Wars haunt humanity in all eras - as soon as a person learned to throw stones and hit with a club, he immediately began to fight for territory, and even today, in the third millennium, wars are still an integral part of our lives. But where did it all start and what was the very first war in human history?
Echoes of War: In Search of Facts
Unfortunately for historians, they have to look not for the very first wars, but for data about them. Most likely, the wars began long before the advent of a way to pass on knowledge about them to descendants (writing, drawing, legends). So traditionally, the term “First War in History” refers to a war about which clear evidence and facts have been preserved.
Finding places of skirmishes and, based on them, determining the data of the warring parties is a very difficult task, since in ancient times the warring parties could not afford to throw weapons on the battlefield, and killed enemies were robbed to the skin. However, one day luck smiled on the seekers of truth: in Northern Kenya they managed to find clear traces of the battle. It happened in the Nataruk region about 10,000 years ago.
The First War: What Archaeologists Have Learned
First of all, researchers were attracted by the accumulation of well-preserved bodies with traces of violent death. A more accurate analysis showed that they died mainly from bladed weapons. And then nearby
they found arrowheads, which the victors apparently did not find or decided not to take with them. This is how they determined that it was a planned skirmish, and not an accident. And although in modern terms this is only a small skirmish, it is quite possible that it was once part of a larger battle between clans or tribes.
Accurate data: walls helped scientists
If we talk about precisely established time intervals, then the first war took place around the seventh millennium BC. Excavations of the famous city of Jericho helped - near it archaeologists found fortified walls about 5 meters high and ditches with water, which indirectly indicates military activity. Most likely, the city residents were thus setting up defense against overly nimble neighbors.
But the first known document that describes the war dates back to a much later period - 2700 BC. It belongs to the chronicles of the ancient Sumerians - the "Royal Lists" - and describes the victory of the Sumerian king En-Mebaragesi over the neighboring state of Elam. So it is the Sumerian-Elamite conflict that officially bears the title of the first war in human history.
About the work of the publishing house “The Whole World” in the context of countering the spread of coronavirus and implementing the orders of the Mayor and the Government of Moscow.
The biggest war in human history - Short story Second World War
Second World War was the largest, most destructive and bloodiest war, known history. In its scale, it far surpassed all wars of the past, including the Hundred Years' War of the 14th-15th centuries, the Thirty Years' War of the 17th century, and the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. and even the First World War 1914–1918. The Second World War lasted six years - from 1939 to 1945. It involved 61 states with a total population of 1 billion 700 million people, including all the great powers: Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, the Soviet Union, the United States of America and Japan . Military operations took place on the territory of 40 states, on three continents and on all oceans. 110 million people were mobilized in the armies of the warring countries; In addition, tens of millions participated in the Resistance movement, in guerrilla warfare, built military fortifications, and worked in the military industry. In total, the war pulled 3/4 of the world's population into its orbit.
The loss and destruction caused by World War II is unparalleled. They are so large that they cannot even be accurately counted, but can only be approximately estimated. According to historians, human losses in World War II amounted to at least 50–60 million people. They're at least five o'clock one more time exceeded the losses in the First World War and more than doubled the losses in all wars of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Material damage was 12 times greater than in the First World War.
In terms of its gigantic scale and influence on subsequent historical development, the Second World War is the largest event in world history.
Like the First World War, the Second World War was fought over the redistribution of the world, territorial acquisitions, sources of raw materials and markets, but unlike the First World War, it also had a clearly expressed ideological content. In World War II, fascist and anti-fascist coalitions opposed each other. The fascist and militaristic states that unleashed the war sought to enslave other countries, establish their own rules there and achieve world domination. The states of the anti-fascist coalition defended their freedom and independence, as well as the freedom of the countries enslaved by the fascists; fought for the preservation of democratic rights and freedoms. The war on their part was of an anti-fascist, liberation character.
One of the manifestations of its liberation character was the national liberation and anti-fascist Resistance movement that arose in the occupied countries and in the states of the aggressor bloc. Resistance Movement - characteristic and the peculiarity of the Second World War.
Many thousands of books and articles have been written about the Second World War, and dozens of films have been created in all countries. The literature on war is truly vast; no one is able to read it in its entirety, but the flow of publications does not dry out, because the history of the war is still far from fully studied, and especially because it is closely connected with the most pressing problems of our time. One or another interpretation of wartime events often serves as a historical justification and justification for the revision of borders and the creation of new states; for a positive or negative assessment of the role of nations, classes, parties, political regimes and statesmen; it hurts national interests and national feelings. Along with serious historical research, a huge number of all kinds of unreliable works, fabrications and falsifications are published. The true history of the war was overgrown with myths and legends, which were often supported by government propaganda, became widespread and became enduring. Until now, Russia knows little about the actions of Anglo-American troops in Africa and the Pacific, and in England and especially in the United States they have little idea of the gigantic scale of military operations on the Soviet-German front. It is characteristic that the multi-part Soviet-American documentary film about the Great Patriotic War (released in 1978) in America was given the name “The Unknown War” because it is almost unknown to Americans. One of the latest French works on the history of the Second World War bears the same title - “The Unknown War”.
As public opinion polls conducted in different countries, including Russia, have shown, generations born in the post-war period sometimes lack the most basic information about the Second World War. Often, respondents do not remember when the war began, why it was fought, or who fought with whom. Sometimes they don't even know who Hitler, Roosevelt or Churchill are.
The purpose of this book, intended for the general reader, is to give a general idea of the course and main events of the war. The most controversial issues in the history of the war are discussed in the sections “What are the disputes about?”
Other chapters from this book
- The immediate and most obvious result of the Second World War was gigantic destruction and loss of life. The war devastated entire countries, reduced cities and villages to ruins, and led to the death of many millions of people. The greatest human losses - 26.6 million people - were suffered...
This topic is relevant, despite the seemingly peaceful time in our country, because in addition to open, bloody wars, there are also latent ones, which claim no less lives than during battles with spears, swords, tanks, machine guns, and bombs.
So, let's look at which wars were the largest in terms of the number of victims and the scale of destruction in the entire history of mankind known to us. There were more than 1 million casualties in major wars.
There were about a million and a little more casualties in the wars:
Biafran War of Independence (1967-1970), Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598), Siege of Jerusalem (73 AD, episode of the First Jewish War), Rwandan Genocide (1994), Korean War (1953), etc.
About 2-3 million victims were in the wars: Chaka Conquests (South Africa, 19th century), Goguryeo-Sui Wars (598-614), Mexican Revolution (1910-1920).
Religious wars in France (1568-1598) - claimed the lives of more than 4 million people.
The Huguenot Wars, the French wars of religion that were fought at the end of the 16th century, were essentially a confrontation between Catholics and Protestant Hugents.
“The Religious or Huguenot Wars were a series of protracted civil wars between Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots) that tore France apart under the last kings of the Valois dynasty, from 1562 to 1598. The Huguenots were led by the Bourbons (Prince of Condé, Henry of Navarre) and Admiral de Coligny, while the Catholics were led by the Queen Mother Catherine de Medici and the powerful Guises.
Its neighbors tried to influence the course of events in France - Elizabeth of England supported the Huguenots, and Philip of Spain supported the Catholics. The wars ended with the accession of Henry of Navarre, who had converted to Catholicism, to the French throne and the publication of the compromise Edict of Nantes (1598).”
In the 15-16th century in Europe, religion was not just an outlet for those seeking the eternal, religion was the cause of wars, almost the main one, religion divided society into enemies and friends, into friends and foes, it was the essence of the monarchy, the main punitive element of the state, with the blessing those who were ordained were married and executed. As we see, it got to the point that some were cutting down others only because they had different views on God.
Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) - more than 3.5 million victims.
“Napoleonic Wars - under this name are known mainly the wars waged by Napoleon I with various European states when he was First Consul and Emperor (November 1799 - June 1815). In a broader sense, this includes Napoleon’s Italian campaign (1796-1797) and his Egyptian expedition (1798-1799), although they (especially the Italian campaign) are usually classified as so-called revolutionary wars.”
Napoleon created the first French empire, which lasted from 1804 to 1815. Having become, as a result of the coup of the 18th Brumaire (November 9, 1799), the first consul of France, Napoleon launched an attack with the goal of conquering all of Europe, the plans included Italy, Austria, Germany, Prussia, etc.
According to official data alone, battles in the warring countries claimed the lives of 2.2-3.6 million soldiers and civilians. Some historians even double these figures. Having suffered setbacks in the Spanish-Portuguese War, defeat in the war with Russia (1812) - and Napoleon’s empire began to show cracks.
The War of 1812 is only depicted in Russian art in paintings, in world works such as “War and Peace” by L. Tolstoy, and Napoleon’s wars have become a source of inspiration, no matter how cynical it may sound, for many creators around the world.
In terms of the number of victims, the Napoleonic wars are considered one of the largest and bloodiest.
Second Congo War - 5.4 million casualties
« The Second Congolese War (French: Deuxième guerre du Congo), also known as the Great African War (1998-2002), was a war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that involved more than twenty armed groups representing nine states.
By 2008, the war and its aftermath had killed 5.4 million people, mostly from disease and starvation, making it one of the deadliest wars in world history and the deadliest conflict since World War II.”
Many historians see the beginning of the conflict as the genocide in Rwanda, then Tutsi refugees moved to Zaire, then, after the Rwandan Patriotic Front came to power in Rwanda, some Hutu refugees rushed to seek refuge in Zaire, and therefore in the territory of the former Republic of Congo (now Zaire ) the unfinished war in Rwanda unfolded. Hutu radicals began to use Zaire as a rear for attacks on Rwanda.
Chinese Civil War (1927-1950) - 8 million victims
“Civil War in China (Chinese trad.國共内戰, ex.国共内战, pinyin: guógòng neìzhàn, pal.: gogong neizhan, literally: “internal war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party”) - a series of armed conflicts on Chinese territory between the forces of the Republic of China and the Chinese Communists in 1927 - 1950 (with interruptions).
The war began in 1927 after the Northern Expedition, when, by decision of the right wing of the Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kai-shek, the alliance between the Kuomintang and the CPC was broken.”
A war that lasted 23 years and claimed millions of lives... At times, such as in 1936, when China united in the fight against the Japanese invaders, the battle weakened, but after the completion of the events for which there was unity, it began again with renewed vigor.
The war continued until 1950, in 1949 the formation of the People's Republic of China was proclaimed in Beijing, and in May 1951, by signing an agreement on the peaceful end of the conflict, the last captured stronghold - Tibet - was liberated.
Thirty Years' War - 11.5 million dead
“The Thirty Years' War was a military conflict for hegemony in the Holy Roman Empire and Europe, which lasted from 1618 to 1648 and affected almost all European countries to one degree or another.
The war began as a religious clash between the Protestants and Catholics of the empire, but then escalated into a struggle against Habsburg dominance in Europe. The conflict was the last major religious war in Europe and gave rise to the Westphalian system of international relations."
This war affected all segments of the population - as history goes, the most affected country was Germany, more than 5 million people died there, the economic, productive system was destroyed, only a century later the country's population began to recover. Sweden and Germany fought.
Civil War in Russia (1917-1922) - 12 million dead (including collateral losses - more than 25 million people)
“The Russian Civil War (October 25 (November 7) 1917 - October 25, 1922/July 16, 1923) - a series of armed conflicts between various political, ethnic, social groups and state entities on the territory of the former Russian Empire, which followed the Bolsheviks’ rise to power as a result of the October Revolution of 1917."
The civil war between the “Reds” and the “Whites” was a natural result of the revolution of 1904-1907, also the First World War, ending in the victory of the Bolsheviks.
Perhaps this is one of the most brutal and memorable wars for the Russian people, not only in the 20th century, but in all of history, because the war was fought not with external, foreign enemies, but with Russians... The population of the homeland was divided into two camps and “ interrupted" his own people.
The horrors of that era are described in many literary works, captured in rare photographs, many legendary films based on the works and that war were shot, the ruthlessness of their own compatriots, blinded by the idea, is amazing. The bodies of the shot people were taken by trucks from the Chekist base to burial places. One of the works banned at that time, Zazubrin’s story “Sliver,” vividly tells about the revolution - “a beautiful and cruel mistress, without rights, stingily, harshly imposing her order of life on us, clearing the way for herself with corpses... By the way, the author himself, Vladimir Zazubrin, was shot in 1937 for belonging to a right-wing sabotage and terrorist organization. The novel was first published only in 1989.
The “Reds” - the Bolsheviks - won. The confrontation between the “reds” and the “whites” grew into a bloody massacre; a characteristic feature of the civil war was that the enemy sides achieved their goal exclusively by violent measures.
Historians explain this situation by saying that
“Social and class confrontation, which has reached the stage of civil war, divides society into “us” and “strangers,” into “us” and “them.” At such moments, enemies and adversaries are generally taken out of the sphere of morality and are perceived as “non-humans” to whom universal human norms do not apply. This is precisely what creates the opportunity to transform immoral terror into morally justified terror...”
Even during the unfinished war, Russia was defeated.
“The territories of Poland, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Western Ukraine, Belarus, Kars region (in Armenia) and Bessarabia departed from the former Russian Empire. According to experts, the population in the remaining territories barely reached 135 million people.
Losses in these territories as a result of wars, epidemics, emigration, and declining birth rates have amounted to at least 25 million people since 1914.”
The level of production fell, plants and factories were destroyed, the country was swallowed up by chaos, poverty and devastation.
The number of street children ranged from 4.5 to 7 million people.
"The First World War (July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918) is one of the largest-scale armed conflicts in human history."
The actual beginning of the already brewing conflict was the so-called “Sarajevo Murder” on June 28, 1914, when the Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand, who advocated the creation of national autonomies in Austria-Hungary, was killed by a young Serbian terrorist.
“As a result of the military conflict, four empires ceased to exist: Russian, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and German (although the Weimar Republic, which arose instead of the Kaiser’s Germany, formally continued to be called the German Empire). The participating countries lost more than 10 million soldiers and about 12 million civilians killed, and about 55 million people were wounded."
Participants in the war were:
Quadruple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria.
Entente: Russia, France, Great Britain.
Allies of the Entente (supported the Entente in the war): USA, Japan, Serbia, Italy (participated in the war on the side of the Entente since 1915, despite being a member of the Triple Alliance), Montenegro, Belgium, Egypt, Portugal, Romania, Greece, Brazil, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Siam, Haiti, Liberia, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador.
In 1919, Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles to peacefully end the conflict with the victorious countries.
As a result, Germany lost more; in Russia, the First World War led to revolutions, civil war, and for all participants - to the liquidation of several empires. For Germany, defeat in this war led to the collapse of the monarchy, weakening of economic and territorial positions, the subsequent humiliation led to the Nazis coming to power, who later unleashed the Second World War.
Any war is always not just a conflict, it is a cause of something and a consequence of something, often another war.
Conquests of Tamerlane (second half of the 14th century) - 20 million dead
Dungan uprising (19th century) - 20.5 million victims
Conquest of the Ming Dynasty by the Qing Dynasty - 25 million dead
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) - 30 million victims
Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864, China) - 30 million victims
Rebellion of An Lushan (755-763, China) - 36 million victims
Mongol conquests (13th century) - 70 million dead
There is information that as a result of the conquest of North and South America (over several centuries) over 138 million people died.
During the development of the territory of North and South America, that is, from the period 1491 to 1691, although in fact the development began in the 10th century - during all this time, more than one hundred million people died in battles with the colonialists and indigenous people.
World War II (1939 - 1945) - 85 million dead
“The Second World War (September 1, 1939[ - September 2, 1945) is a war of two world military-political coalitions, which became the largest armed conflict in human history.
62 states out of 73 existing at that time (80% of the world's population) participated in it. The fighting took place on the territory of three continents and in the waters of four oceans. This is the only conflict in which nuclear weapons were used.”
The Second World War, in terms of the number of victims, the number of countries participating, and the scale of destruction, became one of the largest world battles in human history. 72 states participated in it, which is 80% of the world's population, and military operations were carried out on the territory of 40 states. Human losses - at least 65 million people. The military losses and expenses incurred were also colossal.
After the war, the role of Western Europe weakened, and the USSR and the USA became the main countries in the world. Nazi and fascist ideologies were declared criminal and prohibited at the Nuremberg trials.
And although more than 70 years have passed since the end of the battles, many Russians know what the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War were.
Perhaps, not a single military battle has been dedicated to so many works of art - literary works, cinematic masterpieces, etc. A lot of photographs have been preserved of victims of Nazi camps, battles, fragments of the war, soldiers, and the Nazis themselves.
A lot of documentation and evidence of the horrors of those times have been preserved about the inhuman, cruel experiments of the Nazis on prisoners, about gas chambers and tons of victims, about tens of thousands of healthy babies who were given birth to by Russian women in captivity, drowned in a slop bucket by German guards, about the murdered Jews during the Holocaust...
In the history of mankind there have been wars that lasted more than a century. Maps were redrawn, political interests were defended, people died. We remember the most protracted military conflicts.
Punic War (118 years)
By the middle of the 3rd century BC. The Romans almost completely subjugated Italy, set their sights on the entire Mediterranean and wanted Sicily first. But the mighty Carthage also laid claim to this rich island. Their claims unleashed 3 wars that lasted (with interruptions) from 264 to 146. BC. and received their name from the Latin name of the Phoenicians-Carthaginians (Punians).
The first (264-241) is 23 years old (it started because of Sicily). The second (218-201) - 17 years (after the capture of the Spanish city of Sagunta by Hannibal). The last one (149-146) – 3 years. It was then that the famous phrase “Carthage must be destroyed!” was born.
Pure military action took 43 years. The conflict totals 118 years.
Results: Besieged Carthage fell. Rome won.
Hundred Years' War (116 years)
It went in 4 stages. With pauses for truces (the longest - 10 years) and the fight against plague (1348) from 1337 to 1453.
Opponents: England and France.
Causes: France wanted to oust England from the southwestern lands of Aquitaine and complete the unification of the country. England - to strengthen influence in the province of Guienne and regain those lost under John the Landless - Normandy, Maine, Anjou.
Complication: Flanders - formally was under the auspices of the French crown, in fact it was free, but depended on English wool for clothmaking.
Reason: the claims of the English king Edward III of the Plantagenet-Angevin dynasty (maternal grandson of the French king Philip IV the Fair of the Capetian family) to the Gallic throne.
Allies: England - German feudal lords and Flanders. France - Scotland and the Pope.
Army: English - hired. Under the command of the king. The basis is infantry (archers) and knightly units. French - knightly militia, under the leadership of royal vassals.
Fracture: after the execution of Joan of Arc in 1431 and the Battle of Normandy, the national liberation war of the French people began with the tactics of guerrilla raids.
Results: On October 19, 1453, the English army capitulated in Bordeaux. Having lost everything on the continent except the port of Calais (remained English for another 100 years). France switched to a regular army, abandoned knightly cavalry, gave preference to infantry, and the first firearms appeared.
Greco-Persian War (50 years)
Collectively - wars. They dragged on with calm from 499 to 449. BC. They are divided into two (the first - 492-490, the second - 480-479) or three (the first - 492, the second - 490, the third - 480-479 (449). For the Greek city-states - battles for independence. For the Achaeminid Empire - aggressive.
Trigger: Ionian revolt. The battle of the Spartans at Thermopylae has become legendary. The Battle of Salamis was a turning point. “Kalliev Mir” put an end to it.
Results: Persia lost the Aegean Sea, the coasts of the Hellespont and the Bosphorus. Recognized the freedoms of the cities of Asia Minor. The civilization of the ancient Greeks entered a time of greatest prosperity, establishing a culture that, thousands of years later, the world looked up to.
Guatemalan War (36 years)
Civil. It occurred in outbreaks from 1960 to 1996. A provocative decision made by American President Eisenhower in 1954 initiated a coup.
Cause: the fight against the “communist infection”.
Opponents: The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity bloc and the military junta.
Victims: almost 6 thousand murders were committed annually, in the 80s alone - 669 massacres, more than 200 thousand dead (83% of them were Mayan Indians), over 150 thousand went missing.
Results: Signing of the “Treaty of Lasting and Lasting Peace,” which protected the rights of 23 Native American groups.
War of the Roses (33 years)
Confrontation between the English nobility - supporters of two family branches of the Plantagenet dynasty - Lancaster and York. Lasted from 1455 to 1485.
Prerequisites: “bastard feudalism” is the privilege of the English nobility to buy off military service from the lord, in whose hands large funds were concentrated, with which he paid for an army of mercenaries, which became more powerful than the royal one.
Cause: the defeat of England in the Hundred Years' War, the impoverishment of the feudal lords, their rejection of the political course of the wife of the feeble-minded King Henry IV, hatred of her favorites.
Opposition: Duke Richard of York - considered the Lancastrian right to rule illegitimate, became regent under an incompetent monarch, became king in 1483, was killed at the Battle of Bosworth.
Results: Disturbed the balance of political forces in Europe. Led to the collapse of the Plantagenets. She placed the Welsh Tudors on the throne, who ruled England for 117 years. Cost the lives of hundreds of English aristocrats.
Thirty Years' War (30 years)
The first military conflict on a pan-European scale. Lasted from 1618 to 1648.
Opponents: two coalitions. The first is the union of the Holy Roman Empire (in fact, the Austrian Empire) with Spain and the Catholic principalities of Germany. The second is the German states, where power was in the hands of Protestant princes. They were supported by the armies of reformist Sweden and Denmark and Catholic France.
Cause: The Catholic League was afraid of the spread of the ideas of the Reformation in Europe, the Protestant Evangelical Union strived for this.
Trigger: uprising of Czech Protestants against Austrian rule.
Results: Germany's population has dropped by a third. The French army lost 80 thousand. Austria and Spain - more than 120. After the Peace Treaty of Munster in 1648, a new independent state - the Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands (Holland) - was finally established on the map of Europe.
Peloponnesian War (27 years)
There are two of them. The first is the Lesser Peloponnesian (460-445 BC). The second (431-404 BC) is the largest in the history of Ancient Hellas after the first Persian invasion of the territory of Balkan Greece. (492-490 BC).
Opponents: Peloponnesian League led by Sparta and First Marine (Delian) under the auspices of Athens.
Causes: The desire for hegemony in the Greek world of Athens and the rejection of their claims by Sparta and Corinthus.
Controversies: Athens was ruled by an oligarchy. Sparta is a military aristocracy. Ethnically, the Athenians were Ionians, the Spartans were Dorians.
In the second, 2 periods are distinguished. The first is "Archidam's War". The Spartans made land invasions of Attica. Athenians - sea raids on the Peloponnesian coast. Ended in 421 with the signing of the Treaty of Nikiaev. 6 years later it was violated by the Athenian side, which was defeated in the Battle of Syracuse. The final phase went down in history under the name Dekelei or Ionian. With the support of Persia, Sparta built a fleet and destroyed the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami.
Results: After imprisonment in April 404 BC. Feramenov's world Athens lost the fleet, razed Long walls, lost all their colonies and joined the Spartan Union.
Vietnam War (18 years old)
The Second Indochina War between Vietnam and the United States and one of the most destructive of the second half of the 20th century. Lasted from 1957 to 1975. 3 periods: South Vietnamese guerrilla (1957-1964), from 1965 to 1973 - full-scale US military operations, 1973-1975. - after the withdrawal of American troops from Viet Cong territories.
Opponents: South and North Vietnam. On the side of the South are the United States and the military bloc SEATO (South-East Asia Treaty Organization). Northern - China and the USSR.
Cause: When the communists came to power in China and Ho Chi Minh became the leader of South Vietnam, the White House administration was afraid of the communist “domino effect.” After Kennedy's assassination, Congress gave President Lyndon Johnson carte blanche to use military force with the Tonkin Resolution. And already in March 1965, two battalions of US Navy SEALs left for Vietnam. So the United States became part of the Vietnamese Civil War. They used a “search and destroy” strategy, burned out the jungle with napalm - the Vietnamese went underground and responded with guerrilla warfare.
Who benefits?: American arms corporations.
US losses: 58 thousand in combat (64% under 21 years of age) and about 150 thousand suicides of American military veterans.
Vietnamese casualties: over 1 million combatants and more than 2 civilians, in South Vietnam alone - 83 thousand amputees, 30 thousand blind, 10 thousand deaf, after Operation Ranch Hand (chemical destruction of the jungle) - congenital genetic mutations.
Results: The Tribunal of May 10, 1967 qualified US actions in Vietnam as a crime against humanity (Article 6 of the Nuremberg Statute) and prohibited the use of CBU thermite bombs as weapons of mass destruction.
Wars are as old as humanity itself. The earliest documented evidence of war dates back to a Mesolithic battle in Egypt (Cemetery 117), which occurred approximately 14,000 years ago. Wars occurred across much of the globe, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of millions of people. In our review about the bloodiest wars in the history of mankind, which must not be forgotten in any case, so as not to repeat this.
1. Biafran War of Independence
1 million dead dead
The conflict, also known as the Nigerian Civil War (July 1967 - January 1970), was caused by an attempt to secede the self-proclaimed state of Biafra (Nigeria's eastern provinces). The conflict arose as a result of political, economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions that preceded the formal decolonization of Nigeria in 1960 - 1963. Most people during the war died from hunger and various diseases.
2. Japanese invasions of Korea
1 million dead
The Japanese invasions of Korea (or Imdin War) took place between 1592 and 1598, with the initial invasion in 1592 and the second invasion in 1597, after a brief truce. The conflict ended in 1598 with the withdrawal of Japanese troops. About 1 million Koreans died, and Japanese casualties are unknown.
3. Iran-Iraq War
1 million dead
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from 1980 to 1988, making it the longest war of the 20th century. The war began when Iraq invaded Iran on September 22, 1980, and ended in a stalemate on August 20, 1988. In terms of tactics, the conflict was comparable to World War I, as it featured large-scale trench warfare, machine gun emplacements, bayonet charges, psychological pressure, and chemical weapons were also widely used.
4. Siege of Jerusalem
1.1 million dead
The oldest conflict on this list (it occurred in 73 AD) was the decisive event of the First Jewish War. The Roman army besieged and captured the city of Jerusalem, which was defended by the Jews. The siege ended with the sack of the city and the destruction of its famous Second Temple. According to historian Josephus, 1.1 million civilians died during the siege, mostly as a result of violence and starvation.
5. Korean War
1.2 million dead
Lasting from June 1950 to July 1953, the Korean War was an armed conflict that began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, led by the United States, came to the aid of South Korea while China and the Soviet Union supported North Korea. The war ended after an armistice was signed, a demilitarized zone was created and prisoners of war were exchanged. However, no peace treaty was signed and the two Koreas are technically still at war.
6. Mexican Revolution
2 million dead
The Mexican Revolution, which lasted from 1910 to 1920, radically changed the entire Mexican culture. Given that the country's population was then only 15 million, the losses were appallingly high, but estimates vary widely. Most historians agree that 1.5 million people died and nearly 200,000 refugees fled abroad. The Mexican Revolution is often categorized as the most important socio-political event in Mexico and one of the greatest social upheavals of the 20th century.
7. Chuck's conquests
2 million dead
Chaka's conquests is a term used for a series of massive and brutal conquests in South Africa, which were led by Chaka, the famous monarch of the Zulu Kingdom. In the first half of the 19th century, Chaka, at the head of a large army, invaded and plundered a number of regions in South Africa. It is estimated that up to 2 million people from indigenous tribes died.
8. Goguryeo-Sui Wars
2 million dead
Another violent conflict in Korea was the Goguryeo-Sui Wars, a series of military campaigns waged by the Chinese Sui dynasty against Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 598 to 614. These wars (which the Koreans ultimately won) were responsible for the deaths of 2 million people, and the total death toll is likely much higher because Korean civilian casualties were not counted.
9. Religious wars in France
4 million dead
Also known as the Huguenot Wars, the French Wars of Religion, fought between 1562 and 1598, were a period of civil strife and military confrontations between French Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots). The exact number of wars and their respective dates are still debated by historians, but it is estimated that up to 4 million people died.
10. Second Congo War
5.4 million million dead
Also known by several other names such as the Great African War or the African World War, the Second Congo War was the deadliest in history. modern history Africa. Nine African countries, as well as about 20 separate armed groups, were directly involved.
The war lasted five years (1998 to 2003) and resulted in 5.4 million deaths, mainly due to disease and starvation. This makes the Congo War the world's deadliest conflict since World War II.
11. Napoleonic Wars
6 million dead
Lasting between 1803 and 1815, the Napoleonic Wars were a series of major conflicts waged by the French Empire, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, against a variety of European powers formed in various coalitions. During his military career, Napoleon fought about 60 battles and lost only seven, mostly towards the end of his reign. In Europe, approximately 5 million people died, including due to disease.
12. Thirty Years' War
11.5 million million dead
The Thirty Years' War, fought between 1618 and 1648, was a series of conflicts for hegemony in Central Europe. The war became one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, and initially began as a conflict between Protestant and Catholic states in the divided Holy Roman Empire. Gradually the war escalated into a much larger conflict involving most of the great powers of Europe. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, but the most likely estimate is that about 8 million people, including civilians, died.
13. Chinese Civil War
8 million dead
The Chinese Civil War was fought between forces loyal to the Kuomintang (the political party of the Republic of China) and forces loyal to the Communist Party of China. The war began in 1927, and it essentially ended only in 1950, when major active fighting ceased. The conflict eventually led to the de facto formation of two states: the Republic of China (now known as Taiwan) and the Chinese People's Republic(China mainland). The war is remembered for its atrocities on both sides: millions of civilians were deliberately killed.
14. Civil war in Russia
12 million dead
The Russian Civil War, which lasted from 1917 to 1922, broke out as a result of the October Revolution of 1917, when many factions began to fight for power. The two largest groups were the Bolshevik Red Army and the allied forces known as the White Army. During the 5 years of war in the country, from 7 to 12 million victims were recorded, who were mainly civilians. The Russian Civil War has even been described as the greatest national disaster Europe has ever faced.
15. Tamerlane's conquests
20 million dead
Also known as Timur, Tamerlane was a famous Turko-Mongol conqueror and military leader. In the second half of the 14th century he waged brutal military campaigns in Western, South and Central Asia, the Caucasus and southern Russia. Tamerlane became the most influential ruler in the Muslim world after his victories over the Mamluks of Egypt and Syria, the emerging Ottoman Empire and the crushing defeat of the Delhi Sultanate. Scholars estimate that his military campaigns resulted in the deaths of 17 million people, about 5% of the then world population.
16. Dungan uprising
20.8 million dead
The Dungan Rebellion was mainly an ethnic and religious war that was fought between the Han Chinese (Chinese ethnic group native to East Asia) and Huizu (Chinese Muslims) in 19th century China. The riot arose due to a price dispute (when a Han merchant was not paid the required amount by a Huizu buyer for bamboo sticks). Ultimately, more than 20 million people died during the uprising, mostly due to natural disasters and conditions caused by the war, such as drought and famine.
17. Conquest of North and South America
138 million dead
European colonization of the Americas technically began in the 10th century, when Norse sailors briefly settled on the shores of what is now Canada. However, we are mainly talking about the period between 1492 and 1691. During these 200 years, tens of millions of people were killed in battles between colonizers and Native Americans, but estimates of the total death toll vary greatly due to the lack of consensus regarding the demographic size of the pre-Columbian indigenous population.
18. Rebellion of An Lushan
36 million dead
During the Tang Dynasty, China experienced another devastating war - the An Lushan Rebellion, which lasted from 755 to 763. There is no doubt that the rebellion caused a huge number of deaths and significantly reduced the population of the Tang Empire, but the exact number of deaths is difficult to estimate even in approximate terms. Some scholars estimate that up to 36 million people died during the revolt, approximately two-thirds of the empire's population and approximately 1/6 of the world's population.
19. First World War
18 million dead
The First World War (July 1914 - November 1918) was a global conflict that arose in Europe and gradually involved all the economically developed powers of the world, which united into two opposing alliances: the Entente and the Central Powers. The total death toll was about 11 million military personnel and about 7 million civilians. About two-thirds of the deaths during the First World War occurred directly in battle, in contrast to the conflicts that took place in the 19th century, when most deaths were due to disease.
20. Taiping Rebellion
30 million dead
This rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War, lasted in China from 1850 to 1864. The war was fought between the ruling Manchu Qing dynasty and the Christian movement "Heavenly Kingdom of Peace". Although no census was kept at the time, most reliable estimates place the total number of deaths during the uprising at around 20 - 30 million civilians and soldiers. Most deaths were attributed to plague and famine.
21. Conquest of the Ming Dynasty by the Qing Dynasty
25 million dead
The Manchu Conquest of China was a period of conflict between the Qing dynasty (the Manchu dynasty ruling northeast China) and the Ming dynasty (the Chinese dynasty ruling the south of the country). The war that ultimately led to the fall of the Ming was responsible for the deaths of approximately 25 million people.
22. Second Sino-Japanese War
30 million dead
The war, fought between 1937 and 1945, was an armed conflict between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor (1941), the war effectively became World War II. It became the largest Asian war of the 20th century, killing up to 25 million Chinese and more than 4 million Chinese and Japanese troops.
23. Wars of the Three Kingdoms
40 million dead
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms - a series of armed conflicts in ancient China(220-280 years). During these wars, three states - Wei, Shu and Wu competed for power in the country, trying to unite the peoples and take control of them. One of the bloodiest periods in Chinese history was marked by a series of brutal battles that could lead to the deaths of up to 40 million people.
24. Mongol conquests
70 million dead
Mongol conquests progressed throughout the 13th century, resulting in the vast Mongol Empire conquering most Asia and Eastern Europe. Historians consider the period of Mongol raids and invasions to be one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. Additionally, the bubonic plague spread throughout much of Asia and Europe during this time. The total number of deaths during the conquests is estimated at 40 - 70 million people.
25. World War II
85 million dead
The Second World War (1939 - 1945) was global: the vast majority of countries in the world took part in it, including all the great powers. It was the most massive war in history, with more than 100 million people from more than 30 countries taking direct part in it.
It was marked by mass civilian deaths, including due to the Holocaust and strategic bombing of industrial and population centers, resulting in (according to various estimates) the deaths of between 60 million and 85 million people. As a result, World War II became the deadliest conflict in human history.
However, as history shows, man harms himself throughout his existence. What are they worth?
