History glossary
blockade
the use of naval or military pressure to cut off movement, trade, or supplies.
- Category
- Military strategy
- Region
- Global
- Date range
- Varies
What it means
The use of naval or military pressure to cut off movement, trade, or supplies.
Stories using this term
Imperial Japan
From Meiji modernisation to colonial rule, militarism, mobilisation and defeat, Imperial Japan rose as a modern empire before collapsing in 1945.
Operation Barbarossa
From Hitler's ideological war in the east to Soviet survival before Moscow, Barbarossa turned expected blitzkrieg into prolonged attritional catastrophe.
The Punic Wars
From rivalry over Sicily to Hannibal's invasion, Zama, and the destruction of Carthage, the Punic Wars made Rome the dominant power of the Mediterranean and changed the Republic forever.
The Cold War
Rivalry between East and West shapes global politics - through proxy wars, propaganda, and nuclear tension.
The First World War
World War I reshaped empires, borders, and societies, setting the stage for World War II.
The American Civil War and the Abolition of Slavery
The American Civil War determined the survival of the Union and led to the abolition of slavery, fundamentally reshaping the United States.
The Second World War
From fragile peace to global war, WWII reshaped the world through conflict, genocide, and new power orders.
The Pacific War
From imperial expansion in Manchuria to surrender in 1945, the Pacific War remade Asia through conquest, occupation, naval warfare, and devastating defeat.
