War
What is the most important war in history? Is it WW2?WW1? The Napoleonic wars?The hundred years war?
Discuss
>>299078
DEFINE "IMPORTANT WAR".
>>299087
I guess what has had the most influence on human history on a global scale idk
>>299078
Xerxes invasion of Greece.
The entire Greek foundation for most of western civilization's intellectual notions: Mathematics, civics, philosophy, literature, the works, all stem from Greece.
It was the Persian wars that woke the Greeks up to the outside world, got them moving, and provided an influx of wealth when they started bringing in Persian plunder that provided for a lot of it.
There were a lot of pretty important ones.
I'd nominate the Greco-Persian Wars, the Punic Wars, the various wars involving Muslims and Europe, the American Revolution, and WW2.
>>299078
World War 2, no doubt. 1000's of years of pent up anger and war finally exploded and changed humanity forever. It was the end game of all wars.
>>299102
That's what they said about WW1 too.
>>299078
I'd say Napoleonic Wars because they pretty much made Europe (the most influential area in the world I daresay) realize that monarchies are outdated. This lead to nationalism, which in turn caused both world wars (these wars caused the Cold War and the shitstorm in the ME).
>>299094
yeah, the further back you go the more important wars become via the butterfly effect.
The last most important war to the current geopolitical situation is definitely WWII because it consumed every developed polity completely, even more so than WWI because it involved China.
Whatever the name of the war that had the Battle of Tours.
Or the War against the Ottomans where they were turned back at Vienna.
>>299109
WW1 was a cake walk compared to WW2 and it's kind of hard even call it a world war. It was super deadly but not global. In my book in order for something to be a world war it has to be severe and global.
>>299078
Pretty much impossible to tell.
>>299090
WITH THAT DEFINITION AS CRITERION, "THE MOST IMPORTANT WAR" WOULD BE THE SERIES OF "GRECOPERSIAN WARS".
>>299123
>WW1 was a cake walk compared to WW2
What the hell? I'm not sure what criteria you're using for that. IT was far more evenly balanced, and "cakewalk" usually refers to difficulty, so I would disagree wit hyou there.
>WW2 and it's kind of hard even call it a world war.
Why not? Because the overhwhelming majority of the fighting occurred in Europe? It did as well for WW2, the amount of men and material was tiny in the Pacific theater compared to the European theaters.
>It was super deadly but not global.
When you consider that 6 of the 7 world's major powers through their entire national effort into winning it, yeah, it's global, even if it all happened in Europe. At the start of the 20th century, wealth, power, influence was concentrated in Europe, far more so than it is now.
>>299109
They were actually right about WW2. This is quite literally the most peaceful time in Europe's history; there hasn't been a major European war since 1945.
>>299192
It's also a period where you had a de facto world hegemon in the U.S. whose military power (especially in terms of economic power that can be converted into military power) greatly exceeds everyone else around.
Nukes were the only thing that even kept the USSR competitive, by placing a floor on destructive impact if they could be used. Eliminate hegemon, eliminate hegemonic stability, and we'll probably plunge right back into war; it's already happening in places that the U.S. doesn't care enough about to go in busting heads over.
My top 3:
Greco-Persian
WW2
Hunnic Wars. Here i argue that the Huns made Europe get into feudalism and serfdom relations, a system that lasted until the nineteenth century and the modern states.
What wars would leave the world in the same condition if they didn't exist?
>>299253
IMO all imperialist and trade wars of the Renaissance and Modern Age; all states that would get too powerful got coalition'd into oblivion, so they're totally irrelevant in a way.
Greco-Persian War
Caesar's Civil War
The Napoleonic Wars
World Wars 1 & 2
Just my opinion.
>inb4 eurocentric
>>299283
Well it is bloody Eurocentric you bloody fool
>>299078
how could the hundred years war be that important?
wasn't it just french and england fighting over some french clay?
>>299315
Had England won we would have an XIX empire in the XIV Century. It COULD have been huge, although i rather doubt such an empire would flourish with bad logistics and communications from the lack of technology so early.
>>299319
so it is important becuase of all the thing that could have happened but didnt?
>>299163
>What the hell? I'm not sure what criteria you're using for that. IT was far more evenly balanced, and "cakewalk" usually refers to difficulty, so I would disagree wit hyou there.
The terminology is a bit shady, but I think he meant to say that World War 2 was a much much grander war in terms of scale, casualties, material, people involved, geographical location etc. etc.
>Why not? Because the overhwhelming majority of the fighting occurred in Europe? It did as well for WW2, the amount of men and material was tiny in the Pacific theater compared to the European theaters.
You're forgetting that almost all of the naval engagements took place in the Pacific Theater and you're also ignoring the fact that Japan actively engaged China on a massive scale and the holdings of the British and Dutch empires. World War 2 had fronts on every continent except South America (even North America was affected to a tiny degree). World War 1 was located mostly around Europe and Africa.
>When you consider that 6 of the 7 world's major powers through their entire national effort into winning it, yeah, it's global, even if it all happened in Europe. At the start of the 20th century, wealth, power, influence was concentrated in Europe, far more so than it is now.
It was global, seeing as almost everyone was involved. That anon is just wrong. The Napoleonic wars are sorta like "WW1 Prototype", tho in some terms. WW1 also had a lot more fighting in inner Africa than WW2 did.
>>299341
of course is not just about stuff changing from hands, imo it's about changes, at the end of the day history is just recorded change, so the more war changes things (ideas, technology, etc.) the more important it is
I just asked because I see the hyw is considered kind of important and I can't see why, cant say I've taken my time and read a book about it though
>>299319
This is entirely hypothetical. Also it is doubtful wether Empires would've rolled around sooner since (the discovery of) America was still some decades off. There's nothing to suggest that England would not have lost all of it's French holdings in the inevitable civil war that followed.
US Revolutionary war
>>299078
>What is the most important war in history?
The last one.
The last war is the most important to the culture or society at the time.
>>299211
This is true, which is why retards who complain about US interventionism piss me off so much. If we ever stopped bombing the shit out of anyone who doesn't play nice, then the Russians would be in Berlin by sundown.
>no Mongol conquests
huh
>>299297
Because I specialized in Euro History. I'm not qualified to speak on non-european wars. Id honestly have no fucking clue.
>>299297
World history is eurocentric, dummy
Maybe it would be if China had cared about the world outside of its boders like yuros did.
>>299243
Why where the greco persian wars important? Sure they where huge for their time and a big deal for history but it'd just mean that the Mediterranean would be slightly darker skinned and. Persians aren't gonna start their rome.
>>299297
>>300058
>>300766
Anyone whining about "Eurocentrism" is quite literally pic related
How in the fuck does WW2 even matter? It's the most overrated conflict in the history of man, I swear.
>>300791
>changed the tidal forces of political thinking for 70+ years
>formulated the cosmopolitan global lifestyle
>gave rise to psudo-marxists and "post-modernists"
Etc. Pretty big.
The wretched French Revolution is worse.
The Punic wars; complete destruction of Carthage; Rome's baby steps to glory.
>>300804
The British empire's power was already rapidly decreasing, American influence was getting stronger and communism was spreading even years before the WW2. WW2 only accelerated it.
It's not even the most significant conflict of the 20th century yet people would argue it's the most important war ever.
>>300791
Fat Americans and dumb Brits
If you mean important in that way we would have to go back to the first skirmish between human cities.
However i would nominate WW1, as it destroyed the old world as we know it.
>>300791
Even if you dislike it and shit, its still pretty damm important, may be overrated because of the fucking wars scale, but one cannot dismiss it historically or politically
>>300815
Cold war was most significant.
The French Revolution was more significant than most other historical events
>>300878
Cold war might have been among the most significant periods but was it even a war?
>>300884
Series of proxy wars and the world's biggest economic war.
Whenever one tribe of primitive cave dwellers got up and specifically decided to go over to the next cave en masse and kill the people there and take their stuff, rather than just squabbling when the bumped into each other in the woods.
Every war is influenced by the one before it, there's no Vietnam without WW2, there's no WW2 without WW1, no WW1 with the Franco-Prussian war, etc etc.
Every historian will disagree and claim their particular interest is the most important though.
>>299090
the ooga booga and shooga booga tribal wars of 50,000 bc in which the ooga boogas became victorious, genocided the shooga boogs in total, and planted the seeds for modern humanity
>>299350
>World War 2 had fronts on every continent except South America
WWI had countries from literally every continent on the planet except Antarctica involved because EMPIRE!
It also had fighting in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, even if it wasn't between huge, mechanised armies like in Europe, there was most definitely fighting in all of Germany and Britain's overseas colonies in the Pacific and Africa.
the war inside my mind
>>299380
british victory
>>299087
HI
I THINK YOU USED TO USE CAPS ON POL ON RISK THREADS
>>301429
Most American casualties were from exposure
>>299078
World War One because it was the first industrialized full mobilization total war and it's conclusion directly set the stage for World War Two (which is honestly pretty much WW1 round 2) and that in turn built the 20th century world into the way it is today.
>>301540
HELLO.
YES, I USED TO PLAY "RISK" AT /pol/; I REMEMBER YOU ALSO.
WWII certainly had the most physical impact as being the most destructive war.
WWI had the most ideological impact as it changed the traditional perception of war.
Anything prior was less significant as the effects were primarily localized especially in europe.
