Any war between countries and people is a terrible thing. Lives are lost, cities are destroyed, and people lose faith in the world. It’s even worse when the war goes on for years or longer. There have been many years over the span of time. However, if there’s a bright side, it’s that many wars were relatively short. One of them even lasted less than an hour. Today, we’re going to talk about the shortest wars of all time, including how they came about, why they were so short, and the details that historians speak about until this day.
To discover and learn about the shortest wars of all time, 24/7 Tempo consulted various historical and educational sources, including the Historical Association, History Today, and History Guild, among other sources. This is what we discovered about the mini conflicts during our world’s history. (On the other hand, these are 10 of the longest wars of all time.)
Anglo-Zanzibar War
- Length of the War: 38 Minutes
- Conflict Between: Island Sultanate of Zanzibar and the British Empire
- Date: August 27, 1896
After the death of the Sultan of Zanzibar, the British Empire had their preferred successor to the throne. However, the Zanzibari Prince, Khālid ibn Barghash, refused and instead decided that he wanted to be the next Sultan. As a result, British imperial cruisers arrived and fired on his position. For defense, Khālid surrounded his palace with 3,000 guards. All of a sudden, they were at war.
To try to de-escalate the situation, British Rear Admiral Harry Rawson gave Khālid a choice. Either surrender their arms and exit the palace, or the British would unleash their firepower. Khālid did not believe the threat to be true, and he did not leave, so the British fired, and soon the palace was engulfed in flames. Within 38 minutes of firing back and forth, the British ceased fire. The Zanzibar soldiers sustained 500 casualties. The British sustained one. Khālid surrendered. That afternoon, Britain’s choice, Ḥamud ibn Moḥammed, became the new Sultan.
The Football War
- Length of the War: 100 hours.
- Conflict Between: El Salvador and Honduras
- Date: June 27th – June 18th, 1969
Also known as the 100 Hours War, The Football War was a conflict that literally started with a game of football, or soccer, as we call it in America. It was in 1969 when the Honduras and El Salvador football teams faced each other to determine who would qualify for the 1970 World Cup. El Salvador won the game, but the victory caused major drama between the two countries. On June 14th, the Salvadoran Air Force launched an attack against Honduras and led an invasion of their country.
However, the Salvadorans didn’t get far as the Honduran troops fought back, and a war ensued. Two days later, on June 18th, the Organization of American States requested the Hondurans to arrange a ceasefire, which they did, and it was over after 100 hours. Still, although the war was over, it wasn’t until 1980 that Honduras and El Salvador officially signed a peace treaty.
The Russo-Georgian War
- Length of the War: 5 Days
- Conflict Between: Georgia and Russia
- Date: August 7 – 12, 2008
Another one of the shortest wars was triggered when Georgia declared independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991. Then, in 2008, President George W. Bush put his support behind Georgia and Ukraine to gain membership in NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Russia didn’t like that at all. To them, that was like putting a military right on their border. This made already tense relations between Russia and Georgia even worse. What made things even more tense was that Vladamir Putin was just recently put in power. That led to a bit of back-and-forth fighting that was violating an existing ceasefire agreement.
When Georgia officials saw that the ceasefire was not being followed, they launched an attack in Tskhinvali in South Ossetia, where Russian troops were. They tried to fight back, and the battle went on until August 13, when the two sides agreed to a new ceasefire.
The Six-Day War
- Length of the War: 6 Days
- Conflict Between: Coalition of Arab States and Israel
- Date: June 5 – 10, 1967
Technically, this is the third of the Arab-Israeli wars. This conflict began when existing tensions escalated after Israel launched an airstrike against Egypt. The attack and air raids nearly wiped out the Egyptian Air Force, and 15 UN peacekeepers were also killed. As a result, Jordan and Syria attacked Israel, but they lost. It didn’t take long for Israel to claim victory, and that’s how one of the shortest wars of all time got its name.
In addition to winning the battles, Israel also gained a lot of land, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank of the Jordan River. The result of that war still has ramifications to this day, including affecting the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.
The Ten-Day War
- Length of the War: 10 Days
- Conflict Between: Yugoslavia and Slovenia
- Date: June 27 – July 7, 1991
Another one of the shortest wars of all time is The Ten-Day War, which took place in 1991. On June 25th, Slovenia announced its independence from Yugoslavia because of a referendum that was passed. However, even though they had the votes to separate, the Yugoslav government was not happy with the decision, so they began advancing their army (the JNA) towards Slovenia’s border.
Technically, the war began on June 27th, when the first JNA officer fired a shot. The ensuing back-and-forth battle went on for the next 10 days. The fighting ended on July 7th, when both countries signed the Brioni Accords, which officially brought the war to an end.
The Indo-Pakistani War
- Length of the War: 13 Days
- Conflict Between: India and Pakistan
- Date: December 3 – 16, 1971
The next of the shortest wars of all time was The Indo-Pakistani War back in 1971. Like previous altercations, this war occurred after a country gained independence. In this case, it was Pakistan, which caused tension in the area, and over the years, conflict tore the region apart, which eventually led to what would become the Bangladesh Liberation War revolution. After a lot of conflict, many Bangalis went to India to seek refuge. The Pakistan government did not like that, and on December 3, 1971, they launched a surprise attack on several Indian airfields.
In response, India fought back and quickly overwhelmed and dominated Pakistan with a coordinated attack via air, land, and sea. By December 16th of the same year, Pakistan had lost close to 10,000 troops and had to surrender. This altercation also marked the end of the Bangladesh Liberation War revolution.
The Serbo-Bulgarian War
- Length of the War: 14 Days
- Conflict Between: Bulgaria and Serbia
- Date: November 14 – 28, 1885
This spark for this war began in September of 1885, when the country of Bulgaria declared unification with the province of Eastern Rumelia. This move upset the people of nearby Serbia as they feared they would lose influence in the region. As a result, Serbia declared war on Bulgaria. Serbia was considered the larger and stronger force, especially because they had the support of Austria-Hungary. However, the Bulgarians were anything but pushovers, and they won many battles. Fearing an elevated conflict, Austria-Hungary officials threatened that they would have to interfere if Bulgaria didn’t call a ceasefire. The two sides agreed to stop the fighting, and the war ended on November 28.
The Armeno-Georgian War
- Length of the War: 24 Days
- Conflict Between: Armenia and Georgia
- Date: December 7 – 31, 1918
Finally, a brief conflict and one of the shortest wars occurred in 1918, and it involved Armenia and Georgia in a dispute over territory. It took place after World War I, when the countries of Georgia and Armenia were liberated from the Russian Empire. The war was for the control of the territories of the Borchalo, Javakheti, and Lori districts that were formerly part of the Russian Empire.
The tricky part was that the areas were technically controlled by Georgia. However, they were largely Armenian-dominated. In fact, Lori was 75% Armenian. The tension turned violent on December 7th, and the war finally came to an end on December 31st, after many losses on both sides. As a resolution, the Loki district was turned into a neutral zone and was eventually divided between the two nations.