Suing for peace is an act by a warring party to initiate a peace process.

Rationales

"Suing for", in this older sense of the phrase, means "pleading or petitioning for". Suing for peace is usually initiated by the losing party in an attempt to stave off an

unconditional surrender An unconditional surrender is a surrender in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. It is often demanded with the threat of complete destruction, extermination or annihilation. In modern times, unconditional surrenders most ofte ...

. The nation holding the upper hand may find, in the losing party's offer of making peace, an opportunity for relief from the necessity of having to continue to wage a costly war. Pressing for peace may sometimes, however, be started by the winning faction as a means to end the war for several reasons, such as if additional conflict would not be in the perceived best interest of the winning party. In that case, demands might be made, or both nations may agree to a "white peace", which is a return to the

status quo ante bellum The term ''status quo ante bellum'' is a Latin phrase meaning "the situation as it existed before the war". The term was originally used in treaties to refer to the withdrawal of enemy troops and the restoration of prewar leadership. When used ...

(the prewar situation).

Examples

The

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...

(1 August 1894 – 17 April 1895) was fought between the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

of China and the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

, primarily over influence of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the Chinese port of

Weihai Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea. Weihai's popula ...

wei, the Qing government sued for peace in February 1895. The archives abound with attempts to halt World War I, but most attempts were unofficial and of no effect. On 2 December 1916, prior to his coronation later that month,

Charles I of Austria Charles I or Karl I (german: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, hu, Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária; 17 August 18871 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV, ), King of Croatia, ...

took over the title of Supreme Commander of the army from Archduke Frederick. In 1917, he secretly entered into peace negotiations with France. He employed his brother-in-law,

Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma (; 1 August 1886 – 14 March 1934) was a member of the House of Bourbon-Parma, a Belgian officer in World War I, and the central figure in the Sixtus Affair, an attempt to negotiate a treaty to end Austria-Hungary' ...

, an officer in the Belgian Army, as intermediary. The negotiations of the

Sixtus Affair The Sixtus Affair (, hu, Sixtus-ügy) was a failed attempt by Emperor Charles I of Austria to conclude a separate peace with the allies in World War I. The affair was named after his brother-in-law and intermediary, Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-P ...

for a sued peace failed.

References

{{War navbox Diplomacy Aftermath of war

Rationales

Examples

See also

References