History of War Timeline

1
History of War Timeline

• ByAnthony Kowalczyk
• Sabino High School

2
Peloponnesian War 431-404 B.C.

• Athens and Sparta were both powerful city-states
  in Greece, and each wanted to spread their way
  of life.
  
• Sparta attacked Athens in 431 BC, beginning the
  27 year long Peloponnesian War. Sparta eventually
  defeated Athens by building a blockade around the
  walls of the city. This is called a siege. The
  people of Athens could not leave to get supplies
  or food from the countryside. Faced with
  starvation, Athens surrendered to Sparta in 404
  BC.

3
Punic Wars 264-146 B.C

• In first half of 3rd century BCE Carthage held
  many territories that made it easy for them to
  control and dominate the western Mediterranean
  Sea, but when they conquered Messana on the north
  eastern tip of Sicily in 264, they faced the
  Romans for war for the first time.
• In 256 Carthage was besieged, but the Romans
  were defeated. Then for some years Carthage
  was the most successful, notably under the
  leadership of Hamiclar, but with the battle at
  the Aegates Islands in 241, the Carthagians were
  beaten so painfully that they requested peace.

4
First Crusade 1096-9

• One Turkish tribe, the Seljuk's, began moving
  into the Anatolian peninsula, or what we now call
  Turkey.  These Turks were Muslims, and a
  Christian emperor, Alexius I, controlled the
  peninsula. Alexius appealed to the Pope to help
  him rid Anatolia of the unbelievers.
• Pope Urban II received Alexiuss call for help,
  but had bigger ideas. Jerusalem, in what is now
  Israel, is considered holy land to Christians,
  Jews and Muslims, but in 1095, the city was
  controlled by Muslims.  The message from Alexius
  presented Urban with an opportunity to retake
  the holy lands from the Muslims.  The pope
  called for a War of the Cross, or Crusade, to
  retake the holy lands from the unbelievers.

5
Hundred Years War 1337-1453

• The Hundred Years War, lasting from 1337 until
  1453, was a defining time for the history of both
  England and France. The war started in May 1337
  when King Philip VI of France attempted to take
  over the English territories in the duchy of
  Aquitaine.
• It ended in July 1453 when the French finally
  expelled the English from the continent (except
  for the city of Calais) by force.
  

6
Opium War 1839 - 1842

• The Chinese destroyed a large quantity of opium
  taken from British merchants. Great Britain,
  which had been looking to end China's
  restrictions on foreign trade, responded by
  sending gunboats to attack several Chinese
  coastal cities. China, unable to withstand modern
  arms, was defeated and forced to sign the Treaty
  of Nanjing (1842) and the British Supplementary
  Treaty of the Bogue (1843). Hong Kong was ceded
  to the British.

7
Crimean War 1853-1856

• In July of 1853, Russia occupied territories in
  the Crimea that had previously been controlled by
  Turkey. Turkey, declared war on Russia. After
  the Turkish fleet was destroyed by Russia,
  Britain and France entered the war on the side
  of Turkey. Russia signed a peace treaty in
  1856.

8
Paraguayan War (1864 - 1870)

• Francisco Solano López who wanted to build an
  empire, led Paraguay into a war against
  Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. The war
  devastated Paraguay, and when López's death ended
  the conflict in 1870, more than half of the
  population had been killed, the economy had been
  destroyed, agricultural activity was at a
  standstill and the country had lost more than
  142,500 sq km (55,000 sq mi).  

9
Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871

• The war between France and Prussia signaled the
  rise of German military power and imperialism. It
  was provoked by Otto von Bismarck (the Prussian
  chancellor) as part of his plan to create a
  unified German Empire.
• France was eventually forced to surrender, due
  to poor preparation for war. The results of
  this war led to events that caused the outbreak
  of World War I.

10
Boer Wars 1880 1881, 1899-1902

• The Boer Wars were fought between the British and
  the descendants of the Dutch settlers (Boers) in
  what is now South Africa, who wanted
  self-government. After the first Boer War,
  Britain granted the Boers self-government in the
  Transvaal. The second war ended the Transvaal
  and the Orange Free State as Boer republics. The
  British granted the Boers a 3 million pound
  payment for new livestock and repairing farm
  lands and promised eventual self-government,
  which came in 1907.

11
Russo Japan War 1904 - 1905

• The war began on Feb. 8, 1904, when the main
  Japanese fleet launched a surprise attack and
  siege on the Russian naval squadron at Port
  Arthur.
• With Japan winning the war, it forced Russia to
  abandon its expansionist policy in the Far East,
  and became the first Asian power in modern times
  to defeat a European power.

12
Mexican Civil War 1911 1914

• In 1911, Pancho Villa helps overthrow the Mexican
  government in the Mexican Revolution. The several
  leaders who fought to overthrow the government
  soon afterwards went to war with one another to
  determine the new leaders of Mexico. Villa takes
  over the Mexican government in Mexico City in
  1914. As he takes over the government, a former
  ally in northern Mexico puts together an army of
  his own and challenges Villa's right to run the
  government. This would begin nearly six years
  of fighting.

13
World War I 1914-1918

• World War I or the First World War was the first
  war that involved nations all over the globe,
  including the United States. This is where the
  term world war came from. It was called The Great
  War or the war to end all wars until World War II
  started.
• There were over 37,000,000 casualties on both
  sides.
  

14
Spanish Civil War 1936-1939

• General Francisco Franco led a revolution against
  the government of Spain. The people of Spain
  were against Franco's rebellion, but with the
  help of Italy, who supplied arms and soldiers,
  and Germany, who provided air support, he was
  able to take control of the government. The rest
  of the world did nothing while this was going on.
  In effect, this was the beginning of World War
  II.

15
World War II 1939-1945

• World War II began with the joint German and
  Russian invasion of Poland. France and Great
  Britain declared war on Germany. Germany
  quickly overran France and forced the British out
  of Europe. Then Germans then turned on their
  Russian allies.
• The United States entered the war after the
  Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.
  The United States fought the war in Africa,
  Asia and Europe.

16
Korean War 1950-1953

• On June 25, 1950 at 4 a.m., 70,000 North Korean
  troops with Russian T-34 tanks crossed the
  thirty-eighth parallel into South Korea.
  President Truman of the United States sent
  soldiers to Korea with the blessing of the United
  Nations.
• At the end of the war, more than 3 million
  Koreans died while millions of refugees remained
  homeless. About 1 million Chinese died in this
  war, while there were 54,246 American
  casualties.

17
Six-Day War 1967

• Israel fought on three fronts against three
  countries and defeated them in six days. In the
  south, Israel engaged and defeated the Egyptians.
  In the central region, Israel engaged and
  defeated the Jordanians. In the north, Israel
  engaged and defeated the Syrians. In each of
  these theaters, Israel gained territory that
  would help to keep Israel safe from future
  attacks.

18
Falklands War 1982

• In April of 1982, Argentina seized the Falkland
  Islands from Great Britain. As a result, the
  British government sent a large British task
  force on a 7500 mile journey to liberate a group
  of tiny islands in the South Atlantic. This was
  the biggest naval action to take place since the
  Second World War.
• Argentina surrendered and left the islands by
  June of the same year. More than 1000 men lost
  their lives in the conflict.
  

19
Iran-Iraq War 1980-88

• The war began with an Iraqi land and air invasion
  of western Iran. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein
  claimed as the reason for his attack on Iran a
  territorial dispute over the Shatt al Arab, a
  waterway that empties into the Persian Gulf and
  forms the boundary between Iran and Iraq.
• In July of 1988, Iran was forced to accept a
  United Nationsmandated cease-fire. Estimates of
  the number of dead range up to 1.5 million.
  Both sides still hold thousands of POWs,
  despite several prisoner exchanges and releases
  since 1988.