Y is for Ypres Battle (And All Wars)

My theme for my 2015 A to Z Challenge came from my Disaster Crimes series. Disasters are a theme in each story, so it got me thinking about all the disasters that occur from natural disasters to manmade disasters.

Today’s disaster is...

YPRES BATTLE AND ALL WARS

During WW1 there were five Battles of Ypres.

On October 19th 1914, British troops entered Ypres unaware of the size of advancing German forces. Although the German troops were larger, most of the soldiers were young and not trained well. Some claims state they only had six weeks of training. 1,500 Germans were killed and 600 more were taken as prisoners. Despite that, neither side could control the area, so a fierce fight ensued. After that first battle, four more occurred. When America entered the war, the Germans were defeated and the fighting at Ypres ended on October 14th 1918, four years after the first battle.

Top Ten Biggest Wars in History:

10. American Civil War (1861 – 1865 )

A war centered on slavery fought between the North and South of America. More than 800,000 people were killed.

9. Soviet War in Afghanistan (1979 – 1989)

A decade-long war fought between the Soviet-led Afghan and the multi-national insurgent groups called the Mujahedeen. The death toll rose to over a million.

8. Vietnam War (1955 – 1975)

A war fought between North Vietnam (supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies) and South Vietnam (supported by the United States and other non-communist allies).

7. Thirty Years War (1618 – 1648)

This was one of the bloodiest wars centered on religion. It was also the longest conflict in European history.

6. Napoleonic Wars (1803 – 1815)

A war sparked by the French revolution. Over 6.5 million people died.

5. Russian Civil War (1917 – 1922)

A war fought between the Bolshevik Red Army and the anti-Bolshevik White Army. Seven million people died.

4. Conquests by the Empire of Japan (1894 – 1945)

During this time period the Empire of Japan caused over 20 million deaths.

3. World War 1 (1914 – 1918)

This is one of the bloodiest global wars in history that was centered in Europe. On one side was the Allies (the United Kingdom, France and Russia), and on the other side was the Central Powers (German and Austria-Hungary). Later, Italy, Japan and the United States joined the Allies and the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers. The totally number of casualties was over 37 million.

2. Mongol Conquests (1206 – 1368)

The Mongols brought terror to Europe that resulted in more than 60 million killings.

1. World War 11 (1939 – 1945)

This war resulted in the Holocaust and the use of nuclear weapons. Over 70 million deaths marks this as the deadliest war in world history.

RIP to ALL the souls lost due to these wars and all the wars not listed here.

Disasters:

A: Avalanche

B: Blizzard and Blackout

C: Cyclone

D: Drought and Dust Storm
E: Earthquake
F: Flood

G: Gas Explosion
H: Hailstorm
I: Ice Storm and Iceberg
J. Judgment Day

K: Killings
L: Limnic Eruption and Lightning Storm
M: Mudslide
N: Nuclear Meltdown
O: Oil Spill

P: Plague
Q: Quasar Explosion
R: Rockfall
S: Solar Flare and Sinkhole
T: Tornado and Tsunami
U: Ultraviolet Radiation
V: Volcanic Eruption

W: Wildfire
X: eXtinction
Y: Ypres Battle and All Wars

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