Summary
The Reference Guide to the Major Wars and Conflicts in History set covers some 2,000 wars from prehistory to the present. Entries describe not only the military aspect of war but also the social and political context in which the wars occurred, providing readers and researchers with the important facts as well as the historical background for each war. Each title in the set focuses on one historic era, beginning with an introduction that outlines warfare in the respective time period and ending with a select bibliography and a chronology. Within each title, entries are arranged in alphabetical order.
Each entry begins with an at-a-glance look at the war in question, including a statement of the causes of the war; the date of its declaration, if any; the numbers of those under arms and the casualties they suffered; a summary of the outcome(s); and the names and dates of the treaties or documents ending the conflict. Following this, a narrative discussion of the war examines its social context, major battles and events, and broader significance in cultural and historical terms. Suggestions for further reading follow each entry, providing easy access to more detailed information.
Wars in the Early 20th Century (1900 to 1950) covers a period dominated by two wars that for the first time in history encompassed nearly every nation in the world, as well as numerous regional and local conflicts that nevertheless caused the death of millions of people. The two world wars fought in the early 20th century, World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945), were cataclysms of unprecedented scope and destruction. They also resulted in the dissolution of empires followed by widespread disorder that led to the outbreak of many new wars motivated by ethnic and nationalist aims.
Entries include:
- Afghan Civil War (1938–1929)
- Arab-Israeli War (1948–1949)
- Armenian Massacres (1909)
- "Beer Hall Putsch" (1923)
- Chinese Revolution (1911–1912)
- Easter Uprising (1916)
- French Indochina War (1946–1954)
- Greek Civil War (1944–1945)
- Indian Civil War (1947–1948)
- Maji Maji Uprising (1905–1907)
- Nicaraguan Civil War (1925–1933)
- Russian Revolution (1905)
- Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)
- Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)
- World War I (1914–1918)
- World War II (1939–1945)
About the Author(s)
Charles Phillips is managing editor of the scholarly quarterly American Journal of Play, a novelist, and a short-story writer. He has also edited, written, and produced many works of nonfiction. Author for several years of the "Day to Remember" column for American History Magazine, Phillips has been editor-in-chief of a number of multivolume historical and reference works, including Encyclopedia of the American West, Encyclopedia of Historical Treaties, and Time-Life Books' 14-volume 40th-anniversary edition of Shelby Foote's The Civil War, A Narrative, as well as editor for such publications as The Washington Star, History News, Higher Education and National Affairs, and Congressional Quarterly. He co-wrote and produced Count Me In, a feature-length video on Doolittle's Raid over Tokyo in World War II that aired on PBS and won an award for historical videos from the American Association of Museums.
Alan Axelrod, Ph.D., has authored or coauthored some 140 books, including the Encyclopedia of the American West, The Macmillan Dictionary of Military Biography, Dictators and Tyrants, Encyclopedia of Historical Treaties and Alliances, Mercenaries: A Guide to Private Armies and Private Military Companies, A Political History of America's Wars, Encyclopedia of World War II, Encyclopedia of the United States Armed Forces, and America's Wars.