Against the background of the Seven Years, Thirty Years and even the Hundred Years Wars, all other world confrontations seem very insignificant. However, many lightning battles influenced the development of the modern world to a much greater extent. One of the earliest adherents of blitzkrieg tactics was Napoleon Bonaparte, who in 1814 took less than a week to defeat Field Marshal Blucher's army. The series of battles that began on February 12th went down in history as the "Six Day War". We have prepared a short overview of this and other fastest military campaigns in history.
Six Day War. 1814 year
The secret of such a quick victory of the French commander is a strategy verified to the smallest detail. The allied Prussian-Russian troops outnumbered the French army several times, but this did not play a big role. Napoleon's plan was based on a rather simple thesis: divide and conquer. The Emperor attacked the scattered Silesian corps on the march, putting the full might of his own army into each blow. As a result, Blucher's troops were saved only by a feverish retreat, and Bonaparte ended the war in just six days.
Falklands War. 1982 year
The Falkland Islands were the cause of a bitter, albeit brief, confrontation between Argentina and Great Britain. Moreover, neither the one nor the other side officially recognized this conflict as a war, calling what was happening "the restoration of control over its legal territory." In less than 74 days, British troops won a decisive victory, retaining control of the Falklands.
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Second Balkan War. 1913 year
The short (only a month), but very bloody Second Balkan War began with the efforts of two states: Germany and Austria-Hungary. The formed Balkan Union was extremely unfavorable to these countries: several sophisticated political provocations - and Bulgaria, dissatisfied with the division of territories, is already attacking Serbia and Greece. The result was the crushing defeat of Bulgaria. The Balkan Union itself, accordingly, has sunk into oblivion. More importantly, the peace treaty signed at the end of hostilities seriously changed the entire political situation in the Balkans, the aggravation of which became one of the main prerequisites for the outbreak of the First World War.
Sino-Vietnamese War. 1979 year
The armed conflict between China and Vietnam went down in history as the first war between socialist countries. Despite numerous political notes and warnings, Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia. China reacted immediately: since the top officials of the ruling party were, of course, extremely uninterested in the emergence of a strong state on the borders, which Vietnam could well become. According to independent experts, during the 27 days of the war, both sides lost about 40,000 soldiers. The hostilities ended as strangely as they began. China claimed that all the tasks had been completed during the military operations. Vietnam, on the other hand, reported on the extremely successful repelling of all enemy attacks. All won.
Christmas war. 1985 year
She is also Agasherskaya - according to the name of the area for which an armed confrontation broke out between Mali and Burkina Faso. Both states sought to occupy the territory rich in useful resources (oil and gas), for each of which the Agasher strip could be considered almost heavenly manna. Only the intervention of the Organization of African Unity saved the aggressive African peoples from complete destruction. The result of the tense confrontation was the UN's Solomon decision: the Agasher territory was simply divided equally.
ANDREY BUBNOV