History Main / WonTheWarLostThePeace

* This was the common opinion of the Congress of Vienna, which ended the Napoleonic Wars and established a new status quo for Europe. Virtually every party felt betrayed by some portion of the outcome. In more modern times, though, historians have admitted that the Congress prevented another European war for ''99 years'', which is nothing to sneeze at.

* In the second duology of ArciaChronicles, based heavily on the WarsOfTheRoses, Alexander (RichardOfGloucester's {{expy}}) wins the war against Ifrana (France) for his royal older brother Philip (Edward IV), but Philip then signs a strategically poor peace treaty (Treaty of Picquigny) with King Joseph (Louis XI) that gives large momentary gains to Arcia and more than enough time to prepare for retaliation to Infrana. What's more, it does a [[NiceJobBreakingItHero great job estranging Alexander from Philip]].

* Brandon Sanderson's {{Mistborn}} trilogy is based on this. In the first book, they defeat the EvilOverlord. In the second and third books, they deal with the consequences.

* Elves in the world of ''TheWitcher'' allied against the Northern Kingdoms who oppressed them and broke their forces in a war centuries ago with [[TheEmpire Nilfgaard]], first [[http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Scoia%27tael as guerillas]], then openly. When the Emperor finished his conquest, he gave them a little independent state as promised, but naturally this enclave was a weak partner of an overlord whom they couldn't oppose in any way, humans in all affected lands switched from occasional prejudice to deep hatred and... the peace was marked by delivering [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters the most aggressive ones]] to the offended sides -- who [[ColdBloodedTorture didn't just immediately execute them]].

[[folder: Film ]]

* LawrenceOfArabia

[[/folder]]

* Used to set up the {{Backstory}} and opening chapters of ''{{Suikoden III}}'': the tribes of the Grasslands are brokering a cease-fire with the Zexen Confederacy, but neither side really ''respects'' the other. When the Karayan chieftess sends her son to the capital, the council takes great joy in jerking him around and demonstrating just how powerless they see him as. Then to add further insult, they attempt to [[spoiler: kidnap and hold him hostage]].
** The Flame Champion didn't do much better. While he brokered a secret peace treaty with the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia, the Harmonians are simply waiting for it to expire, positioning thier agents so that they can act the ''moment'' it expires. He also failed to get them to release the tribes they'd already conquered, leading to Le Buque and [[TheQuisling Franz's]] situation in the main game.

* An episode of ''TheSimpsons'' has Bart imagine himself as [[TheBible King David]], ruling high on the hog after killing the giant Goliath. After Goliath's son, Goliath II, beats Bart/David up and takes over, Bart/David goes through some TrainingFromHell to kill Goliath II and reclaim his kingdom. Except it turns out that the Israelites were so happy with the work Goliath did as their king, so now Bart/David has got himself a nation full of enemies who put him on trial for assassination.

* {{World War I}} is the obvious example. The Allies won, but then proceeded to stomp Germany into the ground repeatedly, creating enough nationalistic resent and economic turmoil that the Nazi Party were able to seize power -- thus setting the scene for WWII. At least they learned from it -- after WWII, enormous amounts of money and resources were spent aiding and rebuilding the shattered remnants of Germany (Well, the Western side of it, anyway) in order to prevent it from happening again. So far, it worked.

* The Iraq War was an easy military victory for the US-led coalition. However, poor planning and a chaotic post-war situation meant that stabilizing the country still hasn't been accomplished.

So, you won a war, you bask in the glory of winner, and all that stuff. But when you finally get over all this excitement, you realize your problems still aren't solved; perhaps you were [[GoodIsDumb too noble]] [[JokerImmunity for your own good]], or your strategic genius [[CripplingOverspecialisation doesn't extend to politics]]. In any case, your enemy has already regrouped and is ready for another turn, like nothing happened. Yeah, that's it. You won, but you totally botched the peace talks, or didn't care to finish off what you've begun.

A close relative of PyrrhicVictory; the difference is in that PyrrhicVictory is a victory achieved through an exertion a bit too big to bear, while what we think of here is a victory that is squandered.

!!Examples:
[[AC:RealLife]]
* {{World War I}} is the obvious example. The Allies won, but then proceeded to stomp Germany into the ground repeatedly, creating enough nationalistic resent and economic turmoil that the Nazi Party were able to seize power - thus setting the scene for WWII. At least they LEARNED from it - after WWII, enormous amounts of money and resources were spent aiding and rebuilding the shattered remnants of Germany (Well, the WESTERN side of it, anyway) in order to prevent it from happening again. So far, it worked.
* Another RealLife example is the peace treaty ending the PolishSovietWar. The Polish government was dominated by the Nationalists, who wanted only as much territory as it could be [[YouWillBeAssimilated assimilated]] into Poland, as opposed to commander-in-chief Piłsudski, who wanted as much ground as he could to make it allied buffer states. So, the Poles took less than the Reds were ''willing to offer''. Frankly, doing such things is kind of Polish SignatureMove.
* Post-WW2 Britain lost its Empire and was forced to surrender its status as a world power to America. The economic problems caused by the War are more in the realm of PyrrhicVictory, though.
* RussoJapaneseWar. Japan won it, but was in a strategical dead end that caused an attempt to grab resources on Pacific in {{World War II}} and getting burned, nuked and and turned inside out. Other involved sides suffered the same: Russia ended up [[RedOctober burned and turned inside out before]] and would still lose more than the worth of contested resources even if [[GeneralFailure Nicholas II]] could [[DeusExMachina somehow]] win it. Korea (the bone of contention) burned and turned inside out after, with aid of the very parties who already did it to Russia and Japan. Instead of an alliance (forced on Korea, but it wasn't ''this'' bad) before the war.
* The AmericanCivilWar's ultimate cause is debated to this day, but one positive outcome of the war is the freeing of the slaves. Unfortunately, after a decade or so of remarkable steps forward in civil rights for the freed slaves, there was a giant leap back, with imposition of Jim Crow laws, segregation, disenfranchisement, and terrorism against blacks. The South made a huge political comeback, and with the rest of the country acquiescing, progress in civil rights stagnated. African-Americans became second class citizens for a century after being ostensibly freed in the war.
** The federal government was dominated by the Republican Party for a generation after the war, which paved the way for the graft and corruption that characterized the post-war years. Not that the Republicans were especially corrupt; they just had an easier time of it without a strong opposition party.
* The IraqWar was an easy military victory for the US-led coalition. However, poor planning and a chaotic post-war situation meant that stabilizing the country [[strike:took a long time afterwards]] still hasn't been accomplished completely.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In the second duology of ArciaChronicles, based heavily on the WarsOfTheRoses, Alexander (RichardOfGloucester's {{expy}}) wins the war against Ifrana (France) for his royal older brother Philip (Edward IV), but Philip then signs a strategically poor peace treaty (Treaty of Picquigny) with King Joseph (Louis XI) that gives large momentary gains to Arcia and more than enough time to prepare for retaliation to Infrana. What's more, it does a [[NiceJobBreakingItHero great job estranging Alexander from Philip]].
* ''LordOfLight'' has an inversion. The protagonist loses the battle of Keenset, but as an eventual result of it his "Accelerationist" viewpoint that technology should be shared wins the day over his opponents' "Deicrat" viewpoint that this is dangerous, as the battle weakens them enough that they can't maintain the same level of strict technological control as they were accustomed to.
* Brandon Sanderson's {{Mistborn}} trilogy is based on this. In the first book, they defeat the EvilOverlord. In the second and third books, they deal with the consequences.

[[AC: {{Film}}]]
* LawrenceOfArabia

[[AC:{{Theater}}]]

[[AC:{{TabletopGames}}]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* An episode of ''TheSimpsons'' has Bart imagine himself as [[TheBible King David]], ruling high on the hog after killing the giant Goliath. After Goliath's son, Goliath II, beats Bart/David up and takes over, Bart/David goes through some TrainingFromHell to kill Goliath II and reclaim his kingdom. Except it turns out that the Israelites were so happy with the work Goliath did as their king, so now Bart/David has got himself a nation full of enemies who put him on trial for assassination.

--> The higher level of grand strategy [is] that of conducting war with a far-sighted regard to the state of the peace that will follow.
-->-- Sir Basil H. Liddel-Hart

* ForgottenRealms has a civil war variant -- Ten Black Days in Tethyr. With the backing of Guilds and mafia-like Knights of the Shield the monarchy was overthrown and the nobility nearly exterminated. The net result? De-facto a 20 years long CivilWar: a swarm of petty warlords, marauders and [[ReligionOfEvil unholy priesthoods]] all over the place and 200 people who tried to rule the ''whole'' land in this time. Monsters grew bolder. Tethyrian economy, let alone populace, was devastated. Then a force who united at least some people appears, wipes out monsters terrorizing the capitol, and the same people scream "[[{{Return of the King}} All hail Queen Zaranda!]]" till heir throats are raw.

** On the contrary, after {{World War I}}, the Allies were extremely mild toward Germany; the rise of Nazism was aided by German government propaganda that falsely claimed that the Treaty of Versailles was responsible for all of Germany's problems. Fortunately, the Allies LEARNED from this, and during and after {{World War II}}, they stomped Germany into the ground, ultimately expelling millions of German civilians from their ancestral homelands in Eastern Europe, dividing the country into two parts, effectively enslaving the eastern part, and occupying the whole of the country. And that was after leveling every major German city.

* The IraqWar was an easy military victory for the US-led coalition. However, poor planning and a chaotic post-war situation meant that stabilizing the country took a long time afterwards.

** The federal government was dominated by the Republican Party for a generation after the war, which paved the way for the graft and corruption that characterized the post-war years. Not that the Republicans were any more corrupt than the Democrats; they just had an easier time of it without a strong opposition party.

** The federal government was dominated by the Republican Party for a generation after the war, which paved the way for the graft and corruption that characterized the post-war years - not that the Republicans were any more corrupt than the Democrats; they just had an easier time of it without a strong opposition party.

* {{World War I}}'s the obvious example. The Allies won, but then proceeded to stomp Germany into the ground repeatedly, creating enough nationalistic resent and economic turmoil that the Nazi Party were able to seize power - thus setting the scene for WWII. At least they LEARNED from it - after WWII, enormous amounts of money and resources were spent aiding and rebuilding the shattered remnants of Germany (Well, the WESTERN side of it, anyway) in order to prevent it from happening again. So far, it worked.

* In the ''HonorHarrington'' series, the ceasefire between the Star Kingdom of Manticor, led by [[ObstructiveBureaucrat High Ridge government]] and The People's Republic of Haven, led by [[StateSec Oscar Saint-Juste]], is an example for Manticorans. Despite being on the brink of total military victory, the new government following an assassination accepts Saint-Juste's proposed ceasefire, then drags on the "negotiations" for several years, in the process screwing up their own military, and giving the next Havenite government plenty of time to build up their military, catch up some technologically, and get good and pissed off that Manticore is stringing them along. When the war inevitably restarts, it starts with Haven at a ''huge'' advantage.

* ForgottenRealms has a civil war variant -- Ten Black Days in Tethyr. With the backing of Guilds and mafia-like Knights of the Shield the monarchy was overthrown and the nobility nearly exterminated. The net result? De-facto a 20 years long civil war: a swarm of petty warlords, marauders and [[ReligionOfEvil unholy priesthoods]] all over the place and 200 people who tried to rule the ''whole'' land in this time. Monsters grew bolder. Tethyrian economy, let alone populace, was devastated. Then a force who united at least some people appears, wipes out monsters terrorizing the capitol, and the same people scream "[[{{Return of the King}} All hail queen Zaranda!]]" till heir throats are raw.

'''[[NeedsMoreExamples Needs More Examples From Fiction!]]'''

[[AC: {{Film}}

* RussoJapaneseWar. Japan won it, but was in a strategical dead end. The isolation led to an attempt to grab resources on Pacific in {{World War II}} and getting burned, nuked and and turned inside out. Other involved sides suffered the same: Russia ended up [[RedOctober burned and turned inside out before]], Korea (the bone of contention) burned and turned inside out after, with aid of the very parties who already did it to Russia and Japan. Instead of an alliance (forced on Korea, but it wasn't ''this'' bad) before the war.

* ForgottenRealms has a civil war variant -- Ten Black Days in Tethyr. The monarchy was overthrown with the backing of the Guilds and mafia-like Knights of the Shield and the nobility nearly exterminated. The net result? In other news, a swarm of petty warlords, marauders and [[ReligionOfEvil unholy priesthoods]] all over the place and 200 people who tried to rule the ''whole'' land in the next 20 years -- de-facto a continuous civil war. And goblinoids grew bold. Guess what happened to Tethyrian economy, let alone populace? When the force who united at least some people and wiped out monsters terrorizing the capitol appeared, the same people screamed "[[{{Return of the King}} All hail queen Zaranda!]]" until they lost voices.

* ForgottenRealms has a civil war variant, Ten Black Days in Tethyr. The monarchy was overthrown with the backing of the Guilds and mafia-like Knights of the Shield. The net result? The nobility is nearly exterminated very quickly. In other news, a swarm of petty warlords, marauders and [[ReligionOfEvil unholiest priesthoods around]] beating each other all over the place and 200 people who tried to rule the whole land and were noticed as such in the next 20 years -- de-facto a continuous civil war. Goblinoids grew bold because no one could counterattack them in force without being backstabbed by neighbours. Guess what happened to trade routes in particular and Tethyrian economy in general, let alone populace? When the first force able to unite at least some people and wipe out monsters terrorizing the capitol under control appeared, the same guildsmen and Knights of the Shield screamed "[[{{Return of the King}} All hail queen Zaranda!]]" until they lost voices. And it took two more years to reclaim the areas fed up with this all and mop up warlords who wanted to continue.

* [[YourMileageMayVary It has been argued]], The United States post-AmericanCivilWar.

[[AC{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:Non-RealLife]]

* In ''{{Urinetown}}'', after [[spoiler:Cladwell is deposed and the toilets are free again]], things go downhill pretty quickly as [[spoiler:without Cladwell's rationing, all the water dries up]].

As for examples from RealLife, well... [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement You know the trade.]]

* The ceasefire between [[HonorHarrington High Ridge government and Oscar Saint-Just]] is a semi-example for Manties: the new Manty government screwed it all on the brink of total victory, but it couldn't be possible if the Peep cloak-and-dagger actions failed.