Wau was initially established by the French as Fort Desaix[1] and later was established as a zariba (fortified base) by slave-traders in the 19th century. During the time of condominium rule, the city became an administrative center.

One of the first insurgent Anyanya attacks on the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) took place on the Wau barracks in January 1964.

During the Second Sudanese Civil War, Wau remained a SAF garrison town. It was the scene of extensive fighting in the spring of 1998. Battles erupted again in the town in the spring of 1980s, killing several hundred people. This forced the Dinka in Wau to seek safety in the eastern side of Wau. The Dinka were said to have migrated to the state today known as Warrap.

In 2010, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment proposed to reshape the city as a giraffe.[2]

South Sudanese Civil War  The refugee camp at Wau town's Catholic cathedral, where around 8,500 IDPs had found shelter during the 2016–18 Wau clashes.[3]

Following the outbreak of the South Sudanese Civil War, the town has experienced numerous clashes, massacres, and much destruction at the hands of anti-government as well as government forces. In April 2014, Nuer soldiers belonging to the local SPLA garrison mutinied after hearing of a massacre at Mapel. They clashed with SPLA loyalists, and then fled into the rural countryside, joining a long march of other deserters to Sudan.[4] About 700 Nuer civilians subsequently sought protection at Wau's UNMISS base; most of them were family members of the deserted soldiers, while others were students.[5]

In 2016, Wau experienced heavy clashes that displaced much of its Fertit population and led to widespread destruction.[6] In April 2017, Dinka soldiers of the SPLA and Mathiang Anyoor militiamen carried out a massacre of non-Dinka civilians in the town, killing up to 50 people,[7][8] and displacing thousands.[9]