I think that what we have to use as a point of reference is not the model of language or of the sign but war and battles -- Michel Foucault

Introduction

The Armed Conflict Events Data (ACED, formerly also known as Wars of the World) includes wars, civil wars, revolutions and revolts, rebellions, secessions, coups, genocides, ethnic and political violence, and terrorism worldwide. It provides researchers with brief military histories and data of documented conflicts occurring between 1800 and 1999. ACED is intended to be accessible to history enthusiasts and students as well as scholars and military professionals. This background information offers insight into the causes, prevention, management and resolution of national and international conflicts. Understanding gained from these historical conflicts may offer guidance for shaping responses to the complex and often contentious peace and security issues concerning current conflicts. This is a necessary condition for effective conflict management, resolution, prevention and peace building at the global, regional, and national levels.

Getting Started

ACED for any listed armed conflict is accessible through the indexes in the navigation bar above. The main options at this time are the chronology, which lists events by the starting year, and the states index, which lists events associated with a current state or its territory. Categories list wars based on the Correlates of War Project definitions; all inter-state wars are now linked. The duration and scale indexes currently only list the inter-state wars.

Quick Links to WWII

World War II

The ACED page for the Second World War with an historical summary of the event and relevant facts and figures about it.

Chronology of World War II

This chronological coverage of the Second World War provides comprehensive day by day summaries of events for each day from September 1, 1939 to September 30, 1945 - a total of 2222 days. Political, military, economic as well as socially significant events are included. There are over one thousand images of war incorporated in the chronology.

Maps of World War II

The battles and campaigns of the Second World War are presented by a collection of 86 high resolution maps. These maps are organized by campaigns in chronological order. Most of the maps show strategic or operational level information.

Tanks of World War II

Technical specifications and 4-view plan drawings.