A proxy war is an armed conflict in which one or more parties are supported by external powers that seek to advance their interests without directly becoming a principal combatant.

Pre-World War I proxy wars WarDatesCombatant 1Combatant 2ResultSicilian Expedition415–413 BCDelian League (led by Athens)SegestaEtruscansPeloponnesian League (led by Sparta)CorinthSyracuseSpartan-Syracusan victoryEgyptian–Ottoman War1839–1841 EgyptAllies: Spain Ottoman EmpireAllies: United Kingdom Austria Russia PrussiaOttoman victory Egyptian retrocession of Syria, Crete, and the Hejaz to the Ottoman EmpireUruguayan Civil War1839–1851 Colorados Gobierno de la Defensa (since 1843) Unitarians (since 1851) Entre Ríos (from 1851) (from 1851) France

(1839–1845) Italian Redshirts Blancos Gobierno del Cerrito (since 1843) Federalists Lavallejistas

Entre Ríos (until 1851)Colorado victoryFirst Samoan Civil War1886–18941887–1889 Supporters of Tupua Tamasese

1893–1894 Supporters of M. Laupepa Supported by:

United States 1887–1889 Supporters of Mata'afa Supported by: United States

1893–1894 Supporters of Mata'afa (1893) Supporters of Tamasese Lealofi (1894)Stalemate Malietoa Laupepa restored to power in 1889 Berlin General Act creates new government structure Challenges to Laupepa's authority in 1893–1894 defeatedSecond Samoan Civil War1898–1899 MataafansSupported by:Allies:Compromise; Tripartite Convention Partitioning of the Samoan archipelago United States acquires American Samoa Germany acquires German Samoa Britain withdraws claim in exchange for concessions in the Solomon Islands Mata'afa Iosefo becomes paramount chief of SamoaVenezuelan crisis of 1902–19031902–1903Compromise: Venezuelan debt dispute resolved European fleet withdrawsDervish War1896–1922 Dervish movement Supported by: Ottoman Empire Ethiopia (1915–1916) German Empire Dervish movement defeatMexican Revolution1910–1920 1910–1911: Porfiriato Federales Porfiristas

1911–1913: Maderistas Federales

1913–1914: Huertistas Federales

1914–1915: Conventionists Villistas Zapatistas

1915–1920: Carrancistas

Supported by: (1910–1913) ( 1913–1918)

1910–1911: Maderistas Orozquistas Magonistas Zapatistas

1911–1913: Reyistas Felicistas Orozquistas Magonistas Zapatistas

1913–1914: Constitutionalists Carrancistas Villistas Zapatistas

1914–1915: Carrancistas

1915–1920 Villistas Zapatistas Felicistas Forces led by Aureliano Blanquet Forces led by Álvaro Obregón

Supported by: (1913–1918) United Kingdom (1916–1918) Revolutionary victoryMexican Border War1910–1919 Mexico Villistas Constitutionalistas Carrancistas Maderistas Seditionistas Supported by:Status quo ante bellum Seditionist insurgency suppressed Permanent border wall established along the border of Nogales, Sonora, and Arizona, after the American victory in the Battle of Ambos Nogales American troops fail to capture Pancho Villa and withdraw from Chihuahua

Inter-war period proxy wars WarDatesCombatant 1Combatant 2ResultFinnish Civil War1918Finnish Whites victory Establishment of the Kingdom of Finland German hegemony until November 1918 Division in Finnish society Collapse of the Finnish Reds Dissolution of the Finnish Socialist Workers' RepublicRevolutions and interventions in Hungary1918–1920 Romania Kingdom of Hungary Hungarian Republic Hungarian SR Slovak SRLittle Entente victory Collapse of the Hungarian Soviet Republic Romanian occupation of most of Hungary Treaty of Trianon Miklós Horthy takes power as Regent of HungaryTurkish War of Independence1919–1923Allied powers:

Turkish Nationalists:Turkish victoryChester Neal Tate, Governments of the World: a Global Guide to Citizens' Rights and Responsibilities, Macmillan Reference USA/Thomson Gale, 2006, p. 205. According to John R. Ferris, "Decisive Turkish victory in Anatolia... produced Britain's gravest strategic crisis between the 1918 Armistice and Munich, plus a seismic shift in British politics..." Erik Goldstein and Brian McKerche, Power and Stability: British Foreign Policy, 1865–1965, 2004 p. 139 Establishment of the Republic of TurkeyChinese Civil War1927–1936,1945–1949 Republic of China Kuomintang Republic of China Armed Forces 1927–1936 Chinese Soviet Republic Jiangxi Soviet Chinese Communist Party Chinese Red Army

1945–1949 Yan'an Soviet (1949) Chinese Communist Party People's Liberation ArmyCommunist victory Communist control of mainland China Proclamation of the People's Republic of China Retreat of the government of the Republic of China to TaiwanChaco War1932–1935Paraguayan victory Most of the disputed area awarded to ParaguaySpanish Civil War1936–1939 Nationalists

Requetés/CT CEDA

Army of Africa Viriatos

Republicans People's Army Popular Front UGT CNT-FAI POUM Generalitat de Catalunya

Foreign volunteers End of the Second Spanish Republic Establishment of the Spanish State under the rule of Francisco Franco Post-war Francoist mass killings and repression Spanish Maquis continue irregular warfare sporadically until 1965

Cold War proxy wars

WarDatesCombatant 1Combatant 2ResultChinese Civil War1945–1949 Yan'an Soviet (1949) Chinese Communist Party People's Liberation Army Republic of China Kuomintang Republic of China Armed Forces Communist victory Communist control of mainland China Proclamation of the People's Republic of China Retreat of the government of the Republic of China to TaiwanIran crisis of 19461945–1946 Azerbaijan People's Government Republic of Mahabad Tudeh Military NetworkSupported by: IranSupported by:Iranian victoryGreek Civil War1946–1949 Provisional Democratic Government Democratic Army Communist Party of Greece and allies Ex-EAM members and other communist guerrillas' local groups People's Civil Guard Supported by: (1946–1948) Bulgaria Albania (limited) Kingdom of Greece Hellenic Army Royal Hellenic Air Force Royal Hellenic Navy Royal Gendarmerie MAY (1946–1948) TEA (1948–1949) Supported by: (1944–1947) (1946–1949) Kingdom of Greece victoryFirst Indochina War1946–1954

Việt Minh French Union France French Indochina State of Vietnam Kingdom of Cambodia

(1953–54) CIA DR Vietnamese victory Division of Vietnam between North Vietnam and South Vietnam in 1954 Independence of Vietnam, Laos and CambodiaParaguayan Civil War1947 Liberal Party Febrerista Revolutionary Concentration Paraguayan Communist Party Paraguayan Government Military of Paraguay Colorado militias Supported by: Argentina United States Government/Military and Colorado Party victory All other political parties outlawed; Paraguay becomes a one-party stateMalayan Emergency1948–1960 Communist forces: Malayan Communist Party Malayan National Liberation Army British Commonwealth forces:

Federation of Malaya

(until 1957) (until 1957) Kenya (until 1953) (from 1953) Fiji

Supported by: (Thai–Malaysian border) Commonwealth victory Independence of Malaya from the United Kingdom on 31 August 1957 Malaya became an independent member of the British Commonwealth CPM retreats to the Malayan-Thai border Insurgency continues (1968–1989) Conflict resolved through the Peace Agreement of Hat Yai (1989)Korean War1950–1953 United Nations

... see other countriesInconclusive Korean Demilitarized Zone established North Korea gains the city of Kaesong, but loses a net total of , including the city of Sokcho, to South KoreaMau Mau Uprising1952–1960 Mau Mau rebels Kenya Land and Freedom Army

Maasai Bands (from 1954)

British victorySecond Indochina War (Vietnam War)1955–1975 and PRG Pathet Lao Khmer Rouge GRUNK (from 1970) (1965–1969)

(1967–1970) (1970–1975)

North Vietnamese victory Reunification of North Vietnam and South Vietnam into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976First Taiwan Strait Crisis1954–1955Ceasefire; major escalation avoided The PRC takes control of the Yijiangshan and Dachen Islands The ROC and US navies evacuate military personnel and civilians from the Dachen Islands Formosa Resolution of 1955 and Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty between the ROC and USFirst Sudanese Civil War1955–1972 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1955–1956) Republic of Sudan (1956–1969) Democratic Republic of Sudan (1969–1972) Combat support: (joint operations on Ugandan territory, 1965–1969) Libyan Arab Republic (from 1969; combat involvement from 1970) Non-combat support:

(until 1969)

SDF mutineers, bandits, and unaffiliated separatist militias ALF (1965–1970) Anyanya (from 1963) (from 1969) Supported by:

(from about 1970) Congo-Léopoldville

StalemateShinn, David H, "Addis Ababa Agreement: was it destined to fail and are there lessons for the Current Sudan Peace Process?", p. 242Suez Crisis1956 Egypt FranceIsraeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip until March 1957Second Taiwan Strait Crisis1958Status quo ante bellum Successful military defence of Kinmen by the ROC1958 Lebanon crisis1958 Lebanese Opposition: INM LCP PSP

Supported by:

Government Lebanese Armed Forces Kataeb Party Syrian Social Nationalist Party ARF

Supported by: Inconclusive Reconciliation Government formed1959 Tibetan uprising1959

People's Liberation Army Tibetan and Khampa protesters and guerrillas Tibetan Army remnants

Simultaneous rebellion in Kham and Amdo: Chushi Gangdruk Supported by:

(CIA) (diplomatic)Uprising suppressed Abolition of the Kashag Tibetan diaspora Flight of the 14th Dalai Lama to IndiaCentral American crisis1960–1996 EGP FAR ORPA PGT URNG FSLN EPS FMLN (CRM) NicaraguaThe Kashmir Question: Retrospect and Prospect, 2013. p. 121. (1979–90)

Supported by The Giant's Rival: The USSR and Latin America, Revised Edition, 1988. p. 143. "Inevitable Revolutions: The United States in Central America"

(before 1989) Zapatistas

Castro's America Department: Coordinating Cuba's Support for Marxist–Leninist Violence in the Americas. 1988. p. 36 China and the Third World: Champion Or Challenger?, 1986. p. 151.

ESA White Hand and other paramilitary groups Somoza government National Guard Contras (1981–90) Salvadoran military government

Supported by Uppsala Conflict Data Program conflict Encyclopedia, El Salvador, In Depth, Negotiating a settlement to the conflict, http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=51&regionSelect=4-Central_Americas# , "...US government increased the security support to prevent a similar thing to happen in El Salvador. This was, not least, demonstrated in the delivery of security aid to El Salvador", viewed on May 24, 2013

Schirmer, 1996; p. 172Congo Crisis1960–1965Supported by:

1963–1965:

Supported by:1960–1963:

Supported by:

1960–1962:

Supported by:

1963–1965:

Supported by:The Congo established as an independent unitary state under the authoritarian presidency of Mobutu Sese Seko.Portuguese Colonial War1961–1974Angola: Guinea: Mozambique: Carnation Revolution Military stalemate Rebel political victory Alvor Agreement Lusaka Accord Portuguese overseas territories in Africa become independentMia Couto, Carnation revolution, First Iraqi–Kurdish War1961–1970Before 1968: Iraq Syria (1963)Supported by: (from 1963) Egypt (1965)After 1968: Ba'athist Iraq KDPSupported by: Iran (alleged)Military stalemate Iraqi–Kurdish Autonomy Agreement Arabization program continued Second Iraqi–Kurdish War in 1974 Eritrean War of Independence 1961–1991 ELF (1961–1981) EPLF (since 1973) TPLF (since 1975)1961–1974 Ethiopian Empire1974–1991 Derg (1974–1987) PDR Ethiopia (1987–1991)EPLF victory Eritrean insurgency begins in 1961 ELF defeated by EPLF and TPLF during the Eritrean Civil Wars Fall of the Derg regime Eritrea gains de facto independence from Ethiopia in 1991 under EPLF rule, and de jure independence after the referendum held in 1993 under UN auspices Independence of Eritrea