The football match caused the war. Football war

So it is quite officially called a short (fortunately) military conflict between the neighboring countries of Central America - El Salvador and Honduras. The war lasted only six days (from July 14 to 20, 1969) and the immediate reason for it was the loss of the Honduras team to the El Salvador team in the matches of the qualifying stage of the World Cup. Despite the transience, the war turned out to be quite bloody (up to 5,000 dead, including civilians), and most importantly, it “buried” the integration project of the “Central American Common Market” and for a long time doomed all countries in the region to a period of instability. The peace treaty between El Salvador and Honduras was signed only 10 years after the end of the war, and then in the conditions of the offensive of the communist rebels who had already taken power in one of the countries of Central America (Nicaragua) and seriously threatened to repeat the scenario in El Salvador, and then, possibly, in Honduras ...

The pretext ("Shot of Principle") for the "soccer war" between El Salvador and Honduras was the 1970 World Cup qualifiers. According to the results of three games, the Salvadorans won.

Photo from the blog, 1969

The real reasons were deeper - economic problems and "distraction therapy" of the heads of these countries. The victims of the six-day war (July 14-20, 1969) between these "banana republics" were from 2 to 6 thousand people. The peace treaty between the countries was signed only in 1979.

In fact, both sides lost the war. From 60 to 130 thousand Salvadorans were expelled or fled from Honduras.

The Football War was also the last military conflict in which piston-engine propeller-driven aircraft fought against each other. Both sides used American aircraft from World War II. The state of the Salvadoran Air Force was so dire that the bombs had to be dropped manually.

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Surely, all people who, in one way or another, are fond of football, realize its importance and influence on a person's mood, and indeed, on all spheres of his life. However, few people know that such matches happened in world history, which were later the reason for the most real hostilities between whole countries! As, for example, happened back in 1969 ...

An ordinary, at first glance, football match between two Latin American teams marked the beginning of the so-called "Football War", during which several thousand people died. July 14, 1969 is the official date of the beginning of the military conflict, which lasted 6 days. The pretext for the military conflict was the qualifying matches for the World Cup between the football teams of El Salvador and Honduras.

Qualifying matches consisted of two matches on the field of each of the opponents. If each side won, an additional match was assigned to determine the winner, without taking into account the goal difference in the first two games. The first match took place in the capital of Honduras Tegucigalpa on June 8 and ended with a score of 1: 0 in favor of the hosts.

The heads of both states were present at the match, so the teams did their best. The opponents, in fact, were equal, it was very difficult to give the dominant role to one of the teams in the match. But despite this, Honduras striker Roberto Cardona managed to score the ball in the last minutes. The match was also watched by a fan of the El Salvador national team, eighteen-year-old Emilia Balagnos, in the city of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. At the end of the match, Emilia took out her father's pistol and shot herself in the heart. The next morning in El Salvador, another edition of the El Nacional newspaper came out with the headline “She could not stand the shame of her country” (thus adding fuel to the fire). After the match, local fans reported to the police that there were numerous attacks by fans of the visiting team.

"We will not allow different Honduras there to offend their own!" Protests in El Salvador, photo from blog, 1969

The return match took place in the capital of El Salvador on 15 June. On the night before the match, the Honduran players remained practically in their underpants on the street due to a fire in their hotel. The team of guests who did not sleep well lost to the hosts 3: 0. After the game, riots broke out on the streets of the capital: hundreds of cars were set on fire, only empty spaces remained from shop windows, local hospitals set a record for attendance. Honduran fans were beaten, Honduran flags were burned.

A backlash of attacks on Salvadorans, including two vice-consuls, swept across Honduras. An unspecified number of Salvadorans have died or been injured in the attacks, and tens of thousands have fled the country. The third match took place on a neutral field in the capital of Mexico - Mexico City. The victory in extra time was celebrated by the national team of El Salvador with a score of 3: 2. Immediately after the match, bloody clashes broke out between the fans of both teams on the streets of the Mexican capital.

After losing in the third match, Honduras severed diplomatic relations with El Salvador. In Honduras, attacks on the Salvadorans began. The El Salvadorian government responded by declaring a state of emergency and mobilizing reservists. On July 14, El Salvador began hostilities, in which he was successful at the first stage - the army of this country was more numerous and better prepared. However, the offensive soon slowed down, which was facilitated by the actions of the Honduran Air Force, in turn, superior to the Salvadoran. Their main contribution to the war was the destruction of oil depots, which deprived the Salvadorian army of the fuel necessary for a further offensive, as well as the transfer of Honduran troops to the front with the help of transport aircraft.

On July 15, the Organization of American States called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Salvadoran troops from Honduras. At first, El Salvador ignored these calls, demanding that Honduras agree to the payment of reparations for attacks on Salvadoran citizens and guarantee the safety of Salvadorans who remain in Honduras. On July 18, an agreement was reached on a ceasefire, but the hostilities ceased completely only on July 20.

In practice, both sides lost the war. Between 60,000 and 130,000 Salvadorans were expelled or fled from Honduras, leading to economic collapse in some areas. The conflict killed about 2,000 people, mostly civilians ( There are estimates - and up to 5000, - editor's note). Bilateral trade ceased completely and the border was closed, damaging both economies.

The war, which did not reveal a winner, became "fatal" for the rich El Salvador. A ten-year frozen trade relationship with a neighbor, as well as the insecurity of thousands of Salvadoran peasants who returned from Honduras, led to an economic crisis and civil war in the 1980s. An interesting fact - the national team of El Salvador, who made it to the world championship for the first time, did not achieve success, losing all matches on a dry sheet, and took the last place in the tournament.

Wars have accompanied the entire history of mankind. Some were protracted and lasted for decades. Others walked for only a few days, some even for less than an hour.

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Yom Kippur War (18 days)

The war between the coalition of Arab countries and Israel is the fourth in a series of military conflicts in the Middle East involving the young Jewish state. The goal of the invaders was to return the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.

The invasion was carefully prepared and began with an attack by the combined forces of Syria and Egypt during the Jewish religious holiday of Yom Kippur, that is, the Day of Judgment. On this day in Israel, Jewish believers pray and abstain from food for almost a day.

The military invasion came as a complete surprise to Israel, and for the first two days the preponderance was on the side of the Arab coalition. A few days later, the pendulum swung in the direction of Israel, and the country managed to stop the invaders.

The USSR announced its support for the coalition and warned Israel about the most dire consequences that would await the country if the war continued. At this time, the IDF troops were already standing next to Damascus and 100 km from Cairo. Israel was forced to withdraw its troops.

All hostilities took 18 days. The losses on the part of the Israeli army of the IDF amounted to about 3,000 dead, on the part of the coalition of Arab countries - about 20,000.

Serbian-Bulgarian War (14 days)

In November 1885, the King of Serbia declared war on Bulgaria. The disputed territories became the cause of the conflict - Bulgaria annexed the small Turkish province of Eastern Rumelia. The strengthening of Bulgaria threatened the influence of Austria-Hungary in the Balkans, and the empire made the Serbs a puppet to neutralize Bulgaria.

In two weeks of hostilities, two and a half thousand people were killed on both sides of the conflict, about nine thousand were injured. The peace was signed in Bucharest on December 7, 1885. As a result of this peace, Bulgaria was declared the formal winner. There was no redistribution of borders, but the de facto unification of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia was recognized.

Third Indo-Pakistani War (13 days)

In 1971, India intervened in the Pakistani civil war. Then Pakistan was divided into two parts, western and eastern. The residents of East Pakistan claimed independence, the situation there was difficult. Many refugees flooded India.

India was interested in weakening its longtime adversary, Pakistan, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the deployment of troops. In less than two weeks of hostilities, Indian troops achieved their planned goals, East Pakistan received the status of an independent state (now called Bangladesh).

Six day war

June 6, 1967 unfolded one of the many Arab-Israeli conflicts in the Middle East. It was named the Six Day War and became the most dramatic in the recent history of the Middle East. Formally, Israel began the hostilities, since it was the first to strike an air strike on Egypt.

However, even a month earlier, the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser publicly called for the destruction of the Jews as a nation, and in total 7 states united against the small country.

Israel struck a powerful preemptive strike against Egyptian airfields and launched an offensive. In six days of confident attack, Israel occupied the entire Sinai Peninsula, Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip. In addition, the territory of East Jerusalem was captured with its shrines - including the Wailing Wall.

Israel lost 679 people killed, 61 tanks, 48 ​​aircraft. The Arab side of the conflict has lost about 70,000 people killed and a huge amount of military equipment.

Football war (6 days)

El Salvador and Honduras went to war after qualifying for the World Cup. Neighbors and longtime rivals, residents of both countries were fueled by difficult territorial relations. In the city of Tegucigalpa in Honduras, where the matches were held, riots and violent fights broke out between fans of the two countries.

As a result, on July 14, 1969, the first military conflict took place on the border of the two countries. In addition, the countries shot down each other's planes, there were several bombings of both El Salvador and Honduras, and there were fierce ground battles. On July 18, the parties agreed to negotiate. By July 20, hostilities had ceased.

Most of the casualties in the Football War are civilians

Both sides suffered greatly in the war, and the economies of El Salvador and Honduras suffered enormous damage. People were killed, and the majority were civilians. The losses in this war have not been calculated; figures from 2,000 to 6,000 total deaths on both sides are named.

Agasher war (6 days)

This conflict is also known as the "Christmas War". The war broke out over a piece of border territory between two states, Mali and Burkina Faso. The Agasher strip, rich in natural gas and minerals, was needed by both states.

The dispute turned into an acute phase when

In late 1974, Burkina Faso's new leader decided to end the sharing of important resources. On December 25, the Mali army launched an offensive against Agasher. Burkina Faso's troops began to counterattack, but suffered heavy losses.

It was possible to come to negotiations and stop the fire only by December 30. The parties exchanged prisoners, counted the killed (in total, there were about 300 people), but they could not divide Agasher. A year later, a UN court ruled to divide the disputed territory exactly in half.

Egyptian-Libyan War (4 days)

The conflict between Egypt and Libya in 1977 lasted only a few days and did not bring any changes - after the end of hostilities, both states remained “at home”.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, initiated protest marches against Egypt's partnership with the United States and an attempt to establish a dialogue with Israel. The action ended with the arrest of several Libyans in the adjacent territories. The conflict quickly escalated into hostilities.

For four days, Libya and Egypt conducted several tank and air battles, two divisions of the Egyptians occupied the Libyan city of Musaid. In the end, the hostilities were over and peace was established through the mediation of third parties. The borders of states have not changed and no agreements in principle have been reached.

Portuguese-Indian War (36 hours)

In historiography, this conflict is called the Indian annexation of Goa. The war was an action initiated by the Indian side. In mid-December, India launched a massive military invasion of the Portuguese colony in the south of the Indian subcontinent.

The fighting lasted 2 days and was fought from three sides - the territory was bombed from the air, in the Gulf of Mormugan, three Indian frigates defeated a small Portuguese fleet, and several divisions invaded Goa on the ground.

Portugal still believes that India's actions were an attack; the other side of the conflict calls this operation a liberation one. Portugal officially surrendered on December 19, 1961, a day and a half after the start of the war.

Anglo-Zanzibar War (38 minutes)

The invasion of the imperial troops into the territory of the Zanzibar Sultanate entered the Guinness Book of Records as the shortest war in the history of mankind. Great Britain did not like the country's new ruler, who seized power after the death of a cousin.

The empire demanded the transfer of powers to the English protégé Hamud bin Mohammed. A refusal followed, and early in the morning of August 27, 1896, the British squadron approached the coast of the island and waited. At 9.00 the term of the ultimatum put forward by Britain expired: either the authorities surrender their powers, or the ships will begin to fire at the palace. The usurper, who seized the Sultan’s residence with a small army, refused.

Two cruisers and three gunboats opened fire minute by minute after the deadline. The only ship in the Zanzibar fleet was sunk, and the Sultan's palace was reduced to blazing ruins. The newly-minted Sultan of Zanzibar fled, and the country's flag remained on the dilapidated palace. In the end, a British admiral shot him down with an aimed shot. The fall of the flag, according to international standards, means surrender.

The entire conflict lasted 38 minutes - from the first shot to the overturned flag. For African history, this episode is considered not so much comical as deeply tragic - 570 people died in this micro-war, all of them were citizens of Zanzibar.

Unfortunately, the duration of the war has nothing to do with its bloodshed, nor with how it will affect life within the country and around the world. War is always a tragedy that leaves an unhealed scar in the national culture.

The behavior of football fans off the pitch is sometimes appalling. Although, the word "Fans" it is inappropriate - it is incompatible with the aggression and brutality of football hooligans. I myself once, not far from the stadium "Petrovsky"(in St. Petersburg) observed a metal mountain, half a meter high, made of scraps of iron pipes. The steel pyramid was covered with black balaclavas. These pipes and masks were confiscated by the St. Petersburg OMON-sheep from the fans of the Moscow "Spartak" who came to the match on several buses. I was terrified of what might have happened if the police had not searched those buses.

And take, for example, the tactics of the behavior of English fans during their foreign tours. At home they are silk. Almost. But as soon as they go abroad, they turn into some kind of deranged goblins.They settle down together in one area, occupy all local bars, cafes and pubs, absorb alcohol in decalitres, and then these decalitres are cast in all the surrounding corners, gateways and fountains. The neighborhoods where the British live are turning into garbage ...

The Anglo-Saxons behave arrogantly and bully the local population. The natives, of course, murmur, but they try not to get involved with violent drunken Britons. Again, what kind of humiliation you cannot endure for the sake of good earnings in bars and souvenir shops. But an amazing thing - as soon as the impudent Saxons ran into OUR fans, their ardor subsided significantly. We all remember very well the recent footage of the flight of a crowd of thousands of Admiral Nelson's descendants from just a few hundred great-great-grandchildren of Field Marshal Suvorov on the streets of Marseille.

Why am I suddenly talking about football in a topic dedicated to the most ridiculous reasons for war ? What do you think - can a loss in a football match, as well as the aggressive behavior of fans, become a pretext for starting a war? ... It turns out, maybe! ... And such a war has already happened in the history of mankind. In the past 20th century in Latin America.

In the summer of 1969, two teams from neighboring countries - Honduras and El Salvador - played in the elimination matches of the World Cup qualifying round. During the first match, riots broke out in El Salvador, the players and fans of Honduras were attacked, and Honduran flags were burned everywhere. And one unbalanced Salvadoran cheerleader even shot herself.

Mass hysteria reached its climax during the return game (and especially after it) - Honduras lost and did not reach the final of the World Championship. And his fans were very offended. They were so angry that a wave of attacks on the Salvadorans, including even two vice-consuls, swept across Honduras. And an attack on diplomats is, you know, already very serious. Moreover, several Salvadorans were killed.

And the flywheel of war spun. Mobilization began. Diplomatic relations were severed. In the sky over the border areas, planes were fired at. And on July 14, 1969, the war began. The army and National Guard of El Salvador crossed the border of the neighboring state, and its air force struck at the Toncontin airfield and the accumulation of enemy troops.

The war lasted only 6 days. But during these six days, several thousand people died, most of whom were peaceful civilians. The exact number of victims is still unknown. Numbers from 2 to 6 thousand killed and up to 15,000 wounded are named.

The conflict was settled only with the intervention of the International Court of Justice. Nobody won that war. Both sides have lost. Military spending, destruction in the course of hostilities and the cessation of mutual trade caused very serious damage to the economies of both states. And the peace agreement between Honduras and El Salvador was signed only 10 years later. And although the true reasons for the war were purely economic, but that military conflict entered the history of mankind precisely under the name "Football war".

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Six-day "football" war. Why did it start?

"Football War", which went down in history, is the name of the armed conflict between El Salvador and Honduras from July 14 to July 21, 1969, caused by the contradictions between these countries and unleashed by the ruling circles of El Salvador, as well as the clash of interests of various US monopolies in Central America. The pretext for the "Football War" was the rupture of diplomacy, relations on June 26 between Honduras and El Salvador in connection with incidents at the stadium during the meetings of the nat. teams of these countries, which contested the right to participate in the World Cup. The "Football War" began on 14 July with the invasion of El Salvador troops into Honduras. For 4 days, Salvadoran troops advanced 60 km deep into Honduras, capturing the area of ​​pl. up to 400 km2. After the intervention of the Organization of the American State (OAG) on July 18, the offensive of the Salvadoran forces was stopped. By July 21, the fighting had ceased. In early August, El Salvador withdrew his troops from the occupied ter. Honduras. Individual skirmishes on the border continued until the spring of 1970. During the hostilities, and then the persecution of the Salvadorans living in Honduras, and Hondurans in El Salvador, up to 3 thousand people died. The "football war" was a clear evidence of the actions that the US monopolies have repeatedly resorted to to strengthen their dominance in the countries dependent on them. The immediate cause of the war was a long-standing dispute between the two countries over the exact location of certain sections of the common border. Honduras was also greatly annoyed by the substantial trade advantages afforded to the more developed Salvadoran economy under the rules of the Central American Common Market organization. Both countries experienced significant economic difficulties, both were ruled by the military; both governments sought to divert the attention of the population from pressing domestic political and economic problems.
El Salvador, the smallest and most populous of all the Central American states, had a more developed economy, but experienced an acute shortage of suitable for cultivation land. Much of the land in El Salvador was controlled by large landowners, leading to land hunger and the migration of landless peasants to neighboring Honduras.

On the eve of the war
The incident that provoked open hostilities and gave the war its name took place in San Salvador in June 1969. Within a month, the football teams of the two countries had to play three matches for reaching the finals of the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Riots broke out during the first match in Tegucigalpa, but during the second match in San Salvador, they reached alarming proportions. In El Salvador, Honduran football players and fans were beaten, Honduran flags were burned; a backlash of attacks on Salvadorans, including two vice-consuls, swept across Honduras. An unspecified number of Salvadorans have died or been injured in the attacks, and tens of thousands have fled the country. Emotions ran high, and the press of both countries was filled with hysteria. On June 27, 1969, Honduras severed diplomatic relations with El Salvador.

On July 14, the Salvadoran armed forces launched a concerted military action against Honduras.

The aftermath of the war
In fact, both sides lost the war. Between 60,000 and 130,000 Salvadorans were expelled or fled from Honduras, leading to economic collapse in some areas. The conflict killed about 2,000 people, mostly civilians. Bilateral trade came to a complete halt and the border was closed, damaging both economies and transforming the Central American Common Market into a paper-only organization.
The political influence of the military in both countries increased after the war.

It is natural and even obligatory for all self-respecting teams to fight on the football field with all their might. However, sometimes passions heat up to such a level that the battle turns into a war, and into a real one. This happened at the 1970 World Cup, when a long-standing feud between El Salvador and Honduras turned a football battle into a pretext for unleashing a full-scale war in which thousands of people died.

The origins of the conflict

Honduras and El Salvador began to dislike each other long before the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Among the countries of Central America, these two bordering states have never been distinguished by the warmth of relations, even despite very strong economic and social ties, but with the coming to power of the military governments of Honduras and El Salvador, they only tightened the screws on the international arena more rigidly.

Honduras is several times larger than its neighbor, while El Salvador, thanks in particular to the help of the Central American Common Market (CACM), has always had a more developed economy. This infuriated the Honduran elite, because by the end of the sixties, their national debt to neighbors was half the debt to all Central American countries.

El Salvador, in turn, is the smallest country in the region. Overpopulation and high competition in the agricultural sector, since the thirties, forced the Salvadorans to migrate to Honduras, occupying empty lands there. Neighbors took this with hostility: the migrants were in no hurry to give the relevant documents, so most of the workers ended up working illegally. The Salvadoran authorities resented this attitude towards their citizens, but for their part did nothing to stop the flow. This was beneficial for them, since it allowed them to channel the outraged and illiterate workforce.

The Honduran authorities were against these massive migrations, and local nationalists, including among the military elites, inspired the population with the idea that Salvadorans were coming as occupiers and invaders.

Populous San Salvador, early 20th century

It would seem that in Honduras there is a lot of land and relatively few people, and it was possible to allow migrants to work, competently “cutting off” the profit from them in favor of the treasury, but everything is not so simple. The situation was complicated by the fact that an impressive part of arable land (about 18%) belonged to companies from the United States, so in greater Honduras there was such a problem as "land hunger".

On the one hand, the Salvadorans had no choice but to move to work across the border, on the other hand, the Hondurans did not give a damn about it, because El Salvador was already in a much more advantageous economic position. Since neither side was distinguished by a docile disposition, bloodshed was not long in coming.

The intensity of the propaganda of both countries eventually led to the fact that clashes between immigrants (they were called "guanacos") and representatives of the Honduran government began to occur more and more often in the border territories. So, in June 1961, near the small town of Hacienda de Dolores, a patrol shot and killed Salvadoran Alberto Chavez, which had a serious resonance in both countries.

Honduran military

In the fall of 1962, the Honduran government decided to carry out a new land reform, thereby wanting to finally stop the flow of people from El Salvador. Under the new law, all lands that were occupied by illegal migrants were returned to the state. At the same time, hard workers who have honestly lived and worked in Honduras for decades were simply denied citizenship, without even considering their applications.

After raids on the border areas, the captured migrants began to be deported to their homeland, which again aggravated relations not only between the elites, but also among the population. In many large cities of Honduras, Salvadoran enterprises flourished (mainly shoe factories), which annoyed local residents - not only are they helped by the largest banks and organizations in the region, but they also suck the juices from us, ordinary people, right in our homeland !

These slogans were taken up not only by nationalists who wanted to drive their neighbors home once and for all, but also by Honduran President Osvaldo Lopez Arellano, who decided to throw all the reasons for the country's economic problems onto migrants. First, the bilateral agreement with El Salvador on immigration failed, then custom-made articles began to appear in the press, which explained why Hondurans really live so badly.

Osvaldo Lopez Arellano

As a result, tens of thousands of migrants began to return home, driven from their homes. Rumors circulated in the Salvadoran media that ordinary workers were beaten, robbed and humiliated in every possible way during deportation. This gave rise to not only indignation among the population, but also caused the most severe distrust of the El Salvadorian authorities, because they could not protect the rights of their own citizens. Strange as it may seem, it played into the hands of the elites: the unemployed, angry people had to be given the image of an enemy, since El Salvador could not solve the problem economically, even in spite of outside help.

Against the background of the crisis, the most convenient way for both sides to untie this knot was a war for which the authorities were already prepared. All that remained was to light a match.

1970 FIFA World Cup

In 1970, Mexico hosted the World Cup matches, but the qualifying matches, as always, took place at the national teams' home stadiums. Ironically, in one of the semifinals of the qualifying round, our old friends met on the field, and the first game took place in the capital of Honduras.

In the stands that day, passions reigned much hotter than on the field, especially after the end of the match. Honduras managed to snatch victory from El Salvador in the 89th minute of the game, after which clashes between fans began here and there in Tegucigalpa. One Salvadoran woman shot herself altogether, claiming that she could not bear the humiliation of her country.

Then the fighters still managed to calm down, but the real "fun" began after the return match in San Salvador. On June 15, the hosts were able to get even with the guests and scored three unanswered goals, after which the Salvadorans, fueled by alcohol and inspired by the victory, began to brutally beat the Hondurans who had arrived. Got to fans, football players and ordinary onlookers. The flags of Honduras were burning here and there - in San Salvador the most real madness was happening.

In turn, in Honduras, the news was received with much more enthusiasm. A wave of attacks against Salvadorans swept across the country: dozens were killed, thousands fled abroad. Two vice-consuls of El Salvador were kicked almost to death, whom the angry mob was able to drag out into the street.

On the same day (June 15), the governments of both countries exchanged indignant statements and demanded that each other take immediate measures, threatening all earthly punishments.

The press tore and threw, anger overwhelmed everyone, but the first step in unleashing the war was made by the government of El Salvador, which began mobilizing troops on June 24, 1970, and two days later severed diplomatic relations with Honduras. A day later, the neighbor reciprocated.

"Football War"

Honduran troops heading for the border

The first serious incident between states occurred on July 3, when two Honduran attack aircraft patrolling the border area were fired upon from anti-aircraft guns from El Salvador. On the same day, one of the Salvadoran aircraft crossed the airspace of Honduras, but did not enter the battle and returned to the airfield. On July 11, several skirmishes took place on the border, and on July 12, the President of Honduras gave the order to bring up additional army formations there.

On July 14, Salvadoran troops, consisting of five infantry battalions and nine companies of the National Guard, launched an offensive along two roads to Honduran Gracias a Dios and Nueva Ocotepeque. Aviation supported the infantry and successfully bombed several airfields and border military bases in Honduras, whose authorities said that peaceful cities were damaged in the raid.

On July 15, Honduras makes a retaliatory air raid on a neighbor's bases, while destroying the oil storage, and the army of El Salvador begins to move deep into the enemy state. On July 18, Honduran aircraft used napalm on military targets in El Salvador.

Salvadoran aircraft FAS 405

In the following days, a full-scale war unfolded, claiming the lives of several thousand people. El Salvador's army captured several cities, after which the generals announced that they would not give them back until the Salvadorans living in Honduras were given security guarantees. On July 20, the fighting ceased.

Only after threats from the Organization of American States that El Salvador would fall into total economic isolation, if it did not withdraw its troops from Honduras, was it possible to somehow calm down the warring parties. The Salvadorans withdrew their troops only on August 2, 1970.

According to the most conservative estimates, during the hostilities, which lasted only six days, about three thousand citizens of Honduras and about a thousand citizens of El Salvador were killed, while the bulk of those killed were civilians. According to other sources, the number of deaths was at least five times more.

The initial calculation of the governments of both states that the war would write off everything was not justified. The borders were closed, trade stopped, and the destruction and military expenses were so great that both sides tried to recover from what happened for a long time, but, nevertheless, no one admitted their guilt in what happened.

Ten years later, a civil war broke out in El Salvador - unresolved contradictions affected, since after the war with Honduras, about a hundred thousand unemployed people returned to their homeland. Honduras also failed to boast of rapid development, because, like El Salvador, it came under sanctions.

A typical picture of the civil war in El Salvador

Thus, history has once again demonstrated that problems in your country cannot be solved at the expense of an imaginary enemy, unless, of course, you want to get bogged down in a bloody swamp for a good ten years.

And, by the way, El Salvador at that championship nevertheless reached the final part of the tournament, beating Honduras in the decisive match with a score of 3: 2. However, in the group, El Salvador could not only win a single match, but also did not score a single goal.