World war

A world war is a military conflict affecting the majority of the world's countries. World wars usually span multiple continents, and are very bloody and destructive.

Candidates for the title of "World War"

With the definition of a world war so flexible any list of world wars is somewhat subjective and could include just two wars (World War I and World War II) or as many as eleven. The following briefly outlines potential world wars:

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War of the League of Augsburg (1688–1697)

The War of the League of Augsburg was fought by Palatinate, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Spain, Sweden, United Provinces, and England against France, and to a degree the Ottoman Empire. The war was fought in North America and Europe.

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War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714)

The War of the Spanish Succession was fought by Great Britain, Spain, German and Italian States against France.

Related Topics:
War of the Spanish Succession - Great Britain - Spain - France

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This war was fought in Europe and North America.

Related Topics:
Europe - North America

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War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748)

The War of the Austrian Succession was fought by Prussia, Great Britain Austria, Sardinia, Sweden and the Netherlands against France, Russia, Bavaria, Spain and Saxony.

Related Topics:
War of the Austrian Succession - Prussia - Great Britain - Austria - Sardinia - Sweden - Netherlands - France - Russia - Bavaria - Spain - Saxony

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The war was fought in India and North America as well as Europe.

Related Topics:
India - North America - Europe

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Seven Years' War (1754–1763)

The Seven Years' War was fought by Great Britain, Prussia, Portugal and Hanover against France, Sweden, Spain, Austria, Saxony The Netherlands and Russia.

Related Topics:
Seven Years' War - Great Britain - Prussia - Portugal - Hanover - France - Sweden - Spain - Austria - Saxony - Netherlands - Russia

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Churchill, in his history, called this the First World War.

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Fighting occurred in India, the Philippines, North America, Africa and the Caribbean as well as Europe. This world war was also the first not to start in Europe. It started in the Ohio River Valley in present day United States.

Related Topics:
India - Philippines - North America - Africa - Caribbean - Europe - Ohio River Valley - United States

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American Revolutionary War (1775–1784)

The American Revolutionary War was fought by Great Britain, Madras, and minor German States against France, Kingdom of Mysore, The Netherlands, Spain, Sardinia and the United States of America.

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French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) and Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815)

Somtimes called the Great French War, the series of wars fought between France and various allies and a number of alliances formed by Great Britain, the Russian Empire and other european powers were global in extent. The first of these wars, the French Revolutionary Wars, were fought by France and the Batavian Republic against Naples, Austria, Prussia, Great Britain, Sardinia, Portugal, The Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Russian Empire and Ottoman Empire in Africa and Europe. This first stage of hostilities ceased with the Treaty of Amiens (1802).

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The later Napoleonic Wars were fought by France against Great Britain, Spain, Austria, the German states of the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, The Netherlands, Saxony, Prussia, Russian Empire and Piedmont. Simultaneously the United States of America, which did not support France, was involved in the War of 1812 between it and the United Kingdom. This is considered part of the fighting of the greater war.

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The war was fought in North America, Europe, Africa, South-East Asia, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Indian Ocean.

Related Topics:
North America - Europe - Africa - South-East Asia - Atlantic Ocean - Pacific Ocean - Indian Ocean

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This war was a series of wars, allied nations came in and out and not all remained for the duration of this world war. Many consider the Battle of Waterloo to be the last battle of this war.

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World War I (1914–1918)

The First World War, also known as the Great War, was a world conflict occurring from 1914 to 1918. No previous conflict had mobilized so many soldiers or involved so many in the field of battle. Never before had casualties been so high. Chemical weapons were used for the first time, the first mass bombardment of civilians from the sky was executed, and some of the century's first large-scale civilian massacres took place. Four dynasties, the Habsburgs, the Romanovs, the Ottomans and the Hohenzollerns, who had roots of power back to the days of the Crusades, all fell after the war.

Related Topics:
First World War - 1914 - 1918 - Chemical weapon - Civilian massacres - Habsburg - Romanov - Ottoman - Hohenzollern - Crusade

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World War I proved to be the decisive break with the old world order, marking the final demise of absolutist monarchy in Europe. It would prove the catalyst for the Russian Revolution, which would inspire later revolutions in countries as diverse as China and Cuba, and would lay the basis for the Cold War standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States. The defeat of Germany in the war and failure to resolve the unsettled issues that had caused the Great War would lay the basis for the rise of Nazism, and thus the outbreak of World War II in 1939. It also laid the basis for a new form of warfare that relied heavily on technology, and would involve non-combatants in war as never before.

Related Topics:
World order - Absolutist - Monarchy - Europe - Russian Revolution - China - Cuba - Cold War - Soviet Union - United States - Germany - Nazism - World War II - 1939 - Technology

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World War I became infamous for trench warfare, where huge numbers of troops were confined to trenches and could move little because of tight defenses. This was especially true of the Western Front. Over 9 million died on the battlefield, and nearly that many more on the home front due to food shortages, genocide, and ground combat.

Related Topics:
Trench warfare - Western Front

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World War II (1939–1945)

World War II was a global conflict that started on 7 July 1937 in Asia and 1 September 1939 in Europe and lasted until 1945, involving the majority of the world's states and every inhabited continent. Virtually all countries that participated in World War I were involved in World War II. It was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the World.

Related Topics:
World War II - 7 July - 1937 - Asia - 1 September - 1939 - Europe - 1945 - State - Continent - Armed conflict - History of the World

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Attributed in varying degrees to the Treaty of Versailles, the Great Depression, nationalism, and militarism, the causes of the war are a matter of debate. On which date the war began is also debated, cited as either the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, the Japanese invasion of China on 7 July 1937 (the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War), or earlier yet the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Still others argue that the two world wars are one conflict separated only by a "ceasefire".

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Fighting occurred across the Atlantic Ocean, in Western and Eastern Europe, in the Mediterranean Sea, Africa, the Middle East, in the Pacific and South East Asia, and it continued in China. In Europe, the war ended with the surrender of Germany on 8 May 1945 (V-E and Victory Days), but continued in Asia until Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945 (V-J Day).

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Approximately 57 million people died as a result of the war, including acts of genocide such as the Holocaust. As a case of total war, it involved the "home front" and bombing of civilians to a new degree. Nuclear weapons, jet aircraft, and RADAR are only a few of many war-time inventions.

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The Cold War

The Cold War, a series of conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II, spanned six continents. The principal powers never attacked each other directly but supported opposing proxies in various foreign wars, notably the Korean War, the Second Indochina War, and the Afghan-Soviet War. Some analysts, such as Norman Friedman, have described it as World War III.

Related Topics:
Cold War - Continent - Korean War - Second Indochina War - Afghan-Soviet War - World War III

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◄ World war: Classification as a world war

~ Table of Content ~

►	Introduction
►	Classification as a world war
►	Candidates for the title of "World War"

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