Daniel Orr's Blog, page 71

February 14, 1918 – Finnish Civil War: Finland asks Germany for military assistance

The February 1918 German offensive had major repercussionsfor Finland, as theGerman-Russian rivalry in World War I spilled over into Finland and soon merged with theFinnish Civil War.  Germany hadbacked White Finland by providing weapons and sending Finnish Jäger soldiers toprovide training for the Finnish (White) Army in order to undermine SovietRussia, which supported socialist Red Finland. But following a request by the White government on February 14, 1918 fordirect assistance, on March 5, 1918 Germany intervened by landing advance unitson Åland Islands in preparation to an amphibious landing on the Finnishmainland.

Just as Germany’sinvolvement increased, Soviet Russia, complying with the Treaty ofBrest-Litovsk, withdrew its remaining forces in Finland.  By the end of March 1918, the Finnish CivilWar had turned invariably in favor of the White forces, brought about also byother reasons: General Mannerheim proved to be a proficient commander; theJäger and Swedish officers had raised the competence and morale of the Finnish(White) Army; and modern German weapons were arriving in greaterquantities.  Meanwhile, the Red Guards,already weakened by the withdrawal of the Russian Army, also suffered from achronic lack of capable military and political leadership, inadequate training,and weapons shortages.  Furthermore, RedGuard field officers were voted into their positions by consensus amongrank-and-field soldiers (rather than competence), which compromised disciplineand reduced resoluteness in battle.

White Finland and Red Finland in the Finnish Civil War.

(Taken from Finnish Civil War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 4)

Aftermath of theFinnish Civil War In May 1918, the victorious conservative governmentreturned its capital to Helsinki.  Because of the German Army’s contribution tothe military success and under the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk,Finland came under Germany’s sphere of influence, much like the other Russianterritories ceded to Germany, i.e. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus,Ukraine, and Russian Poland. Finnish-German relations drew even closer with the signing of bilateralmilitary and economic agreements.  InOctober 1918, German hegemony was furthered when the Finnish Parliament,dominated by monarchists, named a German Prince, Friedrich Karl, as King ofFinland.

However, the Western Front of World War I was still beingfought.  After a failed German offensivein March 1918, the Allies counterattacked, pushing back the German Army allacross the front.  By November 1918, theGerman Empire verged on total collapse, both from defeat on the battlefield andby political and social unrest caused by the outbreak of the GermanRevolution.  On November 9, 1918, theGerman monarchy ended when Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated the throne; an interimgovernment (which soon turned Germanyinto a republic) signed the Compiègne Armistice on November 11, 1918, endingWorld War I.

In the aftermath, Germanywas forced to relinquish its authority over Eastern Europe, including Finland.  In mid-December 1916, with the departure ofthe German Army from Finland,the Finnish parliament’s plan to install a monarchy with a German prince fellapart.  Finland held local elections inDecember 1918, and parliamentary elections in March 1919, paving the way forthe establishment of a republic, which officially came into existence with theratification of the Finnish constitution in July 1919.  Also in July, Finland’s first president, KaarloJuho Ståhlberg, was elected into office.

Earlier in May 1919, the United States and Britainrecognized Finland’sindependence; other countries, including Denmark,Norway, Sweden, Switzerland,and Greece already hadrecognized Finland’ssovereignty a few months earlier.  OnOctober 14, 1920, Finlandand Soviet Russia formally ended hostilities in the Treaty of Tartu (in Tartu, Estonia)that also established a common Finnish-Russian border.

The civil war left a lasting, bitter legacy in Finland.  The widespread violence perpetrated by bothsides of the war aggravated the already socially divided Finland, as nearly every Finn wasaffected directly or indirectly.  Thispolarization led to non-compromise and encouraged radicalization of elements ofthe right and left, into fascists and communists, respectively, in thefollowing years.  Ultimately, however,political moderation prevailed, allowing Finland to emerge unitedpolitically, socially, and economically. Furthermore, in the 1930s, the country experienced high economic growth,with traditional industries growing and new ones emerging.  Agricultural reforms also transformed thecountryside – by the 1930s, some 90% of previously landless farmers owned theirfarmlands.  Also in the 1930s, thegrowing threats from Germanyand the Soviet Union further bound Finnstoward nationalist unity.

February 13, 1991 – Gulf War: Over 400 are killed in the Amiriyah shelter bombing

On February 13, 1991, U.S.planes dropped two laser-guided bombs on the Amiriyah air-raid shelter in Baghdad, Iraq,killing over 400 civilians. The incident occurred during the Gulf War. The U.S. militarydefended the operation, stating that the Amiriyah shelter had activitiesemanating from it that fit the profile of a military command center.

Map showing Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East.

(Taken from Gulf War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 4)

Background On August2, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait(previous article), overthrew the ruling monarchy and seizing control of theoil-rich country.  A “ProvisionalGovernment of Free Kuwait” was established, and two days later, August 4, theIraqi government, led by Saddam Hussein, declared Kuwait a republic.  On August 8, Saddam changed his mind andannexed Kuwait as a“governorate”, declaring it Iraq’s19th province.

Jaber III, Kuwait’sdeposed emir who had fled to neighboring Saudi Arabia in the midst of theinvasion, appealed to the international community.  On August 3, 1990, the United NationsSecurity Council (UNSC) issued Resolution 660, the first of many resolutionsagainst Iraq, whichcondemned the invasion and demanded that Saddam withdraw his forces from Kuwait.  Three days later, August 6, the UNSC releasedResolution 661 that imposed economic sanctions against Iraq, which wascarried out through a naval blockade authorized under UNSC Resolution 665.  Continued Iraqi defiance subsequently wouldcompel the UNSC to issue Resolution 678 on November 29, 1990 that set thedeadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait on or before January 15, 1991 as wellas authorized UN member states to enforce the withdrawal if necessary, eventhrough the use of force.  The Arab League,the main regional organization, also condemned the invasion, although Jordan, Sudan,Yemen, and the PalestineLiberation Organization (PLO) continued to support Iraq.

Iraq’sannexation of Kuwait upsetthe political, military, and economic dynamics in the Persian Gulf region, andby possessing the world’s fourth largest armed forces, Iraq now posed a direct threat to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. The United Statesannounced that intelligence information detected a build-up of Iraqi forces in Kuwait’s southern border with Saudi Arabia.  Saddam, however, declared that Iraq had no intention of invading Saudi Arabia, aposition he would maintain in response to allegations of his territorialambitions.

Meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney whoarrived in Saudi Arabiashortly after Iraq’sinvasion of Kuwait, SaudiKing Fahd requested U.S.military protection.  U.S. PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush accepted the invitation, as doing so would not only defend animportant regional ally, but prevent Saddam from gaining control of the oilfields of Saudi Arabia,the world’s largest petroleum producer. With its conquest of Kuwait,Iraq now held 20% of theworld’s oil supply, but annexing Saudi Arabia would allow Saddam tocontrol 50% of the global oil reserves. By September 18, 1990, the U.S.government announced that the Iraqi Army was massed in southern Kuwait,containing a force of 360,000 troops and 2,800 tanks.

U.S.military deployment to Saudi Arabia,codenamed Operation Desert Shield, was swift; on August 8, just six days after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait,American air and naval forces, led by two aircraft carriers and twobattleships, had arrived in the Persian Gulf.  Over the next few months, Iraq offered theUnited States a number of proposals to resolve the crisis, including that Iraqiforces would be withdrawn from Kuwait on the condition that Israel alsowithdrew its troops from occupied regions in Palestine (West Bank, Gaza Strip),Syria (Golan Heights, and southern Lebanon. The United Statesrefused to negotiate, however, stating that Iraq must withdraw its troops asper the UNSC resolutions before any talk of resolving other Middle Easternissues would be discussed.  On January 9,1991, as the UN-imposed deadline of January 15, 1991 approached, U.S. Secretaryof State James Baker and Iraq’sForeign Minister Tariq Aziz held last-minute talks in GenevaSwitzerland(called the Geneva Peace Conference). But the two sides refused to tone down their hard-line positions,leading to the breakdown of talks and the imminent outbreak of war.

Because Mecca and Medina, Islam’s holiest sites, were located in Saudi Arabia, King Fahd received strong localand international criticism from other Muslim states for allowing U.S. troopsinto his country.  At the urging of KingFahd, the United States organized a multinational coalition consisting of armedand civilian contingents from 34 countries which, apart from Saudi Arabia andKuwait’s (exiled forces), also included other Arab and Muslim countries (Egypt,Syria, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Turkey, Morocco,Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh). A force of about 960,000 troops was assembled, with U.S. soldiers accounting for 700,000 or about70% of the total; Britainand Francealso sent sizable contingents, some 53,000 and 18,000 respectively, as well aslarge amounts of military equipment and supplies.

In talks with Saudi officials, the United States stated that the Saudi governmentmust pay for the greater portion of the cost for the coalition force, as thelatter was tasked specifically to protect Saudi Arabia.  In the coming war, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, andother Gulf states contributed about $36 billion of the $61 billion coalitiontotal war cost; as well, Germany and Japan contributed a combined $16 billion,although these two countries, prohibited by their constitutions from sendingarmies abroad, were not a combat part of the coalition force.

President Bush overcame the last major obstacle toimplementing UNSC Resolution 678 – the U.S. Congress.  The U.S. Senate and House of Representativeswere held by a majority from the opposition Democratic Party, which was opposedto the Bush administration’s war option and instead believed that the UNSC’seconomic sanctions against Iraq, yet barely two months in force, must be giventime to work.  On January 12, 1991, acongressional joint resolution that authorized war, as per President Bush’srequest, was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 250-183 andSenate by a vote of 52-47.

One major factor for U.S. Congress’ approval for war werenews reports of widespread atrocities and human rights violations beingcommitted by Iraq’soccupation forces against Kuwaiti civilians, particularly against members ofthe clandestine Kuwaiti resistance movement that had arisen as a result of theoccupation.  Some of the moreoutrage-provoking accounts, including allegations that Iraqi soldiers pulledhundreds of new-born infants from incubators and then left to die on thehospital floors, have since been determined to be untrue.

Iraq’s programs for developing nuclear, chemical, andbiological weapons were also cause for grave concern to Western countries,particularly since during the Iran-Iraq War (that ended just three yearsearlier, in August 1988), Saddam did not hesitate to use chemical weapons,dropping bombs and firing artillery containing projectiles laced with nerveagents, cyanide, and sarin against Iranian military and civilian targets, andeven against his own people, i.e. Iraq Kurds who had risen up in rebellion andsided with Iran in the war.

February 12, 1912 – 2,000 years of imperial rule ends in China

On February 12, 1912, Empress Dowager Longyu of China signed the “Imperial Edict of theAbdication of the Qing Emperor”, which ended both the Qing dynasty and 2,000years of dynastic rule in China.The agreement granted the Qing court certain privileges: Puyi kept his imperialtitle and was to be treated by the republic with the honors of a foreignmonarch; the imperial court was to retain its residences at the Forbidden Cityand Summer Palace; and the republican governmentwould provide the emperor with an annual subsidy.

The Xinhai Revolution ended 2,000 years of dynastic rule in China.

(Taken from China 1911-1928): Xinhai Revolution, Fragmentation, and Struggle for Reunification – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia)

The threat of a civil war now loomed between the Beijing and Nanjingregimes.  On December 18, 1911, mediatorsfrom the two sides met in Shanghaito negotiate.  Sun was fully aware thatthe Beiyang Army was the most powerful military force in China, and thata civil war most likely would end in his own defeat.  Thus, he was ready to cede political powerfor the survival of the nationalist government. In January 1912, the North-South Conference reached a compromise: Sunwould resign as provisional president in favor of Yuan, who would succeed hispost, in exchange for Yuan forcing the abdication of the child-Emperor Puyi(and thus ending the Qing monarchy).

Yuan then exerted pressure on Empress Dowager Longyu, the defacto regent of six-year old Puyi, to sign the abdication papers, warning herthat the Qing court would not be spared if the southern revolutionaries invadedBeijing.  In early February 1912, Empress DowagerLongyu consented, and on February 12, signed the “Imperial Edict of theAbdication of the Qing Emperor”, which ended both the Qing dynasty and 2,000years of dynastic rule in China.  The agreement granted the Qing court certainprivileges: Puyi kept his imperial title and was to be treated by the republicwith the honors of a foreign monarch; the imperial court was to retain itsresidences at the Forbidden City and Summer Palace; and therepublican government would provide the emperor with an annual subsidy.

On January 22, 1912, Sun announced his willingness to cedethe presidency to Yuan.  On February 14,1912, the provisional Senate elected Yuan as the second provisional presidentof the republic; he was sworn into office on March 10.  The following day, March 11, a provisionalconstitution was ratified.

Yuan Shikai in Power Fromthe outset, tensions existed between the pro-Sun groups, led by the Tongmenhui,and President Yuan and his supporters. To counter Yuan’s power base which was in the north, on February 14,1912, the provisional Senate voted to make Nanjing the capital of the republic.  However, two weeks later, mutinous BeiyangArmy units rioted in Beijing.  Yuan, who most likely masterminded thedisturbance, announced that he would remain in Beijing to guard against future unrest.  The provisional Senate thus reconvened, andin another vote taken in April 1912, named Beijing as the capital of the republic.

President Yuan soon gained full control of government, andappeared intent on extending his powers. To counter Yuan and also prepare for the upcoming parliamentaryelections, in August 1912, Sun’s supporters formed the Kuomintang (KMT,English: Chinese Nationalist Party), merging the Tongmenhui and five smallerorganizations.  In National Assemblyelections held in December 1912-January 1913, the KMT won a decisive victory,taking the most number of seats in both legislative houses over its rivals,including the pro-Yuan Republican Party.

Song Jiaoren, a leading KMT politician who had campaignedstrongly against Yuan and had vowed to reduce Yuan’s powers throughlegislation, appeared headed to become Prime Minister, and thus would form anew Cabinet.  But in March 1913, he wasassassinated, perhaps under Yuan’s orders. When the newly elected National Assembly convened, the KMT-dominatedlegislature moved to enact measures to curb Yuan’s powers, and prepared toformulate a permanent constitution and hold national elections for thepresidency.  Yuan now moved to destroythe political opposition, while his opponents in the south grew more militant –as a result, Chinabegan to fracture politically.

In July 1913, many southern provinces rose up in rebellion(sometimes called Sun Yat-sen’s “Second Revolution”), this time againstYuan.  The Beiyang government (as thegovernment in Beijingwas called during the period 1912-1927) was militarily prepared, as Yuan hadrecently received a foreign loan which he used to build up his BeiyangArmy.  In September 1913, Yuan’s forcescrushed the rebellion, and captured the insurgent strongholds in Nanchang and Nanjing,and forced Sun and other KMT leaders to flee into exile abroad.

In October 1913, the now intimidated National Assemblyelected Yuan as president of the republic for a five-year term.  Yuan proceeded to break up all politicalopposition, first removing, coercing, or bribing KMT provincial officials.  Then in November 1913, he dissolved the KMTand expelled KMT legislators from the National Assembly.  As these expulsions caused the legislature tofail to reach a quorum to reconvene, in January 1914, Yuan dissolved theNational Assembly altogether.  In itsplace, Yuan formed a quasi-legislative body of 66 of his supporters, who drewup and passed a “constitutional compact”, a new charter which replaced the 1912provisional constitution, and which gave Yuan unlimited powers in political,military, foreign affairs, and financial policy decisions.  In December 1914, Yuan’s presidential tenurewas extended to ten years, with no terms limits –Yuan now ruled as a dictator.

Then in late 1915, Yuan made plans to return the country toa monarchy.  He reasoned that the 1911Revolution that had toppled the Qing dynasty, and the ensuing republicangovernment, were divisive, transitory phases, and that only a monarchy couldrestore order and unity to the nation. In November 1915, a “Representative Assembly” was formed to study thematter, which subsequently issued many petitions to Yuan to becomeemperor.  After pretending to refusethese petitions, on December 12, 1915, Yuan accepted, and named himself“Emperor of the Chinese Empire”.  Yuan’sreign, as well as the country’s return to a monarchy as the “Empire of China”,was set to commence officially on January 1, 1916, when Yuan would perform theaccession rites.

Widespread protests broke out across much of China.  Having experienced great repression under theQing dynasty, the Chinese people vehemently opposed the return to amonarchy.  On December 25, 1915, themilitary governor of Yunnan Province declared hisprovince’s secession from the Beiyang government, and prepared for war.  In rapid order, other provinces also seceded,including Guizhou, Guangxi,Guangdong, Shandong,Hunan, Shanxi,Jiangxi, and Jiangsu. The decisive showdown between Yuan’s army and forces of the rebellingprovinces took place in Sichuan Province, where rebel forces (under Yunnan Province’sNational Protection Army) dealt Yuan’s army a decisive defeat.  During the fighting, Beiyang generals, whoalso opposed Yuan’s imperial ambitions, did not exert great effort to defeatthe rebel forces.  In fact, Beiyang Armycommanders had already stopped supporting Yuan. Furthermore, while the foreign powers recognized the Beiyang regime asthe official government over China,Yuan’s planned monarchy received virtually no international support.  Isolated and forced to postpone his accessionrites, Yuan finally abandoned his imperial designs on March 22, 1916.  His political foes then also pressed him tostep down as president of the republic. Yuan died three months later, in June 1916, with his crumblinggovernment already unable to hold onto much of the country.

February 11, 1920 – Turkish War of Independence: French forces, followed by thousands of Armenian civilians, flee Maras

On January 20, 1920, a civilian uprising broke out in Maras.  The unrest escalated when Turkish nationalistforces joined the disturbance, beginning a battle of attrition that would lastfor three weeks.  On February 11, 1920,the French garrison, followed by thousands of terrified Armenian civilians,evacuated from the town.  In theirretreat to Osmaniye, hundreds of soldiers and civilians perished in the wintercold.

By early 1920, the Cilician countryside was teeming withKemalist revolutionary elements, threatening the tenuous French hold in thelightly defended towns.  Urfa came under attack in February, followedby Hadjin the next month.  Fighting alsobroke out in Pozanti, which the French were forced to evacuate because ofstrong guerilla activity, and in Antep, where Turkish forces successfullyresisted a ten-month siege by the French.

French rapprochement with the Turkish nationalists began in1919, even before hostilities broke out, when French High Commissioner FrançoisGeorges-Picot engaged in talks with Kemal in Ankara.  By 1921, after the Turkish victory in theeastern front, France and Kemal’s nationalists opened negotiations, which ledto the Cilician Peace Treaty of March 1921. The treaty, however, was not implemented.

The Southern Front in the Turkish War of Independence.

(Taken from Turkish War of Independence – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 3)

Turkish nationalists fought in three fronts: in the eastagainst Armenia, in thesouth against France and the French Armenian Legion, and in the west against Greece, which was backed by Britain.

Southern Front Alsoknown as the Franco-Turkish War, the southern front resulted from the Frenchoccupation of southern Anatolia.  Under the war-time Sykes-Picot Agreement, France had been guaranteed the lands thatconstitute modern-day Syriaand Lebanon; the Frenchconcession extended north to southeastern Anatolia and the region of Cilicia.  With the Ottoman Empire’s capitulation, the British forces whowere occupying these areas at the end of World War I yielded them to theFrench.  The French also occupiedConstantinople (together with the British and Italians), Eastern Thrace(together with the Greeks), and two Ottoman ports on the Black Sea.

Another war-time treaty, the 1916 French-Armenian Agreement,allowed France to organizethe French Armenian Legion, a majority-ethnic Armenian military force tasked toassist the French in the war, in exchange for France’spromise to support Armenian nationalists in Ciliciain their struggle for independence from Ottoman rule.  After the war, French military authoritiesdeployed the French Armenian Legion in Cilicia.  And with its other ally, the Republic of Armeniain the east gaining independence in May 1920, France moved to fulfill Armenianaspirations for a Cilician state as well as bring the whole region under theFrench sphere of influence.  Frenchauthorities encouraged the return to Cilicia of the Armenian refugees (fromWorld War I) to Cilicia, as well asimmigration of other ethnic Armenians; some 170,000 Armenians heeded the call.

From the outset, however, French rule in Ciliciafaced many problems, foremost from the local Turkish population who resistedwhat was perceived as occupation by a foreign force.  Bands of Kemalist nationalists soon wereoperating in the countryside, inciting anti-French sentiments among Turkish andArab residents and recruiting fighters for newly formed guerilla groups.

The local Ottoman Army garrisons, before leaving, turnedover their firearms to the local population and also left behind largequantities of weapons and ammunitions that were hidden away by Turkishresidents.  The (Ottoman) local civiliangovernment, which the French retained to carry out regular public duties,secretly supported and conspired with the Turkish nationalists.  Even the newly formed local police force wasinfiltrated by nationalist sympathizers.

An attempt by French authorities to return Cilician lands torepatriated Armenians met strong opposition, as Turkish locals, who nowoccupied the properties, refused to relinquish possession.  Even so, most Armenians did not venture intothe Cilician countryside for fear of their lives, preferring to remain in thecoastal cities where the French military presence was strong.  A law requiring the surrender of all loosefirearms also was ignored by the Turkish population.  And the raised French and Armenian flags inpublic places drew indignation among local residents.

The French did not succeed in establishing a strong militarypresence in Cilicia, even with the support ofthe British who left behind a military contingent to assist in the region’ssecurity.  The quality and quantity ofweapons available to the French soldiers also were inadequate.  These factors, including France’shesitation to carry out a full occupation in contrast to the Turkishnationalists’ determination to oust the foreigners, decided the outcome in thissector of the war.

February 10, 1954 – First Indochina War: President Eisenhower rejects direct American military involvement in Vietnam

On February 10, 1954, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower rejected direct American involvement in the First Indochina War between France and the North Vietnamese nationalist revolutionaries known as Viet Minh. He stated, “I cannot conceive of a greater tragedy for America than to get heavily involved now in an all-out war in any of those regions”.  At the same time, however, he authorized the release of $385 million in military aid to France for the prosecution of the war.

The Eisenhower administration would continue to keep close watch on the war and other politically sensitive events in Asia. In April 1954, he warned that if one country fell to communism, nearby countries would similarly fall in a domino effect, a concept that came to be known as the Domino Theory.

Shortly after the start of the decisive Battle of Dien BienPhu (March–May 1954) began, upon the request of Francefor military assistance, the United States considered a number of options torelieve the trapped French forces.  Theseincluded launching a massive aerial attack at the Viet Minh using 60 B-29bombers and 150 fighter planes from the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Philippines;becoming directly involved in the war by sending American troops; or evenintervening with nuclear weapons. However, the United Statesannounced that its becoming involved in the war was contingent on the supportof its other allies, particularly Britain.  But as this was not forthcoming, U.S.President Eisenhower decided not to intervene.

North and South Vietnam in Southeast Asia.

(Taken from First Indochina War – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia)

Aftermath By thetime of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, France knew that it could not win the war,and turned its attention on trying to work toward a political settlement and anhonorable withdrawal from Indochina.  By February 1954, opinion polls at homeshowed that only 8% of the French population supported the war.  However, the Dien Bien Phu debacle dashed French hopes of negotiating under favorablewithdrawal terms.  On May 8, 1954, oneday after the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, representatives from the majorpowers: United States, Soviet Union, Britain, China, and France, and theIndochina states: Cambodia, Laos, and the two rival Vietnamese states,Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) and State of Vietnam, met at Geneva (theGeneva Conference) to negotiate a peace settlement for Indochina.  The Conference also was envisioned to resolvethe crisis in the Korean Peninsula in theaftermath of the Korean War (separate article), where deliberations ended onJune 15, 1954 without any settlements made.

On the Indochina issue, onJuly 21, 1954, a ceasefire and a “final declaration” were agreed to by theparties.  The ceasefire was agreed to byFrance and the DRV, which divided Vietnam into two zones at the 17thparallel, with the northern zone to be governed by the DRV and the southernzone to be governed by the State of Vietnam. The 17th parallel was intended to serve merely as a provisional militarydemarcation line, and not as a political or territorial boundary.      TheFrench and their allies in the northern zone departed and moved to the southernzone, while the Viet Minh in the southern zone departed and moved to thenorthern zone (although some southern Viet Minh remained in the south oninstructions from the DRV).  The 17thparallel was also a demilitarized zone (DMZ) of 6 miles, 3 miles on each sideof the line.

The ceasefire agreement provided for a period of 300 dayswhere Vietnamese civilians were free to move across the 17th parallel on eitherside of the line.  About one millionnortherners, predominantly Catholics but also including members of the upperclasses consisting of landowners, businessmen, academics, and anti-communistpoliticians, and the middle and lower classes, moved to the southern zone, thismass exodus was prompted by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) andState of Vietnam in a massive propaganda campaign, as well as the peoples’fears of repression under a communist regime.

In August 1954, planes of the French Air Force and hundredsof ships of the French Navy and U.S. Navy (the latter under Operation Passageto Freedom) carried out the movement of Vietnamese civilians from north tosouth.  Some 100,000 southerners, mostlyViet Minh cadres and their families and supporters, moved to the northernzone.  A peacekeeping force, called theInternational Control Commission and comprising contingents from India, Canada,and Poland,was tasked with enforcing the ceasefire agreement.  Separate ceasefire agreements also weresigned for Laos and Cambodia.

Another agreement, titled the “Final Declaration of theGeneva Conference on the Problem of Restoring Peace in Indo-China, July 21,1954”, called for Vietnamese general elections to be held in July 1956, and thereunification of Vietnam.  France DRV, the Soviet Union, China, and Britain signed thisDeclaration.  Both the State of Vietnamand the United Statesdid not sign, the former outright rejecting the Declaration, and the lattertaking a hands-off stance, but promising not to oppose or jeopardize theDeclaration.

By the time of the Geneva Conference, the Viet Minhcontrolled a majority of Vietnam’sterritory and appeared ready to deal a final defeat on the demoralized Frenchforces.  The Viet Minh’s agreeing toapparently less favorable terms (relative to its commanding battlefieldposition) was brought about by the following factors: First, despite Dien BienPhu, French forces in Indochina were far from being defeated, and still held anoverwhelming numerical and firepower advantage over the Viet Minh; Second, theSoviet Union and China cautioned the Viet Minh that a continuation of the warmight prompt an escalation of American military involvement in support of theFrench; and Third, French Prime Minister Pierre Mendes-France had vowed to achievea ceasefire within thirty days or resign. The Soviet Union and China,fearing the collapse of the Mendes-France regime and its replacement by aright-wing government that would continue the war, pressed Ho to tone down VietMinh insistence of a unified Vietnamunder the DRV, and agree to a compromise.

The planned July 1956 reunification election failed tomaterialize because the parties could not agree on how it was to beimplemented.  The Viet Minh proposedforming “local commissions” to administer the elections, while the United States,seconded by the State of Vietnam, wanted the elections to be held under UnitedNations (UN) oversight.  The U.S.government’s greatest fear was a communist victory at the polls; U.S. PresidentEisenhower believed that “possibly 80%” of all Vietnamese would vote for Ho ifelections were held.  The State ofVietnam also opposed holding the reunification elections, stating that as ithad not signed the Geneva Accords, it was not bound to participate in thereunification elections; it also declared that under the repressive conditionsin the north under communist DRV, free elections could not be held there.  As a result, reunification elections were notheld, and Vietnamremained divided.

In the aftermath, both the DRV in the north (later commonlyknown as North Vietnam) and the State of Vietnam in the south (later as theRepublic of Vietnam, more commonly known as South Vietnam) became de factoseparate countries, both Cold War client states, with North Vietnam backed bythe Soviet Union, China, and other communist states, and South Vietnamsupported by the United States and other Western democracies.

In April 1956, Francepulled out its last troops from Vietnam;some two years earlier (June 1954), it had granted full independence to theState of Vietnam.  The year 1955 saw thepolitical consolidation and firming of Cold War alliances for both North Vietnam and South Vietnam.  In the north, Ho Chi Minh’s regime launchedrepressive land reform and rent reduction programs, where many tens ofthousands of landowners and property managers were executed, or imprisoned inlabor camps.  With the Soviet Union and China sending more weapons and advisors, North Vietnamfirmly fell within the communist sphere of influence.

In South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, whom Bao Dai appointed asPrime Minister in June 1954, also eliminated all political dissent starting in1955, particularly the organized crime syndicate Binh Xuyen in Saigon, and thereligious sects Hoa Hao and Cao Dai in the Mekong Delta, all of whichmaintained powerful armed groups.  InApril-May 1955, sections of central Saigonwere destroyed in street battles between government forces and the Binh Xuyenmilitia.

Then in October 1955, in a referendum held to determine theState of Vietnam’s political future, voters overwhelmingly supportedestablishing a republic as campaigned by Diem, and rejected the restoration ofthe monarchy as desired by Bao Dai. Widespread irregularities marred the referendum, with an implausible 98%of voters favoring Diem’s proposal.  OnOctober 23, 1955, Diem proclaimed the Republicof Vietnam (later commonly known as South Vietnam),with himself as its first president.  Itspredecessor, the State of Vietnam was dissolved, and Bao Dao fell from power.

In early 1956, Diem launched military offensives on the VietMinh and its supporters in the South Vietnamese countryside, leading tothousands being executed or imprisoned. Early on, militarily weak South Vietnamwas promised armed and financial support by the United States, which hoped to prop up the regime of PrimeMinister (later President) Diem, a devout Catholic and staunch anti-communist,as a bulwark against communism in Southeast Asia.

In January 1955, the first shipments of American weaponsarrived, followed shortly by U.S.military advisors, who were tasked to provide training to the South VietnameseArmy.  The U.S. government also endeavored toshore up the public image of the somewhat unknown Diem as a viable alternativeto the immensely popular Ho Chi Minh. However, the Diem regime was tainted by corruption and nepotism, andDiem himself ruled with autocratic powers, and implemented policies thatfavored the wealthy landowning class and Catholics at the expense of the lowerpeasant classes and Buddhists (the latter comprised 70% of the population).

By 1957, because of southern discontent with Diem’spolicies, a communist-influenced civilian uprising had grown in South Vietnam,with many acts of terrorism, including bombings and assassinations, takingplace.  Then in 1959, North Vietnam,frustrated at the failure of the reunification elections from taking place, andin response to the growing insurgency in the south, announced that it wasresuming the armed struggle (now against South Vietnam and the United States)in order to liberate the south and reunify Vietnam.  The stage was set for the cataclysmic SecondIndochina War, more popularly known as the Vietnam War. (Excerpts taken fromWars of the 20th Century – Volume 5: Twenty Wars in Asia.)

February 9, 1978 – Ogaden War: Somalia mobilizes as the threat of an invasion by Ethiopia rises

As fears of an Ethiopian invasion of Somaliaincreased, on February 9, 1978, Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre issued ageneral mobilization and placed the country in a state of emergency.  In early March 1978, Ethiopian-Cuban forcesattacked Jijiga, where remnants of the Somali Army-WSLF forces had organized alast major defense of the Ogaden.  Buttheir lines quickly fell apart under the weight of the armored, artillery, andair attacks.  The Battle of Jijiga was acrushing defeat for the Somali Army, with some 3,000 soldiers killed.  On March 9, 1978, the Somali governmentordered a general retreat from the Ogaden; by this time, however, the SomaliArmy, now abandoning their weapons and equipment in the field, and togetherwith the WSLF fighters, and tens of thousands of civilians, were making ahasty, chaotic retreat toward the Somali border.  Further Ethiopian-Cuban advances across theOgaden recaptured other areas: Degehabur (March 6), Filtu (March 8), Delo(March 12), and Kelafo (March 13).

The Ethiopian government now faced the enticing prospect ofadvancing right into Somalia.  Ultimately, the Soviet Union prevailed uponthe Ethiopian Derg regime to stop at the border; on March 23, 1978, with muchof the fighting dying down, Ethiopiadeclared victory and the war over. Estimates of combat casualties are: over 6,000 killed and 10,000 woundedin the Ethiopian Army, and over 6,000 killed and 2,000 wounded in the SomaliArmy.  Some 400 Cubans and 30 Sovietsalso lost their lives.  A combined 50planes and over 300 tanks and armored vehicles also were destroyed.  Furthermore, some 750,000 Ogaden inhabitants(mainly ethnic Somali and Oromo) fled from their homes and ended up as refugeesin Somalia.

Greater Somalia.

(Taken from Ogaden War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 4)

Background InDecember 1950, with Allied approval, the United Nations granted Italy a trusteeship over Italian Somaliland onthe condition that Italygrants the territory its independence within ten years.  On June 26, 1960, Britaingranted independence to British Somaliland, which became the State of Somaliland, and a few days later, Italy also granted independence to the TrustTerritory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland).  On July 1, 1960, the two new states merged toform the Somali Republic(Somalia).

The newly sovereign enlarged state had as its primaryforeign affairs mission the fulfillment of “Greater Somalia” (also known asPan-Somalism; Figure 29), an irredentist concept that sought to bring into a unitedSomali state all ethnic Somalis in the Horn of Africa who currently wereresiding in neighboring foreign jurisdictions, i.e. the Ogaden region inEthiopia, Northern Frontier District (NFD) in Kenya, and French Somaliland.  Somaliaofficially did not claim ownership to these foreign territories but desiredthat ethnic Somalis in these regions, particularly where they formed apopulation majority, be granted the right to decide their political future,i.e. to remain with these countries or to secede and merge with Somalia.

Nationalist Somalis in Kenyaand Ethiopia, desiring to bejoined with Somalia,soon launched guerilla insurgencies.  Inthe Ogaden region, many guerilla groups organized, the foremost of which wasthe Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF), founded in 1960, just after Somalia gainedits independence.  The Somali governmentbegan to build its armed forces, eventually setting as a goal a force of about20,000 troops that it deemed was powerful enough to realize the dream ofGreater Somalia.  But constrained byeconomic limitations, Somaliasought the assistance of various Western powers, particularly the United States, but the latter only promised toprovide military resources for a 5,000-strong armed forces, which it deemed wassufficient for Somaliato defend its borders against external threats.

The Somali government then turned to communist states,particularly the Soviet Union; although these countries’ Marxist ideology rancontrary to its own democratic institution, Somalia viewed this as a means tobe political self-reliant and not be too dependent on the West, and to courtboth sides in the Cold War.  Thus, fornearly two decades after gaining its independence, Somalia received military supportfrom both western and communist countries.

In 1962, the Soviet Union provided Somalia with asubstantial loan under generous terms of repayment, allowing the Somaligovernment to build in earnest an offense-oriented armed forces; subsequentSoviet loans and military assistance led to the perception in the internationalcommunity that Somalia fell under the Soviet sphere of influence, bolsteredfurther as Soviet planes, tanks, artillery pieces, and other military hardwarewere supplied in large quantities to the Somali Army Forces.

Tensions between Ethiopian security forces and the OgadenSomalis sporadically led to violence that soon deteriorated further with SomaliArmy units intervening, leading to border skirmishes between Ethiopian andSomali regular security units. Large-scale fighting by both sides finally brokeout in February 1964, which was triggered by a Somali revolt in June 1963 atHodayo.  Somali ground and air units camein support of the rebels but Ethiopian planes gained control of the skies andattacked frontier areas, including Feerfeer and Galcaio.  Under mediation efforts provided by Sudanrepresenting the Organization of African Unity (OAU), in April 1964, aceasefire was agreed that imposed a separation of forces and a demilitarizedzone on the border.  In the aftermath, inlate 1964, Ethiopia enteredinto a mutual defense treaty with Kenya (which also was facing arebellion by local ethnic Somalis supported by the Somali government) in caseof a Somali invasion; this treaty subsequently was renewed in 1980 and then in1987.

On October 21, 1969, a military coup overthrew Somalia’sdemocratically elected civilian government and in its place, a military juntacalled the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) was set up and led by GeneralMohamed Siad Barre, who succeeded as president of the country.  The SRC suspended the constitution, bannedpolitical parties, and dissolved parliament, and ruled as a dictatorship.  The country was renamed the Somali DemocraticRepublic.  Exactly one year after thecoup, on October 21, 1970, President Barre declared the country a Marxiststate, although a form of syncretized ideology called “scientific revolution”was implemented, which combined elements of Marxism-Leninism, Islam, and Somalinationalism.  The SRC forged even closerdiplomatic and military ties with the Soviet Union,which led in July 1974 to the signing of the Treaty of Friendship andCooperation, where the Soviets increased military support to the SomaliArmy.  Earlier in 1972, under aSomali-Soviet agreement, the Russians developed the Somali port of Berbera,converting it into a large naval, air, and radar and communications facilitythat allowed the Soviets to project power into the Middle East, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf.  TheSoviets also established many new military airfields, including those in Mogadishu, Hargeisa,Baidoa, and Kismayo.

Under pressure from the Soviet government to form a“vanguard party” along Marxist lines, in July 1976, President Barre dissolvedthe SRC which he replaced with the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP),whose Supreme Council (politburo) formed the new government, with Barre as itsSecretary General.  The SRSP, as the solelegal party, was intended to be a civilian-run entity to replace themilitary-dominated SRC; however, since much of the SRC’s political hierarchysimply moved to the SRSP, in practice, not much changed in governance and Barrecontinued to rule as de facto dictator.

With a greatly enhanced Somali military capability,President Barre pressed irredentist aspirations for Greater Somalia, steppingup political rhetoric against Ethiopiaand spurning third-party mediations to resolve the emerging crisis.  Then in the mid-1970s, favorablecircumstances allowed Somaliato implement its irredentist ambitions. During the first half of 1974, widespread military and civilian unrestgripped Ethiopia,rendering the government powerless.  InSeptember 1974, a group of junior military officers called the “CoordinatingCommittee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army”, which simply wasknown as “Derg” (an Ethiopian word meaning “Committee” or “Council”), seizedpower after overthrowing Ethiopia’s long-ruling aging monarch, Emperor HaileSelassie.  The Derg succeeded in power,dissolved the Ethiopian parliament and abolished the constitution, nationalizedrural and urban lands and most industries, ruled with absolute powers, andbegan Ethiopia’s gradual transition from an absolute monarchy to aMarxist-Leninist one-party state.

Ethiopiatraditionally was aligned with the West, with most of its military suppliessourced from the United States. But with its transition toward socialism, the Derg regime forged closerties with the Soviet Union, which led to thesigning in December 1976 of a military assistance agreement.  Simultaneously, Ethiopian-American relationsdeteriorated, and with U.S. President Jimmy Carter criticizing Ethiopia’s poorhuman rights record, in April 1977, the Derg repealed Ethiopia’s defense treatywith the United States, refused further American assistance, and expelled U.S.military personnel from the country.  Atthis point, both Ethiopiaand Somalialay within the Soviet sphere and thus ostensibly were on the same side in theCold War, but a situation that was unacceptable to President Barre with regardsto his ambitions for Greater Somalia.

In the aftermath of the Derg’s seizing power, Ethiopiaexperienced a period of great political and security unrest, as the governmentbattled Marxist groups in the White Terror and Red Terror, regionalinsurgencies that sought to secede portions of the country, and the Derg itselfracked by internal power struggles that threatened its own survival.  Furthermore, the Derg distrusted thearistocrat-dominated military establishment and purged the ranks of the officercorps; some 30% of the officers were removed (including 17 generals who wereexecuted in November 1974).  At thistime, the Ogaden insurgency, led by the WSLF and other groups, also increasedin intensity, with Ethiopian military outposts and government infrastructures subjectto rebel attacks.  Just a few yearsearlier, President Barre did not provide full military support to the Ogadenrebels, encouraging them to seek a negotiated solution through diplomaticchannels and even with Emperor Haile Selassie himself.  These efforts failed, however, and with Ethiopiasinking into crisis, President Barre saw his chance to step in.

February 8, 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: The Japanese Navy attacks Port Arthur

On February 8, 1904, three hours before the Russiangovernment received Japan’s declarationof war, the Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the main RussianPacific Fleet anchored at Port Arthur.  Fighting lasted until the next day, with thetwo sides’ battleships being brought into action.  Russian shore batteries eventually forced theJapanese Navy to withdraw offshore, where it commenced what became a protractedblockade of Port Arthur.  Although the Japanese attack on Port Arthur caused noserious losses to the Russians apart from some damage to a few ships (whichwere repaired), the suddenness of the war shocked the Russian government.  Tsar Nicholas II particularly was incredulousthat a small nation such as Japanwould provoke a giant, powerful nation such as the Russian Empire.

In 1904, Japan and Russia went to war for control of Korea and southern Manchuria.

(Taken from Russo-Japanese War – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia)

Background By the19th century, Russia’sterritorial expansion into eastern Asia was encroaching into China, which was then ruled by theweakening Qing Dynasty.  Russia and Chinasigned two treaties (the Treaty of Aigun in 1858 and the Convention of Pekingin 1860), where China cededto Russiathe territory known as Outer Manchuria (present-day southern region of theRussian Far East).  Then in 1896, by theterms of a construction concession, Chinaallowed Russia to build theChinese Eastern Railway, which would connect the eastern end of theTrans-Siberian Railway to Vladivostok, throughnorthern Inner Manchuria (present-day Northeast China).  In July 1897, construction work on this newrailway line began.

In December 1897, the Russian Navy started to use the port of Lushunkou,located at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula.  Four months later, in March 1898, Russia and Chinasigned an agreement, where the Chinese government granted a 25-year lease(called the “Convention for the Lease of the LiaotungPeninsula”) to Russia for Lushunkou and the surrounding areas,collectively called the Kwantung Leased Territory.  The Russians soon renamed Lushunkou as Port Arthur, and developed it into its main naval base inthe Far East. Port Arthur was operational all yearlong, compared to the other Russian naval base at Vladivostok, which was unusable duringwinter.  Both the Chinese Eastern Railwayand Kwantung Leased Territory allowed Russia to consolidate its hold over InnerManchuria (although the region legally remained part of China), which wasfurthered when Russia began constructing, in 1899, the South Manchuria Railwayto connect Harbin with Port Arthur, via Mukden. Also by the latter 19th century, Russia was establishing firmerpolitical and economic ties with the Korean Empire’s weak Joseon Dynasty.

Meanwhile, Japan(which had only recently industrialized and was emerging as a regional militarypower) also harbored ambitions in southern Manchuria and Korea.  For over two centuries (1633-1853), Japan hadimplemented a near total isolationist policy from the outside world.  But in the 1850s, Japanwas forced (under threat of military action) to sign treaties with the United Statesand European powers to establish diplomatic and trade relations.  Seeing itself powerless against an attack bythe West, Japan reunifiedunder its emperor and then began a massive industrialization and modernizationprogram patterned after the West, which dramatically overturned and completelyaltered Japan’straditional feudal-based agricultural society.  Within a period of one generation, Japan had become a modern,industrialized, and prosperous state, with the government placing particularemphasis on building up its military forces to the level matching those in theWest.

In the 1870s, Japanset its sights to emulating European-style imperialist expansion (during thistime, European powers were aggressively establishing colonies in Asia andAfrica), and turned to its old rival, Korea.  Korea,although nominally sovereign and independent, was a tributary state of China.  In September 1875, after failing to establishdiplomatic relations with Korea,Japan sent a warship to Korea.  Using its artillery, the Japanese ship openedfire and devastated the coastal defenses of Ganghwa Island, Korea.  Six months later, February 1876, Japan sentsix warships to Korea, forcing the Korean government to sign a treaty withJapan, the Gangwa Treaty, which among other provisions, established diplomaticrelations between the two countries, and forced Korea to open a number of portsto trade with Japan.  Thereafter,European powers followed, opening diplomatic and trade ties with Korea, and ending the latter’s self-imposedisolationist policy (Koreauntil then had been known as the “Hermit Kingdom”).

But Japanwas interested not only in opening trade with Korea,but in dominating the whole Korean Peninsula.  Subsequently, Japanstarted to interfere in Korea’sinternal affairs.  Before long, theKorean ruling elite became divided into two factions: the pro-Japanese faction,comprising progressives who wanted to modernize Korea in association withJapan; and the pro-Chinese faction, comprising the conservatives, including theruling Joseon monarchy, who were firmly anti-Japanese and wanted Korea’snational development under the tutelage of China or with the West.

The growing Japanese interference in Korea’s affairs made conflict between Japan and China inevitable.  War finally broke out in the FirstSino-Japanese War (1894-1895), where Japanese forces triumphed decisively.  In the peace treaty (April 1895) that endedthe war, China recognized Korea’s independence, (until then, Korea was a tributary state of China), Chinapaid Japan an indemnity, andceded to Japan the eastern part of the LiaodongPeninsula (as well as Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands).  In the aftermath, Japanreplaced China as thedominant controlling power in Korea.

But immediately thereafter, Russia,which also had power ambitions in southern Manchuria, particularly the vitalLushunkou (later Port Arthur), convinced France and Germanyto join its cause and force Japanto return the Liaodong Peninsula to China,in exchange for China payingJapana larger indemnity.  Japanreluctantly acquiesced, seeing that its forces were powerless to fight threeEuropean powers at the same time.

Cash-strapped Chinasought financial assistance from Russiato pay its large indemnity to Japan.  Russiareleased a loan to China,but also proposed a Sino-Russian alliance against Japan.  In June 1896, Chinaand Russia signed the secretLi-Lobanov Treaty where Russiaagreed to intervene if Chinawas attacked by Japan.  In exchange, Chinaallowed Russia the use of Chineseports for the Russian Navy, as well as for Russiato build a railway line across North East China (the Chinese Eastern Railway)to Vladivostok.  As the treaty also permitted the presence ofRussian troops in the region, Russiasoon gained full control of northeast China.  Then after signing the lease for the Liaodong Peninsula,particularly vital Port Arthur, Russia gained control of southern Manchuria as well.

Meanwhile, in Korea, anti-Japanese sentimentintensified further when in October 1895, Queen Min, wife of King Gojong, wasassassinated, with most Koreans blaming the Japanese, because of the queen’sstrong anti-Japanese stance.  Fearing forhis life, Korean King Gojong fled to the Russian diplomatic office.  With Russian protection, in October 1897,King Gojong proclaimed the Korean Empire, an act to symbolize the end of China’sdomination of his country.  Koreans werestrongly anti-imperialistic and desired self-rule.  Most Koreans also wanted to establishstronger ties with European countries and the United States to stop what they believed were Japan’sambitions to take over their nation.

Undeterred, in November 1901, Japanapproached Russia with aproposal: in exchange for Japanrecognizing Manchuria as falling within the Russian sphere of control andinfluence, Russia wouldrecognize Japan’s controlover Korea.  As early as June 1896, Japan and Russiahad agreed to form a joint protectorate over Korea, which would serve as abuffer zone between them.  But in April1898, in another treaty, Russiaacknowledged Japan’scommercial and economic interests in Korea

In January 1902, Japan and Britain signed a military pact(the Anglo-Japanese Alliance), where the British promised to intervenemilitarily for Japan in the event that in a Russo-Japanese war, a third partyentered the war on Russia’s side against Japan. The British motive in the treaty was to curb Russia’sterritorial expansionism in East Asia; for Japan,the alliance strengthened its resolve to go to war with Russia.

Subsequently, Russiaappeared to be willing to compromise with Japan,even indicating its intention to withdraw from Manchuria.  In March 1902, Russiaand France signed a militarypact, but the French government stated that it would intervene for Russia (if the latter went to war) only in a warin Europe and not in Asia.  As a result, Russiawould have to fight alone in a war with Japan.

A faction in the Russian government, led by the ForeignMinistry, wanted a peaceful settlement with Japan.  However, Tsar Nicholas II, the Russianmonarch, and the Russian military high command, pressed for continued Russianexpansionism in the Far East, being confident that the Russian military, with along history of wars in Europe, could easily defeat upstart Japan.  Then when Russiadid not withdraw from Manchuria, in July 1903, the Japanese envoy in St. Petersburg (Russia’s capital) issued adiplomatic protest.  But in August 1903, Japan again offered Russiathe proposal that in exchange for Russia’srecognition of Japan’scontrol of Korea, Japan would accept Russia’scontrol of Manchuria.  In October 1903, Russiamade a counter-proposal with the following stipulations: that Manchuria fellunder Russia’s sphere ofinfluence; that Russiarecognized Japan’scommercial interests in Korea;and that all territory north of the 39th parallel in the Korean Peninsulawould be a demilitarized buffer zone where no Russian or Japanese forces coulddeploy.

Each side’s proposals were unacceptable to the other, butthe two sides agreed to hold talks.  ByJanuary 1904, with no progress being made in the talks, Japaneserepresentatives concluded that the Russians were stalling.  Again, Japanrepeated its August 1903 offer, but after receiving no reply, on February 6,1904, Japan cut diplomaticties with Russia.  Two days later, Japandeclared war on Russia.

February 7, 1962 – Cuban Revolution: The United States bans all Cuban imports and exports

In 1960, following the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro entered into a trade agreement with the Soviet Union that included purchasing Russian oil.  Then when U.S. petroleum companies in Cuba refused to refine the imported Russian oil, a succession of measures and retaliatory counter-measures followed quickly.  In July 1960, Cuba seized the American oil companies and nationalized them the next month.  In October 1960, the United States imposed an economic embargo on Cuba and banned all imports (which constituted 90% of all Cuban exports) from Cuba.  The restriction included sugar, which was Cuba’s biggest source of revenue.  In January 1960, the United States ended all official diplomatic relations with Cuba, closed its embassy in Havana, and banned trade to and forbid American private and business transactions with the island country. On February 7, 1962, all imports from and exports to Cuba were banned.

With Cubashedding off democracy and taking on a clearly communist state policy,thousands of Cubans from the upper and middle classes, including politicians,top government officials, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, and many otherprofessionals fled the country for exile in other countries, particularly inthe United States.  However, many other anti-Castro Cubans choseto remain and subsequently organized into armed groups to start acounter-revolution in the Escambray Mountains; these rebel groups’ activities laid thegroundwork for Cuba’snext internal conflict, the “War against the Bandits”.

In November 1956, Fidel Castro and 81 other rebels set out from Tuxpan, Mexico aboard a decrepit yacht for their nearly 2,000 kilometer trip across the Caribbean Sea bound for south-eastern Cuba.

(Taken from Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 2)

Aftermath of theCuban Revolution In Havana, President Manuel Urrutia (who Castro hadappointed as provisional president and Cuba’s new head of state), and especiallyChe Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, and the M-26-7 fighters, took control ofcivilian and military institutions of the government.  Similarly in Oriente Province,Fidel Castro established authority over the regional governmental and militaryfunctions.  In the following days, otherregional military units all across Cuba surrendered theirjurisdictions to rebel forces that arrived. Then from Santiago de Cuba, Fidel Castrobegan a nearly week-long journey to Havana,stopping at every town and city to large crowds and giving speeches,interviews, and press conferences.  OnJanuary 8, 1959, he arrived in Havanaand declared himself the “Representative of the Rebel Armed Forces of thePresidency”, that is, he was effectively head of the Cuban Armed Forces under thegovernment of President Urrutia and newly installed Prime Minister JoseMiro.  Real power, however, remained withCastro.

In the next few months, the Castro regime consolidated powerby executing or jailing hundreds of Batista supporters for “war crimes” andrelegating to the sidelines the other rebel groups that had taken part in therevolution.  During the war, Fidel Castrohad promised the return of democracy by instituting multi-party politics andholding free elections.  Now however, hespurned these promises, declaring that the electoral process was sociallyregressive and benefited only the wealthy elite.

Castro denied being a communist, the most widely publicizeddeclaration being during his personal visit to the United States in April 1959, or fourmonths after he gained power.  Members ofthe Popular Socialist Party, or PSP (Cuban communists), however, soon began todominate key government positions, and Cuba’s foreign policy moved towardestablishing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloccountries.  (By 1961 when Castro haddeclared Cuba a communist state, his M-26-7 Movement had formed an alliancewith the PSP, the 13th of March Movement – DR, and other leftist organizations;this coalition ultimately gave rise to the Cuban Communist Party.)

President Urrutia, who was a political moderate and anon-communist, made known his concern about the socialist direction of thegovernment, which put him directly in Castro’s way.  Consequently in July 1959, President Urrutiawas forced to resign from office, as Prime Minister Miro had done earlier inFebruary.  A Cuban communist took over asthe new president, subservient to the dictates of Fidel Castro.  Castro had become the “Maximum Leader”(Spanish: Maximo Lider), or absolute dictator; he abolished Congress, ruled bydecree, and suppressed all forms of opposition. Free speech was silenced, as were the print and broadcast media, whichwere placed under government control.  Inthe villages, towns, and cities across Cuba, neighborhood watches calledthe “Committees for the Defense of the Revolution” were formed to monitor theactivities of all residents within their jurisdictions and to weed outdissidents, enemies, and “counter-revolutionaries”.  In 1959, land reform was implemented in Cuba;private and corporate lands were seized, partitioned, and distributed topeasants and landless farmers.

On January 7, 1959, just a few days after the CubanRevolution ended, the United States recognized the new Cuban governmentunder President Urrutia. But as Castro later gained absolute power and hisgovernment gradually turned socialist, relations between the two countriesdeteriorated rapidly.  By July 1959, justseven months later, U.S.president Dwight Eisenhower was planning Castro’s overthrow; subsequently inMarch 1960, he ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to organize andtrain U.S.-based Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba.

In 1960, Castro entered into a trade agreement with the Soviet Union that included purchasing Russian oil.  Then when U.S.petroleum companies in Cubarefused to refine the imported Russian oil, a succession of measures andretaliatory counter-measures followed quickly. In July 1960, Cubaseized the American oil companies and nationalized them the next month.  In October 1960, the United States imposed an economic embargo on Cuba and banned all imports (which constituted90% of all Cuban exports) from Cuba.  The restriction included sugar, which was Cuba’sbiggest source of revenue.  In January1960, the United Statesended all official diplomatic relations with Cuba,closed its embassy in Havana,and banned trade to and forbid American private and business transactions withthe island country.

With Cubashedding off democracy and taking on a clearly communist state policy,thousands of Cubans from the upper and middle classes, including politicians,top government officials, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, and many otherprofessionals fled the country for exile in other countries, particularly inthe United States.  However, many other anti-Castro Cubans choseto remain and subsequently organized into armed groups to start acounter-revolution in the Escambray Mountains; these rebel groups’ activities laid thegroundwork for Cuba’snext internal conflict, the “War against the Bandits”.

February 6, 1981 – Ugandan Civil War: Rebels attack a military installation

The Ugandan Civil War (also known as the Ugandan Bush War) is historically cited as having started on February 6, 1981, when one of the armed groups attacked a Ugandan military facility. The various rebel militias were tribal-based, operated independently of each other, and generally carried out their activities only within their local and regional strongholds.  One such rebel militia consisted of former Ugandan Army soldiers still loyal to deposed leader General Idi Amin, and fought out of the West Nile District, which was General Amin’s homeland.  The various rebel militias had limited capability to confront government forces and therefore employed hit-and-run tactics, such as ambushing army patrols, raiding armories and seizing weapons, and carrying out sabotage operations against government installations.

Africa showing location of Uganda and nearby countries.

The rebel group that ultimately prevailed in the war was theNational Resistance Army (NRA), led by Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’sformer Defense Minister.  As a universitystudent, Museveni had received training in guerilla warfare, which he wouldlater put to use in the war.

In response, the Ugandan Army launched an extensivecounter-insurgency campaign in the countryside. The soldiers particularly targeted the rural population, which theybelieved was supporting the rebels.  Themany atrocities committed by soldiers included summary executions, tortures,rapes, lootings, and destruction of homes and properties.  The West Nile District was hard hit becauseof its fierce opposition to President Obote. Furthermore, soldiers from other ethnic groups were repressed during thereign of General Amin.  Thus, after thedictator’s overthrow, these ethnic groups, particularly the Acholi and Langowhich formed the majority in the Ugandan Army, carried out revenge by targetingcivilians in the West Nile District.

(Taken from Ugandan Civil War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 3)

Background OnApril 11, 1979, General Idi Amin was removed from power when the TanzanianArmy, supported by Ugandan rebels, invaded and took over Uganda (previous article).  Uganda then entered a transitionalperiod aimed at a return to democracy, a process that generated great politicalinstability.  A succession of leadersheld power only briefly because of tensions between the civilian government andthe newly reorganized Ugandan military leadership.  Furthermore, ethnic-based political partieswrangled with each other, hoping to gain and play a bigger role in the futuregovernment.

In general elections held in December 1980, former PresidentMilton Obote, who had been the country’s head of state before being deposed ina coup by General Amin in 1971, returned to power by winning the presidentialrace.  It was hoped that the elections wouldadvance the country’s transition to democracy. Instead, they served as the trigger for the civil war thatfollowed.  Defeated political groupsaccused President Obote of cheating to win the elections.  Tensions rose within the already chargedpolitical atmosphere.  Many armed groupsthat already existed during the war now rose up in rebellion against thegovernment.

February 5, 1994 – Bosnian War: Bosnian Serb forces commit the first of two Markale massacres

On February 5, 1994, Bosnian Serb forces of the Army of Republika Srpska fired a mortar shell into the crowded Markale (market) in Sarajevo (the capital of Bosnian and Herzegovina), killing 68 civilians and wounded 144 others. A second attack on the Markale occurred on August 28, 1995, where five mortar shells killed 43 people and wounded 75 others. The two incidents occurred during the Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. They are now known as the Markale Massacres, which the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have declared as ethnic cleansing perpetrated by troops of the Army of Republika Srpska.

Yugoslavia comprised six republics, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, and Macedonia, and two autonomous provinces, Kosovo and Vojvodina.

(Taken from Bosnian War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 1)

Many atrocities and human rights violations were committedin the war, the great majority of which were perpetrated by Bosnian Serbs, butalso by Bosnian Croats, and to a much lesser extent, by Bosniaks.

Bosnian Croat forces also perpetrated many atrocities,including those that occurred in the Lasva Valley, which caused thedeaths and forced disappearances of 2,000 Bosniaks, as well as other violentacts against civilians.  Bosniak forcesalso committed crimes against civilians and captured soldiers, but these wereof much less frequency and severity.

About 90% of all crimes in the Bosnian War were attributedto Bosnian Serbs.  The ICTY has convictedand meted out punishments to many perpetrators, who generally were militarycommanders and high-ranking government officials.  The war caused some 100,000 deaths, bothcivilian and military; over two million persons were displaced by the fighting.

After the war, Bosnia-Herzegovina retained its territorialintegrity.  As a direct consequence ofthe war, Bosnia-Herzegovina established a decentralized government composed oftwo political and geographical entities: the Republicof Bosnia and Herzegovina (consistingof Bosniak and Bosnian Croat majorities) and the Republic of Srpska(consisting of Bosnian Serbs).  Thepresident of Bosnian-Herzegovina is elected on rotation, with a Bosniak,Bosnian Croat, and Bosnian Serb taking turns as the country’s head of state.

Background Bosnia-Herzegovinahas three main ethnic groups: Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), comprising 44% of thepopulation, Bosnian Serbs, with 32%, and Bosnian Croats, with 17%.  Sloveniaand Croatiadeclared their independences in June 1991. On October 15, 1991, the Bosnian parliament declared the independence ofBosnia-Herzegovina, with Bosnian Serb delegates boycotting the session inprotest.  Then acting on a request fromboth the Bosnian parliament and the Bosnian Serb leadership, a EuropeanEconomic Community arbitration commission gave its opinion, on January 11,1992, that Bosnia-Herzegovina’s independence cannot be recognized, since noreferendum on independence had taken place.

Bosnian Serbs formed a majority in Bosnia’snorthern regions.  On January 5, 1992,Bosnian Serbs seceded from Bosnia-Herzegovina and established their owncountry.  Bosnian Croats, who alsocomprised a sizable minority, had earlier (on November 18, 1991) seceded fromBosnia-Herzegovina by declaring their own independence.  Bosnia-Herzegovina, therefore, fragmentedinto three republics, formed along ethnic lines.

Furthermore, in March 1991, Serbia and Croatia, two Yugoslavconstituent republics located on either side of Bosnia-Herzegovina, secretlyagreed to annex portions of Bosnia-Herzegovina that contained a majoritypopulation of ethnic Serbians and ethnic Croatians.  This agreement, later re-affirmed by Serbiansand Croatians in a second meeting in May 1992, was intended to avoid armedconflict between them.  By this time,heightened tensions among the three ethnic groups were leading to openhostilities.

Mediators from Britainand Portugalmade a final attempt to avert war, eventually succeeding in convincingBosniaks, Bosnian Serbs, and Bosnian Croats to agree to share political powerin a decentralized government.  Just tendays later, however, the Bosnian government reversed its decision and rejectedthe agreement after taking issue with some of its provisions.