The list of blockades informs about blockades that were carried out either on land, or in the maritime and air spaces in the effort to defeat opponents through denial of supply, usually to cause military exhaustion and starvation as an economic blockade in addition to restricting movement of enemy troops.

Ancient era

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Opponents Blockader Conflict Details
458–457 BCE Aegina (Saronic Gulf) Athens First Peloponnesian War
431–404 BCE Athens Sparta Peloponnesian War Spartan forces surrounded Athens on land. Athens withstood the landward attack, and subsisted on food imported by ship. In the Battle of Aegospotami, the Spartan navy destroyed the Athenian navy and implemented a sea blockade, forcing Athens to surrender.[1]
31 BCE Supporters of Mark Antony
Ptolemaic Egypt
Supporters of Octavian War of the Second Triumvirate
(Battle of Actium)
Octavian blockaded Mark Antony's ships in the Gulf of Actium.

Medieval era

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Blockaded Territory Blockader Conflict Details
1068–1071   Byzantine Empire Robert Guiscard Norman conquest of southern Italy Robert Guiscard's Norman forces blockaded Byzantine cities in southern Italy, most notably in the siege of Bari.
1084 Norman-occupied Corfu   Byzantine Empire
  Venice
Byzantine-Norman Wars After the Normans occupied Corfu, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos blockaded the island with Venetian naval support gained in exchange for commercial privileges.
1102   Jerusalem   Fatimid Caliphate Crusades
1104–1108 Tripoli   Jerusalem
  Antioch
  Edessa
  Toulouse
  Cerdanya
  Genoa
Siege of Tripoli Blockade of the Lebanese coast leading by the Outremer and Genoa leading to the establishment of the County of Tripoli
1110 Sidon   Norway Norwegian Crusade
1337   Cadzand, Flanders   England Hundred Years' War
1379–1380   Venice   Genoa War of Chioggia
1394–1402   Constantinople, Byzantine Empire   Ottoman Empire Byzantine–Ottoman wars Ottoman blockade of Constantinople[2]

Early-modern era

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Duration of Blockade Blockaded Territory Blockader Conflict Details
1585–1792   Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands
(later   Austrian Netherlands)
  Dutch Republic Aftermath of Eighty Years' War
1601   Banten   Portuguese Empire Dutch–Portuguese War
1639–1646   Spanish Netherlands   Dutch Republic Thirty Years' War
1653   Dutch Republic   England First Anglo-Dutch War
1656–1657   Venice   Ottoman Empire
(Dardanelles)
Cretan War
1775–1778   Thirteen Colonies
(  United States from 1776 onwards)
  Great Britain American Revolutionary War The British Empire declared the American colonies to be in a state of rebellion after the First Continental Congress and refused to recognize their Declaration of Independence. The blockade ended with the Treaty of Paris recognizing U.S. independence and ending the war.
1788–1790   Sweden   Russia Second Russo-Swedish War
1793–1797   France   Great Britain War of the First Coalition
1794   Dutch East Indies
  British East India Company
  France
1797   Spain   Great Britain Anglo-Spanish War
1798–1802   France   Great Britain
  Portugal
  Russia
  Ottoman Empire
  Naples
  Order of St. John
War of the Second Coalition
1798–1800   French-occupied Egypt
1798–1800   French-occupied Malta
1801   Denmark-Norway   Great Britain
1806–1814   France   United Kingdom Napoleonic Wars
  United Kingdom   France and its client states
1808–1809   Russia   Sweden Finnish War
1808–1813   Denmark-Norway   United Kingdom
  Sweden
Dano-Swedish War of 1808–09
Gunboat War
1812–1845   United States   United Kingdom War of 1812
1807–1866 Africa   United Kingdom
  United States (after 1841)
Blockade of Africa The blockade suppressed the Atlantic slave trade.
1825–1828   United Provinces   Empire of Brazil Cisplatine War

Modern era

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Duration of Blockade Blockaded Territory Blockader Conflict Details
1838–1840   Rio de la Plata, Argentine Confederation   France War of the Confederation
1840   Kingdom of the Two Sicilies   United Kingdom Sulphur Crisis
1845–1850   Rio de la Plata, Argentine Confederation   France
  United Kingdom
Uruguayan Civil War
1846–1848   Mexico   United States Mexican-American War
1848–1851   Germany   Denmark First Schleswig War
1854–1856   Russia   United Kingdom
  France
  Ottoman Empire
Crimean War
1861–1865   Confederate States   United States American Civil War
1854–1856   Chile   Spain Chincha Islands War
1886   Greece Great Powers (excluding France) Eastern Rumelia Crisis [3]
1894–1895   China   Japan First Sino-Japanese War
1897   Constantinople, Ottoman Empire Great Powers
1898   Spanish Cuba

  San Juan, Spanish Puerto Rico

  United States Spanish-American War
1902–1903   Venezuela   United Kingdom
  Germany
  Italy
Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903
1914–1919   Germany   Austria-Hungary
  Ottoman Empire
  Bulgaria
  British Empire
  France
  Italy
  United States
World War I and its aftermath

Included mainly Germany but also the entire Central Powers. The Allied blockade of Germany continued for a year after the Armistice until it signed the Treaty of Versailles.[4]

1915–1918   Lebanon   Ottoman Empire Middle Eastern theatre of World War I [5]
1936   Spanish Morocco   Spain Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Republican Navy blockaded the Strait of Gibraltar to hamper the transport of Francisco Franco's Army of Africa to Peninsular Spain

1936–1939   Republican-controlled Spain   Nationalist faction The Nationalists blockaded northern and southeastern Spain
1937–1945   China   Japan Second Sino-Japanese War
1939–1945   Nazi Germany and its occupied territories
  Fascist Italy (after 1940)
  Vichy France and its colonies (after 1940)
  United Kingdom
  Canada
  France (until 1940)
  Soviet Union (after 1941)
  United States (after 1941)
World War II

The Allied Powers carried out a blockade to prevent the Axis Powers from acquiring materials. Although the blockade was initially ineffective due to the use of neutral ports in the Soviet Union and Francoist Spain, it grew more severe when the Soviet Union and the United States entered the war in 1941 and when the Germans lost control of their occupied territories in France and Eastern Europe in 1944.

1940–1945   United Kingdom
  Soviet Union
  Nazi Germany

The Nazi German Kriegsmarine attempted to block shipping to Britain and Russia through the use of U-boats.

1941–1945   Leningrad, Soviet Union Eastern Front of World War II
1944–1945   Japan   United States
  British Empire
Pacific Front of World War II
1948   Changchun, Republic of China   Chinese Red Army Chinese Civil War Changchun was one of the largest cities in Manchuria and was a strategic ROC Army base in Northeast China. The fall of the city led to Communist victory in the Liaoshen campaign.
1948–1949   West Berlin   Soviet Union Berlin Blockade The Soviet occupation forces in Germany blockaded West Berlin at the beginning of the Cold War, but it became ineffective due to an American-led airlift.
1949–1958   Mainland China   Taiwan Cross-Strait conflict
1950–1953   North Korea   South Korea
  United States
  United Nations Command
Korean War
1956   Israel   Egypt Suez Crisis Egypt blockaded the Straits of Tiran before the Suez Crisis.
1962   Cuba   United States Cuban Missile Crisis The United States declared a "quarantine" of Cuba in reaction to the deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles.
1965–1975   North Vietnam   United States
  South Vietnam
Vietnam War
1966–1975   Rhodesia   United Kingdom Beira Patrol The British government, along with most of the international community, did not recognize Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence due to its policy of no independence before majority rule.
1967   Israel   Egypt Six-Day War Egypt resumed its blockade of the Straits of Tiran shortly before the war. Israel responded by invading and occupying the Sinai Peninsula.
1968–1970   Biafra   Nigeria Nigerian Civil War Nigeria blockaded the secessionist republic of Biafra, creating an international humanitarian crisis that resulted in Biafrans receiving aid from volunteers around the world during the Biafran airlift and inspired the formation of Doctors Without Borders.
1971   East Pakistan   India Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
1973   Israel   Egypt October war 1973
  Egypt   Israel
1982   Falkland Islands
(Occupied by   Argentina making it   Islas Malvinas)
  United Kingdom Falklands War
1982–2000   Lebanon   Israel 1982 Lebanon War

South Lebanon conflict

The blockade was first imposed during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. However, it was sporadically renewed after the Israel Defense Force was forced to withdraw to the South Lebanon security belt due to its continuing conflict with Hezbollah.
1988   Armenia
  Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)
  Turkey

  Azerbaijan

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at war since the dissolution of the Soviet Union over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia is a landlocked country and therefore cannot conduct foreign trade without going through one of its neighbors. Turkey, Armenia’s historic enemy with whom it shares its largest border, is also an ally of Azerbaijan. Turkey and Azerbaijan have long refused to allow any Armenian trade over their air or land space. Lacking a sizeable enough border with Iran to facilitate major trade means Armenia is effectively dependent on the Georgia and Iran to conduct international trade. In order to avoid disturbing relations with Azerbaijan, Georgia imposes certain limits on Armenian imports.
1990–2003   Ba'athist Iraq   United Nations
  United States
  United Kingdom
  France
Gulf War
Iraq disarmament crisis
Enforcement of sanctions against Iraq. The U.S. Air Force, the Royal Air Force, and the French Air Force also enforced no-fly zones in the northern and southern halves of the country.
1990   Lithuania   Soviet Union Singing Revolution

The Soviet government refused to recognize Lithuania's independence.

1992–1993   Croatia   Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Croatian War of Independence Yugoslavia refused to recognize Croatia's independence. The Yugoslav Navy blockaded the Adriatic coast until it was defeated by Croatian artillery in the Battle of the Dalmatian Channels.
1993–1996   Federal Republic of Yugoslavia   North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  United Nations Protection Force
Bosnian War

NATO imposed a blockade on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to enforce the UN sanctions on the country and enforced no-fly zones.

1996   Taiwan   Mainland China Third Taiwan Strait Crisis The PRC launched ballistic missiles at ROC territorial waters near the important ports of Keelung and Kaohsiung, forcing lengthy travel and shipping delays. The missile launches were believed to be intended to intimidate the Taiwanese public before the 1996 presidential election.
2001–2007   Australia Maritime protection program to prevent arrivals of unauthorized "boat people."
2006   Lebanon   Israel 2006 Lebanon War
2009   Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka   Sri Lanka
2011   Libya   United Nations Libyan Civil War The U.N. Security Council approved a no-fly zone over Libya.
2015     Nepal   India 2015 Nepal blockade Nepal accused India, on which it is reliant for petroleum and medicine imports, of imposing a blockade.
2017–2021   Qatar   Saudi Arabia
  United Arab Emirates
  Bahrain
  Egypt
Qatar diplomatic crisis Several Arab League countries accused Qatar of funding terrorism in violation of a Gulf Cooperation Council agreement. Qatar denied these accusations but Saudi Arabia, Qatar’s only land neighbor, sealed its border, imposing a “land blockade“ and shutting down all land based trade to and from Qatar. Qatar was also criticized for its close relations with Iran and the management of Al Jazeera. Qatar claims it never funded terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, and also shares a strategic alliance with the United States in the War on Terror and the international intervention against ISIL. The conflict was resolved after a diplomatic agreement brokered by the United States and Kuwait.
2022   Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)   Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Starting in December 2022, Azerbaijan launched an illegal blockade of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, trapping the 120,000 residents within the region, blocking transport of food, medicine, and other supplies, and cutting off electricity and natural gas to the region.[6][7][8] The blockade has remained in place despite calls from the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights for the blockade to be lifted.[9][10]

Current

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Start of Blockade Blockaded Territory Blockader Conflict Details
2007   Gaza Strip   Israel
  Egypt
Gaza–Israel conflict

Israel and Egypt closed all land border crossings to the Gaza Strip after the Battle of Gaza (2007) following the election of the Hamas Party and imposed a strict air and sea blockade. Israel claims that the blockade is necessary to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas, while Egypt claims that the blockade is intended to prevent Hamas from undermining the legitimacy of the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority after winning the election.

2015   Yemen   Saudi Arabia
  United Arab Emirates
  Bahrain
  Egypt
Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen

After the Houthis overthrew President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi the Saudi government accused it of supporting Iran and blockaded the country. The United States and the United Kingdom provided naval and logistical support. The international community has criticized the blockade for creating a humanitarian crisis in Yemen including famine and a cholera outbreak.

2022   Ukraine   Russia Russian invasion of Ukraine Russia blockaded Ukraine's access to the Black Sea. After negotiations with Ukraine via Turkey, a corridor to export Grain was opened. It was briefly halted after the Kerch Bridge was attacked with a Truck Bomb.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Boardman, John & Griffin, Jasper & Murray, Oswyn. 2001. The Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenistic World, p. 166. ISBN 0-19-280137-6.
  2. ^ Robert Cowley, Geoffrey Parker. The Reader's Companion to Military History New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1996. on Google Books.
  3. ^ Dakin, Douglas (2012). Η Ενοποίηση της Ελλάδας 1770-1923 [The Unification of Greece 1770-1923] (in Greek). Athens: Morfotiko Idrima Ethnikis Trapezis. pp. 214–215. ISBN 978-960-250-150-4.
  4. ^ Osborne, Eric W., Britain's economic blockade of Germany, 1914–1919, Frank Cass, London, 2004, p.230
  5. ^ "World War I" on Countrystudies.us
  6. ^ Gavin, Gabriel (Dec 19, 2022). "Supplies begin to run low as Nagorno-Karabakh blockade continues". eurasianet.org. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  7. ^ Kitachayev, Bashir (16 December 2022). "Azerbaijani roadblock cuts tens of thousands off from food, fuel and medicine". openDemocracy. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  8. ^ Hill, Nathaniel (2023-02-24). "Genocide Emergency: Azerbaijan's Blockade of Artsakh". genocidewatch. Retrieved 2023-05-08. Azerbaijan has repeatedly turned off the supply of natural gas and electricity to Artsakh, subjecting its people to freezing temperatures.
  9. ^ "Statement on Azerbaijan s Noncompliance with February 22nd ICJ Order to Unblock Lachin Corridor". Lemkin Institute. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  10. ^ "HUDOC - European Court of Human Rights - European Court decides to indicate interim measures in the "Lachin Corridor"" (PDF). hudoc.echr.coe.int. 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  11. ^ "Secretary-General's remarks on Signing of Black Sea Grain Initiative | United Nations Secretary-General". www.un.org. Retrieved 2023-04-07.

Further reading

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  • Medlicott, W. N. (1952). The Economic Blockade. History of the Second World War. United Kingdom, Civil Series. Vol. I. London: HMSO. OCLC 1164343573.
  • Medlicott, W. N. (1959). The Economic Blockade. History of the Second World War. United Kingdom, Civil Series. Vol. II. London: HMSO. OCLC 1164343573.
  • Elleman, Bruce A.; Paine, S. C. M., eds. (2006). Naval Blockades and Seapower Strategies and Counter-Strategies, 1805–2005. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-35466-0.