History GondorCallsForAid / RealLife

** Similarly during the Winter War thousands of Danes, Swedes and Estonians came to Finland's aid, along with other volunteers, most notable are the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Volunteers_in_the_Winter_War Hungarians, who had to skirt around WW2 to get to Finland.]] France and Britain also had plans to intervene against the Soviet Union, which might have had interesting effects on the course of the major conflict.

--> '''Sailor:''' I've worked on boats for 28 years. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome I've never seen so many boats at once]].

--> '''Sailor:''' I've worked on boats for 28 years. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome I've never seen so many boats at once]]."

* The declarations of war on Germany in 1939 by members of the British Commonwealth can be seen as this. In UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians went to war because, as part of the British Empire, they were obligated to. In 1939, it's because they chose to come to Great Britain's aid, as did many Americans who crossed the border and became part of the Canadian military before 1941, and Irish citizens who put aside the country's neutrality to serve with the British (in some cases, entire units of the Irish Army resigned en masse, crossed over to Britain, and were quickly snapped up by a grateful British Army). Some Irish also joined the Nazis for a chance at vengeance on Britain.

* This trope is inevitable whenever a conflict involves the Islamic world. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment Let's just say that]] a lot of Muslims from across the world are helping Hamas, Hizbullah, the Taliban, and the MILF. And their enemies wonder why they ''can't'' win against them.

* The Napoleonic army that invaded Russia in 1812 was less than half French. The rest was made up of troops contributed by many of his "allies.". Some, like the Poles, were very enthusiastic. Others, like Prussians and Austrians, were dragged along against their will and turned against Napoleon as soon as things started going south.

** Article 5 of the NATO charter, which states that an attack against one member will be considered an attack against all members, has only been invoked once before, in response to the 9/11 attacks. Cue, among other things, Operation Yellow Ribbon, in which Canada fed, housed, and provided runways for literally ''thousands'' of stranded airline passengers after the total shutdown of US airspace.

** During various Arab-Israeli Wars, distant Arab and Muslim countries sent troops to assist Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq. Among the most effective were Pakistani air units.

** During various Arab-Israeli Wars, distant Arab and Muslim countries sent troops to assist Syria, Egypt, and Iraq. Among the more effective were Pakistani air units.

** During various Arab-Israeli Wars, distant Arab and Muslim countries sent troops to assist Syria, Egypt, and Iraq. Among the more effective units were Pakistani air units.

** Article 5 of the NATO charter, which states that an attack against one member will be considered an attack against all members, has only been invoked once before, in response to the 9/11 attacks.

* Occurred repeatedly during the Crusades, which were triggered by Constantinople's requests to ThePope for aid against the Turks. But as Crusade succeeded Crusade, relations between the Westerners and their Byzantine hosts broke down until 1204, when the Venetians bankrolling the operation convinced the Crusaders to turn against Constantinople and sack it bare. Though five more Crusades were to come, any sort of understanding between East and West was gone; when in their final hour the Byzantines swallowed their pride and asked for help again, only a few hundred Europeans bothered to answer.

** The international volunteers to help the fascists as well. Nothing says this trope has to be ''nice'', or that only one side can do it. Besides, frankly [[GrayAndGreyMorality that war was such a mess that it's up for grabs]] whether either side was "nice."

->''"[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming With gratitude for the past and confidence in the future we range ourselves without fear beside Britain.]] [[BadassBoast Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand.]] We are only [[NewZealand a small and young nation]], but we march with a union of hearts and souls to a common destiny."''
-->--'''Michael Joseph Savage''', Prime Minister of New Zealand during WorldWarTwo.

** Also in WorldWar2, albeit on a much smaller scale, the pilots from neutral (e.g. USA, Ireland) and occupied (e.g. Poland, France) countries who [[EagleSquadron travelled to Britain to fight for the RAF.]]

* During Israel's war of independence, volunteers from all over the world (many of them WW2 veterans) clamored to aid the Israeli side. Two of the American volunteers were later fined and one jailed.

* The declarations of war on Germany in 1939 by members of the British Commonwealth can be seen as this. In WorldWarOne, Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians went to war because, as part of the British Empire, they were obligated to. In 1939, it's because they chose to come to Great Britain's aid, as did many Americans who crossed the border and became part of the Canadian military before 1941, and Irish citizens who put aside the country's neutrality to serve with the British (in some cases, entire units of the Irish Army resigned en masse, crossed over to Britain, and were quickly snapped up by a grateful British Army). Some Irish also joined the Nazis for a chance at vengeance on Britain.

* Israel does this a lot. Originally, Balfour only promised Palestine to the Jews because he thought he could use the legendary Jewish money against the Kaiser. Then South Africa went from being Nazi sympathizers to being ardent Zionists after WorldWarII. More recently, premillennial dispensationalists, people who believe that [[ApocalypseMaiden when all the Jews, ''and only the Jews'', are in Israel, Jesus will come back]].

** In addition, firefighters and other rescue and relief personnel travelled from across the nation to assist in the rescue and recovery efforts in New York City. This included personnel from Oklahoma City who the FDNY had previously helped after the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing of 1994.

** All manner of ferries and other boats were also called to help speed along the evacuation of Lower Manhattan via across New York Harbor to New Jersey in the hours after the towers' collapse. What resulted was the largest water evacuation in history, with more people evacuated than at [[WorldWarII Dunkirk.]]

* {{NATO}} and the WarsawPact were both alliances created to prevent WorldWarIII by ensuring that all members would automatically come to the aid of any single member that was attacked. Since the heavy-hitter of each was one of the world's two superpowers at the time, they managed to keep the period of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar relatively peaceful, since no one wanted the Americans or the Soviets bringing armies to their front door.

* Foreign volunteers for the Boer side in South Africa's Anglo-Boer War.

*** And international volunteer units that fought for USSR, like the French Normandy-Niemen regiment.

* {{NATO}} and the WarsawPact were both alliances created to prevent WorldWarIII by ensuring that all members would automatically come to the aid of any single member that was attacked. Since the heavy-hitter of each was one of the world's two superpowers at the time, they managed to keep the period of the ColdWar relatively peaceful, since no one wanted the Americans or the Soviets bringing armies to their front door.

* In 2012, WABC-TV in New York City was overwhelmed by simultaneously having to cover a presidential election, Halloween and Hurricane Sandy. They put out a call for help. Because their colleagues all along the eastern seaboard had the same problem, the ABC station in Dallas sent a reporter to New York.

* In 2012, WABC-TV in New York City was overwhelmed by simultaneously having to cover a presidential election and Hurricane Sandy. They put out a call for help. Because their colleagues all along the eastern seaboard had the same problem, the ABC station in Dallas sent a reporter to New York.

* Ancient Persian army also fits this trope, at least according to Herodotus, as it consisted of many exotic troops contributed by diverse nations and tribes from the far corners of the empire.

* The Napoleonic army that invaded Russia in 1812 was less than half French. It was made up of troops contributed by many of his "allies.". Some, like the Poles, were very enthusiastic. Others, like Prussians and Austrians, were dragged along against their will and turned against Napoleon as soon as things started going south.

** A darker version showed up on the Nazi side, in the form of various international units of the SS, which included hundreds of thousands of anti-communist volunteers from all over Europe. This included the last and most fanatical defenders of Berlin as it was about to fall to the Soviets in May, 1945--a battalion of French Nazi volunteers.