战争前夕 meaning in English

impending war

We were on the eve of war and this time the enemy would be the united states .
我们处于战争前夕，而此次我们的敌人是美国。
American investments abroad totaled only $684,500,000 on the eve of the spanish-american war.
美西战争前夕，美国在国外投资，总共只有六亿八千四佰五十万美元。
On the basis of building water conservancy projects continual , land cultivation expanded into sand land along the river and mountainous regions all around of basin since song dynasty . during this period , population increased from one million in song dynasty to four million before war of kingdom of heavenly peace . because of population growth , population press enhanced gradually , and the people generally was of low living standard
宋代以来的土地开发是在继续开展兴修水利的基础上，不断向沿江沙地和盆地周围的山地拓展，在此期间，人口大体从宋代的100万增长到太平天国战争前夕的400万，由于人口的增长，人口压力逐渐增大，人民生活水平普遍低下。