GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES: REFLECTION
WORKSHEET 9.
WARS OF THE 20th AND 21st CENTURIES:
1914 AD - PRESENT DAY
By Werner Nell Strydom
The Congress of Berlin in 1884 AD was a pivotal event in human history. The world
was up for grabs and the military might of colonial powers appeared to be unstoppable.
By 1900 AD most of the less technologically advanced countries were either influenced by or
directly colonized by European powers.
As a result, the European powers started to compete with each other for global domination.
The world was a powder keg and with the assisination of the Austro-Hungarian archduke,
Franz - Ferdinand and his wife in 1914 AD, Europe was plunged into The First World War.
This war rapidly spread to Africa and the Middle East, and was also waged on all the world’s
oceans.
By November, 1918 AD after four brutal years of war, the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian
Empire, and the Ottoman Empire were finally defeated. The victorious countries which
included the USA (United States of America), the British Empire, France, and Italy imposed
harsh economic and military sanctions on Germany. The Ottoman - and the Austro-Hungarian
Empires collapsed shortly afterwards and the Russian Empire was taken over by Communist
forces under Vladimir Lenin.
The harsh sanctions imposed on Germany by the victorious powers at the Treaty of Versailles
of 1919 AD, led to great bitterness among the Germans. Under the charismatic leadership of
Adolph Hitler, they slowly started to re-arm themselves by 1933 AD. Hitler was determined to
avenge Germany’s humiliation in World War 1 and by 1939 AD, the world was once more on
the brink of war.
After signing military cooperation pacts with Italy and Japan, Hitler sent his forces across the
Polish border and conquered the country within a matter of weeks. World War 2 was underway
and by 1941 AD, the Germans were in control of most of Europe and the coastal regions of
North Africa.
After the German invasion of the Soviet Union (USSR) and the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbour in Hawaii, both the USA and USSR joined the war on the side of Britain and its allies
in 1941 AD. After four brutal years of war and millions of casualties on both sides, Italy fell to
the allied forces and Germany and Japan faced total defeat. The German capital of Berlin fell
in May, 1945 AD after the Adolph Hitler’s suicide. Japan surrendered a few months afterwards
after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945 AD.
After World War 2, the old European colonial powers gradually lost their colonies across the
globe as the USA and USSR emerged as the new global superpowers. Both superpowers
tried their best to spread their influence in the newly independent former colonies and in
Europe itself. The world was plunged into the Cold War by 1948 AD.
The USSR and USA used many former colonies to fight their battles for them. Other times
they were directly involved in various conflicts of the late 20th century. However, both powers
did not dare to come to blows with each other for fear of a total nuclear war. Nevertheless, the
battlegrounds between East and West included Korea (1950 - 1953 AD), Israel (1948, 1957,
1966, 1973, and 1982 AD), Malaysia (1957 AD), Vietnam (1945 - 1975 AD), Algeria (1954 1962 AD), Angola and Mozambique (1975 - 1990 AD), Iran (1980 - 1990 AD) and Afghanistan
(1979 - 1989 AD).
After their defeat in Afghanistan in 1989 AD, the USSR started to collapse and many Eastern
European and Central Asian countries achieved independence by 1991 AD. During that time,
the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in order to gain control of the oil fields of
Saudi Arabia. As a result, the USA, Great Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, and various other
European countries sent forces to liberate Kuwait. Within weeks, the Iraqi Army was crushed
by the Allied forces.
Shortly afterwards in 1993 AD the old Communist country of Yugoslavia disintegrated and
descended into a vicious civil war. Once again the USA and an alliance of European countries
had to intervene and by 1999 AD, several new Balkan countries came into existence.
Meanwhile, back in the Middle East, various religious factions were outraged at the presence
of US and Allied troops in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. This led to numerous attacks on Western
targets in New York (19930, East Africa (1998 AD), Yemen (2000 AD), and ultimately the
September 11th attack on New York and Washington in 2001 AD. Further attacks were also
launched in Madrid (2004 AD), London (2005 AD), and Boston (2013 AD).
These attacks resulted in the US AND British led War Against Terror in Afghanistan (2001 2021 AD), and Iraq (2003 - 2011 AD). In spite of the deaths of Osama bin Laden (architect of
the September 11th attacks) and Saddam Hussein, both wars ended in failure and many other
military organizations sprang up all across Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.
To make matters worse, the Russian Federation is also on the resurgence and has waged
numerous local wars in Ukraine and Syria since 2014 AD. Furthermore the People’s Republic
of China has grown increasingly powerful since 1980 AD. Today both China and the Russian
Federation are directly challenging US and European military dominance in the South China
Sea and the Middle East. Only time will tell if this will lead to the Third World War. 160 million
people have already died as a result of wars since 1900 AD. Let us hope that calm minds will
prevail. If not, humanity will find itself back where it was at the end of the Ice Age 10000 years
ago.
Question 1
Imagine that you are part of a team that has to make a short presentation on the text above.
Name five major challenges that you may encounter during a teamwork activity.
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Question 2
How would you overcome each of the challenges to teamwork that you wrote down in question
1
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Question 3
Imagine that your team completed a presentation on 20th and 21st century wars.
a)
Why must the outcome of your presentation always be related to the issue?
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b) Why is it important to make the key messages of your presentation as clear and concise
as possible?
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c) Is it important to provide different perspectives in a presentation? Give one reason for
your answer.
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d) What will presentations on global conflict help to achieve?
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Total marks: 15