Most influencial Wars

What was the Most important War?

  • Alexander the Great's Conquests

    Votes: 3 4.2%
  • Rome's Conquests

    Votes: 16 22.5%
  • The Crusades

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • Napoleonic Wars

    Votes: 2 2.8%
  • American Revolution

    Votes: 8 11.3%
  • World War I

    Votes: 14 19.7%
  • World War II

    Votes: 22 31.0%
  • Another Great War

    Votes: 5 7.0%

  • Total voters
    71

MajorGeneral2

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A recent post asks for most important battles, but what's a battle without a war? So, what has been the most important?
I would say WWI. As a landmark for being the first modern war(tanks, grenades, flamethrowers, biplanes, etc.), it brought the US into the international scene, and the result (Treaty of Versailles) was the key for the Nazi rise to power in Germany. It also saw the Boshevik Revolution in Russia. But, I may be wrong.
 
I also voted WW1 because it entirely shaped the 20th century. Remember, if it never happened, Germany would never have became lead by Hitler, in fact it would probably have been a Monarchy until Socialism overcame it. The Bolshevik revolution would still have happened however, and the USSR would still have been socialist, though Stalin would ahve never came to power because the time wasn't right.

World War 2 would still have happened however, though only in the Pacific due to Japan.

World War 1 caused World War 2, and more subtley, the Cold War. But it could not have been avoided, due to the vast war hunger by the people of Europoe at the time. People wanted to see their great nation go to war.

Your history lessons would be very different...
 
I'd put in a vote for the American Civil War.

Why:

1) The first real war to be a total war, or war on civilians and the means to wage war.

2) The many "refinements" (couldn't think of a better word) including
- repeating rifles
- machine guns
- aerial observation
- trench warfare
- ironclad ships
- steam powered ships
- the use of railroads for mobilization and transportation
- mines

Much of the misery of WWI could have been avoided had europeans simply absorbed the lessons of the ACW.

/bruce
 
I would feel that WW2 was the war to end all wars as the number people affecte dwas far more and it directly changed the geopolitics of the world radically
 
The Roman wars. They laid the foundation for what would become Western Europe. While WW1 has had tremendous consquenses for the past 100 years, the Roman expansion 2000 years ago can still be seen everywhere, for example in architecture, language, laws, military tradition, politics... I go go on forever.
 
I voted WW2 because it was quite literally the end of the age of the great european empires. It also ushered in the age of nuclear mutual assured destruction which, thankfully, has prohibited all out war among the largest powers on the planet. It also paved the way for a peacefully united europe, the rise of the US as the world's greatest power, the rise of the global economy, and many other massive changes. The 20th century was the century of change and a big part of that change was determined by the outcome of ww2.
 
What did the Romans ever do for us?....Apart from the aqueducts, the roads, the baths...etc.

The Roman Empire seriously shaped Europe and therefore the modern world, but how is it in the same classfication as WWII? Different kettle of the old proverbial, no?
 
I'd like to see the 30 years war too. It was in a way the first "European World War". This may sound weird but if you're honest, WWI was basically an European war. It's called World War because it involved all major powers of its time (maybe except Japan, depends on definition of major power). But the same applies to the 30 years war. At its time (1618-1648) Europeans were the only major powers in the world and that war was (very much like WWI) a war about influence and possible hegemony in Europe (though it was "officially" about religion).

It shaped modern Europe and therefore the modern world.
 
Japan fought (not much) on the Allies side in WWI. Mainly all they did is get mandates on the German possesions in the Pacific. So technically they were involved as well.
 
Considering the influence of the United States on the world, you have to give consideration to the American War of Independence as the most influential war of all time.

What would the world have been like if there had been no U.S. and instead a "Dominion of America", member of the Commonwealth?

/bruce
 
Very different,but only in the past 200 years.(but not SO different,less democratic and advanced,but instead of the U.S. there could be a Greater Britain,who would have fought WWI e.G. (Germany would have united in any case)
G.

But the U.S. couldn´t exist,if there hadn´t been a big central Roman Empire,but a few Mediterranean ones.Western civilization could have been completely destroyed by the Movement of the 4th century,so the South American and Chinese Empires could have become world powers.
 
It's amazing how many people will chide the Americans (or other nationalities) for being blindly nationalistic, and then when asked to pick the most influential wars "of all time", won't look any further back than a century or two.

What about the rise of Islam? The Muslim conquests of the Mediterranean basin and surrounding lands had a profound effect on history that is still shaping the world today.

And what about the Punic Wars? Had Carthage conquered Rome, all of Western history would have been altered in ways we can't even guess at.

Or the conquests of Ghenghis Khan... entire empires were conquered and pillaged, which might otherwise have had a great influence on the world.

Five hundred or a thousand years from now, we may be able to assess the full influence of the 20th century conflict that started in 1914 and didn't fully fade out until 1991. As of now, the jury is still out.
 
WWII was the war that had most impact and influence on the entire world. Barely one nation goes without having their story to tell about it. In comparrison, although it may sound harsh, every other war in human history is peanuts.
Particularly such wars as the American Civil War. It had no direct impact on other nations. In the long run perhaps, but directly, no.
 
A number spring to ind but i feelthat vietnam was one i may not have done much militry wise but scialy aot aspeopl now saw the Horrors of war and change te publics opinion of war fo ever
 
I think the Punic wars were certainly important for the development of Rome, and Western Europe with it, imagine how the world would have developed if the Roman empire was never created, the mid-east and the northern-Africa region would be far more powerful then the "Destroyed nations" of Europe
 
Originally posted by rmsharpe
I really think the Cold War had the most influence...

Just my 2,000 yen.

Cold War wouldn't have taken place if not for the outcome of WW2...
 
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