100 Wars That Changed the World

Author: Deng Shusheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: The purpose of the "100 Series of the World" series is to make an effort to help readers understand the outside world. Taking five aspects that have influenced the world—major events, wars, figures, works, and culture—as the framework, it outlines a rough picture of the development of human history. The development of human history is a long and complex process of negating oneself, overcoming oneself, and gradually improving oneself. This series selects 100 relevant topics from foreign countries that have impacted the world, with each article being around 3,000 words, and each book containing over 300,000 words. The five books together total over 1.5 to 1.6 million words. Although not a monumental work, it is still quite substantial. The 100 Wars That Shaped the World spans nearly 3,500 years, from the first Egypt-Hittite War with treaty evidence in the late 14th century BC to the internal war in the former Yugoslavia that began in 1991. The 100 wars included in the book cover all the major wars in human history that have been documented. These wars vary in nature, including racial conflicts, ethnic hatreds, dynastic rivalries, succession struggles, religious wars, invasions and counter-invasions, colonialism and anti-colonialism, and popular uprisings, among others. The two World Wars, which had the most profound impact, are given special attention. For the first World War, in addition to providing a comprehensive introduction to the war, it focuses on the Battle of Verdun in 1916 and the Battle of Jutland at sea. For the second World War, in addition to general discussions, it includes special topics on Germany's lightning strike on Western Europe, Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Normandy Landing, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Each author is a professional researcher of military history, and they provide insightful analyses of the strategic deployments, tactical applications, command successes and failures, and their impact on global military trends. This helps deepen the understanding of the positive or negative effects of wars on international situations and even the development of human civilization.