[Sphinx]

How is WWII different from, say, the Napoleonic wars? or the wars that dominated Europe for centuries before WWI?

[ThirdTerm]

The Second World War did not affect the Middle East at all as the entire region stayed out of the war. The most significant aspect of the previous war was its impact on race relations. The majority of former European colonies were decolonised in the 1950s as the myth of white supremacy could not be sustained any longer after the defeat of European troops at the hands of the Japanese in the Asian theatre. It may sound quite strange today but in the pre-war era, European nations were affected by the white-giant syndrome, which presumed that all that was required to win the battle was a show of force and a white face, or even the rumour that Europeans were coming.

[Sphinx]

The Second World War did not affect the Middle East at all as the entire region stayed out of the war.

Do you consider Libya and Egypt parts of the Middle East? (Many don't, by the way).

During WWII the Axis armies marched from Italian-controlled Libya towards Egypt, perhaps aiming at the Suez Canal, but they got defeated by the British in Alamein.

See this:
http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/h ... rth-africa


Same in Napoleonic wars, Napoleon occupied Egypt and marched towards the Levant. The British destroyed his navy fleet near the shores of Egypt, and his Levant expedition failed.

[Rich]

The Second World War did not affect the Middle East at all as the entire region stayed out of the war.

The allies invaded Vichy Syria from Palestine. There was a pro Axis coup in Iraq which was itself overthrown by the British. Iran was partitioned between the allies and the Soviet Union. The outbreak of war mostly stopped Jewish immigration into Palestine. The Mufti of Jerusalem was in Berlin trying to persuade Hitler to genocide the Jews. You seem to have a funny idea of "not effected at all" and "stayed out of".

[Godstud]

Yeah, it's sort of called a World War since most(101) countries in the world were impacted by it.

National impacts
1.1 Afghanistan
1.2 Albania
1.3 Argentina
1.4 Australia
1.5 Bahrain
1.6 Belgium
1.7 Bolivia
1.8 Brazil
1.9 British Borneo
1.10 Bulgaria
1.11 Canada
1.12 Caribbean Islands
1.13 Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
1.14 Chile
1.15 China
1.16 Colombia
1.17 Costa Rica
1.18 Cuba
1.19 Cyprus
1.20 Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic)
1.20.1 Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
1.21 Denmark
1.22 Dominican Republic
1.23 Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)
1.24 Ecuador
1.25 Egypt
1.26 El Salvador
1.27 Estonia
1.28 Ethiopia
1.29 Fiji
1.30 Finland
1.31 France
1.31.1 Free French Forces
1.31.2 Vichy France
1.31.3 Occupied France
1.32 Germany
1.32.1 Austria
1.33 Gibraltar
1.34 Greece
1.35 Guatemala
1.36 Haiti
1.37 Honduras
1.38 Hong Kong
1.39 Hungary
1.40 Iceland
1.41 India
1.41.1 Andaman & Nicobar Islands
1.42 Iran
1.43 Iraq
1.44 Ireland
1.45 Italy
1.46 Japan
1.47 Kenya
1.48 Korea
1.49 Laos
1.50 Latvia
1.51 Lebanon
1.52 Liberia
1.53 Liechtenstein
1.54 Lithuania
1.55 Luxembourg
1.56 Malaya
1.57 Malta
1.58 Manchukuo
1.59 Mexico
1.60 Monaco
1.61 Mongolia
1.62 Morocco
1.63 Nauru
1.64 Nepal
1.65 Netherlands
1.66 Newfoundland
1.67 New Zealand
1.68 Nicaragua
1.69 Northern Rhodesia
1.70 Norway
1.71 Oman
1.72 Palestine
1.73 Panama
1.74 Paraguay
1.75 Peru
1.76 Philippines
1.77 Poland
1.78 Portugal
1.78.1 Portuguese Macau
1.78.2 Portuguese Timor
1.79 Romania
1.80 Samoa
1.81 San Marino
1.82 Saudi Arabia
1.83 Singapore
1.84 Sudan
1.85 Southern Rhodesia
1.86 Soviet Union
1.86.1 Armenian SSR (Armenia)
1.86.2 Azerbaijan SSR (Azerbaijan)
1.86.3 Byelorussian SSR (Belarus)
1.86.4 Georgian SSR (Georgia)
1.87 Spain
1.88 Sweden
1.89 Switzerland
1.90 Syria
1.91 Thailand
1.92 Tonga
1.93 Transjordan
1.94 Turkey
1.95 United Kingdom
1.95.1 Channel Islands
1.95.2 Isle of Man
1.96 United States
1.96.1 American Samoa
1.97 Uruguay
1.98 Vatican City
1.99 Venezuela
1.100 Yemen
1.101 Yugoslavia
1.101.1 Croatia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_by_country

[Sphinx]

AFAIK, most of those countries declared war on the Axis to avoid being ostracised after the war is over.

[Godstud]

Do you have any evidence to substantiate that claim?

[Sphinx]

Well, I am guessing But at least my country did so.

The point is that most of the world was already occupied by Western countries, so when those Western countries fought against each others, the occupied countries were part of the fight.

But how was that different from the Napoleonic wars for example?

[Godstud]

The Napoleonic wars only involved Europeans and Russia. That's a pretty easy difference to see.

[Sphinx]

Actually it expanded to the Middle East as well.

Also, WWI was kinda the same: Europe and Russia.

[Godstud]

Nope. There was no fighting outside of Europe.

In WW1 there was a lot of colonies involved and fighting throughout the Middle East and Africa, as well as Asia and Europe. Canada and the US were also involved.

Sorry- the Napoleonic wars were not even comparable to WW1, especially not in casualties. 4 million(total), compared to over 38 million in WW1.

Why are you trying to inflate a regional fight and compare it to a World War?

It'd be like me comparing the War of 1812 with the Napoleonic War.

[Potemkin]

Nope. There was no fighting outside of Europe.

Ever heard of the Battle of the Nile, Godstud...?

[SolarCross]

The Napoleonic wars could have been called World War 1 but wasn't. Other than that I don't know what it means to ask if those wars that were so described as world wars are "overrated". The death toll of WW1 was gargantuan. WW2 featured the first use of nuclear weapons. Isn't that enough?

[noemon]

The Napoleonic wars are quite comparable to the World Wars. The difference in scale is merely the difference in equipment and in the historical era. But essentially all World Wars(including the Napoleonic one) were essentially European wars spilling outside of Europe due to colonization.

[Godstud]

The Battle of the Nile was 1798 but the Napoleonic War was 1799-1816... weird.

it was only a naval engagement, after all, too.

[Potemkin]

The Battle of the Nile was 1798 but the Napoleonic War was 1799-1816... weird.

Napoleon was on board the fleet which sailed to invade Egypt, and narrowly missed the British fleet, which passed the French fleet in the dark. He was personally present in Alexandria as the Battle of the Nile was being fought just 30 miles away at Aboukir Bay. How much more 'Napoleonic' do you want it to be, Godstud?

it was only a naval engagement, after all, too.

Yes, and Hiroshima was only a bombing run.

[Godstud]

The scope of the wars were completely different.

[Lexington]

So:

1. As people pointed out, both world wars had major impacts on the Middle East and North Africa.

2. Napoleon did fight in Egypt. This was rather momentary though. There were great battles there, but the impact on the history of Egypt is not great.

3. I would actually call the Napoleonic Wars (and the Seven Years' War) world wars in the sense that they were fought on vastly separated continents. But part of the world wars was the fact that they were decisive - vast amounts of land and people were transferred. South Africa and parts of Indonesia and small parts of India were transferred to Britain. The United States received Louisiana (though the US was not at war with France at the time and it was purchased). I don't really find these comparable to the changes after either world war, however.

[pugsville]

The Battle of the Nile was 1798 but the Napoleonic War was 1799-1816... weird.

it was only a naval engagement, after all, too.

the wars are not generally labeled "napoleonic" until napoleon was head of state. the previous round 1792-1802 are labelled the "French Revolutionary wars" the following wars 1803-1015 are called the "Napoleonic wars" after he become head of state.

tother of these wars was a single war made up of number of other wars the revolutionary wars are generally "war the first coalition" and "war of the second coalition" etc

[Sphinx]

2. Napoleon did fight in Egypt. This was rather momentary though. There were great battles there, but the impact on the history of Egypt is not great.

Hey, they brought us the printing press!