6 of the Shortest Wars in History

no one wants Warning, especially when it lasts long enough to be dubbed The Hundred Years War. (it was confrontation between France and England which began in the 14th century and ended in the 15th and actually lasted 116 years.) But if war is inevitable, it is best to end it as soon as possible. Take a look at six fights that ended in record time.

Zanzibar in 1896 came under attack from the British Empire, which wanted to see the archipelago come under complete British rule. What hastened the action was the fact that the relatively agreeable Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini had recently died (some suspected he had been poisoned) and the more malevolent Sayyid Khalid bin Bargash al-Busaid declared himself ruler. Was – even if the British were consulted, such a decision.

When Sultan Khalid refused to bend the proverbial knee, the British went on the offensive. It was simple: Zanzibar sat near water, so British forces only needed to send boats to fire on their hapless opponents. The entire “conflict” – which resulted in around 500 casualties on the Zanzibar side – took 38 to 45 minutes to resolve, making it shortest war On the record. (An exact time may never be known: one of the first things the British brought down was the clock tower.)

In 2008, troops from Comoros, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, captured Anjouan Island in less than a day—an event It has been told As in “choosing” a weaker adversary by an observer. with the assistance of forces from the African Union (a 55 member state assembly on the African continent), Comoros forced the illegally elected Mohamed Bakr to flee the island, which is home to some 300,000 people. Critics said the African Union was seeking to bolster its international image with the conflict, which was so one-sided that no casualties were reported.

This 1969 conflict between El Salvador and Honduras erupted Wake up of a football (soccer) rivalry – hence the nickname, “Football Wars”. The teams from both Central American countries were involved in a one game series which El Salvador won 3–2. At the same time, the two countries were also feuding over access to much of the farmland for citizens of El Salvador to go to Honduras, an act that saw the latter force migrants back to El Salvador. extended to El Salvador attempting to invade Honduras; There were about 3000 casualties before international diplomacy eased tensions, and reluctantly, El Salvador withdrew its troops. The battle lasted about four days and is still believed to be the result of a sporting rivalry. While this may have increased tension, it did not inspire it.

long before their invasion of Ukraine, Russia went unpleasant Against the country of Georgia, focusing on the provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which have expressed a desire for independence from Georgia around the time of Fall of the Soviet Union. After years of rising tensions, in April 2008, Georgia blamed Russia for an unmanned drone attack on Abkhazia. (The United Nations later confirmed that it was a Russian plane that shot down the drone.) Russia sent several troops under the pretext of repairing railways; Tensions and fighting escalated to such an extent that in August, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili responded by sending troops into South Ossetia, home to the Russian-backed military force. This escalated to an airstrike by Russia. On land, his troops came within 30 miles of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.

In roughly a week, a cease-fire agreement was reached between the two, though not without number of casualtiesThere were almost 400 deaths in Georgia, 365 in South Ossetia and only 67 Russian soldiers; Hundreds more were injured everywhere. Georgia would claim that Russia was still occupying the area in defiance of the armistice, while Russia Recognized provinces as independent. South Ossetia and Abkhazia are both now Agreed Areas broken off by most of the country, separated from the rest of Georgia by checkpoints and barbed wire.

While wars of short duration generally limit bloodshed, the 1967 conflict between Israel and the combined forces of Egypt, Syria and Jordan was an exception. Israel and the Arab states had crowd earlier, making border disputes more politically volatile in the 1960s; Tension escalated to include air battles between Israel and the Syrian army. When it was (incorrectly) reported that Israel was preparing an invasion of Syria, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered troops to enter Israel under his command. The invasion was met by the Israel Defense Forces, which bombed ground Egyptian aircraft before doing the same with Jordan, Syria and Iraq. The Egyptians continued to fight the foot soldiers, but to no avail. By the time the United Nations mediated a ceasefire within a week, more than 20,000 Arab soldiers and civilians had been killed. Meanwhile, Israel had Three times The regions are considered to be part of its territory.

The Mediterranean island of Cyprus had long struggled under the dual wings of Greece and Turkey. After a rebellion against British rule – which had been in place since the 19th century – one faction wanted Turkish rule, while the other believed the region could be split between Turkey and Greece. In 1960, the country declared its sovereignty, but this did not ease tensions; Each side felt that the other was undermining.

Cyprus Experience In 1974 the most inspiring month in its history: a Greek military junta kicked out Archbishop Makarios, in what Turkey sympathizers projected as a pending union with Greece. Turkey invaded the island, forcing the relocation of the Greek residents. Although the conflict ended relatively quickly, it led to a divided government that continues to this day.