List of Minor Wars in Turtledove's Work

The following is a list of the fictional wars known to have taken place in one of the fictional works of Harry Turtledove and/or Laura Frankos. Because they are usually only mentioned in passing, with limited information as to the causes, belligerents involved, duration, and outcomes, they have not been given individual entries nor this wiki's usual in-universe descriptions.

As Turtledove leaves many of these wars unnamed, descriptive names have been assigned by this wiki for simplicity's sake. Wars that were unnamed in-universe are marked with an asterisk (*).

"After the Last Elf is Dead"

War Between the Dark and the Light*, when the Western Realm (ruled by the High King) was overrun by the forces of the Dark Brother. The story depicts the very last thrust of the war, and its immediate aftermath. Turtledove has implied that the war is meant to be a generic analog of all the better-known good-versus-evil conflicts in fantasy literature, and therefore not defined too precisely; he simply wanted to explore the question of what if evil was the winner for a change.

Atlantis

Anglo-Dutch Wars*. By 1666, Holland had defeated England at sea twice. Analog of an OTL series of wars.

Anglo-French War*, ongoing in 1809, when Great Britain diverted resources from this war with France to enter into a concurrent conflict with the United States of Atlantis. This seems to be a vague analog of the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon himself is never mentioned in the series, but Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington and the Battle of Austerlitz are.

Anglo-Afghan War*. In the 1860s or '70s, Great Britain attempted to conquer Afghanistan and failed bloodily. James Walton one of the few British soldiers to survive and escape. Possibly an analog of an OTL war.

"Birdwitching"

Mesopotamia War*, mentioned obliquely in passing, an analog of the Iraq War of the early 21st century.

Crosstime Traffic

Home timeline

The Second Iranian Intervention was a war in the 21st century. The United States and the European Union had sent troops into Iran on the side of the monarchy, but things didn't go the way they planned. It is not clear whether the restoration of the monarchy is a result of the Second Intervention or its cause.

Curious Notions

Russian Civil War*. Following its defeat by Germany in an analog of World War I, the Russian Empire had a long civil war and permanently fell to pieces, so that there was no Russian nation by the 1930s. Whether the belligerents and root causes resembled those of the home timeline's Russian Civil War is unclear.

War of the 1930s*. Germany faced the revanchist attacks of Great Britain and France in the late 1930s, and triumphed once again, becoming the undisputed master of Europe.

War of 1956*. Germany, led by Kaiser Wilhelm IV, attacked the United States with atomic bombs, destroying a dozen cities in one day. Within two months, Germany had invaded and occupied the whole country. By 2096, the United States remained an occupied vassal state of the Kaiserreich.

The Disunited States of America

War of 1812; Virginia was a belligerent. The relation between this war and the home timeline War of 1812, if any, is unrevealed.

War of 1833, Virginia was a belligerent.

First Northeastern War, Virginia was not a belligerent.

Second Northeastern War 1837, Massachusetts annexed Rhode Island. Virginia doesn't seem to have been a participant.

Third Northeastern War; Virginia doesn't seem to have been a participant.

Rocky Mountain War; which saw Deseret establish its independence.

First Ohio-Virginia War

Three States' War; Virginia was a participant.

First Black Insurrection; a revolt of Negroes in Virginia.

Great War; an analog of World War I, wherein different North American states sided with either the British or the Prussians and fought against each other.

Second Black Insurrection; a second revolt of Negroes in Virginia.

Atlantic War; Virginia was a participant.

War of the Three Emperors, circa 1947, in which Russia was a participant, and Tsaritsyn was the site of an apocalyptic battle. Possibly a loose analog of World War II.

Florida Intervention; Florida was partitioned into three areas, the southernmost was annexed to Cuba. Virginia was a participant.

Mississippi Revolution*, c. 1977. The white-ruled government of Mississippi was overthrown by a general uprising of the nation-state's black population, who founded a regime which was equally oppressive against their former rulers. This situation, unique in North America, remained in place in 2097.

Darkness

Lagoas-Kuusamo Wars*, mentioned in passing in relation to war memorials in Setubal.

Lagoas-Valmiera Wars*, mentioned in passing in relation to war memorials in Setubal.

A Different Flesh

The Russo-Prussian War took place in the mid-20th century, and appears to be a partial analog of World War II. The war produced horrifying images of emaciated concentration camp survivors which became iconic the world over.

"Drang von Osten"

War of the German Coalition*. Germany leads a coalition of European nations to overthrow the Chinese force which has invaded and occupied Russia in the early 2040s, passing through many of the same routes used by the various armies in World War II. The story deals with a limited perspective of one front of the war.

"The Emperor's Return"

Soviet-Turkish War*. In 2003, the Soviet Union invaded Turkey with the aid of Greece. The story focuses on one battle - the Greek capture of Istanbul - and leaves the war's overall scope only vaguely defined.

The Guns of the South

War of the Triple Alliance*. In 1866, Paraguay is at war against all its neighbors, in an analog of an OTL war.

Anglo-American War*. In 1867, three years after the Confederate States won the Second American Revolution, the rump United States initiate a war against Great Britain with goal of occupying Canada and neighboring colonies in whole or in part. While the United States have an advantage with its use of reverse-engineered AK-47s, Britain continues to dominate at sea, shelling several US coastal cities. When the novel ends in 1868, the war is still raging. The US appear to be winning, although Britain is by no means out of the fight.

"Leg Irons, the Bitch and the Wardrobe"

Leffing Wars*. King Pennilvath led Leffing to victory in two undescribed wars before the story starts.

"The Pugnacious Peacemaker"

Tawantiinsuuju-dar al-Harb Wars*. By 1941, the Inca Empire and the neighboring Muslim emirate have been fighting for dominance of South Skrelleland for generations. In 1913, the Incas won a significant amount of new territory in the latest round of fighting. In 1941, the war threatens to erupt again, to the benefit of no one, so International Judge Ib Scoglund is brought in to prevent such an outbreak.

"Ready for the Fatherland"

Sunbomb War*. In 1953, the Soviet Union smuggled a sunbomb into American-occupied Tokyo, destroying the city. The Americans retaliated by sunbombing Vladivostok, but escalation into World War III was averted when Soviet leader Joseph Stalin abruptly died of natural causes and an armistice was called. German dictator Erich von Manstein mediated the final peace settlement, which resulted in status quo ante bellum.

"The Road Not Taken"

The Second Syrian Crisis in the 2030s caused the United States to reintroduce conscription. Billy Cox was part of the mass buildup of the United States Army as a result of this.

"Running of the Bulls"

Ecnarfish War*. A vague analog of World War I, this global war was fought nearly a decade before the story takes place. One front of the war was fought in Ecnarf and involved soldiers from Dubyook (including Baek Jarns and Obert Ohn) and Dunlin (including Kime Kelbam) as allies. Astilia remained neutral throughout. The overall scope of the war is unrevealed, as is the name of any nation on the other side.

Southern Victory

Austro-Prussian War* (1866), referenced in passing, analog of an OTL war.

Peruvian War*; Peru fought a war with its neighbors in the years following the Great War. Confederate mercenaries connected to Jake Featherston's Freedom Party fought on behalf of Peru to build experience in warfare.

Supervolcano

Iran-Israel War*: After the Yellowstone Supervolcano had erupted and weakened the United States, Iran launched a nuclear strike on Tel Aviv. The Israelis responded in kind on both Tehran and Qom. The subsequent happenings are not addressed.

War of Russian Aggression*: Some six years after the eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano, famine-ridden Russia invaded fertile Ukraine and Kazakhstan, only to encounter fierce resistance. Chechens with Russia's borders took the opportunity to rebel, and Russia became hopelessly bogged down.

Through Darkest Europe

Indian Wars*, fought in the mid 20th century AD. Indian warlord Faruq al-Ghaznavi fought against numerous other nations and was defeated, but not before he engineered the Tamil Holocaust. Apparently analogous to World War II.

Iraq-Persia Wars*, sporadic conflicts between Iraq and Persia are referenced in broad strokes. Possibly analogous to the OTL wars between Iraq and Iran, in particular the 1980s war which involved World War I-style trench warfare.

The Two Georges

Nuevespañolan War*, fought between the British Empire and the Franco-Spanish Holy Alliance in the early 1860s. It resulted in American annexation of territory from Nueva España which became the Provinces of Cranmer, Phoenix, Upper California, and Lower California. A vague analog of the OTL Mexican-American War.

"Vilcabamba"

Krolp Wars*. Over the course of the 22nd century, the alien Krolp conquered most of Earth. The story deals with the final stand of independent humans in the North American theatre, with the overall scope of the wars only vaguely alluded to.

The War Between the Provinces

Blond Wars*. Dark-haired people from the mother kingdom settled western Detina, a development which was not so agreeable the blond people who already lived there. The dark-hairs and the blonds fought several wars for this reason. The blond side had bronze and fairly weak gods, while the dark-hairs had iron and much stronger gods. The result of these wars was the founding of the Kingdom of Detina, and the enserfment of many blond tribes.

War of 1218. Hesmucet, the king of a blond tribe, scored major tactical victories against the Detinans, but was ultimately killed and his side defeated. While "War of 1218" is an anagram of "War of 1812," it is not clear how closely the two wars resemble each other. As the years of the Detinan Civil War are never numbered, the Civil War may have happened as few as 50, or as many as 200, years after 1218. Whether the mother kingdom was the prime enemy is unrevealed, as is whether it took place concurrently with Kermit's invasion of Sorb.

Kermitic Wars*. Approximately 50 years before the Detinan Civil War, Great King Kermit invaded Sorb and occupied Pahzbull. A vague analog of the Russian phase of the Napoleonic Wars, it is not known whether the invasion took place concurrent with the War of 1218.