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By style
Historian Victor Davis Hanson has claimed there exists a unique "Western Way of War", in an attempt to explain the military successes of Western Europe. It originated in Ancient Greece, where, in an effort to reduce the damage that warfare has on society, the city-states developed the concept of a decisive pitched battle between heavy infantry. This would be preceded by formal declarations of war and followed by peace negotiations. In this system constant low-level skirmishing and guerrilla warfare were phased out in favour of a single, decisive contest, which in the end cost both sides less in casualties and property damage. Although it was later perverted by Alexander the Great, this style of war initially allowed neighbours with limited resources to coexist and prosper.

He argues that Western-style armies are characterised by an emphasis on discipline and teamwork above individual bravado. Examples of Western victories over non-Western armies include the Battle of Marathon, the Battle of Gaugamela, the Siege of Tenochtitlan, and the defence of Rorke's Drift.

Warfare environment
The environment in which a war is fought has a significant impact on the type of combat which takes place, and can include within its area different types of terrain. This in turn means that soldiers have to be trained to fight in a specific types of environments and terrains that generally reflects troops' mobility limitations or enablers. These include:

Arctic warfare or Winter warfare in general
Desert warfare
Jungle warfare
Mobile warfare
Naval warfare or Aquatic warfare that includes Littoral, Amphibious and Riverine warfare
Sub-aquatic warfare
Mountain warfare sometimes called Alpine warfare
Urban warfare
Air warfare that includes Airborne warfare and Airmobile warfare
Space warfare
Electronic warfare including Radio, Radar and Network warfare
Border warfare a type of limited defensive warfare
Mine warfare a type of static terrain denial warfare
Psychological warfare
Guerilla warfare
Cyber warfare
Energy warfare
Biological warfare
Trench warfare WWI
Nuclear warfare

History of war
Main article: History of war
There is little agreement about the origins of war. Some believe war has always been with us; others stress the lack of clear evidence for war in our prehistoric past, and the fact that many peaceful, non-military societies have and still do exist.

Originally, war likely consisted of small-scale raiding. Since the rise of the state some 5000 years ago, military activity has occurred over much of the globe. The advent of gunpowder and the acceleration of technological advances led to modern warfare.

The Human Security Report 2005 documented a significant decline in the number and severity of armed conflicts since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. However, the evidence examined in the 2008 edition of the Peace and Conflict study indicates that the overall decline in conflicts has stalled.

Morality of war
My Lai MassacreThroughout history war has been the source of serious moral questions. Although many ancient nations and some modern ones have viewed war as noble, over the sweep of history, concerns about the morality of war have gradually increased. Today, war is seen by some as undesirable and morally problematic. At the same time, many view war, or at least the preparation and readiness and willingness to engage in war, as necessary for the defense of their country. Pacifists believe that war is inherently immoral and that no war should ever be fought.

The negative view of war has not always been held as widely as it is today. Heinrich von Treitschke saw war as humanity's highest activity where courage, honour, and ability were more necessary than in any other endeavour. Friedrich Nietzsche also saw war as an opportunity for the Übermensch to display heroism, honour, and other virtues. Another supporter of war, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, favoured it as part of the necessary process required for history to unfold and allow society to progress. At the outbreak of World War I, the writer Thomas Mann wrote, "Is not peace an element of civil corruption and war a purification, a liberation, an enormous hope?" This attitude has been embraced by societies from Sparta and Rome in the ancient world to the fascist states of the 1930s.

Today, some see only just wars as legitimate, and believe that it is the responsibility of world organizations such as the United Nations to oppose wars of unjust aggression. N.J. Slabbert, who comments on philosophical and policy subjects for Urban Land, a journal published in Washington DC, maintains that the tendency to look too readily to war for solutions to inter-group problems has been accompanied by insufficient attention to the constructive business of maintaining peace, with budgets for war far exceeding those for the furtherance of peaceful initiatives, and with peace being seen largely as a temporary absence of war rather than as a social condition in its own right.

International law recognizes only two cases for a legitimate war:

Wars of defense: when one nation is attacked by an aggressor, it is considered legitimate for a nation to defend itself against the aggressor.
Wars sanctioned by the UN Security Council: when the United Nations as a whole acts as a body against a certain nation. Examples include various peacekeeping operations around the world.
The subset of international law known as the law of war or international humanitarian law also recognises regulations for the conduct of war, including the Geneva Conventions governing the legitimacy of certain kinds of weapons, and the treatment of prisoners of war. Cases where these conventions are broken are considered war crimes, and since the Nuremberg Trials at the end of World War II the international community has established a number of tribunals to try such cases.

Factors ending a war
The political and economic circumstances in the peace that follows war usually depends on the "facts on the ground". Where evenly matched adversaries decide that the conflict has resulted in a stalemate, they may cease hostilities to avoid further loss of life and property. They may decide to restore the antebellum territorial boundaries, redraw boundaries at the line of military control, or negotiate to keep or exchange captured territory. Negotiations between parties involved at the end of a war often result in a treaty, such as the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, which ended the First World War.

A warring party that surrenders may have little negotiating power, with the victorious side either imposing a settlement or dictating most of the terms of any treaty. A common result is that conquered territory is brought under the dominion of the stronger military power. An unconditional surrender is made in the face of overwhelming military force as an attempt to prevent further harm to life and property. For example, the Empire of Japan gave an unconditional surrender to the Allies of World War II after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the preceding massive strategic bombardment of Japan and declaration of war and the immediate invasion of Manchuria by the Soviet Union. A settlement or surrender may also be obtained through deception or bluffing.

Many other wars, however, have ended in complete destruction of the opposing territory, such as the Battle of Carthage of the Third Punic War between the Phoenician city of Carthage and Ancient Rome in 149 BC. In 146 BC the Romans burned the city, enslaved its citizens, and razed the buildings.

Some wars or war-like actions end when the military objective of the victorious side has been achieved. Others do not, especially in cases where the state structures do not exist, or have collapsed prior to the victory of the conqueror. In such cases, disorganised guerilla warfare may continue for a considerable period. In cases of complete surrender conquered territories may be brought under the permanent dominion of the victorious side. A raid for the purposes of looting may be completed with the successful capture of goods. In other cases an aggressor may decide to end hostilities to avoid continued losses and cease hostilities without obtaining the original objective, such as happened in the Iran-Iraq War.

Some hostilities, such as insurgency or civil war, may persist for long periods of time with only a low level of military activity. In some cases there is no negotiation of any official treaty, but fighting may trail off and eventually stop after the political demands of the belligerent groups have been reconciled, a political settlement has been negotiated, or combatants are gradually killed or decide the conflict is futile.

List of wars by death toll
These figures include deaths of civilians from diseases, famine, atrocities etc. as well as deaths of soldiers in battle.

This is an incomplete list of wars.

60,000,000–72,000,000 - World War II (1939–1945),
30,000,000–60,000,000 - Mongol Conquests (13th century)
25,000,000 - Manchu conquest of Ming China (1616–1662)
20,000,000–70,000,000 - World War I (1914–1918) (see World War I casualties) note that the larger number includes Spanish flu deaths
20,000,000 - Taiping Rebellion (China, 1851–1864)
20,000,000 - Second Sino-Japanese War (1931–1945)
10,000,000 - Warring States Era (China, 475 BC–221 BC)
7,000,000 - 20,000,000 Conquests of Timur the Lame (1360-1405)
5,000,000–9,000,000 - Russian Civil War and Foreign Intervention (1917–1921)
5,000,000 - Conquests of Menelik II of Ethiopia (1882- 1898)
3,800,000 - 5,400,000 - Second Congo War (1998–2007)
3,500,000–6,000,000 - Napoleonic Wars (1804–1815)
3,000,000–11,500,000 - Thirty Years' War (1618–1648)
3,000,000–7,000,000 - Yellow Turban Rebellion (China, 184–205)
2,500,000–3,500,000 - Korean War (1950–1953)
2,300,000–3,800,000 - Vietnam War (entire war 1945–1975)
300,000–1,300,000 - First Indochina War (1945–1954)
100,000–300,000 - Vietnamese Civil War (1954–1960)
1,750,000–2,100,000 - American phase (1960–1973)
170,000 - Final phase (1973–1975)
175,000–1,150,000 - Secret War (1962–1975)
2,000,000–4,000,000 - French Wars of Religion (1562–1598)
2,000,000 - Shaka's conquests (1816-1828)
2,000,000 - Mahmud of Ghazni's invasions of India (1000-1027)
300,000–3,000,000[61] - Bangladesh Liberation War
1,500,000–2,000,000 - Afghan Civil War (1979 -)
1,000,000–1,500,000 Soviet intervention (1979–1989)
1,300,000–6,100,000 - Chinese Civil War (1928–1949) note that this figure excludes World War II casualties
300,000–3,100,000 before 1937
1,000,000–3,000,000 after World War II
1,000,000–2,000,000 - Mexican Revolution (1910–1920)
1,000,000 - Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988)[63]
1,000,000 - Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598)
1,000,000 - Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005)
1,000,000 - Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970)
618,000[65] - 970,000 - American Civil War (including 350,000 from disease) (1861–1865)
900,000–1,000,000 - Mozambique Civil War (1976–1993)
868,000[66] - 1,400,000[67] - Seven Years' War (1756-1763)
800,000 - 1,000,000 - Rwandan Civil War (1990-1994)
800,000 - Congo Civil War (1991–1997)
600,000 to 1,300,000 - First Jewish-Roman War
580,000 - Bar Kokhba’s revolt (132–135CE)
570,000 - Eritrean War of Independence (1961-1991)
550,000 - Somali Civil War (1988 - )
500,000 - 1,000,000 - Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)
500,000 - Angolan Civil War (1975–2002)
500,000 - Ugandan Civil War (1979–1986)
400,000–1,000,000 - War of the Triple Alliance in Paraguay (1864–1870)
400,000 - Darfur conflict (2003-)
400,000 - War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714)
371,000 - Continuation War (1941-1944)
350,000 - Great Northern War (1700-1721)
315,000 - 735,000 - Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639-1651) English campaign ~40,000, Scottish 73,000, Irish 200,000-620,000[69]
300,000 - Russian-Circassian War (1763-1864)
300,000 - First Burundi Civil War (1972)
270,000–300,000 - Crimean War (1854–1856)
255,000-1,120,000 - Philippine-American War (1898-1913)
230,000–1,400,000 - Ethiopian Civil War (1974–1991)
220,000 - Liberian Civil War (1989 - )
214,000 - 655,000+ - Iraq War (2003-Present)
200,000 - 1,000,000[70][71] - Albigensian Crusade (1208-1259)
200,000–800,000 - Warlord era in China (1917–1928)
200,000 - Second Punic War (BC218-BC204)
200,000 - Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2000)
200,000 - Algerian Civil War (1991 - )
200,000 - Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996)
190,000 - Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871)
180,000 - 300,000 - La Violencia (1948-1958)
170,000 - Greek War of Independence (1821-1829)
150,000 - Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990)
150,000 - North Yemen Civil War (1962–1970)
150,000 - Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)
148,000-1,000,000 - Winter War (1939)
125,000 - Eritrean-Ethiopian War (1998–2000)
120,000 - 384,000 Great Turkish War (1683-1699)
120,000 - Bosnian War (1992–1995)
120,000 - Third Servile War (BC73-BC71)
117,000 - 500,000 - Revolt in the Vendée (1793-1796)
101,000 - 115,000 - Arab-Israeli conflict (1929- )
100,500 - Chaco War (1932–1935)
100,000 - 1,000,000 - War of the two brothers (1531–1532)
100,000 - 400,000 - Western New Guinea (1984 - )
100,000 - 200,000 - Indonesian invasion of East Timor (1975-1978)
100,000 - Persian Gulf War (1991)
100,000–1,000,000 - Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962)
100,000 - Thousand Days War (1899–1901)
100,000 - Peasants' War (1524-1525)
80,000 - Third Punic War (BC149-BC146)
75,000 - 200,000? - Conquests of Alexander the Great (BC336-BC323)
75,000 - El Salvador Civil War (1980–1992)
75,000 - Second Boer War (1898–1902)
70,000 - Boudica's uprising (AD60-AD61)
69,000 - Internal conflict in Peru (1980 - )
60,000 - Sri Lanka/Tamil conflict (1983-)
60,000 - Nicaraguan Rebellion (1972-91)
55,000 - War of the Pacific (1879-1885)
50,000 - 200,000 - First Chechen War (1994–1996)
50,000 - 100,000 - Tajikistan Civil War (1992–1997)
50,000 - Wars of the Roses (1455-1485)
45,000 - Greek Civil War (1945-1949)
41,00–100,000 - Kashmiri insurgency (1989 - )
36,000 - Finnish Civil War (1918)
35,000 - 40,000 - War of the Pacific (1879–1884)
35,000 - 45,000 - Siege of Malta (1565)
31,000–100,000 - Second Chechen War (1999 - )
30,000 - Turkey/PKK conflict (1984 - )
30,000 - Sino-Vietnamese War (1979)
23,384 - Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (December 1971)
23,000 - Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988-1994)
20,000 - 49,600 U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan (2001 – 2002)
15,000–20,000 - Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995)
11,053 - Malayan Emergency (1948-1960)
10,000 - Amadu's Jihad (1810-1818)
7,264–10,000 - Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 (August-September 1965)
7,000–24,000 - American War of 1812 (1812-1815)
7,000 - Kosovo War (1996–1999) (disputed)
5,000 - Turkish invasion of Cyprus (1974)
4,588 - Sino-Indian War (1962)
4,000 - Waziristan War (2004-2006)
4,000 - Irish Civil War (1922-23)
3,700 - Northern Ireland conflict (1969 - 1998)
3,000 - Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire (2002 - )
2,899 - New Zealand Land Wars (1845 - 1872)
2,604–7,000 - Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 (October 1947 - December 1948)
2,000 - Football War (1969)
2,000 - Irish War of Independence (1919-21)
1,975–4,500+ - violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (2000 -)
1,547–2,173+ - 2006 Lebanon War
1,724 - War of Lapland (1945)
1,500 - Romanian Revolution (December 1989)
1,000 - Zapatista uprising in Chiapas (1994)
907 - Falklands War (1982)