Wars of the 1950s
National Liberation or anti-colonial movements: One result of the chaos and violence of World War Two was the upsetting of the colonial rule that several European nations had over large parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. While many of these anti-colonial movements were part of the Cold War (all of the European colonial powers were part of the U.S.-led West), some anti-colonial movements, such as the Mau Mau Insurgency in Kenya, were independent of the Cold War. Many others, such as the Viet Minh insurgency in Vietnam, were part of the Cold War based on Soviet or Chinese aid to rebels, and/or American aid to the colonial power.
The Greater Middle Eastern Conflict: The ongoing conflict in the Middle East can be divided into two parts
The Arab-Israeli Conflict, which officially began in 1948 and continues to this day, and
The inter-Arab conflict that pits secular movements (like pan-Arabism), against more traditionalist regimes (such as the monarchies of the Arab world) and the more religious Muslim fundamentalist movements. In the 1950s, the primary conflict pitted the pan-Arabists (like Egypt’s Gamel Nasser) against traditional regimes like the Egyptian monarchy that was overthrown in 1952 or the Iraqi coup of 1954 that ended the Iraqi monarchy. In all of these cases, the pan-Arabists threw in with the Soviet bloc and the Arab monarchists were allied with the U.S. and Britain. NOTE: While Iran is not an Arab state (it is, like most Arab states primarily Muslim) the same nationalist vs traditionalist dynamic played out in the Iran coup of 1953, which pitted a pro-Western monarch against an allegedly pro-Soviet nationalist regime). Much of this inter-Arab (and inter-Muslim) conflict later changed in the 1970s (and extending to today) to a more fundamentalsit Muslim resistance to any regime that allied with either the Soviets OR the West.
Several conflicts in the 1950s fit into more than one of these larger conflicts, especially as the Cold War permeated so much of world affairs at this time.
Here is a list of wars and conflicts from the 1950s, presented in rough chronological order.
NOTE: Several of the conflicts of the 1950s began in the 1940s, and several of the wars of the 1950s continued on to the 1960s and later. Several of these conflicts continue to the present day.
Baltic Forest Brothers Insurgency (1944-1953)-Beginning during World War Two, as Soviet forces re-occupied the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, local guerrillas (called The Forest Brothers) conduct a war of resistance against the Soviets. NOTE: at the start of World War Two in Europe, the Soviets illegally invaded and occupied the then-independent Baltic States as part of the secret treaty between Hitler and Stalin that divided Eastern Europe between them in 1939. By 1953, the last of the Baltic resistance movements had been defeated by the Soviets.
French Indochina War (1946-1954)-This was France’s version of the Vietnam War. At the end of World War Two, European colonial powers re-occupied their Asian territories as the Japanese surrendered. In Vietnam (part of French Indochina), a home-grown anti-Japanese resistance group called the Viet Minh, sought independence from all foreign control, and battled the French colonial forces after the defeat of Japan. The Viet Minh sought and received aid from Communist China and allied themselves with the Soviet/Chinese bloc in the Cold War. Because of the Marxist nature of the Viet Minh resistance and the aid provided by the Communist powers, the United States reluctantly supported the French. Following the defeat of the French Army at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the French negotiated the independence of Vietnam (divided between the Viet Minh-ruled Communist North, and the pro-Western South), Cambodia, and Laos. Local Cambodian and Laotian Communist guerrilla groups had also fought the French, in alliance with the Viet Minh. Within a few short years of independence and the North-South divide, the second Vietnam War would begin that would involve the Americans.
Huk Rebellion (1946-1954)-Following the Japanese defeat in World War Two, Filipino Communists, known as the Hukbalahap or Huks, who had started, like the Viet Minh and the Malayan Communists, as an anti-Japanese force, began an insurgency that attempted to overthrow the Philippines government. The U.S. provided aid and training, but did not supply any troops to help put down this Communist rebellion. Communist forces again began another rebellion in the northern Philippines that continues to this day.
Romanian Anti-Communist Resistance (1947-1962)-The Soviets occupied Romania during the last years of World War Two, setting up a Communist government in Romania. In 1947, anti-Communist rebels began an insurgency against the Romanian government. Despite being the longest-lasting anti-communist insurgency in Eastern Europe, the last rebels were defeated in 1962.
Malayan Emergency (1948-1960)-A Communist insurgency in British-ruled Malaya. The ethnic Chinese minority in Malaya provided most of the fighters for the Communist rebels. This guerrilla army had its beginning as an anti-Japanese resistance during World War Two. The British were aided in the war by other Commonwealth nations, including Australia, New Zealand, Rhodesia, and Fiji. Malaya became independent in 1957, but the Commonwealth forces continued fighting the rebels until 1960, when the Malayan government declared the Emergency over. The few remaining rebels retreated to Thailand, and the rebel leader, Chin Peng, fled to China. One major factor in the end of the insurgency was independence of Malaya, which took away the rebel’s excuse that they were fighting to get rid of the British. From exile in China, Chin Peng renewed the Communist insurgency in Malaysia from 1968 to 1989.
Burmese Civil Wars (1948-Present)-After Burma (now known as Myanmar) gained independence from Britain following World War Two, the Burmese Communist Party, along with multiple ethnic groups, mostly in the north of the country, rose in rebellion. The Communists sought to create a marxist state, while the ethnic groups, including the Karen and the Shan, among others sought independence for their ethnic regions or at least autonomy from the central government. In the years since 1948, the various rebellions increased and decreased in violence and intensity, but the fighting continues to this day, making the Burmese Civil Wars the longest-running civil war in the world.
Again, similar to wars in Vietnam, Philippines, and Malaya, several of these Burmese insurgent groups had also fought against the Japanese occupation of World War Two.
Colombian Civil War/La Violencia (1948-1958)-A civil war between Colombia’s Conservative Party and Liberal Party that lasted for ten years and claimed over 200,000 lives. While the two sides fought each other (the government was controlled by a Conservative dictatorship), both sides also fought against Communist Party rebels. The war ended with a peace deal that created a bipartisan National Front that lasted for decades. Some of the Liberal Party factions later joined with the Communist groups to form the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which would begin a long insurgency in the 1960s.
NOTE: The Conservative/Liberal conflict was a common source of civil conflict throughout Latin America from when these nations gained independence from Spain up through the middle of the Twentieth Century.
Arab-Israeli Conflict (1948-Present)-Including the Palestinian Fedayeen Insurgency (1951-1956) and the Suez War (1956), and a second phase of the Palestinian Fedayeen Insurgency (1957-1964). The Israeli military conducted multiple raids into Gaza and the West Bank in retaliation for Palestinian raids.
Chinese Communist Campaign Against Nationalist and Bandit Forces (1949-1953)-Effectively mop-up operations by Mao’s People’s Republic of China against leftover Kuomintang Nationalist and local warlord forces following the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
APRA Coup Attempt in Indonesia (January-February, 1950)-Attempted coup against the Indonesian government.
Albanian Anti-Communist Movement (1949-1953)-U.S. and British intelligence services provided covert aid and intervention to place anti-Communist Albanian insurgents inside Communist-ruled Albania to try to begin an uprising.
Pro-Kuomintang Muslim Insurgency (1950-1958)-Chinese Muslim forces in northwest China and Xinjian province that were allied with the Nationalist (Kuomintang) government in Taiwan fought the Chinese Communist government of Mao. Both the Nationalist in Taiwan and the American CIA supplied and supported the Chinese Muslim forces. This conflict was a continuation of the Nationalist/Communist Chinese Civil War which ended in Communist victory in 1949.
Makassar Uprising (May, 1950)-anti-government uprising against the Indonesian government on the island of Makassar.
Cazin Rebellion (May, 1950)-Anti-Communist peasant rebellion in Bosnia, Yugoslavia. Peasants resisted collectivization of land by the Yugoslav Communist government.
Korean War (1950-1953)-The Korean War
The war began in June, 1950, with the invasion of South Korea (an American ally), by the Communist-ruled North Korea (a Soviet and Communist Chinese ally). The United States and other Western nations, under the authority of the United Nations, intervened to save South Korea. As UN forces neared the North Korean/Chinese border in November, 1950, China (with Soviet aid), intervened with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, forcing American and UN forces to retreat back to South Korea. The war continued as a virtual stalemate until a truce in July, 1953. The Korean War cost millions of lives.
US Marines at Inchon, Korea, 1950
Invasion of Ambon (September-November, 1950) Indonesian military invasion of the Moluccan island of Ambon, where a separatist government had set itself up. The Moluccans are largely Christian, and were reluctant to join with the largely Muslim and Javanese-dominated government of the new Republic of Indonesia. The Moluccans were defeated, but later conflicts in the Molucca Islands occurred, due primarily the Muslim-Christian religious conflict.
Palestinian Fedayeen Insurgency (1951-1956)-Palestinian fighters, called the Fedayeen (from an Arabic word meaning ‘those who sacrifice themselves,’ launched raids into Israel from the surrounding Arab nations, specifically, Egypt (primarily from Egyptian-controlled Gaza), Jordan (primarily from Jordanian-controlled West Bank), and from Lebanon, and occassionally from Syria. Most Fedayeen were supported, armed, and trained by Egypt. Israel launched several military reprisals against Egypt and Jordan in attacks on Fedayeen bases. These attacks were part of the justification for Israel’s participation in the 1956 Suez War. The Fedayeen would continue attacks on Israel following the 1956 war.
The Manhattan Rebellion (June 29-30, 1951)-Failed coup attempt by officers of the Royal Thai Navy against the government of Prime Minister Plaek Pibulsonggram. The rebellion is named for the American naval vessel the Manhattan, that was being handed over to the Thai Navy. Naval forces kidnapped the Thai Prime Minister during the handover ceremony onboard the Manhattan.
Anglo-Egyptian War of 1951-1952 (1951-1952)–Egyptian guerrillas, aided by the government of Egypt, carried out a campaign against British forces stationed at the Suez Canal and against other British and Western symbols and targets. On January 25, 1952, British troops retaliated against Egypt by attacking an Egyptian police station, killing 50 and wounding 100. The conflict ended with a change in the Egyptian government and the eventual withdrawal of British troops. This conflict led to Britain’s involvement in the 1956 Anglo-French-Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956.
Tunisian War of Independence (1952-1955)-Tunisian resistance against French rule culminates in independence in 1956.
Mau Mau Uprising (1952-1960)-Uprising by Kenyan rebels led by Jomo Kenyatta against British rule in Kenya. The British eventually agreed to Kenyan independence, and Kenyatta became the first leader of an independent Kenya.
Egyptian Coup (July, 1952)-Also referred to as the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, this coup by the Free Officers Movement, a group of army officers led by Mohammed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, overthrew the regime of King Farouk. This change of government led to Egypt turning from the West, and aligning with the Soviets and more radical Arab nationalist movements in the Middle East.
1952 Cuban Coup (March, 1952)-The Cuban Army, led by Fulgencio Batista, overthrew the government prior to the 1952 election. Batista had been a candidate in the election, but polling placed him far behind the other candidates. Batista. A little over a year later, Fidel Castro would launch his revolution with an attack on the Moncada Army barracks. Castro successfully overthrew the U.S.-supported Batista regime in 1959.
East German Uprising (1953)–East Germans revolt against Soviet control. The uprising was crushed by the Soviets. Part of the Cold War.
Colombian Coup (1953)-Army General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla led a bloodless coup, and became military dictator. He was overthrown in 1958.
Syrian Druze Revolt (1953-1954)-Rebellion by Syria’s Druze minority. The oppression by the government of military dictator Adib Shishakli, led to his overthrow in 1954.
Iranian Coup (1953)-This coup was organized by the United States and Great Britain to overthrow Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. The U.S. and UK believed that Mosseddegh was a Communist and Soviet sympathizer, who would turn Iran from being a Western ally into alignment with the Soviets in the Cold War. The coup, which led to several hundred deaths, brought the Shah of Iran back to power. This coup had a major historical impact on the world today, as much of Iran’s current hostility toward the U.S. and the West originates with their support of the Shah’s often brutal dictatorship. The Shah was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution of the late 1970s, bringin the current Islamic Republic into power.
Cuban Revolution (1953-1959)-Guerrilla campaign by Fidel Castro against the dictatorship of Fulgencia Batista. The revolution began in July, 1953, with an attack on the Moncada army barracks. Castro’s forces seized Havana on New Year’s Day, 1959, and he soon allied himself with the Soviet Union in the Cold War.
Algerian War (1954-1962)-Algerian rebels waged a long, but successful war of independence against colonial ruler France. This was a major war that led to a French political crisis resulting in the return to power of French war hero Charles DeGaulle. This war resulted in at least 150,000 Algerian military deaths, 25,000 French military deaths, 6,000 French civilian deaths, and 250,000 Algerian civilian deaths. After the war, the one million French colonists (Pied Noirs) in Algeria fled to France, along with tens of thousands of Algerians who had supported the French.
Syrian Coup (Feb. 1954)-Partly as a result of his oppression of the powerful Druze minority, a coalition of Syrian communists, the Syrian Ba’ath Party, and Syrian Druze Army officers, forced dictator Shishakli to flee the country.
ParaguayanCoup (1954)-Violent military coup that killed 25 people, led to the rise of dictator Alfredo Stroessner, who would rule Paraguay until 1989.
GuatemalanCoup (June, 1954)-The United States supported Guatemalan rebel forces that overthrew the elected government of President Jacobo Árbenz. The American CIA armed, funded, and trained a force of 480 men led by Carlos Castillo Armas, which invaded Guatemala and overthrew Arbenz’s government. The U.S. government (the Administration of President Eisenhower), believed that Arbenz’s government was too leftist and believed it to be pro-Communist. This coup began a right-wing dictatorship that ruled for decades. In 1960, in response to the rollback of many of the reforms begun by Arbenz and his political allies, leftist guerrillas began a campaign against the right-wing government that resulted in a 36-year long civil war.
First Taiwan Strait Crisis (1954-1955)-A continuation of the Chinese Civil War that saw the Nationalist Kuomintang Party retreat to the island of Taiwan. The Communist People’s Republic of China bombarded Nationalist-held islands in the Taiwan Strait, prompting intervention by the United States, which promised to defend Taiwan, and even with the use of atomic weapons. This crisis was followed by a similar episode several years later.
Israeli Raid on Gaza (Feb. 28, 1955)—Israeli forces conducted a raid on Egyptian-held Gaza, in response to repeated guerrilla attacks and the seizure of an Israeli ship by Egypt. This raid resulted in the deaths of 51 Egyptian soldiers and 8 Israeli troops. This raid was the largest of its kind against Arab forces since the end of the First Arab-Israeli War in 1949.–See Arab-Israeli Border Wars
Binh Xuyen Suppression (April, 1955)–The South Vietnam government of Ngo Dinh Diem used military action to eliminate the paramilitary power of the Binh Xuyen criminal organization.
Hoa Hao Suppression (June, 1955)–The South Vietnam government of Ngo Dinh Diem used military action to eliminate the paramilitary power of the Hoa Hao religious sect in the countryside around Saigon.
Cao Dai Suppression (October, 1955)–The South Vietnam government of Ngo Dinh Diem used military action to eliminate the paramilitary power of the Cao Dai religious sect.
First Sudanese Civil War (1955-1972)-Long-running civil war in newly independent Sudan in which the mostly Christian south sought independence from the Muslim-dominated central government. A second civil war would begin in the 1980s, resulting in the eventual independence of South Sudan.
Cyprus Emergency (1955-1959)-Greek rebels in Cyprus (a Meditteranean island with Greek and Turkish inhabitants), battled to remove British troops and unite the island with Greece. The war ended in 1959 with Cyprus as a united nation separate from either Greece or Turkey.
Historical Note: With the signing of the Bonn–Paris Conventions between West Germany and the three Western Allied powers, in May 1952 (which took effect in 1955), the Allied occupation of The Federal Republic of Germany (AKA West Germany), ended. Shortly after these Conventions took effect, West Germany joined the NATO alliance on May 9, 1955. Five days later, on May 14, 1955, the Communist nations of Eastern Europe joined together to form the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance designed as a counter to NATO. Warsaw Pact membership included the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania (which left in 1968). Whereas NATO was a true alliance of poltical equals, the Warsaw Pact was effectively run by, and for, the Soviet Union.
Historical Note: In 1955, Austria, under Allied occupation since the end of World War Two, achieved full independence with the Austrian State Treaty, which went into effect in July, 1955. In October, 1955, the last Allied occupation troops left, and the Austrian government declared neutrality in the Cold War.
Polish Uprising in Poznan (June, 1956)-Anti-Communist workers strike and protest in the city of Poznan turned violent as protesters attacked symbols of Communist rule. The Sovet-controlled Polish Army was called in to suppress the uprising. Several hundred Polish protesters were killed. The Soviets allowed some reforms in Poland by October of 1956, hoping to ease some of the tension.
Hungarian Revolution (October-November, 1956)-Many Hungarians hoped for political reforms similar to those recently allowed in Poland, and also hoped for neutral status similar to neighboring Austria. Anti-Communist and anti-Soviet uprising by Hungarians who wanted to end Soviet control of Hungary. The Hungarians were crushed by the Soviet military, resulting in thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of Hungarians fleeing to the West. Part of the Cold War.
Suez War (1956)-The President of Egypt, Gamel Nasser, nationalized the Suez Canal and threatened war with Israel. In response, Britain and France, who had large financial stakes in the canal, as well as history as colonial rulers of Egypt and other Middle Eastern and African nations, launched an invasion of the Suez Canal Zone in concert with an Israeli invasion of Egyptian Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula. American diplomatic opposition to this attack on Egypt helped cause the British, French, and Israelis to withdraw.
The Vietnam War/American-Vietnamese War (1956-1975)–The Communist North Vietnamese and the southern Viet Cong engaged in a long war to overthrow the pro-American government of South Vietnam. The U.S. and other allied nations sent troops to aid the Saigon regime. The war ended in 1975, with North Vietnam defeating and absorbing South Vietnam. This war is also connected to the wars in Laos and Cambodia.
North Vietnamese Peasant Uprising (November, 1956)–A peasant uprising in the largely Catholic province of Nghe An in opposition to the Communist government’s policy of forcing the rural population into collective farms. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) put down the revolt, either killing or capturing over 6,000.
Permesta Rebellion in Indonesia (1957–1961)-Separatist rebellion in Indonesia.
Ifni War (1957-1958)-Following Morroccan independence from France, the Moroccan king created the Moroccan Army of Liberation to seize the Spanish-ruled coastal city of Ifni. The military conflict centered around Ifni and also into what was then known as Spanish Sahara. French forces fought alongside the Spanish in the Spanish Sahara region. In a peace treaty, Morocco gained some land from Spain, but not Ifni nor the Sahara region. Morocco eventually was ceded Ifni in 1969, and occupied the Spanish (Western) Sahara in 1975.
Muscat and Oman Intervention (1957-1959)–British troops aid the government of Muscat and Oman (now known simply as Oman), against rebels. British troops withdrew after a successful campaign.
Baluchistan Insurgency (1957-1958)-Ethnic Baluchi rebels in the southeastern part of Pakistan (called Baluchistan) rebelled. The government put down the revolt, but other rebellions would break out over the years.
French Crisis of 1958 (May, 1958)-French military forces attempted a coup in Algeria in order to prevent Algerian independence. This led to the end of the Fourth Republic and the start of the Fifth, and current, French Republic under President Charles DeGaulle.
Iraqi Coup (July, 1958)-Iraqi Army officers overthrew the pro-Western King of Iraq and installed a military dictatorship. The new leadership allied themselves with other Arab nationalist regimes in Egypt and Syria, and began an alliance with the Soviet Union.
Lebanon Crisis and American Intervention (1958)-Lebanon was involved in a brief civil war between the pro-Western Christian faction and the Arab Nationalist Muslim faction. In part due to the recent Iraqi coup, the United States sent the U.S. Marines to Beirut to aid the Lebanese government.
U.S. Army soldiers patrol a suburb of
Beirut, Lebanon, in 1958.
Jordan Intervention (1958)–Britain airlifted troops to Jordan in response to a request for aid from the Jordanian king. King Hussein felt threatened by the recent union of Syria and Egypt, as well as the violent revolution in Iraq in which the Iraq king, a member of Hussein’s family, was brutally murdered. After the situation calmed down, British troops left Jordan. This British action was in concert with the American intervention in Lebanon.
Pakistani Coup (1958)-After President Mirza declared martial law, General Ayub Khan, the head of the Pakistani military, overthrew Mirza.
HaitianCoup (July, 1958)-Failed attempt to overthrow the dictatorship of President François Duvalier.
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis (1958)-Between the Nationalist government of Taiwan and the Communist People’s Republic of China. The United States supported Taiwan.
The Escambray Rebellion (1959-1965)-A six-year conflict in the Escambray Mountains of Cuba with several insurgent groups fighting against Fidel Castro’s government. The rebellion was also called the War Against the Bandits or the Struggle Against the Bandits (terms used by Castro’s government). The insurgency began soon after Castro took power, and was initially led and begun by former officers of former President Bautista’s army. The American CIA provided support for these, and other, anti-Castro rebels.
Tibetan Uprising (1959)-Tibetan nationalists attempted to overthrow Communist Chinese rule. The Chinese military crushed the Tibetans, forcing the Tibetan religious leader, the Dalai Lama, to flee to India.
Mosul Revolt (March 7-11, 1959)–Pro-Qassim communist militia, called the People’s Resistance Force, violently suppressed an anti-Qassim Sunni Army faction made up mostly of junior officers in northern Iraq. This was part of the aftermath of the July 14 Iraqi coup, and pitted pro-Qassim/pro-communist Iraqi and Kurdish forces against Arab Nationalists within the Iraqi military who wanted Iraq to join with Syria and other Arab states to form a united Arab republic. This revolt was an attempted coup against Qassim and it failed, resulting in some 500 deaths.
Laotian Civil War (1959-1975)–Fighting between the pro-Western government and the communist Pathet Lao forces began in May of 1959. Soon thereafter, North Vietnam sent large numbers of troops into Laos to aid the Pathet Lao against the U.S.-backed Royal Laotian government. The Pathet Lao seized power in 1975. This conflict is considered part of the larger Second Indochina War.
East Timor Rebellion (June 7-14, 1959)-East Timor rebels rose up against Portuguese rule in the Portuguese island colony of East Timor. The revolt failed, resulting in several hundred casualties. Also known as the Viqueque Rebellion.
Kirkuk Violence (July, 1959)–Pro-Qassim and pro-communist Kurds and People’s Resistance Force (a pro-communist militia) killed ethnic Turkomen in Kirkuk. This was part of the aftermath of the 1958 Iraqi coup.
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