Even the shortest war can inflict innumerable amounts of pain and suffering. What can we say about the longest wars in the history of mankindthat lasted for decades and claimed millions of lives.
In some wars, soldiers fought their entire lives and could not wait for the end of the conflict, which began even before their birth.
10. Great Northern War - 1700-1721 (21 years old)
The longest war in Russian history was fought between Sweden and the Nordic coalition. And the "main prize" in it was the Baltic lands. It is curious that the formal reason for Russia's entry into the war was "lies and insults" that were allegedly committed to Peter I by the Swedes during his travels across Europe.
The war ended with the defeat of Sweden and the emergence on the geopolitical arena of Europe of a new powerful player - the Russian Empire, with a strong army and navy. It was during the Great Northern War that St. Petersburg was founded, located in the place where the Neva River flows into the Baltic Sea.
9. War of the Scarlet and White Rose - 1455-1487 (32 years)
One of the consequences of the Hundred Years War (which also ranked among the longest military conflicts in history) was the War of the Roses that raged in Northern England. The throne of England was at stake, and roses were the hallmarks of warring parties.
King Henry VI was a weak and unhealthy ruler under whom various groups of courtiers competed for power. Sometimes the king fell into madness, which also did not add to his popularity and trust.
The legality of Henry's rule was challenged by Richard, Duke of York. The Lancaster House, from which Henry was born, and Richard's York House, fought for three decades until the Lancaster was finally victorious.
And Henry Tudor from a side branch of the Lancaster house, married the daughter of Edward IV of York, Elizabeth, thus uniting the two warring houses. This is how the Tudor dynasty was founded, which held the throne until 1603. But that, as they say, is a completely different story.
8. Banana Wars - 1898-1934 (36 years)
A long series of conflicts in various Latin American countries, the so-called "banana wars", began in 1898 with the US intervention in Cuba as part of the Spanish-American War. And it ended only in 1934, when President Roosevelt withdrew troops from the island of Haiti.
American forces (primarily the Marines) defended US interests not only in Cuba, but also in Honduras, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. Most of the conflicts have been started to protect American commercial and economic interests, especially fruit exports.
7. Cold War - 1946-1990 (44 years old)
This confrontation between the USSR and the United States was not a military conflict in the international legal sense of the word.It was a confrontation between two ideologies - socialist and capitalist. And while the two countries did not fight each other on the battlefield, they actively intervened in conflicts around the world to create and hold spheres of influence.
Both sides fought indirect wars with each other in Korea, Vietnam and a number of other countries, financed riots and revolutions, created ever more powerful weapons, and in 1962 the world was on the verge of a nuclear war. The Cold War ended a little earlier than the USSR collapsed in 1991.
6. Greco-Persian wars 499-449. BC e (50 years)
All information about the Greco-Persian wars, scientists draw from Greek sources, others simply have not survived. It is known that military conflicts took place between the Achaemenid Persian empire and the Greek city-states that defended their independence.
As a result of one of the longest wars in history, Athens defeated Persia, captured most of its territory, and the war ended with the Peace of Kallia. The Achaemenid Empire lost possessions in the Aegean Sea, on the shores of the Hellespont and the Bosphorus, and was also forced to recognize the political independence of the poleis in Asia Minor.
5. Civil war in Burma - 1948-2012. (64 years old)
The longest civil war in modern history was fought between the Burmese government and communist forces, which included several ethnic minorities. By the name of one of them (Karen), this war is also called the Karen conflict.
Over the decades of hostilities, the Burmese army has extensively documented numerous war crimes, including the killing of civilians and sexual violence against women and girls.
As a result of systematic attacks on ethnic minority civilians, some three million people have fled Burma. Most of them fled to neighboring Thailand.
4. Dutch War of Independence - 1568-1648. (80 years old)
When the Netherlands Revolution began, Spain was one of the world's greatest superpowers. By the time it ended, the "Spanish Age" was over.
Seventeen provinces fought for independence from Spanish rule, and their first leader was William of Orange. After the death of William, Moritz of Orange replaced him as commander of the Dutch army.
The Dutch War of Independence (aka the Eighty Years War) was the defining conflict of its era. She ensured the triumph of the Reformation in northwestern Europe and along the way changed the geopolitics of the continent, causing the emergence of the first modern republics of Europe.
3. Hundred Years War - 1337-1453 (116 years old)
One of the longest wars in world history was fought between England and France. And although she is called "The Hundred Years," she walked with four breaks for 116 years. Strictly speaking, it was a series of military Anglo-French conflicts.
The struggle was fought over British-controlled French territory and control of the French throne. The rulers of England and France were linked by family ties for centuries, so the British claim to the French throne did have some basis.
The war ended with the surrender of the British in 1453, after more than a century of bloodshed. The French victors took almost all of the English possessions in France, thus starting a long era during which England remained largely isolated from European affairs.
During the Hundred Years War, up to 3.5 million people are believed to have died.
2. The Punic Wars - 264-146. BC. (118 years old)
You may have heard the expression "Carthage must be destroyed" in your school history lessons. Do you remember why exactly Carthage had to be destroyed? So that his main enemy - Rome - could strengthen its position in the Western Mediterranean. This was precisely the goal of the three Punic Wars.
During the second Punic War, one of the greatest military leaders in history managed to inflict a crushing defeat on Rome. Unfortunately for the Carthaginians, this victory did not mark the end of the war. After the Third Punic War, the Carthaginian region became part of the Roman Empire, and the city itself was burned to the ground.
1.Araucanian War - 1536-1825 (289 years old)
A series of irregular conflicts known as the Araucan War began in 1536, when the Creole population of the Spanish Empire attempted to colonize the Mapuche people of Chile. Spain met a strong army while exploring the Strait of Magellan and, although outnumbered, was able to kill thousands of Mapuche warriors thanks to its superior firepower.
Despite numerous attempts by the Spaniards to conquer the Mapuche, this people remained independent of Spanish rule. Battles between him and the Spaniards were commonplace for nearly 300 years, until Chile's independence.
Peace was established on January 7, 1825 - but even then, the Mapuche were not integrated into Chilean society until their land was conquered in 1883. And some still protest against Chilean rule.
The longest bloodless war in history - 1651-1986 (335 years old)
The longest 335-year war was a bloodless conflict between the Netherlands and the tiny archipelago of Scilly. It all started back in 1651 during the English Civil War. The Dutch, seeing an opportunity to recover some of their losses from the Royalist raids, immediately sent a fleet of twelve warships to the Royalist base of Scilly to demand reparations. Not receiving a satisfactory answer from the royalists, the Dutch admiral Maarten Tromp declared war on them on March 30, 1651.
And already in June of the same year, the Dutch forced the Royalist fleet to surrender. The Dutch fleet did not fire a single shot. Due to the vagueness of one nation's declaration of war against a small part of another, the Netherlands did not officially declare a peace treaty.
The Dutch ambassador only visited Scilly in 1986 to proclaim the end of a 335-year standoff. At the same time, the Dutch ambassador joked that it was terrible for the inhabitants of Scilly "to know that we could attack at any moment."
The series of the longest wars in history - 452-1485. (1033 years old)
The Anglo-Welsh wars, which were fought between the Anglo-Saxons and the Welsh from the 5th to the 15th centuries, became the longest wars that humanity has known.
They began with attacks by the pagan Germanic tribes that colonized parts of the east and south coasts of Britain against the British (called "Wealsc" by the Anglo-Saxons). And it continued until the late Middle Ages, when Wales was eventually conquered and annexed by England.
The final of the Anglo-Welsh wars was the Battle of Bosworth, during which the troops of the English king Richard III (the last of the York family) were defeated by the troops of Henry Tudor from the House of Lancaster.