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Culture

What Was the Shortest War in History?

The shortest war in recorded history occurred on 27 August 1896. Known as the Anglo-Zanzibar War, the reason behind the conflict was the death of Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini two days earlier. Contrary to the wishes of the United Kingdom, Sultan Khalid bin Barghash was named his successor rather than the more pro-British Hamud bin Muhammed. Some reports indicate that the war lasted for a total of 38 minutes.

More facts about short wars:

  • The second-shortest war in recorded history occurred during the 20th century. Launched on 5 June 1967, the Six Day War was the result of Egypt calling for Arab nations to take action against Israel after leaders in that nation made threats against the country of Syria. The war ended quickly because of the casualties inflicted upon Egypt’s forces by Israeli military forces.

  • The Indo-Pakistani War took place in 1971 and lasted for a total of 13 days. India captured about 100,000 Pakistani soldiers, bringing the war to a close in less than two weeks.

  • The Georgian-Armenia War lasted less than a month, with the conflict taking place over a period of 24 days. Occurring in 1918, the war was caused by a dispute over the border between the Democratic Republic of Armenia and the Democratic Republic of Georgia.

    • Malcolm Tatum
    By Malcolm Tatum , Writer
    Malcolm Tatum, a former teleconferencing industry professional, followed his passion for trivia, research, and writing to become a full-time freelance writer. He has contributed articles to a variety of print and online publications, including WiseGEEK, and his work has also been featured in poetry collections, devotional anthologies, and newspapers. When not writing, Malcolm enjoys collecting vinyl records, following minor league baseball, and cycling.

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    Malcolm Tatum

    Malcolm Tatum

    Writer

    Malcolm Tatum, a former teleconferencing industry professional, followed his passion for trivia, research, and writing...
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