The First World War was a global conflict centered in Europe in the early twentieth century, with the Allies on one side and the Central Powers on the other. Remembered as the "war to end all wars" for its massive death tally, more than 9 million combatants lost their lives in the "Great War."
The Second World War was the deadliest conflict in human history, involving the militaries of every world power and marked by the emergence of the German Nazis, the ensuing Holocaust, and the only deployment of nuclear weapons in the history of warfare.
The first "hot" conflict in what would become the Cold War, the mid-twentieth century's Korean War was costly and frustrating -- with territorial gains fluctuating rapidly over the course of four years, exceptionally brutal weather conditions, and atrocities committed on both sides.
In 1955, the communist North Vietnamese National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) invaded South Vietnam in an attempt to overthrow leader Ngo Dinh Diem and reunite the country by force. The United States became increasingly involved in Vietnam over the next several years, and began deploying troops in 1964 with the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
The Cold War was a period of political and military tension between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the United States. From the end of World War II in 1945 until the collapse of the USSR in 1991, these superpowers and their respective allies stood toe to toe in a nuclear weapon standoff.
The Gulf War was the first major military conflict following the end of the Cold War. Events began on August 2nd 1990 when Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, invaded the neighboring country of Kuwait. In response, the United States and coalition forces…