The nation of Germany has a long history of
unity and separation. Various empires and confederations
rose and fell throughout German history, often replaced
by smaller kingdoms, principalities, and nations that
would eventually re-unify to form a new version of
Germany. This page looks at the German wars and conflicts
since the birth of the "modern" Germany after the
Franco-Prussian War (or French-German War) of 1870-1871.
This conflict brought several independent German states
and kingdoms together to form the German Empire. This new
European empire acquired colonies in Africa, Asia, and
the Pacific, resulting in several colonial wars in the
late 1800s and early 1900s. That empire later fought and
lost World War One, resulting in Germany losing its
colonies, as well as large sections of its homeland and
setting the stage for revolutions, economic collapse, and
the rise of Hitler and the Nazis.
After losing World War Two, Germany once again found
itself split apart, this time into two new nations,
popularly called West Germany and East Germany. The two
Germanys faced off against each other as part of the
world-wide Cold War. After the Communist regimes in
Eastern Europe and Russia fell, and the Cold War ended,
the two Germanys re-united into the latest version of a
unified nation. In the early 21st Century, Germany now
finds itself a wealthy, democratic member of the NATO
alliance; and as a member of NATO, German troops once
again face combat in the anti-Taliban war in
Afghanistan.
Franco-Prussian War (July
19, 1870 – May 10, 1871)--Major war between the
Prussian-led German forces and the Second French Empire.
This war helped cause the unification of Germany and
paved the way for the ongoing hostility which was a
leading cause of World War One.
Arab Rising in East
Africa (1888-1890)--Uprising against German
colonial policies and German rule.
Wahehe War in East Africa
(1891-1893)--Uprising against German colonial policies
and German rule.
Samoan Civil War
(1887-1889)--German involvement in Samoan Civil conflicts
as a part of the growth of the German Empire into the
Pacific.
Samoan Civil War
(1893-1894)--German involvement in Samoan Civil conflicts
as a part of the growth of the German Empire into the
Pacific.
Boxer Rebellion/China
Expedition (1900)--Germany joined ten other
nations in sending military forces to fight the Chinese
government as well as anti-Western Chinese rebels.
Hottentot Uprising in South West
Africa (1903)--Uprising against German colonial
policies and German rule.
Insurrection in Cameroon
(1904-1905)--Uprising against German colonial policies
and German rule.
Maji Maji Uprising in East
Africa (1905)--Uprising against German colonial
policies and German rule.
World War I
(1914-1918)
Kiel Mutiny
(1918)--Mutiny by Navy sailors. This event sparked the
German Revolution.
German Revolution
(1918-1919)--Overthrow of the German monarchy. This
revolution effectively caused Germany to surrender to the
Allies and ended World War One.
Bavarian Revolution
(Nov. 7, 1918-May 1,
1919)--Commuist
revolt suppressed by the government and the Freikorps
militias.
Spartacist
Revolt (Jan. 6-Jan.
15, 1919)--Commuist revolt suppressed by the government
and the Freikorps militias.
Kapp
Putsch (March,
1920)--Failed military coup against the German
government.
Upper Silesia (Polish)
Rebellion (1921)--German and Polish militias fight
prior to a vote on which nation gets the coal-rich region
of Silesia.
French and Belgian Occupation of
the Ruhr Valley (Jan. 11, 1923-August,
1925)--Germany fell behind in war payments to the Allies
due to the collapse of the German economy. France and
Belgium invade and occupy the industrial Ruhr Valley
region of western Germany until the re-payments are
complete.
Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch
(Nov. 8-11, 1923)--War veteran and political agitator,
Adolf Hitler led his Nazi Party in an attempted overthrow
of the Bavarian government. The police crushed his
uprising, and Hitler was sentenced to prison.
Spanish Civil War
(1936-1939)--Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy send troops
and air power to help Fascist Spanish rebel Francisco
Franco defeat Spanish Republican forces.
German Annexation of
Austria (March 12-13, 1938)--Germany invades and
annexes Austria.
German Annexation of the
Sudetenland (1938)--Hitler threatened to invade
Czechoslovakia in order to gain control of the
German-speaking Sudeten border region. Britain and France
allow Hitler to seize the Sudetenland.
German Annexation of Bohemia and
Moravia (March 10-16, 1939)--Hitler completes his
takeover of defenseless Czechoslovakia. The eastern part
of the nation became an "independent" satellite of
Germany called Slovakia.
World War II
(1939-1945)--The European portion of World War II
officially begins on Sept. 1, 1939 with the German
invasion of Poland. The European war ended in May, 1945
with the complete defeat and occupation of Germany by the
Allies. Germany was eventually split into the democratic
West Germany and the Communist East Germany until the
East German collapse in 1989 and the re-unification of
Germany in October, 1990.
East German Uprising of
1953--East Germans revolt against Soviet control.
The uprising is crushed by the Soviets.
Warsaw Pact Invasion of
Czechoslovakia (1968)--East German forces
particpated in the Soviet-led invasion of
Czechoslovakia.
Kosovo War
(1999)--German air power participated int the Kosovo War
against Serbai (Yugoslavia), as a part of the NATO
Alliance.
The War on Terror
(2001-Present)
The War in
Afghanistan (2001-Present)--German forces
currently take part in allied operations in
Afghanistan as a part of NATO.
News about Germany's
War in Afghanistan:
German
Limits on War Facing Afghan Reality--New York
Times, Oct. 26, 2009
