The
Wars of Germany
German
Soldiers Marching During World War Two
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.
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)--Unsuccessful native uprising against German
colonial policies and German rule.
Wahehe
War in East Africa
(1891-1893)--Unsuccessful native 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 followers in an attempted overthrow
of the Bavarian government. The police crushed his
uprising, and Hitler was sentenced to prison.
Spanish
Civil War
(1936-1939)--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.
Cold
War
(1946-1991)--West and East Germany served as the
centerpiece of the NATO and Warsaw Pact military and
political face-off in Europe during the Cold War, with
hundreds of thousands of foreign troops on German soil.
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
SOURCES:
1.
Kohn, George C. Dictionary
of Wars.
New York: Facts On File Publications,
1986.
3. Langer,
William L., ed. An Encyclopedia of World History.
5th ed. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin,
1972.
4. Banks,
Arthur S., ed. Political Handbook of the World:
1994-1995. 5th ed. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications,
1995.
5.
Internal
Wars and Failures of Governance,
1954-1996--By
the State Failure Project.
