The warnings given to the French in 1791 and 1792 by the other European powers were seen as a declaration of war.  The radical National Assembly declared war on Austria.  Prussia soon joined with Austria.  In 1792, the allied forces invaded France.  Despite the French military force’s early setbacks in the invasion, they did manage a large victory in the fall of 1792, and stopped the invaders at the Battle of Varmy, France.   By then the Jacobins had joined with other radical factions, such as the sans-culottes, and controlled the nation.  In December of 1792, King Louis XVI was indicted by the radical government for treason and other related crimes.   He was convicted of all the charges in January 1793, and sentenced to death.  He was executed in Paris on January 21, 1793, by the guillotine.

In the Spring of 1969, the Chinese and Soviet Union military forces clashed over a disputed island (Zhenbao Island) located in the Ussuri River that separated China and the Soviet Union.  The incident caused both nations to prepare for war.  In retaliation in August 1969, the Soviets attacked into Xinjiang Province, China and seized some of the area.  Both nations narrowly averted a larger war and settled their differences.   Martial law was declared in China and more political purges occurred.   After his arrest, former Vice Chair, Liu Shaoqi, died in solitary confinement in November 1969.  His successor, Lin Biao, had been appointed only a few months before.