Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Monday, May 29
    Trending
    • This Day in History on May 29th
    • History Short: The Most Useful Invention of All-Time?
    • Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through May 28th, 2023)
    • This Day in History on May 28th
    • History Short: First Asian Driver to Win Indianapolis 500!
    • This Day in History on May 27th
    • History Short: Who are the Chechens?
    • This Day in History on May 26th
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»Lists»10 of the Longest Wars Ever Fought
    Lists

    10 of the Longest Wars Ever Fought

    Major DanBy Major DanMay 19, 2016Updated:May 19, 20202 Comments5 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    30 Years War

    A Brief History

    On May 19, 1643, French Bourbon  forces beat Spanish forces allied with the Habsburgs at the battle of Rocroi during the 30 Years War. This French victory for practical purposes ended Spain’s time as a land power. As the name implies, the war went on for a long time, just as several other notable wars have. Some of them were actually a series of wars with brief lulls between major campaigns, and some of the longest “wars” were long lived only on paper, with no formal peace signed for many years after the fighting stopped. The Korean War, fought from 1950 to 1953 is a good example of that, with no peace treaty ever signed the 2 Koreas (North and South) are still technically at war.  World War II ended in 1990 when a reunified Germany signed the peace treaty. (Did you know that?)  Here we list 10 of the longest fighting types of wars and leave the technicalities to trivia masters. A note to keep in mind is that not all historians agree on starting and ending dates for wars, so you may well find some discrepancies if you research this topic.

    Historical Evidence

    10. Peloponnesian War, Sparta Vs. Athens, 431-404 BC.

    For the people that invented democracy, the Greeks sure fought among themselves a lot. In those days there was no unified Greece and the various city states often fought among each other, only uniting every so often against the Persians or Trojans or whatever other opponent was handy.

    9.  War of the Roses, House of Lancaster Vs. House of York Vs House (2 rival versions) of Plantagenet, 1455-1487.

    This conflict was another one of the on again off again wars, which is why it ranks just under the 30 Years War. Related fighting could be dated even earlier and later than the dates listed. The fighting was about control of the English throne, making it a civil war.

    8.  30 Years War, Most of Europe, 1618-1648.

    Starting out as a war between Protestant and Catholic German city states, the war ended up including most of Europe at various times and ended up as the Bourbons Vs. Habsburgs. Participants and alliances changed often making this one of history’s most convoluted wars.  A costly war, 8 million lives were lost, including 20% of the population of Germany!

    7.  Achinese War, Netherlands Vs. Aceh, 1873-1904.

    The Netherlands (Holland) had taken over Indonesia as a colony and in 1873 the Aceh people revolted, and kept up the struggle until 1904. The Dutch were permanently thrown out of Indonesia by the Japanese in World War II.

    6.  Guatemalan Civil War, Government Vs. Rebels, 1960-1996.

    An insurgency of various, mostly leftist, rebels, the fighting dragged on and on, until finally a peace was arranged after the communist world mostly disappeared.

    5.  Punic Wars, Rome Vs. Carthage, 264-146 BC.

    By doing some quick math, you will notice that the period listed is over 100 years. That is because the wars were on again, off again during this time frame, with about 43 years of fighting taking place.

    4.  Wars of the Diadochi, Alexander’s Generals, 323-275 BC.

    When Alexander the Great died abruptly in 323 BC his empire had no clear cut heir strong enough to keep it together, and the generals that had done the conquering went to war with each other in an effort to seize power for themselves.

    3.  Greco-Persian Wars, Greek City States Vs. Persia, 499-449 BC.

    Please do not think of the modern films 300 (2007) and its sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) as documentaries! For some reason the Persians just kept trying to take over and control Greece, and the Greeks kept fighting back. (Then Alexander took over Persia a hundred years later, so apparently these wars did not really solve everything.)

    2.  The Hundred Years War, England Vs. France, 1337-1453.

    An incredible 116 years of the 2 main European powers at war. These nations would continue to clash over the years until their alliance during World War I and World War II, and their current membership in NATO make any resumption of hostilities unlikely. (Although there was some nastiness in WWII when the English sunk the French Fleet to keep it out of German hands.)

    1.  Arauco War, Spain Vs. Mapuche Tribe, 1536-1825.

    Spanish invaders fought the local Native Americans in Chile and Argentina and never conquered them due to the remoteness of the territory. The war finally ended when Chile won its independence from Spain.

    Question for students (and subscribers): Do we count the Viet Nam War from when the French were fighting or when the US assumed responsibility for South Viet Nam in 1956 or do we consider the start 1964 when regular US ground forces were committed?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Bergen, Peter L.  The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and Al-Qaeda.  Free Press, 2011.

    Herring, George C.  America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975 with Poster (4th Edition).  McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2001.

    Hiro, Dilip.  The Longest War: The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict.  Routledge, 1990.

    The featured image in this article, a photograph by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau of a painting of the Battle of Rocroi, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous ArticleMay 19, 1986: Firearm Owners Protection Act Signed by President Reagan
    Next Article May 19, 1935: Lawrence of Arabia Responsible for Motorcycle Helmets!
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through May 28th, 2023)

    May 28, 2023

    History Short: Who are the Chechens?

    May 27, 2023

    History Short: Bold Presidential Plans, Pass or Fail?

    May 25, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    This Day in History on May 29th

    May 29, 2023

    History Short: The Most Useful Invention of All-Time?

    May 29, 2023

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through May 28th, 2023)

    May 28, 2023

    This Day in History on May 28th

    May 28, 2023

    History Short: First Asian Driver to Win Indianapolis 500!

    May 28, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2023 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

    x