The most unstable region on our planet in terms of wars and numerous armed conflicts is, of course, the African continent. Over the past forty years alone, more than 50 such incidents have occurred here, as a result of which more than 5 million people died, 18 million became refugees, and 24 million were left homeless. Perhaps nowhere else in the world have wars and endless conflicts led to such large-scale casu alties and destruction.
General information
From the history of the ancient world it is known that major wars in Africa have been fought since the third millennium BC. They began with the unification of the Egyptian lands. In the future, the pharaohs constantly fought for the expansion of their state, either with Palestine or with Syria. Three Punic Wars are also known, lasting over a hundred years in total.
In the Middle Ages, armed conflicts greatly contributed to the further development of aggressive policies and honed the art of war to perfection. Africa experienced three Crusades in the 13th century alone. A long list of military confrontations that this continent was subjected to in the XIXand XX centuries, simply amazing! However, the most destructive for him were the First and Second World Wars. More than 100 thousand people died during one of them.
World War I in Africa
The reasons that led to military action in this region were quite good. As you know, the First World War in Europe was unleashed by Germany. The Entente countries, opposing her pressure, decided to take away her colonies in Africa, which the German government had recently acquired. These lands were still poorly defended, and given that the British fleet at that time dominated the sea, they were completely cut off from their mother country. This could only mean one thing - Germany was unable to send reinforcements and ammunition. In addition, the German colonies were surrounded on all sides by territories belonging to their opponents - the Entente countries.
Already at the end of the summer of 1914, French and British troops managed to capture the first small colony of the enemy - Togo. Further invasion of the Entente forces into South-West Africa was somewhat suspended. The reason for this was the Boer uprising, which was suppressed only by February 1915. After that, the South African army began to move forward rapidly and already in July forced the German troops stationed in South West Africa to surrender. The following year, Germany also had to withdraw from Cameroon, whose defenders fled to the neighboring colony, Spanish Guinea. However, despite such a victorious advance of the Entente troops, the Germans were still able to put up serious resistance in East Africa,where fighting continued throughout the war.
Further fighting
The First World War in Africa affected many of the Allied colonies, as German troops were forced to retreat into territory belonging to the British crown. The German army in this region was commanded by Colonel P. von Lettow-Vorbeck. It was he who led the troops in early November 1914, when the largest battle took place near the city of Tanga (the coast of the Indian Ocean). At this time, the German army numbered about 7 thousand people. With the support of two cruisers, the British managed to land a dozen and a half landing transports, but, despite this, Colonel Lettov-Vorbeck managed to win a convincing victory over the British, forcing them to leave the coast.
After that, the war in Africa turned into a guerrilla struggle. The Germans attacked British forts and undermined railways in Kenya and Rhodesia. Lettov-Forbeck replenished his army by recruiting volunteers from among local residents who had good training. In total, he managed to recruit about 12 thousand people.
In 1916, having united in one army, the British, Portuguese and Belgian colonial troops launched an offensive in eastern Africa. But no matter how hard they tried, they failed to defeat the German army. Despite the fact that the allied forces greatly outnumbered the German troops, two factors helped Lettow-Vorbeck to hold out: knowledge of the climate and terrain. And at this time, his opponents suffered heavy losses, and not onlyon the battlefield, but also because of illness. At the end of the autumn of 1917, pursued by the Allies, Colonel P. von Lettow-Vorbeck ended up with his army on the territory of the colony of Mozambique, which at that time belonged to Portugal.
End of hostilities
The First World War was coming to an end. Africa and Asia, as well as Europe, suffered heavy human losses. By August 1918, the German troops, surrounded on all sides, avoiding meetings with the main enemy forces, were forced to return to their territory. By the end of that year, the remnants of Lettov-Vorbeck's colonial army, consisting of no more than 1,5 thousand people, ended up in Northern Rhodesia, which at that time belonged to Britain. Here the colonel learned of the defeat of Germany and was forced to lay down his arms. For his courage in battles with the enemy, he was greeted as a hero in his homeland.
Thus ended the First World War. Africa, it cost, according to some estimates, at least 100 thousand human lives. Although the hostilities on this continent were not decisive, they continued throughout the war.
World War II
As you know, the large-scale military operations launched by Nazi Germany in the 30-40s of the last century affected not only the territory of Europe. Two more continents were not spared by World War II. Africa, Asia were also drawn, albeit partially, into this grandiose conflict.
Unlike Britain, Germany by that time no longer had its own colonies, but always claimed them. In order toto paralyze the economy of their main enemy - England, the Germans decided to establish control over North Africa, since this was the only way to get to other British colonies - India, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, the likely reason that pushed Hitler to conquer North African lands was his further invasion of Iran and Iraq, where there were significant oil deposits controlled by Britain.
Start of hostilities
The Second World War in Africa lasted for three years - from June 1940 to May 1943. The opposing forces in this conflict were Britain and the United States on the one hand, and Germany and Italy on the other. The main fighting took place on the territory of Egypt and the Maghreb. The conflict began with the invasion of Italian troops into Ethiopian territory, which significantly undermined British dominance in the region.
Initially, 250,000 Italian soldiers participated in the North African campaign, and later another 130,000 German soldiers arrived to help, with a large number of tanks and artillery pieces. In turn, the allied army of the US and Britain consisted of 300 thousand American and more than 200 thousand British troops.
Further developments
The war in North Africa began with the fact that in June 1940 the British began to deliver targeted attacks on the Italian army, as a result of which it immediately lost several thousand of its soldiers, while the British - no more than two hundred. After suchdefeat, the Italian government decided to give command of the troops into the hands of Marshal Graziani and was not mistaken with the choice. Already on September 13 of the same year, he launched an offensive that forced the British General O'Connor to retreat due to the significant superiority of his enemy in manpower. After the Italians managed to capture the small Egyptian town of Sidi Barrani, the offensive was suspended for three long months.
Unexpectedly for Graziani at the end of 1940, General O'Connor's army went on the offensive. The Libyan operation began with an attack on one of the Italian garrisons. Graziani was clearly not ready for such a turn of events, so he could not organize a worthy rebuff to his opponent. As a result of the rapid advance of the British troops, Italy forever lost its colonies in northern Africa.
The situation changed somewhat in the winter of 1941, when the Nazi command sent General Rommel's tank formations to help their ally. Already in March, the war in Africa broke out with renewed vigor. The combined army of Germany and Italy de alt a heavy blow to the British defenses, completely destroying one of the enemy armored brigades.
The end of World War II
In November of the same year, the British launched a second attempt at a counteroffensive, launching Operation Crusader. They even managed to recapture Tripoletania, but already in December they were stopped by Rommel's army. In May 1942, a German general de alt a decisive blow to the enemy defenses, and the British wereforced to retreat deep into Egypt. The victorious advance continued until the Allied 8th Army broke it off at Al Alamein. This time, despite all efforts, the Germans failed to break through the British defenses. Meanwhile, General Montgomery was appointed commander of the 8th Army, who began to develop another offensive plan, while successfully continuing to repel the attacks of the Nazi troops.
In October of the same year, British troops de alt a powerful blow to Rommel's military units stationed near Al-Alamein. This entailed the complete defeat of two armies - Germany and Italy, who were forced to retreat to the borders of Tunisia. In addition, the Americans, who landed on the African coast on November 8, came to the aid of the British. Rommel made an attempt to stop the Allies, but it was unsuccessful. After that, the German general was recalled to his homeland.
Rommel was an experienced military leader, and his loss meant only one thing - the war in Africa ended in complete defeat for Italy and Germany. After that, Britain and the United States significantly strengthened their positions in this region. In addition, they threw the released troops into the subsequent capture of Italy.
Second half of the 20th century
With the end of World War II, the confrontation in Africa did not end. One by one, uprisings broke out, which in some countries escalated into full-scale military operations. So, once a civil war broke out in Africa, it can last for years and even decades. An examplethis can be served by intrastate armed confrontations in Ethiopia (1974-1991), Angola (1975-2002), Mozambique (1976-1992), Algeria and Sierra Leone (1991-2002), Burundi (1993-2005), Somalia (1988). In the last of the above countries, the civil war has not yet ended. And this is only a small part of all the military conflicts that existed before and continue to this day on the African continent.
The reasons for the emergence of numerous military confrontations lie in local specifics, as well as in the historical situation. Starting from the 60s of the last century, most African countries gained independence, and armed clashes immediately began in a third of them, and in the 90s hostilities were already taking place on the territory of 16 states.
Modern Wars
In this century, the situation on the African continent has not changed much. A large-scale geopolitical reorganization is still going on here, in the conditions of which there can be no question of any increase in the level of security in this region. The dire economic situation and an acute shortage of finances only exacerbate the current situation.
Smuggling, illegal supplies of weapons and drugs flourish here, which further exacerbate the already rather difficult crime situation in the region. In addition, all this is happening against the backdrop of extremely high population growth, as well as uncontrolled migration.
Localization attemptsconflicts
Now it seems that the war in Africa is never-ending. As practice has shown, international peacekeeping, trying to prevent numerous armed clashes on this continent, has proved to be ineffective. For example, we can take at least the following fact: UN troops participated in 57 conflicts, and in most cases their actions did not affect their end in any way.
As is commonly believed, the bureaucratic sluggishness of peacekeeping missions and poor awareness of the rapidly changing real situation are to blame. In addition, UN troops are extremely small and are being withdrawn from war-torn countries even before a capable government begins to form there.
