War facts for kids

War is a time when countries or groups of people fight each other. It usually involves using weapons, armies, and soldiers. War is when a country uses force to make sure its rules are followed.

Not every fight is called a war. For example, a fight between two people or two small groups is not a war. But most big fights between countries or large groups are called "armed conflicts." There are special rules called International Humanitarian Law (IHL) that try to make wars less harmful.

IHL says there are two main types of wars:

• "International armed conflicts" are fights between two or more different countries.
• "Non-international armed conflicts" are fights inside one country. This could be between the government and a group, or between two groups that are not the government.

A famous writer named Carl von Clausewitz said that "war is just a continuation of politics by other means." This means he saw war as a way for countries to get what they want politically. His book, On War, is still very important for understanding war strategy. Another old expert was Sun Tzu, who wrote The Art of War. He thought war was a "necessary evil," something bad but that people sometimes do.

Wars have been fought for many reasons. These include wanting to control valuable things like oil or land, for religious or cultural beliefs, or to change who has power in politics. They can also start over disagreements about laws or money. The reasons for any war are often very complicated, and there is usually more than one cause.

How Wars Started Nations

From very early times, countries or groups have used war to take control of areas. In Mesopotamia, one of the first civilizations, people were almost always fighting. Ancient Egypt became one country around 3100 BC because of war, when two parts, Lower and Upper Egypt, joined together. The Zhou Dynasty took power in Ancient China in 1046 BC through war.

Scipio Africanus helped Ancient Rome start conquering the world by defeating Carthage. Philip II of Macedon brought many Greek city-states together to form Ancient Greece.

Different Kinds of War

Sometimes, people see a difference between fighting and a formal "declaration of war." Those who see this difference usually only call it a "war" when governments officially say they are at war. Smaller fights are often called riots, rebellions, or coups.

A country might send its forces to another country for different reasons. This could be to help keep order, stop the killing of many innocent people (genocide), or prevent other very bad crimes against people. It might also be to protect a friendly government from an uprising. These actions might be called a "police action" or "humanitarian intervention" instead of a war. But some people still think they are wars.

Another type of war was the Cold War, which lasted from 1947 to 1991. This started when the United States and the Soviet Union stopped getting along. Both countries had nuclear weapons and were ready to use them. But they never actually fought each other directly. The Cold War ended when the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991. During this time, the U.S. tried to stop the spread of communism. The main powers did not fight directly but often supported other groups in what were called proxy wars. The Vietnam War is a good example of a proxy war. Proxy wars happened before the Cold War and still happen today.

A war between groups or people within the same country is called a civil war. There are usually two things that make a war a civil war:

• It must be a fight between groups in the same country over who controls the government or to force a big change in the government's rules.
• More than 1,000 people must have been killed, with at least 100 from each side.

The American Civil War is an example of a civil war. It is thought that about 750,000 people died in that war.

Rules for War

Only in the last 150 years have countries agreed on international rules to limit fighting. This was mainly to protect people. The Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions are two examples of agreements that set rules for wars. Together, these are called International Humanitarian Law (IHL).

Because these are set laws, countries involved in armed conflicts must follow them. Also, a country must not only follow the law itself but also make sure other countries follow it. They cannot ignore countries that are not following IHL. The first Geneva Convention was in 1864 and became international law when 100 countries signed it.

Related pages

• Peace, the opposite of war, meaning no fighting.
• List of ongoing armed conflicts
• List of wars
• List of battles

See also

In Spanish: Guerra para niños