The shortest war in history was between Britain and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896.

The
war lasted for only 38 minutes, with the British bombarding the Sultan's palace and forcing him to

flee. The reason for the war was a dispute over who would become the next Sultan of Zanzibar,

with the British backing a different candidate than the one favored by the Sultan. The conflict

ended quickly and without any casualties on the British side, while around 500 people were

estimated to have been killed or injured on the Zanzibar side.

[image: A photo of the bombardment of Zanzibar by the British Royal Navy, with smoke rising

from the Sultan's palace in the background.]