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The Shortest War In History
How can a war be so short?
Wars usually last far longer than people first envision. History is littered with battle cries with phrases like “Home by Christmas” and “Done before the leaves change.” Enthusiasm often makes people think that wars can be fought and won in a matter of weeks before everyone goes back to their regular lives. There are multiple accounts of young men in history who were anxious to leap into a war, fearing that if they didn’t enlist right away, the fighting would be done before they could get to the front lines.
Unfortunately, wars have a nasty habit of lingering. Conflicts like the Civil War and World War I were believed to be quick things when they broke out, and both of them dragged on for four years and became the bloodiest of their time. Today, Vladimir Putin continues to be confounded by the fact that Ukraine continues to fight bitterly years after the initial invasion after pundits said that Kyiv would fall “within days.”
But what about wars that last far shorter than anyone imagined? What happens when a war ends as quickly as it starts? What was the shortest war in history?
On August 25th, 1896, the Sultan of Zanzibar died under suspicious circumstances. The sultan was pro-British, and his death immediately touched off anger within the British consulate. Britain had…
