I
World War I was one of the great watersheds of 20th-century...
- War of The Pacific
War of the Pacific, (1879–83), conflict involving Chile,...
- Vietnam War
The timeline of wars has been split up in the following periods: List of wars: before 1000; List of wars: 1000–1499; List of wars: 1500–1799; List of wars: 1800–1899; List of wars: 1900–1944; List of wars: 1945–1989; List of wars: 1990–2002; List of wars: 2003–present; See also. List of wars by death toll; External links
- Overview
- Evolution of theories of war
war, in the popular sense, a conflict between political groups involving hostilities of considerable duration and magnitude. In the usage of social science, certain qualifications are added. Sociologists usually apply the term to such conflicts only if they are initiated and conducted in accordance with socially recognized forms. They treat war as an institution recognized in custom or in law. Military writers usually confine the term to hostilities in which the contending groups are sufficiently equal in power to render the outcome uncertain for a time. Armed conflicts of powerful states with isolated and powerless peoples are usually called pacifications, military expeditions, or explorations; with small states, they are called interventions or reprisals; and with internal groups, rebellions or insurrections. Such incidents, if the resistance is sufficiently strong or protracted, may achieve a magnitude that entitles them to the name “war.”
In all ages war has been an important topic of analysis. In the latter part of the 20th century, in the aftermath of two World Wars and in the shadow of nuclear, biological, and chemical holocaust, more was written on the subject than ever before. Endeavours to understand the nature of war, to formulate some theory of its causes, conduct, and prevention, are of great importance, for theory shapes human expectations and determines human behaviour. The various schools of theorists are generally aware of the profound influence they can exercise upon life, and their writings usually include a strong normative element, for, when accepted by politicians, their ideas can assume the characteristics of self-fulfilling prophecies.
Reflecting changes in the international system, theories of war have passed through several phases in the course of the past three centuries. After the ending of the wars of religion, about the middle of the 17th century, wars were fought for the interests of individual sovereigns and were limited both in their objectives and in their scope. The art of maneuver became decisive, and analysis of war was couched accordingly in terms of strategies. The situation changed fundamentally with the outbreak of the French Revolution, which increased the size of forces from small professional to large conscript armies and broadened the objectives of war to the ideals of the revolution, ideals that appealed to the masses who were subject to conscription. In the relative order of post-Napoleonic Europe, the mainstream of theory returned to the idea of war as a rational, limited instrument of national policy. This approach was best articulated by the Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz in his famous classic On War (1832–37).
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History of Warfare
World War I, which was “total” in character because it resulted in the mobilization of entire populations and economies for a prolonged period of time, did not fit into the Clausewitzian pattern of limited conflict, and it led to a renewal of other theories. These no longer regarded war as a rational instrument of state policy. The theorists held that war, in its modern, total form, if still conceived as a national state instrument, should be undertaken only if the most vital interests of the state, touching upon its very survival, are concerned. Otherwise, warfare serves broad ideologies and not the more narrowly defined interests of a sovereign or a nation. Like the religious wars of the 17th century, war becomes part of “grand designs,” such as the rising of the proletariat in communist eschatology or the Nazi doctrine of a master race.
Some theoreticians have gone even further, denying war any rational character whatsoever. To them war is a calamity and a social disaster, whether it is afflicted by one nation upon another or conceived of as afflicting humanity as a whole. The idea is not new—in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars it was articulated, for example, by Tolstoy in the concluding chapter of War and Peace (1865–69). In the second half of the 20th century it gained new currency in peace research, a contemporary form of theorizing that combines analysis of the origins of warfare with a strong normative element aiming at its prevention. Peace research concentrates on two areas: the analysis of the international system and the empirical study of the phenomenon of war.
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- Joseph Frankel
- The Hundred Years' War. England and France fought the Hundred Years' War for over 100 years, from 1337 through 1453. It was a turning point in European battles that saw the end of valiant knights and the introduction of the English Longbow.
- The Pequot War. In the New World during the 17th century, battles were raging as colonists struggled against Indigenous peoples. One of the first was known as the Pequot War, which lasted two years, from 1636 through 1638.
- The English Civil War. The English Civil War was fought from 1642 through 1651. It was a conflict of power grabbing between King Charles I (r. 1625–1649) and Parliament.
- The French and Indian War and The Seven Years' War. What began as the French and Indian War in 1754 between the British and French armies escalated into what many see as the first global war.
History. Types of warfare. Aims. Effects. Theories of motivation. Ethics. Limiting and stopping. Pauses. See also. Notes. References. External links. War. Clockwise from top-left: Ancient warfare: Stele of the Vultures, c. 2500 BCE. Medieval warfare: Battle of Hastings, 1066. Early modern warfare: Retreat from Moscow, 1812.
Home World History Wars, Battles & Armed Conflicts. Wars, battles, and other domestic or international conflicts, whether armed or diplomatic, are often the outcome of a dispute over natural resources or a struggle for power, influence, and wealth.
Military history - Wikipedia. Contents. hide. (Top) Popular versus academic military history. Historiography of military history. Online resources. Military and war museums. Early historians. Technological evolution. Ancient era. Middle-ages. Gunpowder. Early guns and artillery. Early firearm tactics. Modern technologies.
