Friends to enemies: What was the fastest in history?

He also, at least according to one book I read, would occasionally refer to the enemy as the French instead of the Russians when distracted.

I believe an ancient Southern general during the invasion of Cuba in 1898 ordered his troops to "attack those damn Yankees will all haste" only to be corrected by his aide. :rolleyes:
 
There's a remarkable case from the 17C.

In the 1660s France and Holland made war on England.

In the early 1670s France and England made war on Holland.

In the 1680s et seq England and Holland made war on France.
 
I nominate the bewildering changes of allegiance during the War of the League of Cambrai.

Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Switzerland, Milan, Florence, England and Scotland were all drawn into it, but the heart of the fighting was in North Italy where the alliances unfolded as follows:

1508: Papal States and France ally against Venice, which had seized papal territory from Cesare Borgia's forces.

1510: Papal States gets alarmed by the French successes and allies with Venice against France.

1513: By this time, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and England have also entered the war against France, their common enemy. Of these, the Holy Roman Empire is trying to take territory from Venice. With no-one else to turn to, France and Venice join forces against the Papal States and its allies.

(When the war finally ended, the territorial map was about the same as when the war started.)
 
Cesare Borgia. I can't remember the name of the deal, but it went something like this.

"Oh, loyal lieutenant! I see my lands are revolting! Go and crush those traitors, do!"

"My loyal lieutenant did what? Kill your people? That traitorous dog will hang!" *kills loyal lieutenant*

Good old Macchiavelli...
 
I think the record is still held by German allies like Italy and Romania toward the end of WWII where they switched sides almost instantly.
 
Italy in world wars 1 and 2?

italo-german relations were really a game ot table tennis.

1866: allied in a war
1896-1914: formally allied in triple alliance
1914: neutral
1915-1918: at war with each other
1919-1934: neutral
1934: on the brink of war (M moving the army to the ustrian border to prevent the first attempt of anschluss)
1938: officially alled, and anschluss made with italian approval
1939: more or less allied, but not together at war
1940-1943: allied in a war
1943-1945: at war with each other
1945-1948: neutral
1948-on : allied with each other (west germany)
 
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