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Wars involving the United Kingdom

  • War of the Third CoalitionIn March 1802, hostilities between France and the Allies came to an end. However it was clear to the leading European politicians that the peace treaties of…
  • Crimean WarIn July 1853, Russian troops crossed the River Prut into Moldavia and Wallachia. This move placed 80,000 soldiers on Ottoman territory under a pretext of…
  • Iraq WarOn the 12th of September 2002, President George W. Bush stood before the United Nations General Assembly in New York City and declared Iraq a member of the…
  • War of the Fourth CoalitionOn the 9th of October 1806, Prussia declared war on France and joined a renewed coalition. This decision followed months of diplomatic breakdown and the…
  • French Revolutionary WarsIn the spring of 1792, France declared war on Austria and Prussia. This decision followed a series of diplomatic tensions that had been building since the…
  • French invasion of Egypt and SyriaNapoleon Bonaparte departed from Toulon in May 1798 with a fleet of around 36,000 troops. His goal was to undermine British trade routes and expand French…
  • Second Boer WarIn June 1884, Jan Gerrit Bantjes discovered a massive gold deposit on the Witwatersrand ridge south of Pretoria. This find triggered an influx of thousands…
  • Gulf WarOn the 2nd of August 1990, Iraqi tanks rolled across the border into Kuwait City. The invasion began with a bombing of the capital and lasted only two days…
  • War of 1812On the 18th of June 1812, President James Madison signed a measure into law that formally declared war on Great Britain.
  • Anglo-Iraqi WarThe Kingdom of Iraq, also known as Mesopotamia, remained under British control through a League of Nations mandate until 1932.
  • The TroublesIn 1609, Scottish and English settlers known as planters received land taken from native Irish people during the Plantation of Ulster.
  • Korean WarOn the 10th of August 1945, Soviet forces entered northern Korea and secured most major cities by the 24th of August. US Colonels Dean Rusk and Charles H.
  • Second French intervention in MexicoIn July 1861, Mexican president Benito Juárez placed a moratorium on foreign debt payments and expelled all Spanish diplomats from the country.
  • Greek Civil WarIn April 1941, German forces advanced on Athens while King George II and his government fled to Egypt. They established a government-in-exile that lacked…
  • Peninsular WarIn July 1807, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte issued orders to his Foreign Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord demanding Portugal declare war on…
  • Taiping RebellionIn 1837, a Hakka farmer named Hong Huoxiu failed his imperial examination for the third time. This failure triggered a nervous breakdown that would…
  • Indian Rebellion of 1857In 1757, the East India Company secured its first major foothold in eastern India after winning the Battle of Plassey. This victory marked a shift from…
  • World War IOn the 28th of June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria visited Sarajevo. Gavrilo Princip stood in the street where his car turned.
  • World War IIThe Second World War began on the 1st of September 1939 and ended on the 2nd of September 1945. This global conflict involved nearly every country in the…
  • Syrian civil warIn March 2011, the city of Daraa erupted with protests that would ignite a fourteen-year war. Young students painted anti-government slogans on school walls…
  • War on terrorOn the 16th of September 2001, US president George W. Bush used the phrase war on terrorism in an ostensibly unscripted comment when answering a journalist's…
  • Phoney WarAn 8-inch howitzer sat silent in France during the autumn of 1939. This image captures the stillness that defined the first eight months of World War II.
  • Finnish WarOn the 24th of September 1807, Russian Emperor Alexander I sent a letter to Swedish King Gustav IV Adolf. The letter demanded that Sweden cut off trade with…