The First Global War:
Britain, France, and the Fate of North America, 1756-1775. Seven Years' War
(1756-1763) The third war between Austria and a rising Prussia for control over
Silesia, the culmination of the long Anglo-French struggle for colonial
supremacy, and the last major conflict before the French Revolution to involve
all the traditional great powers of Europe. There were three principal theaters
of this war. Great Britain helped support Frederick of Prussia in battling
Austria, France, and Russia and their allies: British finances helped purchase
mercenary troops to augment Prussia's army. The British navy battled the French
navy in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as well as the Mediterranean and
Caribbean Seas. Finally, augmented by colonial militia, the British made a
determined and ultimately successful effort to destroy French power in North
America. When the Seven Years' War ended, Frederick gained Silesia, though with
significant manpower losses; the British gained territory in India and all of
French Canada (save for tiny St. Pierre and Miquelon Islands off the
Newfoundland coast).
First World War known
as the Great War. Some 65 million men from all four corners of the globe packed
their kit and marched off to war, from teenagers to grandfathers in their
sixties. The fighting started in Europe, but the rest of the world soon got dragged
in, including some 2 million Africans. Another 3 million from the far-flung
British Empire answered the call to arms, shipped from Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa and India. And, for the first time, the United States got
its hands dirty in Europe. In all, 28 countries were involved, making this the
first truly global war. Even Japan hopped on the bandwagon, hoping to grab
German islands in the Pacific when no-one was looking, while the Thais sneakily
snatched twelve German ships when their king, Rama VI, boldly declared war on
Germany in July 1917.
World War II
(1939-45) was the most terrible war ever fought. It not only killed 17 million
soldiers - compared to 10 million in World War I - but also twice as many
civilians, through starvation, bombings and massacres. It was the first truly
global war - fought on the plains of Europe, in the jungles of Southeast Asia,
on the deserts of Africa, among the islands of the Pacific, on (and under) the
Atlantic Ocean, and in many other places.
