The Anglo-Zanzibar1 War
Fought between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896, the conflict lasted approximately 40 minutes, making it the shortest war in history. The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan2 Hamad bin Thuwaini and the succession3 of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash. The British authorities preferred Hamud bin Muhammed as Sultan.
The ultimatum4 expired5 at 9:00 on 27 August, by which time the British had gathered three cruisers, two gunships, 150 marines and sailors, and 900 Zanzibaris in the harbor area. A bombardment6, which was opened at 9:02, set the palace on fire and disabled the defending artillery. The flag at the palace was shot down and fire ceased at 9:40. The Sultan’s forces received roughly 500 casualties, while only one British sailor was injured.
英桑戰爭
1896年8月27日,英國和桑給巴爾開戰,戰爭持續了大約四十分鐘,堪稱史上最短的戰爭。引發戰爭的直接原因在于,親英蘇丹哈馬德·本·杜威尼辭世后,哈立德·本·巴伽什繼任蘇丹,而英國當局則傾向于讓哈茂德·本·穆罕穆德接任蘇丹。
最后通牒的截止時間是8月27日上午9:00,當時英國軍隊已經在港口區集結了三艘巡洋艦、兩艘炮艦、150名海軍陸戰隊員和水兵,以及900名桑給巴爾雇傭兵。轟炸始于9:02,使皇宮著火,并瓦解了防御炮兵部隊的抵抗。9:40,皇宮上懸掛的國旗被擊落,轟炸停止。蘇丹軍隊大約有五百人傷亡,而英軍只有一名水兵受傷。
The Pig War
The Pig War was a fight in 1859 between American and British authorities over the boundary between the United States and British North America. The specific area in dispute was the San Juan Islands7, which lie between Vancouver Island and the North American mainland. The Pig War is so called because it was triggered by the shooting of a pig, who was the only “casualty” of the war, making the conflict basically bloodless.
豬之戰
豬之戰指的是1859年美國和英國當局針對美國和英屬北美殖民地之間的邊界問題而爆發的戰爭。存在爭議的具體地區是位于溫哥華島和北美大陸之間的圣胡安群島。之所以稱這場戰爭為“豬之戰”,是因為這是由一頭豬被射殺而引發的戰爭。這頭豬是這場戰爭中唯一的“傷亡者”,因而從根本上說,這是一次沒有流血的沖突。
Thirty-Five Years’ War
The Three Hundred and Thirty-Five Years’ War (1651~1986) was a war between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly8. Although no shots were fired during the entire conflict, the lack of peace treaty extended the official war to 335 years—making it both the longest war in history as well as the war with the fewest casualties. Despite the uncertain validity9 of the declaration of war, peace was finally declared in 1986.
持續335年的戰爭
荷蘭和錫利群島曾爆發過一場耗時335年(1651~1986)的戰爭。盡管整個沖突期間未開過一槍一炮,但由于沒有簽訂和平條約,這場名義上的戰爭延續了335年,使其成為歷史上歷時最長且傷亡最少的戰爭。雖然宣戰的合法性不能確定,但雙方最終于1986年宣告和好。
The Drunken War
The Drunken War refers to the Moldovan-Transdniestrian War, which ran from 1900 through to 1992. After the Soviet Union collapsed, two-thirds of Moldova wanted closer ties with the west. But the area of the country to the east of the Dniester River10 wanted to stay close to the Ukraine and Russia. War broke out, and the east split to form Transdniestria, which remains unrecognized by the world.
It was a weird war, as officers from both sides met every night to have a drink together. They went away in the morning and opened fire on each other. At night, they got together again to drink in honor of those they met the previous night and killed.
酗酒之戰
酗酒之戰指的是1900~1992年間爆發的摩爾多瓦內戰。前蘇聯解體后,有三分之二的摩爾多瓦人想要和西方國家走得更近。……