Civil War
Civil War
War between 2 or more different groups within the same state
It is not necessarily limited to the country itself, as there could be external help
Classic example, the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39
Does WWI classify as a civil war in any way at all?
Russia – the 2 revolutions of 1917
They weren’t civil wars, because there was no fighting and so they weren’t wars, even though there were 2 opposing sides within the country
The February revolution consisted of protests, demonstrations, etc. But no fighting and therefore, no war
The October revolution was a classic coup – the Bolsheviks just took over power. There was a little fighting, but not a war. The events took place over a single night.
Therefore, we can’t classify the revolutions in Russia as civil wars
The Arab revolt, within the Ottoman Empire, was the closest to a civil war during WWI
Austria-Hungary is another example of a belated series of civil wars breaking out within an empire
Germany might possible have descended into a civil, revolutionary war, had they not signed the armistice in 1918
There was hardly any aspect of civil war in WWI – nationalism was a strong sentiment at the time, and mostly everyone supported their country. Also, Germany hadn’t actually occupied any foreign territory and so nobody was fighting against ruling powers
A bit of a stretch, but there was a sort of civil war between the royal families of Europe, but they were different sovereign states
Guerilla Warfare
War where, typically, a weaker force fights a stronger one, and adopts certain tactics in order to wear down the stronger force, in a sort of prolonged war of attrition and defeat the enemy psychologically
Tactics