Wikipedia / List of wars involving France
Wikipedia / List of wars involving France
This is a list of wars involving modern France from the abolition of the French monarchy and the establishment of the French First Republic on 21 September 1792 until the current Fifth Republic.
For wars involving the Kingdom of France (987–1792), see List of wars involving the Kingdom of France.
For pre-987 wars, see List of wars involving Francia.
e.g. a treaty or peace without a clear result, status quo ante bellum, result of civil or internal conflict, result unknown or indecisive, inconclusive
First French Republic (1792–1804)
Conflict | Allies | Opponents | Outcome |
French Revolution(1789–1799) Location: France | Revolutionaries | French Republican victory
| |
War of the First Coalition(1792–1797) Location: France, Central Europe, Italy, the Low Countries, Spain, West Indies |
French satellites
|
French naval allies
Spain (from 1796, naval only)
First Coalition | French victory; Treaty of The Hague, Treaty of Paris, Peaces of Basel, Treaty of Tolentino, Treaty of Campo Formio
| ||
War in the Vendée(1793–1796) Location: West France: Maine-et-Loire, Vendée, Loire-Atlantique, Deux-Sèvres (or former provinces of Anjou, Poitou, Brittany) | French Republican victory | ||
War of the Pyrenees(1793-1795) Location: Pyrenees | French victory
| ||
Haitian Revolution(1791–1804) |
Location: Hispaniola
1791–1793 1793–1798 1798–1801 1802–1804 | 1791–1793 1793–1798 1798–1801 1802–1804 |
(1793–1798) | Haitian victory
|
French invasion of Switzerland(1798) Location: Old Swiss Confederacy | French victory
|
War of the Second Coalition(1798–1802) |
Location: Italy, Switzerland, Southern Germany, Middle East, Mediterranean Sea, Caribbean Sea
Co-belligerent: Mysore (Fourth Anglo-Mysore War until 1799)
Second Coalition: (until 1801)
(until 1801) (until 1801) (until 1801) Sardinia
Co-belligerent: (Quasi-War until 1800)
French victory
| |||
Peasants' War(1798) Location: Southern Netherlands annexed by the French Republic | Brigands | French Republican victory | |
(1798–1800) Location: Primarily Caribbean and East Coast of the United States, minor actions in Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea | |||
War of the Oranges(1801) Location: Alentejo, PortugalRio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso, Brazil |
Franco-Spanish victory
|
First French Empire (1804–1814, 1815)
Conflict | France & allies | France's opposition | Outcome |
War of the Third Coalition(1803–1806) Location: Central Europe, Italy and the Atlantic Ocean |
French victory | |
Franco-Swedish War(1805–1810) Location: Swedish Pomerania |
Co-belligerents:
|
Co-belligerents:
| French victory
| ||
Siege of Santo Domingo(1805) Location: Santo Domingo, Captaincy General of Santo Domingo | French victory | ||
War of the Fourth Coalition(1806–1807) Location: Central Europe |
Fourth Coalition:
French victory
| |||
Gunboat War(1807–1814) Location: the North Sea and the Baltic Sea | Denmark–NorwayCo-belligerent: Russian Empire (1808–09)Supported by: French Empire | Anglo-Swedish victory
| |
Location: Portugal | Franco-Spanish victory, Portuguese mainland under joint Franco-Spanish occupation | ||
Finnish War(1808–1809) | Russian victory
| ||
Dano-Swedish War (1808–1809)(1808–1809) Location: Scandinavia |
Supported by:
Inconclusive
| ||
Peninsular War(1808–1814) Location: the Iberian Peninsula and Southern France | Coalition victory
| |
War of the Fifth Coalition(1809) Location: Central Europe, Northern Italy, and the Low Countries |
Fifth Coalition
Rebel groups
Italian rebels
French victory |
Various Austrian territories were ceded:
Tyrolean Rebellion(1809) Location: Tyrol | Tyrolean civilian militia (Schützen) Supported by: Austrian Empire | French victory | |
French invasion of Russia(1812) Location: Russian Empire | French Empire Duchy of Warsaw Italy Naples Switzerland Regiment Joseph Napoleon (Spain) French allies: |
| Russian victory |
War of the Sixth Coalition(1812–1814) Location: Central and Eastern Europe, the Low Countries, and France |
Original coalition
After the Armistice of Pläswitz
After the Battle of Leipzig
After 20 November 1813
After January 1814
Coalition victory |
Hundred Days(1815) Location: France and the Netherlands |
Coalition victory
|
Bourbon Restoration (1814–15, 1815–1830)
Conflict | France & allies | France's opposition | Outcome |
Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis(1823) Location: Spain | Armée de la Foi | Partisans of the Cortes | Spanish and French Bourbon royalist victory
|
Location: Ottoman Greece (present-day Greece)
Greek Revolutionaries After 1822: |
| Greek victory |
Independence of Greece
| |||
Franco-Trarzan War of 1825(1825) Location: Waalo, West Africa | French victory | ||
Irish and German Mercenary Soldiers' Revolt(1828) Location: Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil | Revolt suppressed | ||
July Revolution(July 1830) Location: Paris, Kingdom of France |
Supported by: Ultra-royalists Doctrinaires
Revolutionaries
Revolutionary victory
|
July Monarchy (1830–1848)
Conflict | France & allies | France's opposition | Outcome |
Liberal Wars(1828–34) |
Location: Portugal
Liberals Supported by: | Miguelites Supported by: | Liberal victory |
French conquest of Algeria(1830–1903) |
Location: Algeria
Support: Morocco (1847)
Emirate of Abdelkader Kingdom of Beni AbbasSultanate of TuggurtKel AhaggarAwlad Sidi ShaykhVarious other tribal confederationsVarious banditsSupport: Morocco (until 1844)
French victory | |
Belgian Revolution(1830–31) Location: The Low Countries |
|
June Rebellion(1832) Location: Paris |
| Republicans | Government victory
| |
First Carlist War(1833–1840) Location: Spain | Liberals Supported by: France United Kingdom Portugal | Liberal victory | |
Pastry War(1838–1839) | French victory | ||
Uruguayan Civil War(1839–1851) |
Location: Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil
Colorado victory
|
Location: Morocco
French victory | |||
Franco-Tahitian War(1844–1847) Location: the Society Islands | FranceTahitian allies | French victory | |
Bombardment of Tourane(1847) Location: Off Tourane (Da Nang), South Central Coast of Vietnam | French victory | ||
French Revolution of 1848(February 1848) |
Government of France
|
Revolutionaries
| Republican victory
|
Second French Republic (1848–1852)
Conflict | France & allies | France's opposition | Outcome |
June Days uprising(June 1848) Location: France |
Insurgents | Second Republic victory
| ||
First Italian War of Independence(1848–1849) Location: Lombardy–Venetia and Piedmont | (1849) | Supported by: | Austrian victory
|
French victory |
Second French Empire (1852–1870)
Conflict | France & allies | France's opposition | Outcome |
Soninke-Marabout War (Kombo)(1850-1856) Location: Kingdom of Kombo |
French victory
| |||
Taiping Rebellion(1850–1864) Location: China |
| Co-belligerents: | Qing victory |
Bombardment of Salé(1851) |
French military victory
|
Moroccan political victory
| ||
Crimean War(1853–1856) Location: Crimea, North Caucasus, Balkans, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, White Sea, Far East | Allied victory
| |
Second Opium War(1856-1860) Location: China |
Allied victory
| |||
Siege of Medina Fort(1857) | French victory | ||
Campagne de Kabylie (1857)(1857) Location: Algeria | Kabylie Tribes | French Victory | |
Cochinchina Campaign(1858–1862) Location: Nam Kỳ, Đại Nam |
Cobelligerent: (Bombardment of Qui Nhơn only)
Franco-Spanish victory
| ||
Second Italian War of Independence(1859) Location: Lombardy–Venetia, Piedmont and the Austrian Littoral | Franco-Sardinian victory | |
Second Franco-Mexican War(1861–1867) |
Location: Mexico
Mexican Republican victory | |||
Shimonoseki Campaign(1863–1864) Location: Shimonoseki, Japan | Allied victory | ||
French expedition to Korea(1866) Location: Predominantly Ganghwa Island, some small engagements on the Korean Peninsula | Joseon victory
| ||
volunteers | Franco-Papal victory | ||
Franco-Prussian War(1870–71) Location: France and the Rhine Province, Prussia | Before 4 September 1870:After 4 September 1870: Redshirts |
|
After 18 January 1871:
German victory
|
French Third Republic (1870–1940)
Conflict | France & allies | France's opposition | Outcome |
Paris Commune(1871) Location: Paris | Third Republic victory | ||
Mokrani Revolt(1871–1872) Location: Algeria | Algerian rebels: Kingdom of Ait Abbas Sultanate of Tuggurt Algerian ZawiyasAlgerian peasantry | French victory | |
Annexation of the Leeward Islands(1880–1897) Location: Society Islands | French victory | ||
French conquest of Tunisia(1881) Location: Tunisia | French victory
| ||
Mandingo Wars(1883–1898) Location: West Africa | French victory | ||
First Madagascar expedition(1883–1885) Location: Madagascar | French victory | ||
Sino-French War(1884–1885) |
Location: Southeast mainland China, Taiwan, northern Vietnam
| |||
Tonkin Campaign(1883–1886) Location: Northern Vietnam | French victory | ||
First Franco-Dahomean War(1890) Location: Ouémé Department of modern Benin | French victory
| ||
Second Franco-Dahomean War(1892–1894) |
Location: Ouémé Department and Zou Department of modern Benin
French victory
| |||
Franco-Siamese conflict(1893) Location: French Indochina, Siam | French victory
| ||
First Italo-Ethiopian War(1894–1896) | :Eritrean rebels | Ethiopian victory | |
Second Madagascar expedition(1894–1895) Location: Madagascar | French victory | ||
French defeat
| |||
Location: Crete | Cretan revolutionaries Kingdom of Greece Italy (until April 12, 1898) (until March 16, 1898) | French victory
| |
Boxer Rebellion(1899-1901) Location: North China, Yellow Sea |
Eight-Nation Alliance victory | |
Rabih War(1899–1901) |
Location: West Africa
French victory | |||
1904–1905 uprising in Madagascar(1904–1905) Location: Madagascar | Rebels | French victory
| |
Ouaddai War(1909–1911) Location: Ouaddai Empire | French victory
| ||
French conquest of Morocco(1911–1934) Location: North Africa | Zaian ConfederationVarying other Berber tribes | French victory | |
Zaian War(1914–1921) |
Location: French protectorate of Morocco
Zaian ConfederationVarying other Berber tribesSupported during the First World War by the Central Powers | French victory | ||
First World War(1914–1918) Location: Europe, Africa, Asia, Middle East, the Pacific Islands, and coast of North and South America |
| Allied victory
| ||
Volta-Bani War(1915–1917) Location: Burkino Faso, Mali | Marka, Bwa, Lela, Nuni, and Bobo people | French victory | |
Kaocen revolt(1916–1917) Location: Northern Niger | Tuareg guerrillas | French victory | |
Thái Nguyên uprising(1917–1918) Location: Northern Vietnam | Vietnamese rebels | French victory
| |
Occupation of Constantinople(1918–1923) Location: Istanbul | Temporary occupation | ||
November 1918 insurgency in Alsace-Lorraine Location: Alsace-Lorraine | Alsace-Lorraine Soviet Republic | Third Republic victory
| |
Hungarian-Romanian War(1918–1919) Location: Hungary, and Transylvania | Supported by: | Supported by: | Romanian victory |
Franco-Turkish War(1918–1921) |
Location: Cilicia and Upper Mesopotamia
French loss
| |||
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War(1918–1920) |
Allied withdrawal
| |
German Revolution of 1918–1919(1918–1919) Location: German Empire | 1918–1919: |
Supported by:
FSR GermanySupported by: | Weimar victory | ||
Hungarian–Czechoslovak War(1918–1919) Location: Slovakia, Carpathian Ruthenia, Hungary | Supported by: | Supported by: | Czechoslovak victory
|
1919 Luxembourgish rebellion(January 1919) Location: Luxembourg | Republic of Luxembourg | French and Luxembourgish monarchist victory
| |
Polish-Soviet War(1919–1921) Location: Central and Eastern Europe | Belarusian PR Ukrainian People's RepublicSupported by: Russian Whites | Polish victory | |
Bender Uprising(1919) Location: Tighina, Kingdom of Romania (present day Bender, Moldova) | Franco-Romanian victory | ||
Franco-Syrian War(1920) |
Location: Syria
| French victory
| ||
Rif War(1920–1927) Location: Morocco | Spain (1925–1926)Jebala tribes | Franco-Spanish victory
| |
Great Syrian Revolt(1925–1927) |
Location: French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
Syrian rebels | French victory | ||
Kongo-Wara rebellion(1928–1931) Location: French Equatorial Africa, French Cameroon |
Co-belligerents:Gbaya chiefdoms
Gbaya people and clans |
Co-belligerents:Mbum peopleMbai peoplePana peopleYangere peopleMbimou peopleGoundi people | French victory | ||
Yên Bái mutiny(1930) Location: Vietnam | French victory
| ||
Second World War(1939–1945) Location: Europe, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Middle East, Mediterranean, North Africa, Oceania, North and South America |
| Allied victory
|
Vichy France (1940–1944)
Conflict | France & allies | France's opposition | Outcome |
Franco-Thai War(1940–1941) |
Location: French Indochina
Inconclusive
|
French Fourth Republic (1946–1958)
Conflict | France & allies | France's opposition | Outcome |
War in Vietnam(1945–1946) Location: Vietnam | Operational success
| ||
First Indochina War(1946–1954) |
Location: French Indochina
Supported by:
Supported by:
DR Vietnamese victory
| ||
Malagasy Uprising(1947–1948) Location: Madagascar | French victory
| |
Korean War(1950–1953) Location: Korea | UN Victory
| |
Algerian War(1954–1962) |
Location: French Algeria
Algerian victory
| |
Bamileke War(1955–1964) Location: French Cameroon | Before 1960 France |
French-Cameroonian victory | |||
Suez Crisis(1956) Location: Egypt (from the Gaza Strip to the Suez Canal) | Coalition military victoryEgyptian political victory
| ||
Ifni War(1957–1958) Location: Spanish Sahara, Ifni, Morocco | Franco-Spanish victory |
French Fifth Republic (1958–present)
Conflict | France & allies | France's opposition | Outcome |
Basque conflict(1959–2011) Location: Greater Basque Country (Spain, France) |
Unaligned and anti-separatist paramilitary groups:
|
Basque National Liberation Movement:
Iparretarrak (1972–2000)
Iraultza (1982–1996)
Autonomous Anti-Capitalist Commandos (late 1970s–1980s)
Irrintzi (2005–2009)
Kale borroka (1990s–2000s)
Hordago (1980s)
Euskal Zuzentasuna (1977–1979)
Supported by:
Partial victory for the Spanish and French states; political gains for Basque nationalism
| |||
Bizerte crisis(1961) | French victory | ||
Sand War(1963–1964) | Support: | Support: | Military stalemate
|
Dirty War(1974–1983) Location: Argentina |
Supported by:
Montoneros FAP Supported by: | Argentine government victory
| |
Western Sahara War(1975–1991) Location: Western Sahara | (1975–1979) (1977–78) Operation Lamantin, aid from 1978)Supported by: Saudi Arabia United States |
Supported by: Libya (until 1984) North Korea (from 1978)
Inconclusive
| |||
Angolan Civil War(1975–2002) Location: Angola | UNITA FNLA (1975–1978) (1975–1991) (1975)Supported By (1975–1991) (1970s) (1975) FLECMaterial support: | MPLA (1975–1991) SWAPO (1975–1991) ANC (1975–1991)Executive Outcomes (1993–1995) FLNC (1975–2001) (2001–2002)Material support: (1975–1991) (1975–1991) (1980s) | MPLA Victory |
Corsican conflict(1976–present) Location: CorsicaViolence occasionally spread to mainland France and Italy |
French Armed Forces (1 barracks on Corsica)
Anti-separatist paramilitaries
Front d'Action Nouvelle Contre l'Indépendance et l'Autonomie
Criminal groups
Corsican Separatist Paramilitaries National Liberation Front of Corsica (FLNC)FLNC-Canal Historique (FLNC-CS) (1988-1998)FLNC-Canal Habituel (FLNC-CA) (1988-1997)Resistenza (1989-2003)Fronte Ribellu (1996-1999)FLNC-5 Maghju (FLNC-5M) (1996-1999)Armata Corsa (AC) (1999-2001)FLNC-Unione di i Cumbattenti (FLNC-UC) (1999-present)FLNC-22 Uttrovi (FLNC-22U) (2002-present)Armata di U Populu Corsu (APC) (2004-2006)FLNC-5 Maghju 1976 (FLNC-1976) (2007-present)FLNC-21 Maghju (FLNC-21M) (2021-present)Other small groups | Ongoing | ||
Shaba I(1977) Location: Shaba Province, Zaire | Front for the National Liberation of the Congo (FNLC)Supported by: Angola | Zairian victory | |
Chadian–Libyan Conflict(1978–1987) Location: Chad | Anti-Libyan Chadian factions |
Supported by:
Pro-Libyan Chadian factions
(1987)Supported by:
Chadian-French victory
| |||
Shaba II(1978) | Supported by | Front for the National Liberation of the Congo (FNLC)Supported by Angola (alleged) (alleged) | Zairian victory |
Multinational Force in Lebanon(1982–1984) Location: Lebanon |
| Islamic Jihad Organization Iran Progressive Socialist Party Amal Movement | Syrian Allied victory
|
Rwandan Civil War(1990−1994) Location: Rwanda | Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) | Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) victory | |
Gulf War(1990–1991) Location: Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia andthe Persian Gulf | Coalition victory
| ||
Djiboutian Civil War(1991–1994) Location: Northern Djibouti | Supported by : | Franco-Djiboutian victory
| |
Bosnian War(1992–1995) Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina | Support: | Western Bosnia (from 1993)Support: | Croatian and Bosnian victory |
Kosovo War(1998–1999) Location: Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (then part of Serbia) | NATO Victory | ||
War in Afghanistan(2001–2014) |
Location: Afghanistan
Taliban victory
| |||
Insurgency in the Maghreb(2002–present) |
Location: Maghreb, Sahara desert, Sahel
Ongoing | ||
First Ivorian Civil War(2002–2007) Location: Ivory Coast | Young Patriots of Abidjan militia Liberian mercenaries Supported by: |
Victory | ||
Haitian coup d'état(2004) Location: Haiti |
Victory | |||
Chadian Civil War(2005–2010) Location: Chad | Rebels JanjaweedAlleged support: | Victory | |
Somali Civil War(2009–present) |
Location: Somalia
Ongoing | |||
Boko Haram insurgency(2009–present) Location: Northeast Nigeria | Supported by: | Ongoing | |
Second Ivorian Civil War(2010–2011) Location: Ivory Coast | New Forces Liberian mercenaries RDR UNOCI | Military of Ivory Coast Liberian mercenaries Young Patriots of Abidjan Ivorian Popular Front | Victory |
First Libyan Civil War(2011) |
Location: Libya
:
| Victory
| |
Northern Mali Conflict(2012–2022) |
Location: Northern Mali
National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad(MNLA)
| Mixed Results
|
Central African Republic Civil War(2012–2021) |
Location: Central African Republic
(2013–16) (2012–13) EUFOR RCA (2014–15) | France ended support for Central African Republic in 2021. | |
Iraqi Civil War(2014–2017) |
Location: Iraq
Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014)
Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014)
Victory | ||
Opération Chammal(2014–present) | Ongoing
| |
Operation Aspides(19 February 2024 – present) Location: Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Yemen |
(SPC)
| Ongoing |
See also
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography