WWI 1914 - 1918
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
'….World War I (WWI or WW1), alsoknown as the First World War, was a global war centred in Europe thatbegan on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. From thetime of its occurrence until the approach of World War II, it wascalled simply the World War or the Great War, and thereafter theFirst World War or World War I.[5][6][7] In America, it was initiallycalled the European War.[8] More than 9 million combatants werekilled; a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents'technological and industrial sophistication, and tactical stalemate.It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, paving the way formajor political changes, including revolutions in many of the nationsinvolved.[9]
The war drew in all the world'seconomic great powers,[10] which were assembled in two opposingalliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the UnitedKingdom, France and the Russian Empire) and the Central Powers ofGermany and Austria-Hungary. Although Italy had also been a member ofthe Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary, it did notjoin the Central Powers, as Austria-Hungary had taken the offensiveagainst the terms of the alliance.[11] These alliances were bothreorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war: Italy,Japan and the United States joined the Allies, and the Ottoman Empireand Bulgaria the Central Powers. Ultimately, more than 70 millionmilitary personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised inone of the largest wars in history.[12][13]
Although a resurgence of imperialismwas an underlying cause, the immediate trigger for war was the 28June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heirto the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist GavriloPrincip in Sarajevo. This set off a diplomatic crisis whenAustria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom ofSerbia,[14][15] and international alliances formed over the previousdecades were invoked. Within weeks, the major powers were at war andthe conflict soon spread around the world.
On 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians firedthe first shots in preparation for the invasion of Serbia.[16][17] AsRussia mobilised, Germany invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourgbefore moving towards France, leading Britain to declare war onGermany. After the German march on Paris was halted, what becameknown as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with atrench line that would change little until 1917. Meanwhile, on theEastern Front, the Russian army was successful against theAustro-Hungarians, but was stopped in its invasion of East Prussia bythe Germans. In November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the war,opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. Italy andBulgaria went to war in 1915, Romania in 1916, and the United Statesin 1917...'
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WII 1941 - 1945
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II
'...World War II (WWII or WW2), alsoknown as the Second World War, was a global war. It lasted from 1939to 1945, though some related conflicts in Asia began before 1939. Itinvolved the vast majority of the world's nations—including all ofthe great powers—eventually forming two opposing militaryalliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war inhistory, and directly involved more than 100 million people, frommore than 30 different countries. In a state of "total war",the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, andscientific capabilities behind the war effort, erasing thedistinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by massdeaths of civilians, including the Holocaust, the Three Alls Policy,the strategic bombing of enemy industrial and/or population centers,and the first use of nuclear weapons in combat, it resulted in anestimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities. These made World WarII the deadliest conflict in human history.[1]
The Empire of Japan aimed to dominateEast Asia and was already at war with the Republic of China in1937,[2] but the world war is generally said to have begun on 1September 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Germany and subsequentdeclarations of war on Germany by France and the United Kingdom. Fromlate 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties,Germany formed the Axis alliance with Italy, conquering or subduingmuch of continental Europe. Following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact,Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned between themselves andannexed territories of their European neighbours, including Poland,Finland and the Baltic states. The United Kingdom and the othermembers of the British Commonwealth were the only major Allied forcescontinuing the fight against the Axis, with battles taking place inNorth Africa and the Horn of Africa as well as the long-runningBattle of the Atlantic. In June 1941, the European Axis powerslaunched an invasion of the Soviet Union, giving a start to thelargest land theatre of war in history, which tied down the majorpart of the Axis' military forces for the rest of the war. InDecember 1941, Japan joined the Axis, attacked the United States andEuropean territories in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered muchof the Western Pacific.,,'
Korea 1950-1953
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
'...The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27July 1953)[29][a][31] was a war between the Republic of Korea (SouthKorea), supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People'sRepublic of Korea (North Korea), at one time supported by China andthe Soviet Union. It was primarily the result of the politicaldivision of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at theconclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II. The KoreanPeninsula was ruled by the Empire of Japan from 1910 until the end ofWorld War II. Following the surrender of the Empire of Japan inSeptember 1945, American administrators divided the peninsula alongthe 38th parallel, with U.S. military forces occupying the southernhalf and Soviet military forces occupying the northern half.[32]
The failure to hold free electionsthroughout the Korean Peninsula in 1948 deepened the division betweenthe two sides; the North established a communist government, whilethe South established a right-wing government. The 38th parallelincreasingly became a political border between the two Korean states.Although reunification negotiations continued in the months precedingthe war, tensions intensified. Cross-border skirmishes and raids atthe 38th parallel persisted. The conflict escalated into open warfarewhen North Korean forces invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950.[33] TheUnited States and other countries looked to help defend SouthKorea...'
Vietnam 1965 - 1975
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War
'...The U.S. government viewed Americaninvolvement in the war as a way to prevent a Communist takeover ofSouth Vietnam. This was part of a wider containment strategy, withthe stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. According to theU.S. domino theory, if one state went Communist, other states in theregion would follow, and U.S. policy thus held that accommodation tothe spread of Communist rule across all of Vietnam was unacceptable.The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting toreunify Vietnam under communist rule. They viewed the conflict as acolonial war, fought initially against forces from France and thenAmerica, as France was backed by the U.S., and later against SouthVietnam, which it regarded as a U.S. puppet state.[37]...'
