The largest wars in history. How many wars have happened in the history of mankind?

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 the Imdin War) occurred 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 involved large-scale trench warfare, machine gun emplacements, bayonet charges, psychological pressure, and extensive use of chemical weapons.

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
The Chaka Conquests is the term used for the series of massive and brutal conquests in South Africa 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 modern African history. 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 Chinese Communist Party. 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 People's Republic of China (mainland China). 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 primarily an ethnic and religious war fought between the Han (a Chinese ethnic group native to East Asia) and the 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 were a series of armed conflicts in ancient China (220-280). 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 much of 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?

Winston Churchill said that war is mostly a catalog of blunders.

We invite you to get acquainted with the most famous wars that resulted from the struggle for territory or the desire for world domination. These large-scale armed conflicts forever changed the course of historical events.

The most significant wars

Battle of Constantinople

After Constantine refused to surrender the city voluntarily and receive possession of the Peloponnese Peninsula as a reward, the Turks began to attack. They dug under the wall, filled up a ditch with water around the city, besieged the walls, but all their attacks were courageously repelled by the soldiers of Constantinople.

The city was defended from 250 thousand enemy soldiers by 7,000 people under the leadership of Constantine XII Palaiologos. The Turks decided to take a strategic pause to strengthen themselves, and then began a siege of the city from the sea and from land.

The exhausted Constantinople citizens could not withstand the onslaught: many soldiers left the fortress. In just a few days, the Turks captured Constantinople and killed everyone who refused to submit to them.

Battle of American Independence

The document stated that all trade transactions in America should be taxed in favor of the English crown, that is, the American people should pay into the British treasury. This measure was taken to reduce the UK's external debt.

The discussion of these conditions took place without the presence of the American side. The act was repealed after a wave of protests from American residents. Then, in 1767, England imposed a tax on lead, glass, tea, paints and paper imported into the American colonies.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the British kingdom, the Americans began to develop a revolutionary plan to gain independence from England. But there was no unity among them. The population was divided into three sides - “patriots”, “loyalists” and those who took neutrality.

“Patriots” included people of the middle and lower classes of society who advocated American independence. The “loyalists” included wealthy people who were afraid of losing their acquired capital and opposed the revolution. Only the Religious Society of Pennsylvania took a neutral position.

The first armed attack that marked the beginning of hostilities occurred on April 19, 1775. 700 British soldiers were to seize weapons from American separatists. During the short battles, the “patriots” retreated, but the British army suffered significant losses.

For 8 years, America fought for its independence, until in April 1782 the British House of Commons voted to end the war. The United States was officially recognized as a sovereign state on September 3, 1783.

World Wars

Seven Years' War

War in Europe broke out over Silesia (located in modern Poland), which had previously belonged to the Austrians but was reconquered by the Prussians in 1748. Overseas, the cause of the armed conflict was the struggle for the territories of English and French colonists. In 1757, the Russian Empire entered the Seven Years' War.

The command of the troops was headed by Pyotr Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev. For his victory in the battle of Kunersdorf (in Silesia), he was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky as the best commander of the Russian army.

Over the course of 7 years, 400 thousand soldiers died due to fighting in Austria, 262 thousand in Prussia, 169 thousand in France, 20 thousand in England, 138 thousand in the Russian Empire. The Seven Years' War ended in early 1763 as a result of the complete exhaustion of the warring parties.

Franco-Prussian War

After 4 years of hostilities, on May 10, 1871, a peace treaty was signed between the warring countries in Frankfurt. The terms of the treaty stipulated that Germany must liberate colonial possessions in France, Denmark and Belgium. Thus, the German state lost 13.5% (73.5 thousand square kilometers) of its territories with a population of 7.3 million people.

World War I

Two military-political blocs of states entered into confrontation: the Quadruple Alliance and the Entente. The Quadruple Alliance included Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. The Entente was represented by the Russian Empire, the French Republic and the British Empire.

10 million people died in the First World War. The losses of the Russian Empire amounted to more than one and a half million people. About 5 million were wounded and 2.5 million were captured by the enemy.

The First World War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles by the rulers of Germany. Later, peace treaties were concluded with Austria (Treaty of Saint-Germain), Bulgaria (Treaty of Neuilly), Hungary (Treaty of Trianon) and Turkey (Treaty of Sèvres).

The Second World War

On June 22, 1941, Germany, along with its allies - Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, Finland and Romania - attacked the Soviet Union without warning. The invasion of the USSR by German troops marked the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. The victims of this four-year confrontation were 27 million people.

In total, more than 60 million people died in World War II, and total material damage amounted to $4 trillion. International ties between the warring states were disrupted.

After Germany was defeated in 1945, Adolf Hitler was accused of crimes against humanity and a desire for world domination. On April 30, 1945, the Fuhrer, together with his wife Eva Braun, committed suicide.

World War II is the only armed conflict in history in which nuclear weapons were used against people. On August 6 and 9, 1945, to speed up Japan's surrender, the US military dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The nuclear attack claimed the lives, according to various sources, from 90 to 160 thousand people. Japan finally surrendered on September 2, 1945.

Talk about World War III

According to one version, the cause of the war will be dwindling supplies of fresh water. Others speak out about the imminent overpopulation of the planet, and then territories will become a prerequisite for war. Still others believe that the battle may begin due to the aggressive desire of the next dictator to conquer the whole world.

Before getting involved in armed confrontation, you should look back. History provides many examples that prove that military conflicts are not the best way to resolve international issues. Millions of civilians and military personnel suffer and die, and the economies of the warring countries are destroyed.

Fortunately, some wars are short-lived, sometimes only a few minutes. The website has a detailed article about the shortest military confrontations.
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According to historians, over the entire history of mankind there have been more than 15 thousand wars in which up to 3.5 billion people died. We can say that humanity has always fought throughout its history. Historians have calculated that over the past 5.5 thousand years, people have been able to live in peace for only an insignificant 300 years, that is, it turns out that in each century civilization lived in peace for only a week.

How many people died in the wars of the twentieth century?

It is not possible to accurately determine the number of deaths in wars; records were not kept in all cases, and estimates of the number of deaths are only approximate. It is also difficult to separate the direct victims of war from the indirect ones. One of the attempts to estimate this number was made by the Russian historian Vadim Erlikhman in his work “Population Losses in the 20th Century.” Having compiled a list of wars, he tried to find data on the number of victims for each. According to his calculations, human losses directly related to the wars of the 20th century amount to 126 million people worldwide (including deaths from disease, hunger and captivity). But this figure cannot be considered firmly established. Below are data from the same work.

Throughout his history, man has tried to destroy his own kind and came up with more and more sophisticated ways to do this. From a stone club, a spear and a bow to an atomic bomb, combat gases and bacteriological weapons. All this is aimed at only one thing - to destroy as many of their own kind as possible in the most rational way. We can say only one thing: in the entire history of human civilization, violence, and especially armed violence, has played an important role and even been a kind of engine of progress. Today, man continues the “glorious traditions”: weapons are used even before peaceful solutions have been exhausted.

There are several main stages in the development of wars and the art of war: five important stages of wars can be distinguished, although another classification can be applied: wars of the pre-nuclear and nuclear period. The main milestones in the change of generations of wars coincided with qualitative leaps in economic development, which led to the creation of new types of weapons and a change in forms and methods of armed struggle.

The stages of wars of the pre-nuclear period are associated with the development of human society, its technological development and correlates with leaps in the development of humanity itself. The first serious leap in the development of military conflicts was the use of new types of bladed weapons instead of the usual sticks and stones characteristic of Stone Age people. Bows, arrows, swords and spears enter the stage of history. With similar weapons, maybe only slightly modernized, people destroyed each other for several thousand years. Wars of the first generation in historical terms have already acted as a way to resolve contradictions, but they could also be of a pronounced political nature. Their origin should be attributed to the tribal, clan and family-patriarchal stages of human development with the inherent exchange of labor results within the tribe, clan and the development of commodity relations into commodity-money relations.

The wars of the first generation took place during the slaveholding and feudal period of the development of society, at a time when the development of production was very weak, but nevertheless, even then, wars were a means of implementing the policies of the ruling classes. Armed struggle in these wars was carried out at the tactical level of units exclusively of manpower - foot soldiers and cavalry, equipped with bladed weapons. The main goal of such military operations was the destruction of enemy troops. In such wars, the warrior, his physical fitness, endurance, courage and fighting spirit came to the fore. This era occupies an important place in human history, it is sung in songs and covered in legends. The time of heroes and myths. It was during this era that Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans fought, Alexander the Great and his Macedonians fought, and Hannibal and Spartacus led their troops into battle. All these events are certainly beautifully described in books and Hollywood films, but it hardly looked beautiful in reality. Especially for those people who were directly involved in them or civilians who became victims of these conflicts. The peasants, whose crops were trampled by the knight's cavalry and who were therefore doomed to starvation, were unlikely to care for romance. This stage in the development of mankind lasted a very long time - this is probably the longest stage in the history of the development of wars and the art of war. From the very beginning of human history to the 12-13th century AD, it was completed by the new invention of the human mind - gunpowder. After this, it became possible to recruit larger armies with less trained fighters - to wield a musket or arquebus did not require many years of training, which went into training a master swordsman or archer.

The forms and methods of waging wars of the second generation were determined by the revolution in military affairs associated with the development of material production in feudal society. In the 12-13th century, firearms came to the forefront of history - various muskets, arquebuses, cannons and arquebuses. At first, this weapon was cumbersome and imperfect. But its appearance immediately led to a real revolution in military affairs - now the fortress walls of feudal castles could no longer be a reliable defense - siege weapons swept them away. For example, it was thanks to huge siege weapons that the Turks were able to take Constantinople in 1453, a city that had previously successfully repelled all attacks on its walls for almost a thousand years. Firearms of this era, especially its beginning, were very ineffective, they were smooth-bore, so there is simply no need to talk about shooting accuracy, they were very large and difficult to manufacture. In addition, it had a very low rate of fire. The bow shot much faster and more accurately. But it took years to train an archer, and a musket could be given into the hands of a former peasant and in the shortest possible time he could be trained as a musketeer. In addition, at this time the importance of heavy armor immediately dropped - firearms could easily penetrate any armor. We can say that the brilliant time of the knights has sunk into oblivion. Typical representatives of this era include D’Artagnan and his three comrades, as well as the Ukrainian Cossacks; their weapons and battle tactics are characteristic of that era and the second stage of armed conflicts.

The third stage in the development of military affairs is directly related to the capitalist, industrial system, which replaced the feudal one in the countries of the Old World. It was he who contributed to progress in technology, the emergence of new means of production and new scientific inventions, which restless humanity immediately put on a war footing. The next stage in armed conflicts is also associated with firearms, or rather with their further improvement and improvement. Rifling appears in the barrel, thereby significantly increasing the accuracy of fire, increasing the range of the guns and their rate of fire. Many landmark inventions were made that remain in demand today - a cartridge with a sleeve was invented, loading from the breech of a weapon, and others. The inventions of the machine gun, revolver and many other iconic weapons date back to this period. The weapon became multi-charged and one warrior could destroy a large number of enemies at once. Wars began to be fought from trenches and other shelters and required the creation of multimillion-dollar armies. The bloody apotheosis of this stage in the development of wars was the bloody madness of the First World War.

The further development of weapons and the emergence of new types of them - combat aircraft and tanks, as well as the improvement of communications, improved logistics and other innovations led to the transition of military operations to a new stage - this is how fourth-generation wars arose - a prominent example of which is the Second World War. In principle, many features of this war have retained their relevance for the actions of ground forces to this day. But in addition, the end of World War II was marked by the invention of nuclear weapons. Many experts consider a war involving such weapons to be completely outside the scope of classification, because in a nuclear war there will simply be no winners and losers. Although other military analysts classify nuclear weapons as fifth-generation wars. Their signs include the development of nuclear weapons and means of delivering them to the target.

Sixth generation wars are associated with the development of precision weapons and the ability to kill at a distance, the so-called non-contact war. In addition, in many cases it is not the enemy troops that are destroyed, but the entire infrastructure of the state. This is what we saw in Serbia and Iraq. With the help of aviation and cruise missiles, air defense systems are destroyed, and then life support facilities on the territory of the state are systematically destroyed. The concept of “rear” in this stage of wars and with such tactics is simply absent. Communications, bridges, and industrial facilities are being destroyed in the state. The economy is in decline. The strikes are accompanied by powerful information pressure and political provocations. The state with its institutions simply ceases to exist.

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Invaders came from both the West and the East. They spoke different languages, they had different weapons. But their goals were the same - to ruin and plunder the country, to kill or take its inhabitants into captivity and slavery.

Today, in connection with this holiday, we decided to remember the most significant battles in the history of our Fatherland. If we forgot something, you can write it in the comments.

1. Defeat of the Khazar Kaganate (965)

The Khazar Khaganate was for a long time the main rival of the Russian state. The unification of Slavic tribes around Rus', many of which had previously been dependent on Khazaria, could not but increase tension in relations between the two powers.

In 965, Prince Svyatoslav subjugated the Khazar Khaganate to his power, and then organized a campaign against the strong tribal union of the Vyatichi, who paid tribute to the Khazars. Svyatoslav Igorevich defeated the Kagan’s army in battle and raided his entire state, from the Volga to the North Caucasus. Important Khazar cities were annexed to Rus' - the fortress of Sarkel (White Vezha) on the Don, which controlled the route from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea (now at the bottom of the Tsimlyansk Reservoir), and the port of Tmutarakan on the Taman Peninsula. The Black Sea Khazars fell into the sphere of Russian influence. The remnants of the Kaganate on the Volga were destroyed in the 11th century by the Polovtsians.

2. Battle of the Neva (1240)

The Novgorod prince was only 19 years old when, in the summer of 1240, Swedish ships, probably led by Birger Magnusson, entered the mouth of the Neva. Knowing that Novgorod was deprived of the support of the southern principalities, the Swedes, instructed from Rome, hoped, at a minimum, to seize all the lands north of the Neva, simultaneously converting both pagans and Orthodox Karelians to Catholicism.

The young Novgorod prince led a lightning attack by his squad and destroyed the Swedes' camp before they had time to strengthen it. When getting ready for the campaign, Alexander was in such a hurry that he did not gather all the Novgorodians who wanted to join, believing that speed would be decisive, and he turned out to be right. In the battle, Alexander fought in the front ranks.

The decisive victory over superior forces brought Prince Alexander great fame and the honorary nickname - Nevsky.

However, the Novgorod boyars feared the growing influence of the prince and tried to remove him from governing the city. Alexander soon left Novgorod, but a year later the threat of a new war forced the Novgorodians to turn to him again.

3. Battle of the Ice (1242)

In 1242, German knights from the Livonian Order captured Pskov and approached Novgorod. The Novgorodians, who had quarreled with Prince Alexander a year before, turned to him for help and again transferred power to him. The prince gathered an army, expelled the enemies from the Novgorod and Pskov lands and went to Lake Peipsi.

On the ice of the lake in 1242, in a battle known as the Battle of the Ice, Alexander Yaroslavich destroyed an army of German knights. The Russian riflemen, despite the onslaught of the Germans who were breaking through the regiments in the center, bravely resisted the attackers. This courage helped the Russians surround the knights from the flanks and win. Pursuing the survivors for seven miles, Alexander showed the firmness of the Russian army. Victory in the battle led to the signing of a peace agreement between Novgorod and the Livonian Order.

4. Battle of Kulikovo (1380)

The Battle of Kulikovo, which took place on September 8, 1380, was a turning point that showed the strength of the united Russian army and the ability of Rus' to resist the Horde.

The conflict between Mamai and Dmitry Donskoy became more and more aggravated. The Principality of Moscow strengthened, Rus' won many victories over the troops of the Horde. Donskoy did not listen to Mamai when he gave Prince Mikhail Tverskoy a label for Vladimir, and then stopped paying tribute to the Horde. All this could not help but lead Mamai to the idea of ​​the need for a quick victory over the enemy who was gaining strength.

In 1378, he sent an army against Dmitry, but it was defeated on the Vozha River. Soon Mamai lost influence on the Volga lands due to the invasion of Tokhtamysh. In 1380, the Horde commander decided to attack the Donskoy army in order to completely defeat his forces.

On September 8, 1380, when the armies clashed, it became clear that there would be a lot of losses on both sides. The legendary exploits of Alexander Peresvet, Mikhail Brenk and Dmitry Donskoy were described in “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev.” The turning point for the battle was the moment when Bobrok ordered to delay the ambush regiment, and then cut off the retreat of the Tatars who had broken through to the river. The Horde cavalry was driven into the river and destroyed, meanwhile the remaining forces mixed up other enemy troops, and the Horde began to retreat in disorder. Mamai fled, realizing that he no longer had the strength to continue the fight. According to various estimates, on September 8, 1380, from 40 to 70 thousand Russians and from 90 to 150 thousand Horde troops fought in the decisive battle. The victory of Dmitry Donskoy significantly weakened the Golden Horde, which predetermined its further collapse.

5. Standing on the Ugra (1480)

This event marks the end of the Horde's influence on the politics of the Russian princes.

In 1480, after Ivan III tore up the khan's label, Khan Akhmat, having concluded an alliance with the Lithuanian prince Casimir, moved to Rus'. Seeking to unite with the Lithuanian army, on October 8 he approached the Ugra River, a tributary of the Oka. Here he was met by the Russian army.

Akhmat's attempt to cross the Ugra was repulsed in a four-day battle. Then the khan began to wait for the Lithuanians. Ivan III, in order to gain time, began negotiations with him. At this time, the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray, an ally of Moscow, attacked the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which did not allow Casimir to help Akhmat. On October 20, the regiments of his brothers, Boris and Andrei Bolshoi, came to reinforce Ivan III. Having learned about this, Akhmat turned his army back to the steppe on November 11. Soon Akhmat was killed in the Horde. So Rus' finally broke the Horde yoke and gained independence.

6. Battle of Molodi (1572)

On July 29, 1572, the Battle of Molodi began - a battle whose outcome decided the course of Russian history.

The situation before the battle was very unfavorable. The main forces of the Russian army were stuck in a fierce struggle in the west with Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was possible to gather only a small zemstvo army and guardsmen under the command of Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky and governor Dmitry Ivanovich Khvorostinin against the Tatars. They were joined by a 7,000-strong detachment of German mercenaries and Don Cossacks. The total number of Russian troops was 20,034 people.

To fight the Tatar cavalry, Prince Vorotynsky decided to use the “walk-city” - a mobile fortress, behind the walls of which archers and gunners took refuge. Russian troops not only stopped the enemy, which was six times superior, but also put him to flight. The Crimean-Turkish army of Devlet-Girey was almost completely destroyed.

Only 20 thousand horsemen returned to Crimea, and none of the Janissaries escaped. The Russian army, including the oprichnina army, also suffered heavy losses. In the fall of 1572, the oprichnina regime was abolished. The heroic victory of the Russian army in the Battle of Molodin - the last major battle between Rus' and the Steppe - was of enormous geopolitical significance. Moscow was saved from complete destruction, and the Russian state from defeat and loss of independence. Russia retained control over the entire course of the Volga, the most important trade and transport artery. The Nogai horde, convinced of the weakness of the Crimean Khan, broke away from him.

7. Battle of Moscow (1612)

The Battle of Moscow became the decisive episode of the Time of Troubles. The occupation of Moscow was lifted by the forces of the Second Militia, led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. The garrison, completely blocked in the Kremlin and Kitay-Gorod, having received no help from King Sigismund III, began to experience an acute shortage of provisions, it even reached the point of cannibalism. On October 26, the remnants of the occupation detachment surrendered to the mercy of the winner.

Moscow was liberated. “The hope of taking possession of the entire Moscow state collapsed irrevocably,” wrote a Polish chronicler.

8. Battle of Poltava (1709)

On June 27, 1709, the general battle of the Northern War took place near Poltava with the participation of 37,000-strong Swedish and 60,000-strong Russian armies. Little Russian Cossacks participated in the battle on both sides, but most fought for the Russians. The Swedish army was almost completely destroyed. Charles XII and Mazepa fled to Turkish possessions in Moldavia.

Sweden's military forces were undermined, and its army was forever left among the best in the world. After the Battle of Poltava, Russia's superiority became obvious. Denmark and Poland resumed participation in the Nordic Alliance. Soon the end of Swedish domination in the Baltic was put to an end.

9. Battle of Chesma (1770)

The decisive naval battle in Chesme Bay took place at the height of the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774.

Despite the fact that the balance of forces in the battle was 30/73 (not in favor of the Russian fleet), the competent command of Alexei Orlov and the valor of our sailors allowed the Russians to gain strategic superiority in the battle.

The Turkish flagship Burj u Zafer was set on fire, followed by many more ships of the Turkish fleet.

Chesmen was a triumph for the Russian fleet, secured the blockade of the Dardanelles and seriously disrupted Turkish communications in the Aegean Sea.

10. Battle of Kozludzhi (1774)

During the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, Russia achieved another important victory. The Russian army under the command of Alexander Suvorov and Mikhail Kamensky near the city of Kozludzha (now Suvorovo in Bulgaria), with an unequal balance of forces (24 thousand versus 40 thousand), was able to win. Alexander Suvorov managed to knock the Turks out of the hill and put them to flight without even resorting to a bayonet attack. This victory largely determined the outcome of the Russian-Turkish war and forced the Ottoman Empire to sign a peace treaty.

11. Capture of Ishmael (1790)

On December 22, 1790, Russian troops under the command of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov stormed the previously impregnable Turkish fortress of Izmail.

Shortly before the war, with the help of French and German engineers, Izmail was turned into a fairly powerful fortress. Defended by a large garrison, it withstood two sieges undertaken by Russian troops without any particular difficulties.

Suvorov took command just 8 days before the final assault. He devoted all the remaining time to training soldiers. The troops trained to overcome obstacles and ramparts specially created near the Russian camp, and practiced hand-to-hand combat techniques on stuffed animals.

A day before the assault, a powerful artillery shelling of the city began from all guns. It was fired upon both from land and sea.

At 3 a.m., long before dawn, a flare was launched. This was a sign of preparation for the assault. Russian troops left the location and formed into three detachments of three columns.

At half past five the soldiers launched an attack. The fortress was attacked from all sides at once. By four o'clock the resistance was completely suppressed in all parts of the city - the impregnable fortress fell.

The Russians lost more than 2,000 soldiers killed and about 3,000 wounded in the battle. Significant losses. But they could not be compared with the losses of the Turks - they only lost about 26,000 people killed. The news of the capture of Ishmael spread throughout Europe like lightning.

The Turks realized the complete futility of further resistance and signed the Treaty of Jassy the following year. They renounced claims to Crimea and a protectorate over Georgia, and ceded part of the Black Sea region to Russia. The border between the Russian and Ottoman empires moved towards the Dniester. True, Ishmael had to be returned back to the Turks.

In honor of the capture of Izmail, Derzhavin and Kozlovsky wrote the song “Thunder of Victory, Ring Out!” Until 1816 it remained the unofficial anthem of the Empire.

12. Battle of Cape Tendra (1790)

The commander of the Turkish squadron, Hasan Pasha, managed to convince the Sultan of the imminent defeat of the Russian navy, and at the end of August 1790 he moved the main forces to Cape Tendra (not far from modern Odessa). However, for the anchored Turkish fleet, the rapid approach of the Russian squadron under the command of Fyodor Ushakov was an unpleasant surprise. Despite the superiority in the number of ships (45 versus 37), the Turkish fleet tried to flee. However, by that time, Russian ships had already attacked the front line of the Turks. Ushakov managed to remove all the flagship ships of the Turkish fleet from the battle and thereby demoralize the rest of the enemy squadron. The Russian fleet did not lose a single ship.

13. Battle of Borodino (1812)

On August 26, 1812, significant forces of the French and Russian armies clashed in the battle near the village of Borodino, 125 kilometers west of Moscow. The regular troops under the command of Napoleon numbered about 137 thousand people, the army of Mikhail Kutuzov with the Cossacks and militia that joined it reached 120 thousand. The rugged terrain made it possible to move reserves unnoticed, and to install artillery batteries on hills.

On August 24, Napoleon approached the Shevardinsky redoubt, which stood near the village of the same name, three miles in front of the Borodino field.

The Battle of Borodino began a day after the battle at the Shevardinsky redoubt and became the largest battle in the War of 1812. The losses on both sides were colossal: the French lost 28 thousand people, the Russians - 46.5 thousand.

Although Kutuzov gave the order to retreat to Moscow after the battle, in his report to Alexander I he called the Russian army the winner of the battle. Many Russian historians think so.

French scientists see the battle at Borodino differently. In their opinion, “in the Battle of the Moscow River” Napoleonic troops won. Napoleon himself, reflecting on the results of the battle, said: “The French showed themselves worthy of victory, and the Russians acquired the right to be invincible.”

14. Battle of Elisavetpol (1826)

One of the key episodes of the Russian-Persian War of 1826-1828 was the battle near Elisavetpol (now the Azerbaijani city of Ganja). The victory then achieved by Russian troops under the command of Ivan Paskevich over the Persian army of Abbas Mirza became an example of military leadership. Paskevich managed to use the confusion of the Persians who had fallen into the ravine to launch a counterattack. Despite the superior enemy forces (35 thousand against 10 thousand), the Russian regiments began to push back Abbas Mirza’s army along the entire front of the attack. The losses of the Russian side amounted to 46 killed, the Persians were missing 2,000 people.

15. Capture of Erivan (1827)

The fall of the fortified city of Erivan was the culmination of numerous Russian attempts to establish control over the Transcaucasus. Built in the middle of the 16th century, the fortress was considered impregnable and more than once became a stumbling block for the Russian army. Ivan Paskevich managed to competently besiege the city from three sides, placing cannons along the entire perimeter. “The Russian artillery acted wonderfully,” recalled the Armenians remaining in the fortress. Paskevich knew exactly where the Persian positions were located. On the eighth day of the siege, Russian soldiers burst into the city and dealt with the fortress garrison with bayonets.

16. Battle of Sarykamysh (1914)

By December 1914, during the First World War, Russia occupied a 350 km front from the Black Sea to Lake Van, while a significant part of the Caucasian Army was pushed forward - deep into Turkish territory. Turkey had a tempting plan to outflank the Russian forces, thereby cutting the Sarykamysh-Kars railway.

The tenacity and initiative of the Russians who defended Sarakamysh played a decisive role in the operation, the success of which literally hung by a thread. Unable to take Sarykamysh on the move, two Turkish corps fell into the arms of an icy cold, which became fatal for them.

Turkish troops lost 10 thousand people due to frostbite in just one day, December 14th.

The last Turkish attempt to take Sarykamysh on December 17 was repulsed by Russian counterattacks and ended in failure. At this point, the offensive impulse of the Turkish troops, suffering from frosts and poor supplies, was exhausted.

The turning point has arrived. On the same day, the Russians launched a counteroffensive and pushed the Turks back from Sarykamysh. The Turkish military leader Enver Pasha decided to intensify the frontal attack and transferred the main blow to Karaurgan, which was defended by parts of the Sarykamysh detachment of General Berkhman. But here, too, the fierce attacks of the 11th Turkish Corps, advancing on Sarykamysh from the front, were repelled.

On December 19, Russian troops advancing near Sarykamysh completely surrounded the 9th Turkish Corps, frozen by snow storms. Its remnants, after stubborn three-day battles, capitulated. Units of the 10th Corps managed to retreat, but were defeated near Ardahan.

On December 25, General N.N. Yudenich became commander of the Caucasian Army, who gave the order to launch a counteroffensive near Karaurgan. Having thrown back the remnants of the 3rd Army by 30–40 km by January 5, 1915, the Russians stopped the pursuit, which was carried out in a 20-degree cold. And there was almost no one to pursue.

Enver Pasha's troops lost 78 thousand people (over 80% of their personnel) killed, frozen, wounded and captured. Russian losses amounted to 26 thousand people (killed, wounded, frostbitten).

The victory at Sarykamysh stopped Turkish aggression in Transcaucasia and strengthened the position of the Caucasian Army.

17. Brusilovsky breakthrough (1916)

One of the most important operations on the Eastern Front in 1916 was the offensive on the Southwestern Front, designed not only to turn the tide of military operations on the Eastern Front, but also to cover the Allied offensive on the Somme. The result was the Brusilov breakthrough, which significantly undermined the military power of the Austro-Hungarian army and pushed Romania to enter the war on the side of the Entente.

The offensive operation of the Southwestern Front under the command of General Alexei Brusilov, carried out from May to September 1916, became, according to military historian Anton Kersnovsky, “a victory such as we have never won in a world war.” The number of forces that were involved on both sides is also impressive - 1,732,000 Russian soldiers and 1,061,000 soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian and German armies.

18. Khalkhin-Gol operation

Since the beginning of 1939, several incidents between the Mongols and the Japanese-Manchus occurred in the area of ​​​​the border between the Mongolian People's Republic (on whose territory, in accordance with the Soviet-Mongolian protocol of 1936, Soviet troops were located) and the puppet state of Manchukuo, which was actually controlled by Japan. Mongolia, behind which stood the Soviet Union, announced the passage of the border near the small village of Nomon-Khan-Burd-Obo, and Manchukuo, behind which stood Japan, drew the border along the Khalkhin-Gol River. In May, the command of the Japanese Kwantung Army concentrated significant forces at Khalkhin Gol. The Japanese managed to achieve superiority in infantry, artillery and cavalry over the Soviet 57th separate rifle corps deployed in Mongolia. However, Soviet troops had an advantage in aviation and armored forces. Since May, the Japanese held the eastern bank of Khalkhin Gol, but in the summer they decided to cross the river and seize a bridgehead on the “Mongolian” bank.

On July 2, Japanese units crossed the “Manchurian-Mongolian” border officially recognized by Japan and tried to gain a foothold. The command of the Red Army brought into action all the forces that could be delivered to the conflict area. Soviet mechanized brigades, having made an unprecedented forced march through the desert, immediately entered the battle in the area of ​​Mount Bayin-Tsagan, in which about 400 tanks and armored vehicles, over 300 guns and several hundred aircraft took part on both sides. As a result, the Japanese lost almost all of their tanks. During the 3-day bloody battle, the Japanese were pushed back across the river. However, now Moscow was insisting on a forceful solution to the issue, especially since there was a threat of a second Japanese invasion. G.K. Zhukov was appointed commander of the rifle corps. Aviation was strengthened by pilots with experience of fighting in Spain and China. On August 20, Soviet troops went on the offensive. By the end of August 23, Japanese troops were surrounded. An attempt to release this group made by the enemy was repulsed. Those surrounded fought fiercely until August 31. The conflict led to the complete resignation of the command of the Kwantung Army and a change of government. The new government immediately asked the Soviet side for a truce, which was signed in Moscow on September 15.

19. Battle of Moscow (1941-1942)

The long and bloody defense of Moscow, which began in September 1941, moved into the offensive phase on December 5, ending on April 20, 1942. On December 5, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive and German divisions rolled west. The plan of the Soviet command - to encircle the main forces of Army Group Center east of Vyazma - could not be fully implemented. The Soviet troops lacked mobile formations, and there was no experience of a coordinated offensive of such masses of troops.

However, the result was impressive. The enemy was driven back 100–250 kilometers from Moscow, and the immediate threat to the capital, which was the most important industrial and transport hub, was eliminated. In addition, the victory near Moscow had enormous psychological significance. For the first time in the entire war, the enemy was defeated and retreated tens and hundreds of kilometers. German General Gunter Blumentritt recalled: “It was now important for Germany’s political leaders to understand that the days of the blitzkrieg were a thing of the past. We were confronted by an army whose fighting qualities were far superior to all other armies we had ever encountered.”

20. Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943)

The defense of Stalingrad became one of the most fierce operations of that war. By the end of the street fighting, which lasted from August to November, Soviet troops held only three isolated bridgeheads on the right bank of the Volga; There were 500–700 people left in the divisions of the 62nd Army defending the city, but the Germans failed to throw them into the river. Meanwhile, since September, the Soviet command had been preparing an operation to encircle the German group advancing on Stalingrad.

On November 19, 1942, Soviet troops launched an offensive north of Stalingrad, and the next day - south of it. On November 23, the striking wedges of the Soviet troops met near the city of Kalach, which marked the encirclement of the enemy’s Stalingrad group. 22 enemy divisions (about 300 thousand people) were surrounded. This was the turning point of the entire war.

In December 1942, the German command tried to release the encircled group, but Soviet troops repelled this onslaught. The fighting in the Stalingrad area continued until February 2, 1943. Over 90 thousand enemy soldiers and officers (including 24 generals) surrendered.

Soviet trophies included 5,762 guns, 1,312 mortars, 12,701 machine guns, 156,987 rifles, 10,722 machine guns, 744 aircraft, 166 tanks, 261 armored vehicles, 80,438 cars, 10,679 motorcycles, 240 tractors, 571 tractors, 3 armored trains and other military property .

21. Battle of Kursk (1943)

The Battle of Kursk is one of the greatest in the history of the Great Patriotic War, marking a radical turning point in hostilities. After it, the strategic initiative completely passed into the hands of the Soviet command.

Building on the success achieved at Stalingrad, Soviet troops launched a large-scale offensive on the front from Voronezh to the Black Sea. At the same time, in January 1943, besieged Leningrad was released.

Only in the spring of 1943 did the Wehrmacht manage to stop the Soviet offensive in Ukraine. Although units of the Red Army occupied Kharkov and Kursk, and the advanced units of the Southwestern Front were already fighting on the outskirts of Zaporozhye, German troops, transferring reserves from other sectors of the front, pulling up troops from Western Europe, actively maneuvering mechanized formations, went on a counteroffensive and re-occupied Kharkov . As a result, the front line on the southern flank of the confrontation acquired a characteristic shape, which later became known as the Kursk Bulge.

It was here that the German command decided to inflict a decisive defeat on the Soviet troops. It was supposed to cut it off with blows at the base of the arc, encircling two Soviet fronts at once.

The German command planned to achieve success, among other things, through the widespread use of the latest types of military equipment. It was on the Kursk Bulge that heavy German Panther tanks and Ferdinand self-propelled artillery guns were used for the first time.

The Soviet command knew about the enemy's plans and deliberately decided to cede the strategic initiative to the enemy. The idea was to wear down the Wehrmacht shock divisions in pre-prepared positions and then launch a counteroffensive. And we must admit: this plan was a success.

Yes, not everything went as planned and on the southern front of the arc German tank wedges almost broke through the defense, but on the whole the Soviet operation developed according to the original plan. One of the largest tank battles in the world took place in the area of ​​Prokhorovka station, in which over 800 tanks simultaneously took part. Although Soviet troops also suffered heavy losses in this battle, the Germans lost their offensive potential.

More than 100 thousand participants in the Battle of Kursk were awarded orders and medals, more than 180 were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In honor of the victory in the Battle of Kursk, an artillery salute was fired for the first time.

22. Capture of Berlin (1945)

The assault on Berlin began on April 25, 1945 and lasted until May 2. Soviet troops had to literally chew through the enemy’s defenses - battles took place for every crossroads, for every house. The city's garrison numbered 200 thousand people, who had about 3,000 guns and about 250 tanks, so the assault on Berlin was an operation quite comparable to the defeat of the encircled German army at Stalingrad.

On May 1, the new chief of the German General Staff, General Krebs, informed Soviet representatives about Hitler's suicide and proposed a truce. However, the Soviet side demanded unconditional surrender. In this situation, the new German government set a course for achieving an early surrender to the Western allies. Since Berlin was already surrounded, on May 2 the commander of the city’s garrison, General Weindling, capitulated, but only on behalf of the Berlin garrison.

It is characteristic that some units refused to carry out this order and tried to break through to the west, but were intercepted and defeated. Meanwhile, negotiations between German and Anglo-American representatives were taking place in Reims. The German delegation insisted on the surrender of troops on the western front, hoping to continue the war in the east, but the American command demanded unconditional surrender.

Finally, on May 7, the unconditional surrender of Germany was signed, which was to occur at 23.01 on May 8. On behalf of the USSR, this act was signed by General Susloparov. However, the Soviet government considered that the surrender of Germany should, firstly, take place in Berlin, and secondly, be signed by the Soviet command.

23. Defeat of the Kwantung Army (1945)

Japan during World War II was an ally of Nazi Germany and waged a war of conquest with China, during which all known types of weapons of mass destruction were used, including biological and chemical weapons.

Marshal Vasilevsky was appointed commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East. In less than a month, Soviet troops defeated the million-strong Kwantung Army stationed in Manchuria and liberated all of Northern China and part of Central China from Japanese occupation.

The Kwantung Army was fought by a highly professional army. It was impossible to stop her. Military textbooks include the operation of Soviet troops to overcome the Gobi Desert and the Khingan Range. In just two days, the 6th Guards Tank Army crossed the mountains and found itself deep behind enemy lines. During this outstanding offensive, about 200 thousand Japanese were captured and many weapons and equipment were captured.

Through the heroic efforts of our soldiers, the “Ostraya” and “Camel” heights of the Khutou fortified area were also taken. The approaches to the heights were in hard-to-reach swampy areas and were well protected by scarps and wire fences. The Japanese firing points were carved into granite rock.

The capture of the Hutou fortress cost the lives of over a thousand Soviet soldiers and officers. The Japanese did not negotiate and rejected all calls for surrender. During the 11 days of the assault, almost all of them died, only 53 people surrendered.

As a result of the war, the Soviet Union regained the territories lost to the Russian Empire in 1905 following the Peace of Portsmouth, but Japan has not yet recognized the loss of the Southern Kuril Islands. Japan capitulated, but a peace treaty with the Soviet Union was not signed.

The content of the article

WAR, armed struggle between large groups/communities of people (states, tribes, parties); governed by laws and customs - a set of principles and norms of international law that establish the responsibilities of the warring parties (ensuring the protection of civilians, regulating the treatment of prisoners of war, prohibiting the use of particularly inhumane weapons).

Wars in human history.

War is an invariable companion of human history. Up to 95% of all societies known to us have resorted to it to resolve external or internal conflicts. According to scientists, over the past fifty-six centuries, approx. 14,500 wars in which more than 3.5 billion people died.

According to the extremely widespread belief in antiquity, the Middle Ages and the New Age (J.-J. Rousseau), primitive times were the only peaceful period of history, and primitive man (an uncivilized savage) was a creature devoid of any belligerence or aggressiveness. However, the latest archaeological studies of prehistoric sites in Europe, North America and North Africa indicate that armed conflicts (apparently between individuals) took place as early as the Neanderthal era. An ethnographic study of modern tribes of hunters and gatherers shows that in most cases, attacks on neighbors, violent seizure of property and women are the harsh reality of their lives (Zulus, Dahomeans, North American Indians, Eskimos, tribes of New Guinea).

The first types of weapons (clubs, spears) were used by primitive man as early as 35 thousand BC, but the earliest cases of group combat date back only to 12 thousand BC. - only from now on can we talk about war.

The birth of war in the primitive era was associated with the emergence of new types of weapons (bow, sling), which for the first time made it possible to fight at a distance; from now on, the physical strength of those fighting was no longer of exceptional importance; dexterity and dexterity began to play a large role. The beginnings of a battle technique (flanking) emerged. The war was highly ritualized (numerous taboos and prohibitions), which limited its duration and losses.

A significant factor in the evolution of warfare was the domestication of animals: the use of horses gave nomads an advantage over sedentary tribes. The need for protection from their surprise raids led to the development of fortification; the first known fact is the fortress walls of Jericho (ca. 8 thousand BC). The number of participants in the wars gradually increased. However, there is no consensus among scientists about the size of prehistoric “armies”: figures vary from a dozen to several hundred warriors.

The emergence of states contributed to the progress of military organization. The growth of agricultural productivity allowed the elite of ancient societies to accumulate funds in their hands, which made it possible to increase the size of armies and improve their fighting qualities; much more time was devoted to training soldiers; The first professional military units appeared. If the armies of the Sumerian city-states were small peasant militias, then the later ancient Eastern monarchies (China, Egypt of the New Kingdom) already had relatively large and fairly disciplined military forces.

The main component of the ancient eastern and ancient army was the infantry: initially acting on the battlefield as a chaotic crowd, it later turned into an extremely organized combat unit (Macedonian phalanx, Roman legion). At different periods, other “arms of arms” also gained importance, such as war chariots, which played a significant role in the conquests of the Assyrians. The importance of military fleets also increased, especially among the Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians; The first naval battle known to us took place ca. 1210 BC between the Hittites and the Cypriots. The function of cavalry was usually reduced to auxiliary or reconnaissance. Progress was also observed in the field of weapons - new materials are used, new types of weapons are invented. Bronze ensured the victories of the Egyptian army of the New Kingdom era, and iron contributed to the creation of the first ancient Eastern empire - the New Assyrian state. In addition to the bow, arrows and spear, the sword, axe, dagger, and dart gradually came into use. Siege weapons appeared, the development and use of which reached a peak in the Hellenistic period (catapults, battering rams, siege towers). Wars acquired significant proportions, drawing a large number of states into their orbit (wars of the Diadochi, etc.). The largest armed conflicts of antiquity were the wars of the New Assyrian kingdom (second half of the 8th–7th centuries), the Greco-Persian wars (500–449 BC), the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), and the conquests of Alexander the Great (334–323 BC) and the Punic Wars (264–146 BC).

In the Middle Ages, infantry lost its primacy to cavalry, which was facilitated by the invention of stirrups (8th century). A heavily armed knight became the central figure on the battlefield. The scale of war was reduced in comparison with the ancient era: it turned into an expensive and elitist occupation, into the prerogative of the ruling class and acquired a professional character (the future knight underwent long training). Small detachments (from several dozen to several hundred knights with squires) took part in the battles; only at the end of the classical Middle Ages (14th–15th centuries), with the emergence of centralized states, the number of armies increased; The importance of infantry increased again (it was the archers who ensured the success of the British in the Hundred Years War). Military operations at sea were of a secondary nature. But the role of castles has increased unusually; the siege became the main element of the war. The largest wars of this period were the Reconquista (718–1492), the Crusades, and the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453).

A turning point in military history was the spread from the mid-15th century. in Europe, gunpowder and firearms (arquebuses, cannons) (); the first time they were used was the Battle of Agincourt (1415). From now on, the level of military equipment and, accordingly, the military industry became an absolute determinant of the outcome of the war. In the late Middle Ages (16th - first half of the 17th century), the technological advantage of Europeans allowed them to expand beyond their continent (colonial conquests) and at the same time put an end to the invasions of nomadic tribes from the East. The importance of naval warfare increased sharply. Disciplined regular infantry replaced the knightly cavalry (see the role of the Spanish infantry in the wars of the 16th century). The largest armed conflicts of the 16th–17th centuries. there were the Italian Wars (1494–1559) and the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648).

In the centuries that followed, the nature of war underwent rapid and fundamental changes. Military technology progressed unusually quickly (from the musket of the 17th century to nuclear submarines and supersonic fighters of the early 21st century). New types of weapons (missile systems, etc.) have increased the remote nature of military confrontation. The war became more and more widespread: the institution of conscription and the one that replaced it in the 19th century. the institution of universal conscription made armies truly national (more than 70 million people took part in the 1st World War, over 110 million in the 2nd World War), on the other hand, the whole society was already involved in the war (women’s and child labor in military enterprises in the USSR and the USA during the 2nd World War). Human losses reached an unprecedented scale: if in the 17th century. they amounted to 3.3 million in the 18th century. – 5.4 million, in the 19th – early 20th centuries. - 5.7 million, then in the 1st World War - more than 9 million, and in the 2nd World War - over 50 million. The wars were accompanied by the grandiose destruction of material wealth and cultural values.

By the end of the 20th century. The dominant form of armed conflicts has become “asymmetrical wars”, characterized by a sharp inequality of capabilities of the warring parties. In the nuclear era, such wars are fraught with great danger, since they encourage the weaker side to violate all established laws of war and resort to various forms of intimidation tactics, including large-scale terrorist attacks (the tragedy of September 11, 2001 in New York).

The changing nature of war and the intense arms race gave rise in the first half of the 20th century. a powerful anti-war tendency (J. Jaurès, A. Barbusse, M. Gandhi, projects for general disarmament in the League of Nations), which especially intensified after the creation of weapons of mass destruction, which called into question the very existence of human civilization. The UN began to play a leading role in preserving peace, declaring its task “to save future generations from the scourge of war”; in 1974 the UN General Assembly qualified military aggression as an international crime. The constitutions of some countries included articles on an unconditional renunciation of war (Japan) or a ban on the creation of an army (Costa Rica).

The Constitution of the Russian Federation does not grant any government body the right to declare war; the president only has the power to declare martial law in the event of aggression or threat of aggression (defensive war).

Types of wars.

The classification of wars is based on a variety of criteria. Based goals, they are divided into predatory (Pecheneg and Cuman raids on Rus' in the 9th – early 13th centuries), conquest (wars of Cyrus II 550–529 BC), colonial (Franco-Chinese war 1883–1885), religious (Huguenot wars in France 1562–1598), dynastic (War of the Spanish Succession 1701–1714), trade (Opium Wars 1840–1842 and 1856–1860), national liberation (Algerian War 1954–1962), patriotic (Patriotic War of 1812), revolutionary (French wars with the European coalition 1792–1795).

By the scope of military operations and the number of forces and means involved wars are divided into local (waged in a limited area and with small forces) and large-scale. The first include, for example, wars between ancient Greek policies; to the second - the campaigns of Alexander the Great, the Napoleonic Wars, etc.

By the nature of the warring parties distinguish between civil and external wars. The first, in turn, are divided into apex ones, waged by factions within the elite (War of the Scarlet and White Roses 1455–1485) (LANCASTERS), and interclass wars - wars of slaves against the ruling class (Spartacus’s war 74–71 BC), peasants (Great peasant war in Germany 1524–1525), townspeople/bourgeoisie (English civil war 1639–1652), social lower classes in general (Russian civil war 1918–1922). External wars are divided into wars between states (Anglo-Dutch wars of the 17th century), between states and tribes (Caesar's Gallic Wars 58–51 BC), between coalitions of states (Seven Years' War 1756–1763), between metropolises and colonies (Indochina War 1945–1954), world wars (1914–1918 and 1939–1945).

In addition, wars are distinguished by methods of conducting- offensive and defensive, regular and guerrilla (guerrilla) - and according to place of responsibility: land, sea, air, coastal, fortress and field, to which are sometimes also added arctic, mountain, urban, desert wars, jungle wars.

The principle of classification is taken and moral criterion- just and unjust wars. A “just war” refers to a war waged to protect order and law and, ultimately, peace. Its essential conditions are that it must have a just cause; it should only be started when all peaceful means have been exhausted; it should not go beyond achieving the main goal; The civilian population should not suffer from it. The idea of ​​a “just war,” dating back to the Old Testament, ancient philosophy and St. Augustine, received theoretical formalization in the 12th–13th centuries. in the works of Gratian, the decretalists and Thomas Aquinas. In the late Middle Ages, its development was continued by neo-scholastics, M. Luther and G. Grotius. It again acquired relevance in the 20th century, especially in connection with the advent of weapons of mass destruction and the problem of “humanitarian military actions” designed to stop genocide in a particular country.

Theories of the origin of wars.

At all times, people have tried to comprehend the phenomenon of war, identify its nature, give it a moral assessment, develop methods for its most effective use (the theory of military art) and find ways to limit or even eradicate it. The most controversial question has been and continues to be about the causes of wars: why do they happen if the majority of people do not want them? A wide variety of answers are given to this question.

Theological interpretation, which has Old Testament roots, is based on the understanding of war as an arena for the implementation of the will of God (gods). Its adherents see in war either a way of establishing the true religion and rewarding the pious (the conquest of the “Promised Land” by the Jews, the victorious campaigns of the Arabs who converted to Islam), or a means of punishing the wicked (the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians, the defeat of the Roman Empire by the barbarians).

Concrete historical approach, dating back to antiquity (Herodotus), connects the origin of wars solely with their local historical context and excludes the search for any universal causes. At the same time, the role of political leaders and the rational decisions they make is inevitably emphasized. Often the outbreak of war is perceived as the result of a random combination of circumstances.

An influential position in the tradition of studying the phenomenon of war is occupied by psychological school. Even in ancient times, the prevailing belief (Thucydides) was that war is a consequence of bad human nature, an innate tendency to “do” chaos and evil. In our time, this idea was used by S. Freud when creating the theory of psychoanalysis: he argued that a person could not exist if his inherent need for self-destruction (the death instinct) was not directed towards external objects, including other individuals, other ethnic groups , other religious groups. Followers of S. Freud (L.L. Bernard) viewed war as a manifestation of mass psychosis, which is the result of the suppression of human instincts by society. A number of modern psychologists (E.F.M. Darben, J. Bowlby) have reworked the Freudian theory of sublimation in a gender sense: the tendency to aggression and violence is a property of male nature; suppressed in peaceful conditions, it finds the necessary outlet on the battlefield. Their hope for ridding humanity of war is associated with the transfer of control levers into the hands of women and with the establishment of feminine values ​​in society. Other psychologists interpret aggressiveness not as an integral feature of the male psyche, but as a result of its violation, citing as an example politicians obsessed with the mania of war (Napoleon, Hitler, Mussolini); they believe that for the advent of an era of universal peace, an effective system of civil control is sufficient to deny access to power to madmen.

A special branch of the psychological school, founded by K. Lorenz, is based on evolutionary sociology. Its adherents consider war to be an extended form of animal behavior, primarily an expression of male rivalry and their struggle for possession of a certain territory. They emphasize, however, that although war had a natural origin, technological progress has increased its destructive nature and brought it to a level unthinkable for the animal world, when the very existence of humanity as a species is threatened.

Anthropological School(E. Montagu et al.) resolutely rejects the psychological approach. Social anthropologists prove that the tendency to aggression is not inherited (genetically), but is formed in the process of upbringing, that is, it reflects the cultural experience of a particular social environment, its religious and ideological attitudes. From their point of view, there is no connection between the various historical forms of violence, since each of them was generated by its own specific social context.

Political approach is based on the formula of the German military theorist K. Clausewitz (1780–1831), who defined war as “the continuation of policy by other means.” Its many adherents, starting with L. Ranke, derive the origin of wars from international disputes and the diplomatic game.

An offshoot of the political science school is geopolitical direction, whose representatives see the main cause of wars in the lack of “living space” (K. Haushofer, J. Kieffer), in the desire of states to expand their borders to natural boundaries (rivers, mountain ranges, etc.).

Going back to the English economist T.R. Malthus (1766–1834) demographic theory considers war as a result of an imbalance between population and the number of means of subsistence and as a functional means of restoring it by destroying demographic surpluses. Neo-Malthusians (U. Vogt and others) believe that war is immanent in human society and is the main engine of social progress.

The most popular in the interpretation of the phenomenon of war remains at present sociological approach. In contrast to the followers of K. Clausewitz, his supporters (E. Kehr, H.-W. Wehler, etc.) consider war to be a product of internal social conditions and the social structure of the warring countries. Many sociologists are trying to develop a universal typology of wars, formalize them taking into account all the factors influencing them (economic, demographic, etc.), and model fail-safe mechanisms for their prevention. The sociostatistical analysis of wars, proposed back in the 1920s, is actively used. L.F.Richardson; Currently, numerous predictive models of armed conflicts have been created (P. Breke, participants in the “Military Project”, Uppsala Research Group).

Popular among international relations specialists (D. Blaney and others) information theory explains the occurrence of wars by a lack of information. According to its adherents, war is the result of a mutual decision - the decision of one side to attack and the decision of the other to resist; the losing side is always the one that inadequately assesses its capabilities and the capabilities of the other side - otherwise it would either refuse aggression or capitulate in order to avoid unnecessary human and material losses. Therefore, knowledge of the enemy's intentions and his ability to wage war (effective intelligence) becomes crucial.

Cosmopolitan theory connects the origin of war with the antagonism of national and supranational, universal human interests (N. Angel, S. Strechey, J. Dewey). It is used primarily to explain armed conflicts in the era of globalization.

Supporters economic interpretation They consider war to be a consequence of rivalry between states in the sphere of international economic relations, which are anarchic in nature. The war is started to obtain new markets, cheap labor, sources of raw materials and energy. This position is shared, as a rule, by left-wing scientists. They argue that the war serves the interests of the propertied strata, and all its hardships fall on the share of the disadvantaged groups of the population.

Economic interpretation is an element Marxist approach, which interprets any war as a derivative of class war. From the point of view of Marxism, wars are fought to strengthen the power of the ruling classes and to split the world proletariat through appeals to religious or nationalist ideals. Marxists argue that wars are the inevitable result of the free market and the system of class inequality and that they will disappear into oblivion after the world revolution.

Ivan Krivushin

APPLICATION

MAJOR WARS IN HISTORY

28th century BC. – Pharaoh Sneferu’s campaigns in Nubia, Libya and Sinai

con. 24 – 1st half. 23rd century BC. – wars of Sargon the Ancient with the states of Sumer

last third of the 23rd century BC. - Naram-Suen's wars with Ebla, Subartu, Elam and the Lullubeys

1st half 22nd century BC. - Kutian conquest of Mesopotamia

2003 BC - Elamite invasion of Mesopotamia

con. 19 – beginning 18th century BC. – campaigns of Shamshi-Adad I in Syria and Mesopotamia

1st half 18th century BC. - Hammurabi's wars in Mesopotamia

OK. 1742 BC - Kassite invasion of Babylonia

OK. 1675 BC - Hyksos conquest of Egypt

OK. 1595 BC - Hittite campaign in Babylonia

con. 16 – end 15th century BC. – Egyptian-Mitanni wars

beginning 15 – mid. 14th century BC. – Hittite-Mitanni wars

ser. 15th century BC. - conquest of Crete by the Achaeans

ser. 14th century BC. – wars between Kassite Babylon and Arraphu, Elam, Assyria and the Aramaic tribes; Hittite conquest of Asia Minor

1286–1270 BC - Ramses II's wars with the Hittites

2nd half 13th century BC. – campaigns of Tukulti-Ninurta I in Babylonia, Syria and Transcaucasia

1240–1230 BC – Trojan War

beginning 12th century BC. - Israeli conquest of Palestine

1180s BC. – invasion of the “Sea Peoples” in the Eastern Mediterranean

2nd quarter XII century BC. - Elamite campaigns in Babylonia

con. 12 – beginning 11th century BC. – campaigns of Tiglath-pileser I in Syria, Phenicia and Babylonia

11th century BC. - conquest of Greece by the Dorians

883–824 BC – wars of Ashurnasirpal II and Shalmaneser III with Babylon, Urartu, the states of Syria and Phenicia

con. 8 – beginning 7th century BC. – invasions of the Cimmerians and Scythians into Western Asia

743–624 BC - conquest of the New Assyrian kingdom

722–481 BC - Wars of the Spring and Autumn period in China

623–629 BC – Assyro-Babylonian-Median War

607–574 BC - Nebuchadnezzar II's campaigns in Syria and Palestine

553–530 BC – conquests of Cyrus II

525 BC - Persian conquest of Egypt

522–520 BC – civil war in Persia

514 BC – Scythian campaign of Darius I

beginning 6th century – 265 BC - Rome's conquest of Italy

500–449 BC – Greco-Persian wars

480–307 BC – Greco-Carthaginian (Sicilian) wars

475–221 BC - Warring States period in China

460–454 BC – Inara's liberation war in Egypt

431–404 BC – Peloponnesian War

395–387 BC – Corinthian War

334–324 BC - conquests of Alexander the Great

323–281 BC - wars of the diadochi

274–200 BC – Syro-Egyptian wars

264–146 BC – Punic Wars

215–168 BC – Roman-Macedonian wars

89–63 BC – Mithridatic Wars

83–31 BC - civil wars in Rome

74–71 BC – slave war led by Spartacus

58–50 BC – Gallic Wars of Julius Caesar

53 BC – 217 AD – Roman-Parthian wars

66–70 – Jewish War

220–265 – War of the Three Kingdoms in China

291–306 – War of the Eight Princes in China

375–571 – Great Migration

533–555 – conquests of Justinian I

502-628 – Iranian-Byzantine wars

633–714 – Arab conquests

718–1492 – Reconquista

769–811 – wars of Charlemagne

1066 – Norman conquest of England

1096–1270 – Crusades

1207–1276 – Mongol conquests

end of XIII - mid. XVI century – Ottoman conquests

1337–1453 – Hundred Years' War

1455–1485 – War of the Scarlet and White Roses

1467–1603 – civil wars in Japan (Sengoku era)

1487–1569 – Russian-Lithuanian wars

1494–1559 – Italian Wars

1496–1809 – Russian-Swedish wars

1519–1553 (1697) – Spanish conquest of Central and South America

1524–1525 – Great Peasants' War in Germany

1546–1552 – Schmalkalden Wars

1562–1598 – Religious Wars in France

1569–1668 – Russian-Polish wars

1618–1648 – Thirty Years' War

1639–1652 – English Civil War (War of the Three Kingdoms)

1655–1721 – Northern Wars

1676–1878 – Russian-Turkish wars

1701–1714 – War of the Spanish Succession

1740–1748 – War of the Austrian Succession

1756–1763 – Seven Years' War

1775–1783 – American Revolutionary War

1792–1799 – Revolutionary wars of France

1799–1815 – Napoleonic Wars

1810–1826 – War of Independence of the Spanish Colonies in America

1853–1856 – Crimean War

1861–1865 – American Civil War

1866 – Austro-Prussian War

1870–1871 – Franco-Prussian War

1899–1902 – Boer War

1904–1905 – Russo-Japanese War

1912–1913 – Balkan Wars

1914–1918 – 1st World War

1918–1922 – Russian Civil War

1937–1945 – Sino-Japanese War

1936–1939 – Spanish Civil War

1939–1945 – World War 2

1945–1949 – Chinese Civil War

1946–1975 – Indochina Wars

1948–1973 – Arab-Israeli wars

1950–1953 – Korean War

1980–1988 – Iran-Iraq war

1990–1991 – 1st Gulf War (“Desert Storm”)

1991–2001 – Yugoslav Wars

1978–2002 – Afghan wars

2003 – 2nd Gulf War

Literature:

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Military encyclopedia: in 8 vols. M., 1994
Asprey R.B. War in the Shadows. The Guerilla in History. New York, 1994
Ropp T. War in the modern world. Baltimore (Md.), 2000
Bradford A.S. With Arrow, Sword, and Spear: A History of Warfare in the Ancient World. Westport (Conn.), 2001
Nicholson H. Medieval Warfare. New York, 2004
LeBlanc S.A., Register K.E. Constant battles: the myth of the peaceful, noble savage. New York, 2004
Otterbein K.F. How war began. College station (Tex.), 2004