Flotte’s Outlines

Wars & Military

Weapons

· 4000BC Horses are domesticated in the Ukraine

· 2340BC Sargon of Akkad maintains the first standing army

· 2000BC Bronze is used in Europe. It arrives in Egypt by 1900. Bronze swords and armor are used in Europe by 1250.

· 1800BC Iron is used by the Hittites in Anatolia.

· 1400BC The chariot is introduced into Egypt by the invading Hyksos

· 1200BC Metal swords are used by the Egyptians

· 900BC Cavalry is first used by the Assyrians

· 700BC Galley warships with multilevel oars are used by the Egyptians and Phoenicians

· 500BC The crossbow is used in China

· 400BC The catapult is used by Greece and Carthage

· 365AD Saddle developed by Samaritans in southern Russia. Also first stirrups used in China/Mongolia, mentioned by Byzantines in 580.

· 700s The use of horseshoes and stirrups in western Europe becomes common, enabling horses to become more efficient in the field and on the battlefield

· 1044 The earliest formula for gunpowder – coal (i.e. carbon), saltpeter (potassium nitrate), and sulfur - is recorded in China.

· 1050 Artillery (bombs launched from catapaults) used in China

· 1151 Explosives first used in war in China.

· 1180 Rockets are used in China with solid fuel

· 1277 Lands mines are used by the Chinese against Mongol invaders

· 1288 Guns used in Manchuria. .

· 1310s Guns and grenades are introduced into Europe

· 1325 Iron Cannons are use. Bronze cannons soon follow, and cast-iron cannons in the 1400s. This promotes the authority of kings, who could afford them

· 1325 Steel Crossbows are introduced to Europe

· 1330 Longbows are used in Wales

· 1340 Shipboard guns are used at the Battle of Sluys between England and France

· 1400 Hand Guns are used in Europe

· 1453 Siege Guns are used by the Ottomans in the siege of Constantinople

· 1520 The wheel lock is invented in Germany to allow internal ignition of firearms

· 1540 The pistol is invented by Caminelleo Vitelli of Pistoria, Italy

· 1565 The musket is used in Europe

· 1647 The bayonet is used in France

· 1710 The rifle is developed in North America

· 1835 Samuel Colt invents the revolver – the first multi-shot handgun

· 1866 Alfred Nobel invents dynamite

· 1866 The torpedo is developed in Austria

· 1884 The machine gun is invented by Hiram Maxim

· 1906 The British battleship HMS Dreadnought makes all other battleships obsolete with her speed, armour, and guns

· 1910 First flight from shipboard. Lt. Eugene Ely, USN, took a Curtiss plane off from the deck of the cruiser Birmingham at Hampton Roads, Va., and flew to Norfolk

· 1915 Poison Gas used for the first time by Germany

· 1916 Sonar is invented in England

· 1916 Tanks used for the first time by Britain.

· 1935 Radar is used for detecting aircraft in Scotland

· 1952 The hydrogen bomb is developed in the US by Edwin Teller’s team

· 1954 First nuclear submarine Nautilus launched

· 1966 Kevlar is invented

Nuclear Weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

· Current nuclear powers: Israel, Pakistan, India, South Africa, USA, UK, France, China and Russia (and North Korea?).

· Efforts to produce nuclear weapons are being pursed by Iran, North Korea. Libya renounced its effort in 2003.

· Dirty bombs are radiological dispersal devices—conventional explosives surrounded by radioactive material such as cobalt 60, cesium 137, or strontium 90. They can be small enough to fit into a suitcase, hence the confusion with suitcase bombs.

· Suitcase bombs are true nuclear weapons in that they are made with plutonium or highly enriched uranium, and they are more powerful than dirty bombs. They were made by the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War, and it is feared that some may have gone missing and could be in the hands of terrorists. Weighing up to 60 pounds (30 kilograms), they can fit into a small suitcase or large backpack and possibly be smuggled through an airport or, more likely, inside cargo containers aboard a ship or plane.

· In the uranium enrichment process, naturally occurring uranium ore, known as yellowcake, is converted into uranium hexafluoride, which is fed into powerful centrifuges and converted to even higher levels of enrichment that could be used to power nuclear weapons.

· Experts worry that nuclear material--including 600 metric tons of highly enriched uranium and plutonium--are still left in the former Soviet Union

· 1972 The Biological Weapons Convention banning biological weapons.

• In 1984 the Soviet military built a huge bio-weapons factory at Stepnogorsk in violation of the treaty. In the Soviet era, Stepnogorsk was a "secret city," one of 30 or so locations that did not appear on maps, and the plant, part of the Soviet biotechnology program known as Biopreparat, manufactured anthrax for the military. Its crowning achievement had been the perfection of Anthrax 836, the U.S.S.R.'s most powerful weapons-grade anthrax, four times more deadly than its predecessor. Made operational in 1987, it is an extremely fine, silky, grayish brown powder that can drift invisibly for miles. Since 1996 the United States has spent 2.5 million dollars to turn most of the vast plant into rubble. Washington also agreed to help Biomedpreparat convert what remains into a pharmaceuticals factory and get the former staff back to work. That hasn't happened.

· 1991 China accepts the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty

· 1993 China breaks the nuclear test moratorium

· 2002 U.S. and Russia reach arms agreement to cut nuclear arsenals by up to two-thirds over the next 10 years

· 2002 U.S. abandons the 31-year-old Antiballistic Missile (ABM) treaty

· 2004 A.Q. Khan Network. Dr. A. Q. Khan, the so-called father of Pakistan's nuclear program, confessed that he had shared nuclear designs and information with other countries, confirming experts' long-held suspicions. Khan created a centralized "one-stop shop" that offered technical advice, parts, and customer support. Khan's eponymous Khan Research Laboratories, a government-supported nuclear facility outside Islamabad, reportedly offered 24-hour technical assistance to customers and even had color brochures. North Korea, Libya, Iran, and possibly others benefited. Pakistan traded nuclear technology to North Korea in exchange for ballistic missile technology. Khan sent hardware, designs, and technology to countries around the world from the late 1980s until 2001. In 2003, when Italian authorities seized a German ship carrying 1,000 centrifuges headed for Libya. Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi's December 2003 decision to give up his country's nuclear program and cooperate with international inspectors gave authorities access to a mother lode of information. Documents revealed the source of the nuclear components: Scomi Precision Engineering, or SCOPE, in Selangor, Malaysia. SCOPE is part of a publicly traded oil and gas conglomerate whose largest shareholder is the son of the Malaysian Prime Minister. Middlemen in Sri Lanka, Germany, and the Netherlands helped transport plans, parts, and materials to his international clients. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf pardoned Khan in 2005. Musharraf has denied that his government had any involvement in Khan's dealings but many experts doubt that, in a country run by the military, these transactions were kept truly secret.

· Iran’s Nuclear Program

· North Korea’s Nuclear Program

Conventional Arms Sales

· Under Putin, Russia has increased arms sales to developing nations. In 2004 it was second in global arms sales after the United States

· Russia and Israel have been China's main foreign sources of weapon systems. Russia has supplied more than 85% of China's arms imports 1990.

Wars

· 1096-1291 The Crusades

The First Crusade (1096) Spurred by appeals from the the Byzantine emperor and reports of difficulties from Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land, in 1095 at Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II calls for war to rescue Holy Land from Muslim control. Most never reach enemy territory. The Christians capture Antioch (1098) and Jerusalem (1099), where they burn mosques and synagogues and slaughter the cities Muslim inhabitants. They establish the Crusader States. It is the only successful crusade.

1113 Military orders of Knights Hospitallers (Knights of St. John) and Knights Templars (1118) founded by crusaders in Jerusalem. The Knights of St. John will continue to fight Muslims from their base on Rhodes. The Knights Templar will be destroyed out of jealousy by a French king.

The Second Crusade begins after the Seljuk Turks recapture Edessa, one of the Crusader States, in 1144. It is led by King Louis VIII of France and Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III. Crusaders perish in Asia Minor (1147). Saladin controls Egypt (1171), unites Islam in holy war (jihad) against Christians, recaptures Jerusalem (1187).

Third Crusade (1189) under kings of France, England (Richard the Lion-Heart, who defeats Saladin at Arsuf), and Germany fails to reduce Saladin's power.

1190 The Teutonic Knights are founded in Jerusalem by German merchants to. They fight agai care for Christian pilgrims. In the 1220s they move to fight against the Magyars, and in 1233 settle Germany to fight the heathen Prussians. They virtually replace the local leaders, and are acknowledged as rulers by the pope and emperor. In 1308 they move their capital to Marienberg, They will form the aristocratic junker class controlling the Baltic.

Fourth Crusade (1200–1204)—Financed by Venice and diverted by a deposed pretender to the Byzantine throne, to recapture the throne for him (with Venice’s approval). French knights sack Constantinople, and establish a Latin empire in Byzantium. Greeks reestablish the Orthodox faith in Constantinople in 1262. The bronze horses of the Hippodrome (horse racetrack) are brought to sit in front of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice until 1981.

Children's Crusade (1212)—only one of 30,000 French children and about 200 of 20,000 German children survive to return home

Other Crusades—Fifth, against Egypt (1217), Sixth – Emperor Frederick II captures Jerusalem and crowns himself king (1228), Jerusalem retaken 1244, Seventh- Louis IX is captured and ransomed (1248), Eighth – Louis IX’s second crusade (1270). Mamelukes conquer Acre; end of the Crusades (1291).

· 1150–1250 The Holy Roman Empire and the Italian City-states

· 1157 At an imperial diet the papal legate presents a document implying that the Empire is a fief of the Pope’s. In response Holy Roman emperor Frederick I Barbarossa invades Italy to reassert imperial jurisdiction. He seizes Milan and claims the right to appoint a governor in every city-state. In 1166 he seizes Rome and appoints an Anti-Pope. In 1167 16 city-states form the Lombard League to oppose Frederick, and they defeat him at Legano in 1176. After this he accepts their semi-autonomy. Although the antagonists reach an agreement in 1183 (Peace of Constance), the League is renewed until the virtual collapse of the empire in 1250.

The Hundred Years War, England & France, 1337-1453

· The wars accomplish much in defining English and French national identities, for example Joan of Arc as a national hero, and strengthen the crowns’ authority

· 1329 Edward III of England does simple homage to Philip VI of France for Aquitaine but refuses to do liege homage

· 1337 Philip VI of France declares Edward's fiefs forfeit, harasses the frontiers of Aquitaine; Edward III declares himself king of France; The Hundred Years' War begins. Treaty of Koblenz: alliance between England and the Holy Roman Empire

· 1340 Naval victory at Sluys gives England the command of the English Channel; 1346 Battle of Crécy: Edward III invades France and defeats Philip VI. English longbowmen defeat the French cavalry which had three-times as many men; 1347 The English capture Calais

· 1356 Battle of Poitiers: Edward the Black Prince, son of Edward III, defeats the French, capturing King John II who is held for ransom in London

· 1360 Peace of Bretigny ends the first stage of the Hundred Years' War. Edward III gives up claim to French throne in return for complete sovereignty (instead of as a vassal to the French king) over Aquataine, Poitou, and Calais. The French break the treaty in 1368.

· 1369-1375 Second stage

· 1370-2 Edward, the Black Prince, sacks Limoges, French troops recapture Poitou and Brittany; Naval battle of La Rochelle: French regain control of English Channel; 1375 England loses Aquitane

· 1415 Henry V reasserts his claim to the throne, invades France, and defeats the French at Agincourt, conquers Normandy

· 1420 Treaty of Troyes: Henry V marries the daughter of France’s Charles VI, is named heir to the throne

· 1422 Henry V and Charles VI die

· 1424 John, Duke of Bedford, regent for Henry VI of England, defeats the French at Cravant

· 1428 Henry VI begins the Siege of Orleans. 1429-31 A French force, led by military commander Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc), relieves the siege of Orleans; Burgundians capture Jeanne d'Arc and hand her over to the English. Jeanne d'Arc burned as a witch at Rouen; Henry VI of England is crowned king of France in Paris

• 1436 Loss of Paris after the Anglo-Burgundian Alliance collapses
• 1453 Bordeaux falls to the French, Hundred Years' War ends; England's only French possession is Calais (but the title “King of France” is kept by the English king until the 1800s)

· 1378-1417 During The Great Schism— with rival popes in Rome and Avignon - France, Scotland, Aragon, and Milan support the pope in Avignon, while England, Germany, Naples, and Flanders support the Roman Pope.

· 1386 The Treaty of Windsor is signed between Portugal and England. This treaty has never been broken and is the longest lasting treaty between any two nations

· 1470 France’s Louis XI supports the Earl of Warwick’s rebellion against England’s Edward IV. 1474 War between Louis XI of France against Edward IV of England and Charles the Bold of Burgundy. 1475 Edward IV invades France; Peace of Piequigny between England and France

· 1463-1479 Ottomans and Venetians at war. 1471 Turks seize Negroponte. 1472 Venetians destroy Smyrna. 1479 The Turks take the Ionian islands and impose an annual charge for trade on the Black Sea. 1481 The Venetians take Cyprus. A long economic and military competition between the Ottomans and Venice begins. Battle of Otluk-Beli: Turks defeat the Persians, allies of Venice.

· 1474-1477 War between Burgundy and the Swiss Confederation. Charles of Burgundy is defeated by the Swiss at Grandson, Morat, and killed at Nancy.

1500-1800

· International diplomacy develops, as nation-states become defined. Resident ambassadors, protected by immunity, become the norm (replacing the occasional “herald” sent between kings), and the rules of treaties become generally accepted.

· By the 1600s France supplants Spain as the chief European power. In the 1700s Great Britain (after 1707) rises in prominence, peaking in the 1800s.

· Most modern national boundaries are settled by 1715.

· Overseas Empires and trade disputes lead to frequent conflict.

· Territorial disputes after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Rise of Russia dominate Eastern Europe.

· 1600-1700s In some states, notably France, kings gain power and institute “absolute monarchies”

· 1500-1650 Landsknechts were European, most often German, mercenary soldiers formed in conscious imitation of the Swiss mercenaries using pike formations.

· 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas As tensions mount between Spain and Portugal, Pope Alexander VI arranges the treaty which places an imaginary dividing line through the Atlantic Ocean. Spain is given territory west of this line, while Portugal is granted the territories to the east.

Hapsburg-Valois (Italian) Wars, 1494-1559

· 1494 France’s Charles VIII invades Naples, to which he has a distant claim. Naples was ruled by Ferdinand of Aragon, and Sicily by Spain. The Holy League: Pope Alexander VI, Venice, Milan, Spain, and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (later England joins) forces his retreat months later.

· 1499 Louis XII of France seizes Genoa and Milan, and attempts to take Naples. France and Spain agree to divide Naples.

· 1502-1505 War between France and Spain. France keeps Milan but cedes Naples to Spain, now ruled by Juana the mad, who is married to Philip, Hapsburg Duke of Burgundy.

· 1508-1510 Pope Julius II forms the League of Cambrai with Emperor Maximilian I, Ferdinand V of Aragon, and Louis XII with the aim of ending the dominance of Venice.

· 1510-1516 Pope Julius II and Venice form the Holy League, later joined by the Hapsburgs and England, to drive France out of Italy. 1512 The Swiss join the League and drive France out of Milan. 1515 France defeats the Swiss and regain Milan. 1516 France relinquishes Naples to Spain

· 1516 Hapsburg Charles I becomes King of Spain. 1519 Charles I of Spain becomes Holy Roman Emperor Charles V

· 1520 Field of Cloth of Gold: Francois I of France meets Henry VIII but fails to gain his support against the Holy Roman Empire. Secret treaty between Henry VIII and Charles V.

· 1521-1529 France and Hapsburgs at war.

· 1522 Charles V drives the French out of Milan, but in 1524 France regains Milan. 1525 Francois I captured; he promises to give up claims to Milan and Naples but fails to abide by it. 1526 League of Cognac formed by Pope Clement VII, France, England, Milan, Florence, and Venice against Emperor Charles V. 1527 Hapsburg troops attack Rome, imprison Pope Clement VII. 1529 France's renunciation of all territorial claims in Italy at the Peace of Cambrai. Treaty between Clement VII and Charles V. Charles V is crowned emperor by Clement VII in the last imperial coronation

· 1535-1538 War resumes. 1535 Death of Francesco Sforza; Milan comes under direct Hapsburg control. 1536 France invades Savoy and Piedmont. France forms an alliance with the Ottomans and they jointly attack Spanish Naples.

· 1543-4 Alliance between Henry VIII and Charles V against France.

· 1552-1556 Wars between Charles V and Henri II of France. France is defeated.

· 1558 Charles V abdicates.

· 1559 Wars end with the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis, rule of Sicily and Milan is granted to Spain.

· 1501-1503 Russia and Poland at war. Russia gains Lithuania.1512-1522 Russia and Poland at war.

· 1557-1582 Livonian Wars. Involve Poland, Russia, Sweden and Denmark in a dispute over the succession to the Balkan territories. Russia Invades Poland. 1581 Poland invades Russia.

· 1570 Turks attack Cyprus and war on Venice. Turkish fleet defeated at Battle of Lepanto by Spanish and Italian fleets (1571). Peace of Constantinople (1572) ends Turkish attacks on Europe. 1573 Ottomans conquer Cyprus.

· 1587-1588 England at war with Spain. 1587 Execution of Mary Queen of Scots. Spain plans invasion to restore Catholicism. 1587 Sir Francis Drake destroys the Spanish fleet at Cadiz. 1588 The Spanish Armada sails to England but is defeated by the English fleet under Lord Howard of Effingham, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir John Hawkins. The Armada sails around the northern tip of Britain to escape, and more than half of the ships are lost.

· 1593-1606 War between Austria and the Ottomans. Austria abandons Transylvania, but ceases to pay tribute to the Turks

· 1595 Treaty between Russia and Sweden; Sweden gains Estonia.

Thirty Years' War (1618-1648)

· 8 million people are killed

· In 1625 Dutch jurist Huigh de Groot known as Grotius wrote The Rights of War and Peace. He continued the tradition of St. Augustine in the search for structure to natural law. A key point was that even in a just war the combatants must conduct themselves humanly and responsibly or suffer the decline of combat into mayhem. The study of natural law led to a formation of regulations for war that became known as "international law" with emphasis on lawful behavior being enforced by a recognized authority.

· 1618 “Defenestration of Prague”: Protestant Bohemians alarmed by the Counter-Reformation, claim independence from Catholic Austria and throw two Catholic governors from a window. 1619 Bohemians depose Catholic Ferdinand II and elect Protestant Frederick V, Elector of the Palatinate (“The Winter King”).

· 1620 Battle of White Mountain: Frederick V defeats Catholic Maximillian of Bavaria. 1622 Battles of Wimpfen and Rochst: Protestant forces defeated by the Count of Tilly.

· 1622 Hapsburg Spain, allied with the Empire, occupies Valtelline Pass, war with France follows. 1623 Charles II of England visits Spain in an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate a marriage treaty. 1624 Alliance between England and France against Spain. 1630 England makes peace with France and Spain

· 1625 Christian IV, Protestant King of Denmark, enters the war on the side of Frederick V.

· 1626-1627 Catholics under von Wallenstein and the Count of Tilly subdue the Protestants

· 1629 Denmark signs peace treaty with Ferdinand II. Ferdinand II issues the Edict of Restitution entitling Catholics to reclaim Protestant lands.

· 1630 Protestant Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden enters the war against Ferdinand with the financial backing of Catholic Cardinal Richelieu of France, but is killed in 1632. Swedes continue the fight against Ferdinand.

· 1631 Catholics under Tilly sack Magdeburg. Battle of Leipzig: Swedish and Saxon forces defeat Tilly. 1634 Battle of Nordlingen: Swedes defeated by Imperial forces.

· 1635 Treaty of Prague: Ferdinand II revokes the Edict of Restitution, makes peace with Saxony.

· 1635 France declares war on Spain. 1643-1645 Denmark and Sweden at war

· 1648 Treaty of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War. France wins Alsace and Lorraine. Dutch and Swiss republics recognized as independent. Religious pluralism of the Holy Roman Empire is confirmed. Outsiders – France, Sweden, Denmark, intervene in German affairs. The Hapsburgs decline in power. Sweden gains votes in the Imperial Diet.

· 1652-1654 First Anglo-Dutch War under Cromwell

· 1655 Sweden declares war against Poland. 1656 Battle of Warsaw: Swedish victory. Russia, Denmark, and the Holy Roman Empire declare war on Sweden. 1660 Poland cedes Livonia to Sweden. Denmark surrenders territory to Sweden. 1661 Russia and Sweden restore all conquests to each other.

· 1656-1659. England under Cromwell at war with Spain. 1658 Battle of the Dunes: England and France defeat Spain; England gains Dunkirk

· 1657-1661 Dutch Republic and Portugal at war.

· 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees between France and Spain settles borders, confirms French supremacy.

· 1664 The Ottomans conquer Hungary

· 1664 England seizes New Amsterdam from the Dutch. 1665-1667 Second Anglo-Dutch War. 1667 Dutch fleet defeats the English in Medway river; treaties of Breda among Netherlands, England, France, and Denmark. The English Navy is built uring this period and will beome its primary fighting force until the 1800s.

· 1667-1668 War of Devolution: France invades Spanish Netherlands, wins most of Flanders and Franche-Comte

· 1667 Russia gains Smolensk and eastern Ukraine from Poland

· 1668 Triple Alliance of England, Netherlands, and Sweden against France

· 1669 Venice loses Crete to the Ottomans

· 1670 Secret Treaty of Dover between Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France to restore Roman Catholicism to England;

· 1672 Treaty between France and Sweden

· 1672-4 Third Anglo-Dutch War

· 1672-1678 French at war with the Dutch. 1674 Holy Roman Empire joins the war in defense of the Dutch.

· 1675 Swedish forces defeated by Frederick William of Brandenburg.

· 1683-1699 War of European powers against the Turks. Holy League formed by Pope Innocent XI: Austria, Poland and Venice. Vienna withstands a three-month Turkish siege until it is relieved by John Sobieski, king of Poland; it is the high point of Turkish advance in Europe. Austrians take Transylvania and Hungary, where the Hapsburgs succeed to the throne. Venice takes Morea and Dalmatia. Poles win Podolia and Turkish Ukraine.

· 1689-1697 War of the League of Augsburg (King William’s War). League of Augsburg formed when Louis XIV invades the Palatinate: Holy Roman Empire, the Palatinate, Saxony, Bavaria, Sweden, Spain, England, and the Netherlands (with the secret support of the Pope) against France. The Treaty of Ryswick restored all territory conquered by France except Strasbourg and parts of Alsace. Privateering (raiding enemy merchant ships) is used for the first time by the French.

· 1700-1721 Great Northern War. 1700 Russians, Danes, and Poles launch attacks on Sweden. Danish and Russians quickly sue for peace. 1701 Charles XII of Sweden invades Poland. 1706 Treaty between Sweden and Poland. Polish king abdicates in favor of Stanislaus Leszczynski, ally of Charles XII. 1708 Charles XII invades Russia. 1709 Battle of Poltova: Russia defeats Swedes. 1720 Treaty of Stockholm among Sweden, Prussia, Hanover, Savoy, Denmark, and Poland. 1721 Treaty of Nystadt returns some of Sweden’s lost territory, but confirms Russia’s power.

War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713): Britain, Netherlands, and Austria against France, Spain, Bavaria, and Savoy. Called Queen Anne's War in America

· 1700 Charles II of Spain dies. Possible successors are Philip of Anjou, Bourbon grandson of Louis XIV; Archduke Charles of Austria, son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I; Prince Elector Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, Leopold’s grandson. A partition had previously been agreed upon by the involved parties, but this is scrapped by France when Charles II’s will leaves all of Spain to Philip. The Grand alliance is formed between England, Netherlands and Austria to prevent the union of the Spanish and French crowns.

· 1701 Grand alliance between England, Netherlands and Austria to prevent the union of the Spanish and French crowns.

· 1704-1709 British, Dutch, and Austrian troops, under John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, defeat the French at the Battles of Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarede (1708) and Malplaquet (1709) and expel the French from the Netherlands. The British capture Gibraltar from Spain. Deerfield (Mass.) Massacre of English colonists by French and Indians.

· 1713 The Treaty of Utrecht: British take New Foundland, Acadia, and Hudson's Bay Territory from France, and Gibraltar and Minorca from Spain. Austria wins the Spanish Netherlands. Philip of Anjou becomes King of Spain, providing that the crowns are never united. France recognizes the claim of Anne to the throne of England over James III. Britain gains the Asiento Contract to supply slaves to Spanish America.

· 1716-1718 Austro-Turkish war. Austrians take Belgrade.

· 1717 Spain seizes Sardinia from Austria and Sicily from Savoy. 1718-1720 Quadruple Alliance of Austria, Britain, France and the Netherlands against Spain.

· 1725 Alliance between Spain and Austria, and among Britain, France, Prussia, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

· 1727-1729 Spain at war with Britain and France

· 1733 Family Pact between the Bourbons of France and Spain

· 1733-1734 War of the Polish Succession. When August II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, dies, the Poles choose Stanislaus Leszczynski, who had been king 1704-1709. Louis XV had married Stanislaus’ daughter, and so he was supported by France and Spain. Russia and Austria supported Augustus III, Augustus’ son, and were eventually victorious. France wins Lorraine

· 1739 'War of Jenkins' Ear' Britain at war with Spain. The cause: Captain Jenkins' ear cut off during a Naval Skirmish over the Spanish right to search British ships looking for abuses in its limited slave trading rights. Captain Jenkins had produced his pickled ear in a jar in the House of Commons. Britain captures Porto Bello in the West Indies.

· 1739 Austrias-Russian-Turkish War. Ottomans recover Belgrade from Austria, Russia agrees not to build a Black Sea fleet.

War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748): Austria, Britain, and the Netherlands against Prussia, France, Bavaria, Poland, and Spain.

· 1740 Charles VI, only male Hapsburg descendant, dies. His daughter Maria Theresa inherits the throne, but it was immediately claimed by Charles Albert, Elector of Bavaria, Phillip V of Spain, and August III of Poland and Saxony. Prussian King Frederick II invaded Silesia, supported by Bavaria, France, Poland, Saxony, and Spain. Maria Theresa was supported by Hungary, Britain, and the Netherlands.

· 1742 Charles Albert of Bavaria is elected Emperor Charles VII. Maria Theresa yields most of Silesia to Prussia, which withdraws from the war. 1743 George II of England defeats the French at Dettingen.

· 1744-1748 King George's War in North America: French attack and burn Saratoga. British capture Louisburg in Canada.

· 1745 Charles VII dies, Francis Stephen of Lorraine, husband of Maria Theresa, is elected Emperor Francis I. Saxony joins the alliance against Prussia. Bavaria defeated, withdraws claims to throne.

· 1748 The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle restores all lands to Austria except Silesia, which remains Prussian.

· After the war, Austria courts France and Russia, while Prussia drifts towards Britain – called the “Diplomatic Revolution”

· 1741-1743 Sweden and Russia at war.

Seven Years War (1756-1763): Britain and Prussia against France, Spain, Austria, Sweden and Russia. Known as the French-Indian War in America

· 1756 Frederick the Great of Prussia attacks Saxony and Bohemia. Austria and its allies attack Prussia. 1757 Victories at Rossbach and Leuthen save Frederick from defeat.

· 1758 French are defeated at Fort Ticonderoga, New York. 1759 The British win a decisive victory over the French on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec. General James Wolfe dies but captures Quebec and expels the French from Canada

· 1762 Peter III becomes Csar of Russia, sues for peace. Britain declares war on Spain.

· 1763 Treaty of Paris. Austria and its allies sue for peace. France cedes Canada and most of its Indian colonies to the British; Spain cedes Florida to Britain in exchange for Cuba. Spain receives Louisiana, French territories west of the Mississippi, and Minorca.

· The outcome of the war was the end of France’s power in the Americas (having only French Guiana, Saint-Domingue, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon left to them) and the emergence of Great Britain as the dominant colonial power in the world. France's navy would never again be at near equal terms with the British Royal Navy and the British East India Company acquired the strongest position within India

Anglo-French Wars
Years of War	North American War	European War	Treaty
1689 – 1697	King William's War	The War of the Grand Alliance War of the League of Augsburg	Treaty of Ryswick
1702 – 1713	Queen Anne's War	The War of the Spanish Succession	Treaty of Utrecht (1713)
1744 – 1748	King George's War	War of Jenkins' Ear The War of the Austrian Succession	Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
1754 – 1763	The French and Indian War	The Seven Years' War	Treaty of Paris (1763)

· 1768-1774 Russo-Turkish war. Russia wins Moldava, Wallachia, and the Crimea after defeating the Ottoman fleet.

· 1778-1781 France and Spain join against Britain in the American War of Independence. France and Spain besiege Gibraltar without success.

· 1778-1779 War of the Bavarian Succession. Bloodless war between Prussia and Austria

· 1780 Armed Neutrality of the North formed by Russia, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands to protect neutral shipping from British interference.

· 1787 Prussian invasion of Dutch Republic.

· 1787-1792 Russia and Austria fight the Ottomans

· 1788-1790 Gustavus III of Sweden at war with Russia

War of the First Coalition (1792–1797): Austria, Prussia, Britain, Spain, and the Netherlands against France.

· 1792 Austria and Prussia declare war against France to restore French nobility. Prussian armies, including French émigrés, invade France. The French Army defeats the Prussians at Valmy and Austria at Jemappes, encouraging the Revolutionaries.

· 1793 Great Britain, Spain, and the Dutch Republic declare war on France.

· 1794 France invades the Netherlands and captures its fleet, occupies it until 1795. 1795-1806 France sets up the Batavian Republic in the Netherlands.

· 1795 Prussia and Spain make peace with France.

· 1796 Napoléon Bonaparte, French general from Corsica, invades Italy.

· 1797 Treaty of Tolentino with the Pope. Venetian Republic occupied by France. Austria makes peace with France.

· 1798 Napoleon conquers Rome, founds the Roman Republic. Founds the Helvetic Republic in Switzerland. 1798-1799 Napoleon invades Egypt, at the Battle of the Pyramids takes Cairo. Battle of the Nile: British fleet under Horatio Nelson defeats the French.

· 1799 Napoleon invades Syria, sieges Jaffa and Acre, held by the Turks. French take Naples. Pope brought to France. Russia and Austria evacuate Switzerland.

War of the Second Coalition (1799-1802)

· 1799 Second Coalition formed by Britain, Austria, Russia, Portugal, Naples, and the Turks. Austrians take Milan; a succession of Russian and Austrian victories remove French from power in Italy except for a besieged garrison at Genoa. Bonaparte leaves Egypt, returns to France. Anglo-Russian force lands in Holland.

· 1801 Treaty of Luneville between Austria and France. Leads to breakup of the Holy Roman Empire. France keeps territory west of the Rhine and most of Italy. 1802 Treaty of Amiens between Britain and France

Wars against the Turks

· 1463-1479 Ottomans and Venetians at war. 1471 Turks seize Negroponte. 1472 Venetians destroy Smyrna.

· 1480 The Turks besiege Rhodes, held by the Knights of St. John, who are expelled. In 1530 the Knights are given Malta by Charles V.

· 1521 The Turks invade Hungary

· 1529 The Turks besiege Vienna. 1533 Peace between Ottomans and Charles V.

· 1560 Turks defeat the Spanish fleet

· 1562 Peace between Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and the Turks

· 1565 Suleiman I orders a siege of Malta to exterminate the order. Although outnumbered four-times, the Knights under Grand Master Jean Parisot de Vallette, hold out for 5 months until reinforcements arrive from Sicily and the Turks withdraw.

· 1570 Turks attack Cyprus and war on Venice. Turkish fleet routed at Battle of Lepanto by the fleets of Venice, Pope Pius V, and Spain (1571). Peace of Constantinople (1572) ends Turkish attacks on Europe. Venice abandons Cyprus.

· 1593-1606 War between Austria and Turkey. Austria abandons Transylvania, but ceases to pay tribute to the Turks

· 1645-1656 Turks and Venice at war over Crete. 1656 Venice routs Turks off the Dardanelles. 1669 Venice surrenders Crete to Turkey.

· 1664 Battle of St Gotthard: Austrians defeat Turks

· 1672-1676 Poland at war with the Turks. Turks gain Polish Ukraine

· 1677-1681 Russia at war with the Turks. Russia gains Turkish Ukraine.

· 1683-1699 War of European powers against the Turks. Holy League formed by Pope Innocent XI: Austria, Poland and Venice. Vienna withstands three-month Turkish siege; high point of Turkish advance in Europe. Austrians take Hungary, Hapsburg succeed to the throne. Venice takes Morea and Dalmatia. Poles win Podolia and Turkish Ukraine.

· 1718 Treaty between Austria and the Turks

· 1736-1739 Russia and Austria at war with Turkey

· 1767-1774 Russia and Turkey at war. Russia conquers the Crimea, Black Sea ports, and control of the Orthodox Church in Turkey.

· 1781 Austro-Russian alliance against Turkey Russia annexes the Crimea.

· 1787-1792 Russia and Turkey at war.

Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815): France versus Britain, Austria, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, and Portugal

· 1803 Britain declares war on France.

· 1804 Napoleon proclaims himself emperor. Austria, Naples, Russia, and Sweden join Britain against France.

· 1805 British Admiral Horatio Nelson destroys the French and Spanish fleets attempting to invade England at the Battle of Trafalgar, but is killed in the process. Napoleon is victorious over Austrian and Russian forces at the Battle of Austerlitz. Austrian army surrenders at Ulm; peace made with Austria. Louis Bonaparte becomes King of Holland.

· 1806 French victories at Jena and Auerstadt in Prussia. Napoleon proclaims the Continental Blockade, which prohibits trade with the British Isles. Turkey at war with Russia and Britain (until 1812.)

· 1807 Napoleon defeats the Russians at Friedland. Peace treaty between France and Russia.

· 1808 France invades Spain and Portugal. Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain. British, under Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington, aid Spanish guerrillas in the Peninsular War. Austrians rejoin the war but are again defeated and surrender. 1808-1809 Russia at war with Sweden.

· 1810 Rome, Holland, and northwest Germany (Hamburg, Bremen) annexed to the French Empire.

· 1812 Alliance formed between Russia, Sweden, and Britain. Napoleon's Grand Army of 600,000 men invades Russia in June. Sept.: Napoleon is captures Moscow, but short on supplies is forced to retreat in winter, and most of Napoleon's men are lost. Austria and Prussia rejoin the War.

· 1813 Napoleon is defeated at Leipzig by Austria, Prussia, and Russia, and withdraws from Germany. France driven from Spain by Wellington at the Battle of Vittoria.

· 1814 Allies invade France, reach Paris in March. First Treaty of Paris: France is reduced to its 1792 frontiers. Napoleon exiled to Elba

· 1815 Napoleon returns: “Hundred Days” begin. Napoleon marches on Paris, is defeated by Wellington at Waterloo, banished again to St. Helena in South Atlantic. Congress of Vienna. Second Treaty of Paris; France is now reduced to its 1790 frontiers.

War of 1812 (1812-1815): United States versus Britain

· Partly caused by US support of Napoleon and the French during the Napoleonic Wars

· 1807 The Chesapeake-Leopold incident in which three Americans are impressed the stirs anti-British feeling.

· 1812 June: Despite the opposition of most New England and Middle Atlantic states, President Madison asks for a declaration of war against Great Britain because of the impressment of seamen and the blockade of American ports. July: The British attack Sacketts Harbor, New York, on Lake Ontario

· 1813 Death of Tecumseh and defeat of the British in the Battle of the Thames (north of Lake Erie).

· 1814 Aug: British forces invade Washington and set fire to the Capitol, the White House, and other buildings. Sept: American naval forces gain control of Lake Champlain. Dec: Treaty of Ghent ends the War of 1812.

· 1815 Jan: News of the end of the war does not reach the armies in time and General Andrew Jackson and pirate Jean Lafitte defeat the British at the Battle of New Orleans. British lose 2,036 soldiers. U. S. casualties include eight killed and 13 wounded.

1815-1848 Vienna system. Based on the Congress of Vienna where the Great Powers discuss the division of post-war Europe. Austrian and Prussian monarchies restored. German confederation replaces the Confederation of the Rhine. Kingdom of the Netherlands unites Belgium and Holland. Russia & Britain dominate international politics. Holy Alliance between Russia, Austria and Prussia to suppress liberal movements. Quadruple Alliance of Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia to maintain the Congress System, later joined by France. The Congress system maintain Europeans peace for thirty years while preserving the status quo – dependent on Austrian, Russian, and British power.

1821-1823 Persia and Turkey at war

1822-1829 War of Greek Independence. 1822 Greeks proclaim a republic and independence from Turkey. Turks invade Greece. 1825 Egyptian forces invade Greece. 1828 Russia declares war on Turkey. Greece also aided by France and Britain. 1829 War ends and Turks recognize Greek independence.

1839-1842 First Opium War between Britain and China, over importation of drug into China. 1857-58 The Second Opium War opens China to European trade.

1841 Straits Convention between Britain, Austria, Russia, Prussia, and France: the Dardanelles are to be closed to foreign warships during peacetime.

1848 Revolutions in France, Austria, Germany, Venice, Milan, Rome, and Poland. Caused by food shortages and nationalist or liberal (constitutional) feelings. Began in France, where a Republic was declared. Spread to Austria, where von Metternich fled. Then to the German and Italian states, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. However German liberals realized that a strong Prussia was needed to preserve German territory in Slavic areas, so they reversed course. In the end many of the monarchies revoked the concessions they had made, and the only major change was in France.

With the breakdown of the conservative Vienna system, and without the Holy Alliance with Russia (evidenced by the Crimean War) or France (under Napoleon III), Austria loses its hegemony in Germany and Italy, which become independent countries under Prussia and Sardinia, respectively.

The Crimean War (1853-1856): Turkey, Britain, France, and Sardinia versus Russia

· 1853 Turkey declares war on Russia after it invades Turkish territory, demanding passage for its warships through the Dardanelles Strait to the Black Sea. It is the first war in which railway and steamships are employed.

· 1854 Britain and France join Turkey. Russian naval base at Sevastopol is taken. At the Battle of Balaklava the Charge of the Light Brigade occurs when 670 calvary troops mistakenly charge into the Russian artillery.

· 1855 Florence Nightingale nurses wounded soldiers in Crimea. Disease causes more casualties than fighting. Russia surrenders, gives territory to Turkey, and Russian warships are banned from the Black Sea.

1856-1860 Anglo-Chinese War ends with British and French occupation of Peking

Franco-Sardinian War, 1859-1860

· Piedmont declares war on Austria after it had demanded the disbandment of the Piedmontese army. With French aid, Piedmont wins Lombardy from Austria. France wins Nice and Savoy. Leads to the establishment of Italy under Sardinia/Piedmont.

1864 Prussia under Bismarck (with Austria) takes Schleswig-Holstein from Denmark

Seven Weeks War, 1866

· Austria is defeated by Prussia and Italy. Venice is ceded to Italy. Prussia gains Schleswig-Holstein. Austria withdraws from German affairs.

Franco-Prussian War, 1870-1871

· Caused by resentment of France over growing power of Prussia, Prussia’s support for a German prince’s claim to the throne of Spain, and Bismarck’s altering of a letter from the Prussian King to make it appear insulting to the French to provoke them. After six weeks Napoleon III surrenders at Sedan. Paris capitulates after 132-day siege. France losess Alsace-Lorraine to Germany.

· Bismarck bombards Paris. Paris revolts after the war.

· Germany shortly after is united under the Prussians. It replaces France and Austria as the dominant land-power in Europe.

1872 League of the Three Emperors: Germany, Austria, Russia. After the Franco-Prussian war, Bismarck works to maintain stability, particularly between Russia and Austria.

Russo-Turkish war, 1877-1878

· 1878 The Treaty of San Stephano and Congress of Berlin ends the Russo-Turkish War; dividing southeast Europe with power of Turkey in Europe broken. Montenenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania become independent. The compromise reached by Bismarck prevents Austria and Great Britain from going to war with Russia over its expansion.

1882 Germany, Austria, and Italy form the Triple Alliance. The League of three emperors is renewed in 1884.

1885 A Bulgarian crisis erupts when Bulgarians in East Roumelia in Turkey declare themselves part of Bulgaria. Greece goes to war against Turkey, Serbia and Bulgaria. Again Bismarck seeks a compromise by replacing the Bulgarian king to one less expansionist, more to Austria’s liking.

1894 A Franco-Russian treaty is formed as a counter to Italy, Austria, and Germany’s triple alliance (and Anglo-French animosity).

Sino-Japanese War, 1894-1895

· Ends with Japanese control of Formosa. China acknowledges Koreas independence. Russia, France, and Germany force Japan to sign a less advantageous peace treaty than they originally propose; Russias interests in Korea and Manchuria become evident.

1896 Anglo-French treaty establishes boundaries in Siam (Thailand)

Spanish-American War, 1898

· February 15. The explosion and sinking of the battleship Maine in Havana harbor results in 260 deaths, leading to the battle slogan "Remember the Maine!"

· February 25. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt sends the Pacific fleet to the Philippines

· April War declared

December War ends. The U.S. gains control of the Phillippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Cuba becomes independent.

1899 First Hague Peace Conference

1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War:

· Begins as a competition for Korea and Manchuria.

• Russian-held Port Arthur surrenders to Japanese after a surpise attack (“the first Pearl Harbor”); Russia suffers other defeats, including the Battle of Mukden, and retreats into Manchuria.
• The Japanese fleet annihilates the Russian fleet in the Tsushima Straits between Japan and Korea.
• President Roosevelt mediates Treaty of Portsmouth, N.H., which recognizes Japan's control of Korea and restores southern Manchuria to China.
• After 18 months Russia didn't win a battle. Its proud image was shattered. The war was a disaster for the Czar and led to the rise of the Bolsheviks.
• The war brought Japan international prominence, and stoked pride. The event closely melded military and emperor - and set the stage for Japan's push through all of Asia.

1904 Detente Cordiale: Britain and France settle their international differences

1905 Moroccan crisis between France and Germany

1907 Second Hague Peace Conference, of 46 nations, adopts 10 conventions on rules of war. Germany opposes arms limitations. The Triple Entente (Britain, France, and Russia) and the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) are formed.

1908 Austria annexes Bosnia-Herzegovina

1911 Agadir Crisis between France and Germany: Germany sends gunboats to Morocco, but withdraws claims

1911 Turkish-Italian War. First use of aircraft as offensive weapon. Italy defeats Turks and annexes Tripoli and Libya

Balkan Wars, 1912-1913

· Turkey defeated by alliance of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro, which ressert their independence. Albania is created. Greece claims Crete. In second war (1913), Bulgaria attacks Serbia and Greece and is defeated after Romania intervenes and the Turks recapture Adrianople.

World War I

1914

Existing alliances are the Triple Entente (Britain, France, and Russia) and the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Turkey and Bulgaria later join Germany, while Japan, Italy, and the US join the Allies.

June: Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo by Serbian nationalist

July: Austro-Hungarian Government declares war on Serbia. Russia declares support for Serbia.

August. Germany declares war on Russia and France; Great Britain declares war on Germany as German troops invade Belgium. Japan also declares war on Germany. Germans defeat Russians in Battle of Tannenberg. Italy declares neutrality.

September 5. Allied victory at the Battle of the Marne halts German advance in France. Battle of Masurian Lakes: Russians retreat from East Prussia.

Oct.: Battle of Ypres: Germans fail to reach Channel ports.

1915

Jan. 1915-Mar. 1916: English, Australian, and New Zealand troops land at Gallipoli to try and capture the Dardanelles to send supplies to Russia via the Black Sea, but eventually withdraw.

Feb.: German submarine blockade of Great Britain begins

Apr.: Dardanelles Campaign—British land in Turkey. Second Battle of Ypres – poison gas is used for the first time by the Germans.

May Italy joins the Allies. The British passenger liner Lusitania is sunk by a German submarine, losing 1198 passengers, including 128 Americans. Although Germany offers condolences, Wilson says, "There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight." The US demands reparations, but Germany delays

. Sept.: On Eastern Front, German and Austrian “great offensive” conquers all of Poland and Lithuania; Russians lose 1 million men

Oct.: Bulgaria joins the Central Powers

U.S. banks lend $500 million to France and Britain.

Genocide of estimated 600,000 to 1 million Armenians by Turkish soldiers

1916

Feb.: Battle of Verdun.

May The British passenger liner Lusitania is sunk by a German submarine, losing 1198 passengers, including 128 Americans. Although Germany offers condolences, Wilson says, "There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight." The U. S. demands reparations, but Germany delays

May: British-German naval Battle of Jutland. British lose more ships, but German fleet never ventures forth again.

June-Sept.: Brusilov offensive demoralizes Russians, costs them 1 million men

July-Nov.: Battle of the Somme. British lose over 400,000; French, 200,000; Germans, 450,000; all with no strategic results. Tanks used for the first time by Britain.

Aug.: Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary

Dec.: Bucharest captured

“Black Tom” explosion at munitions dock in Jersey City, N.J., traced to German saboteurs

UK and France put together a plan to split up the Arab lands between themselves at the end of the war called the Sykes-Picot Agreement

1917

March: British capture Baghdad from Turkey

April 2: Congress declares war on Germany, and declares war on Austria-Hungary on Dec. 7.

July: British officer T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) takes command of the Arab revolt against Turkey. Third Battle of Ypres

Oct.-Dec.: Battle of Caporetto—Italians retreat, losing 600,000 prisoners and deserters

Dec.: British capture Jerusalem.

1918

Wilson proposes "Fourteen Points" for peace in the world.

March: Armistice between new Russian Bolshevik government and Germans.

June: Americans' first important battle role at Château-Thierry—as they and French stop German advance

June 25: Marine brigade of U. S. 2nd Division captures Bouresche and Belleau Wood, suffering high casualties (9500 men).

July-Aug.: Second Battle of the Marne. The last German offensive fails. Allies’ offensive on the Western front begins and the Germans retreat.

Sept.: 896,000 American troops join 135,000 French soldiers in an attack at Argonne Forest.

Sept.: British offensive in Palestine

Oct.: Battle of Vittorio Veneto: Italy defeats Austria-Hungary.

Nov. 11: Revolution in Germany. German Kaiser abdicates and a republic is declared. Germany signs the armistice treaty; hostilities cease on the Western Front. Japanese hold Vladivostok until 1922

New states of Lithuania (Feb. 16), Estonia (Feb. 24), Czechoslovakia (Oct. 18), Poland (Nov. 11), Republic of Austria (Nov. 13), Republic of Hungary (Nov. 16), Latvia (Nov. 18), Yugoslavia (Nov. 24) formed

Each symbol indicates 100,000 dead

1919

26 June. The Treaty of Versailles, which the Senate later refuses to ratify. Germany loses Alsace-Lorraine and its colonies, and will pay reparations. Terms will lead to German economic collapse and rise of fascism

Between the Wars

· 1920 League of Nations offically begins but without the US, Russia, or Germany. Treaty of Sèvres dissolves Ottoman Empire

· 1920-1921 War between Russia and Poland. 1921-1922 War between Greece and Turkey. Greece is defeated.

· 1921 Reparations Commission fixes German liability at 132 billion gold marks. German inflation begins. Washington Disarmament Conference treaties limit naval tonnage and pledge to respect territorial integrity of China

· 1923 Occupation of the Ruhr district in West Germany by French and Belgian troops to enforce reparations payments.

· 1924 The Dawes plan settles German reparations; replaced by Young plan in 1929.

· 1925 Locarno Treaties guarantees borders and arbitration of disputes

· 1926 Germany is admitted into the League of Nations

· 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact proposes to substitute diplomacy for warfare as a means of settling international disputes; 62 nations ultimately sign the pact.

· The Maginot Line was built between 1929 and 1940 to protect France from her longtime enemy, Germany, and to defend the traditional invasion routes across her eastern frontier. The Maginot Line was built to provide time for the French army to mobilize and to make up for a potentially disastrous shortfall of manpower predicted for the late 1930s.

· 1930 Britain, U.S., Japan, France, and Italy sign naval disarmament treaty.

· 1931 Mukden Incident begins Japanese occupation of Manchuria.

· 1931 Hoover proposes one-year moratorium of war debts

· 1933 Germany and Japan withdraw from League of Nations

· 1934 USSR admitted to League of Nations.

· 1935 Nazis repudiate the Versailles Treaty. Mussolini invades Ethiopia; League of Nations invokes sanctions

· 1936 Germans occupy Rhineland. Italy annexes Ethiopia. Rome-Berlin Axis proclaimed (Japan to join in 1940). War between China and Japan begins. Japan and Germany sign anti-Comintern pact; joined by Italy in 1937.

· 1937 Hitler repudiates war guilt clause of Versailles Treaty. Italy withdraws from League of Nations. U.S. gunboat Panay sunk by Japanese in Yangtze River. Japan invades China, captures Shanghai and Peking.

· 1938 March: Germany announces 'Anschluss' (union) with Austria when the September Munich Agreement signed by Germany, Italy, France, and Britain, allows partition of Czechoslovakian Sudentenland. October German troops occupy the Sudetenland; Czech government resigns. November: Kristallnacht - The Night of Broken Glass.

· 1939 March: Germany invades Czech Bohemia and Moravia. May: Nazis sign 'Pact of Steel' with Italy. August: Nazis and Soviets sign 10-year non-aggression pact. Britain and Poland sign a Mutual Assistance Treaty. British fleet mobilizes; Civilian evacuations begin from London. Russo-Finnish War begins. in 1940 peace treaty

World War II

Korean War, 1950-53

1950 June 25 North Korean Communist forces invade South Korea

June 27 UN calls for cease-fire and asks UN members to assist South Korea. Truman orders U.S. forces into Korea.

June 28 North Koreans capture Seoul

July 8 Gen. Douglas MacArthur is designated commander of unified UN forces

Aug.-Oct. Pusan Beachhead—UN forces counterattack and capture Seoul then Pyongyang, North Korean capital

Sept. 15: Directed by MacArthur 320 warships including 4 aircraft carriers carried 70,000 men into Inchon harbor. They fought their way to take Seoul, by 9/25.

Oct. 26 Chinese Communists enter war

Dec. UN forces retreat toward 39th parallel

1951 April 11 Truman replaces MacArthur after he threatens Chinese with massive retaliation

July Armistice negotiations begin

1953 July 27 Korean armistice signed

· The 1953 cease-fire pact created the Demilitarized Zone, a 2.5-mile-wide buffer off-limits to heavy weaponry. Though soldiers guarding the DMZ carry only handguns and rifles, the armies massed on either side of it hold enough firepower to raze the peninsula. Equipped with chemical, biological, and possibly nuclear weapons, the North has targeted Seoul, South Korea's capital, with hundreds of artillery pieces. South Korean and U.S. forces—with superior air and tank power—train constantly to repel an attack.

o The rules of combat at Panmunjom emphasize mind games—psyching out the enemy. Each side blasts opposing hillsides with patriotic music and recorded messages. A giant signboard on the North Korean side warns—in Korean characters, which few of the Americans can read—"Yankee Go Home." In one of the conference rooms North Koreans once sawed a few inches off chair legs so that their counterparts at the negotiating table would look small and silly. When North Koreans attended a meeting on another occasion with AK-47 assault rifles obviously hidden under their jackets, an armistice violation, American officers chose not to confront them. Instead the Americans took delight in jacking up the room's heat to equatorial levels just so that they could see their adversaries, unwilling to expose their weapons, squirm and sweat in their heavy clothes. The South Koreans here must stand at least 5’8”, two inches taller on average than their countrymen; a black belt in martial arts is also required.

Vietnam War

1954 Dien Bien Phu, French military outpost in Vietnam, falls to Vietminh army. Geneva Agreements provide for withdrawal of French and Vietminh to either side of demarcation zone (DMZ) pending reunification elections, which are never held. Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy send civilian advisers and, later, military personnel to train South Vietnamese.

1960 900 U.S. military advisers in South Vietnam. Communists form the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) in the South.

1962 Chemical defoliants are sprayed into the jungle which are later found to contain Dioxin, a cancer producing chemical that causes genetic mutations in children.

1963 15,000 U.S. military advisers in South Vietnam. Ngo Dinh Diem, South Vietnam's premier, is slain in a coup

1964 Aug. North Vietnamese torpedo boats reportedly attack U.S destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. President Johnson orders retaliatory air strikes. Congress approves the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorizing the President to take “all necessary measures” to win in Vietnam, allowing for the war's expansion.

1965 U.S. planes begin combat missions over South Vietnam. 184,000 U.S. troops are in Vietnam.

1968 U.S. has 525,000 men in Vietnam. Civilians are being killed at the rate of 50,000 every year. Many are attacked with napalm. This is a substance made from benzene, polystyrene and gasoline that catches fire and sticks to flesh. One terrified little girl is photographed running naked after her village has been attacked with napalm. Images like this put pressure on the USA and it agrees to stop bombing North Vietnam. US public opinion begins to lean against the war.

US B-52 planes secretly bomb Cambodia. This bombing would continue until 1973 and would eventually destroy the country's stability leading to the chaos and anarchy of the killing fields under the Khmer Rouge.

Jan.-Feb: Tet offensive. Viet Cong guerrillas launch a surprise attack on Saigon, Hue, and provincial capitals.

March: My Lai massacre. US troops carry out a massacre of over 200 villagers in My Lai. Several young girls are raped before being killed. Several years later, there is a court martial but most of the perpetrators of the massacre are never punished and those that are receive short sentences. The USA had declared this area a free fire zone (meaning that they could shoot at anything that moved). When My Lai was attacked, 70% of all villages and hamlets in the province had already been razed.

Oct.: President Johnson orders halt to U.S. bombardment of North Vietnam. The Paris peace talks take place.

1969 May President Nixon announces Vietnam peace offer—begins ground troop withdrawals but continues bombing

1970 The US government bans the use of Agent Orange (a defoliant containing dioxin) on American farmlands but the US military continues to spray the chemical over large areas of Vietnam to remove the jungle cover from the Viet Cong. Over 2 million Vietnamese are affected as well as thousands of American soldiers. Over 50,000 children have severe birth defects in Vietnam. The US sprays CS Gas into Vietnamese tunnels, and Cyrus Vance, the Secretary of Defence, admits that cyanide and arsenic are also being used.

May U.S. troops invade Cambodia.

June: Senate repeals the Gulf of Tonkin resolution

1971 Jan.: Congress bars the use of combat troops, but not air power, in Laos and Cambodia

1972 Apr.: Nixon responds to North Vietnamese drive across DMZ by ordering mining of North Vietnam ports and heavy bombing of Hanoi-Haiphong area.

Dec. 25: “Christmas bombing” of North Vietnam to get North Vietnamese back to conference table

1973 Jan.: War ends with signing of peace pacts. March: Last American troops depart.

Aug.: U.S. bombing of Cambodia ends.

US president Richard Nixon had signed a secret cease fire agreement with the Vietnam government in Hanoi to pay $3,250 million in reparations at the end of the war. None of this money has ever been paid. Instead the USA freezes Vietnamese assets of $70 million and later sets up a blockade against the country. Under US pressure, the World Bank suspends a grant for irrigation that would have increased food capacity. Instead, in 1997, Vietnam would begin to pay the USA $145,000,000 of debts incurred by the USA backed government of South Vietnam after pressure from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

1974 The US introduces a trade embargo on Vietnam that lasts until 1994.

1975 Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge take over Cambodia. April: South Vietnamese government surrenders to North Vietnam.

May: American merchant ship Mayaguez, seized by Cambodians, is rescued by U.S. Navy and Marines, 38 of whom are killed

1978 Vietnam and Vietnam-backed Cambodian insurgents announce fall of Phnom Penh, Cambodian capital, and collapse of Pol Pot regime

Somalia

Kosovo

1998

October: After repeated threats of NATO air strikes, Milosevic agrees at the last minute to a truce calling for the removal of Serbian troops from Kosovo. Despite the agreement, fighting continues in the region.

1999

January: The killing of 45 ethnic Albanians by Serb forces in the town of Racak leads to international pleas for peace once again.

February: Serb and Albanian representatives meet at Rambouillet, France to discuss options for peace. Both sides are reluctant to compromise, and the talks break up without a plan in place.

March: Fighting continues in Kosovo, even as a second round of talks gets underway in Paris. The ethnic Albanians finally take a step toward peace, signing a deal that calls for interim autonomy and a NATO force of 28,000 to monitor the region. Milosevic responds by reiterating Serbian disapproval and the talks are again suspended without an agreement. The Serbs return home under the threat of NATO airstrikes.

22 American diplomat Richard Holbrooke visits Belgrade in a final, unsuccessful attempt to convince Milosevic to agree to NATO's terms.

24 NATO begins launching air strikes in an attempt to force Serbia to cease hostilities and allow ethnic Albanian refugees to return to their homes in Kosovo.
31 Three U.S. soldiers are captured while patrolling the Serbia-Macedonia border.

April Serb troops force thousands of ethnic Albanians out of the town of Djakovica. At least 47 men are believed to have been shot. Serb forces are also accused of raping women and destroying many ethnic Albanians' citizenship papers.

14 NATO bombs accidentally hit two convoys of ethnic Albanian refugees being escorted by Serb police. Yugoslav officials put the death toll from the incident at more than 60.
27 Serbian troops kill 200-300 civilian men in the village of Meja.

May

2 Rev.Jesse Jackson succeeds in winning the release of the three American hostages after negotiating with Milosevic.

5 An Apache helicopter crashes in Albania killing two U.S. pilots, the only NATO casualties during the air strikes.

6. Before and during the course of the air strikes, hundreds of thousands of Kosovars abandoned their homes. The result was a massive refugee crisis that primarily affected neighboring countries Albania and Macedonia. Western countries helped ease the burden by offering refuge to some of the 860,000 ethnic Albanians who left Kosovo between March and June.
7 Three Chinese journalists are killed in Belgrade when NATO accidentally bombs the Chinese Embassy. NATO attributes the mistake to outdated maps. Massive protests erupt in Beijing, where American ambassador James Sasser is trapped in the US embassy for more than 48 hours.

13 More than 80 ethnic Albanians are killed and at least 100 are injured, by Yugoslav count, when NATO bombs a village believed to have been a Serb military post. NATO claims the victims were being used by Serb troops as human shields.
21 NATO again hits an unintended target—a KLA stronghold. One member of the rebel group is killed and at least 15 more are injured.

27 The UN's International War Crimes Tribunal formally indicts Milosevic and four other Yugoslav officials for crimes against humanity. They are accused of being responsible for the deportation of 740,000 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo this year as well as the murder of more than 340 identified victims. NATO fears that the indictment may complicate the process of negotiating a peace plan.

June

3 Milosevic and the Serbian parliament accept a proposal drawn up by representatives from Russia, the EU, and the US.

9 Yugoslavia and Western nations sign a formal agreement calling for the withdrawal of Serb troops from Kosovo and a subsequent halting of NATO's air campaign. An international peacekeeping force headed by NATO is to monitor Kosovo and the return of the refugees. Russia's role in the operation remains ambiguous.
10 The UN Security Council approves a resolution that authorizes the plan for peace in Kosovo by a vote of 14-0. China abstains.
11 As peacekeeping forces prepare to enter Kosovo, an uninvited Russian convoy also heads to the region. The move creates heavy tensions as Western officials try to figure out how to maintain control over the peacekeeping efforts without stirring up further conflict with Russia.

NATO

· Apart from its deployment in Kosovo and Afghanistan, it flies air patrols over the Baltic states and Slovenia, carries out anti-terrorist naval patrols in the Mediterranean, runs military headquarters in Macedonia and Bosnia, trains the Iraqi army and gives logistical support to African peacekeepers in Darfur.

· Three countries—Albania, Croatia and Macedonia—are in the NATO antechamber known as the Membership Action Plan. America would also like Ukraine and Georgia to join. But Ukraine has rejected the idea, for the moment. And bringing in Georgia is problematic, at least while the problem of its secessionist regions is unresolved.

· At the height of the fighting in Afghanistan in September 2006, NATO's military chiefs asked informally whether it would be possible to send out NATO's “strategic reserve” battalion in France. The answer from Paris was no, on the ground that it should remain available for duty in the Balkans.

· Trying to redress the disparity between America and the rest, NATO has drawn up lists of “capabilities” that countries must acquire.

· Under formation is a 20,000-strong deployable standing army, known as the NATO Response Force (NRF), with land, air and sea components. This is supposed to begin deploying in troublespots around the world at five days' notice, making a “forced entry” if necessary and sustaining itself for up to two months before handing over to follow-on troops. Elements of the NRF have been used for humanitarian relief, but the force still has too many gaps for it to be declared fully operational.

· EU and NATO have co-operated relatively well. NATO has handed over its stabilisation missions in Bosnia and Macedonia to the EU. But in Darfur, the two organisations have competed to provide support for African peacekeepers. And in Brussels, headquarters to both organisations, the two groups have little contact at the political level—not least because of the conflict between Cyprus (a member of the EU) and Turkey (a member of NATO).

· After the attacks of September 11th 2001, NATO invoked Article 5 of its treaty which asserts that an attack on one ally is an attack on all. The United States, however, preferred to act alone, picking allied units in “coalitions of the willing” to go to war in Afghanistan. The invasion of Iraq in 2003, led by America and Britain but opposed by France and Germany, pulled the alliance farther apart.

· Though NATO as a whole declined to send troops to Iraq (apart from a small training mission), it agreed in August 2003 to take over the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and extend its remit beyond Kabul.

· The Afghan operation, where 11 non-NATO countries have joined ISAF, has raised another difficult issue: whether Western countries outside the alliance, such as Japan, Australia and New Zealand, should be accorded a special relationship.

Military and Civilian Deaths in 20^th Century Conflicts and Genocide

From Matthew White’s Homepage

	Civilian Deaths	Event	Dates
1	50,000,000	Second World War (Includes Sino-Japanese War and Holocaust)	1937-45
2	40,000,000	China: Mao Zedong's regime (Including famine)	1949-76
3	20,000,000	USSR: Stalin's regime (Includes WW2-era atrocities)	1924-53
4	15,000,000	First World War (Includes Armenian massacres)	1914-18
5	8,800,000	Russian Civil War	1918-21
6	4,000,000	China: Warlord & Nationalist Era	1917-37
7	3,000,000	Congo Free State	1900-08
8	2,800,000	Korean War	1950-53
9	2,700,000	2nd Indochina War (Including Laos & Cambodia)	1960-75
10	2,500,000	Chinese Civil War	1945-49
11	2,100,000	German Expulsions after WW2	1945-47
12	1,900,000	Second Sudanese Civil War	1983-
13	1,700,000	Congolese Civil War	1998-
14	1,650,000	Cambodia: Khmer Rouge Regime	1975-79
15	1,400,000	Afghanistan: Civil War	1980-
15	1,400,000	Ethiopian Civil Wars	1962-92
17	1,250,000	Mexican Revolution	1910-20
18	1,250,000	East Pakistan: Massacres	1971
19	1,000,000	Iran-Iraq War	1980-88
19	1,000,000	Nigeria: Biafran revolt	1967-70
21	800,000	Mozambique: Civil War	1976-92
21	800,000	Rwandan Massacres	1994
23	675,000	French-Algerian War	1954-62
24	600,000	First Indochina War	1945-54
24	600,000	Angolan Civil War	1975-94
26	500,000	Indonesia: Massacre of Communists	1965-67
26	500,000	India-Pakistan Partition	1947
26	500,000	First Sudanese Civil War	1955-72
26	500,000	Decline of the Amazonian Indians	1900-99
30	365,000	Spanish Civil War	1936-39
?	>350,000	Somalia: Chaos	1991-
?	>400,000	North Korea: Communist Regime	1948-

Military Deaths		War	Dates
1	20,000,000	Second World War	1937-45
2	8,500,000	First World War	1914-18
3	1,200,000	Korean War	1950-53
4	1,200,000	Chinese Civil War	1945-49
5	1,200,000	Vietnam War	1965-73
6	850,000	Iran-Iraq War	1980-88
7	800,000	Russian Civil War	1918-21
8	400,000	Chinese Civil War	1927-37
9	385,000	French Indochina	1945-54
10	200,000	Mexican Revolution	1911-20
10	200,000	Spanish Civil War	1936-39
12	160,000	French-Algerian War	1954-62
13	150,000	Afghanistan	1980-89
14	130,000	Russo-Japanese War	1904-05
15	100,000	Riffian War	1921-26
15	100,000	First Sudanese Civil War	1956-72
15	100,000	Russo-Polish War	1919-20
15	100,000	Biafran War	1967-70
19	90,000	Chaco War	1932-35
20	75,000	Abyssinian War	1935-36

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Revised: 2/15/2007

Text Copyright 2007