Page "Civil war" Paragraph 56

Civil wars through the 19th century to early 20th century tended to be short ; the average length of a civil war between 1900 and 1944 was one and half years.

The state itself was the obvious center of authority in the majority of cases, and the civil wars were thus fought for control of the state.

This meant that whoever had control of the capital and the military could normally crush resistance.

If a rebellion failed to quickly seize the capital and control of the military for itself, it was normally doomed to a quick destruction.

For example, the fighting associated with the 1871 Paris Commune occurred almost entirely in Paris, and ended quickly once the military sided with the government.