America at war

Spanish – American War (1898)

– the Cubans rebelled against Spain in 1868 – demands: emancipation of the slaves + selfgovernment for the island

– another rebellion in 1895 (economic distress, political trouble), rebels destroyed property

– the Spanish Philippines were a potential stronghold of American power in the Far East

– 1898 – America´s intervention, Congress declared Cuba „free and independent“- Declaration of war

Philippines: entry to Manila – end of war in West Indies

Cuba: a two-day battle – Americans won

– Final treaty was signed in Paris: Cuba was insured freedom, USA were granted Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam

World War I (1914 – 1918)

– In 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian Empire, was shot and killed in Sarajevo

– After his death Europe was divided into two camps:

The Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary)

The Allied Powers (GB, France, Russia)

– Wilson in 1916 didn´t want to interfere in Europe

– Then he in 1916 made America enter the European conflict (a nessecary step to make the world „safe for democracy“)

– Peace: 1918

World War II (1939 – 1945)

– 1938 – The Munich Conference (Sudetenland to Hitler)

– 1st September 1939 Nazi troops and planes invaded Poland – Britain + France declared war on Germany

The Pacific:      Embargo on steel-scrap to Japan – Japan joined the German-Italian coalition

December 7, 1941 – Japanese planes destroyed the Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor

– Declaration of war on Japan, Germany + Italy declared war on USA

North Africa:    Germans were moving toward Suez Canal

Europe:            Invasion to Italy (1943)

the Invasion of Normandy by a huge force – D-Day (1944)

– Unconditional surrender of Germany: May 7, 1945

– Capitulation of Japan August 1945 – Nagasaki + Hiroshima

Korea War (1950 – 1953)

– North Korea (backed by the Soviet Union) invaded the South in 1950

– At the end no one won: Korea remained divided, the situation was the same as before the war

– Armistice: 1953

Vietnam (1965 – 1975)

– the worst and longest war in US history

– US soldier were sent to South Vietnam in 1965 to support anti-Comunist regime

– bombing of North Vietnam, on the ground direct contact of US troops with the Vietcong

– 1968 – Peace talks began in Paris

– 1973 – American troop withdrawal

– 1975 – Saigon fell

The Gulf War (1990 – 91)

– 1990 – Iraq invaded oil-rich Emirate of Kuwait

– 1991 – The Operation Desert Storm – Saddam Hussain was driven out from Iraq