The world’s shortest war lasted 38 minutes

Each war should not have lasted ten years until the siege of Troy in antiquity. Seventeen days after William the Conqueror landed in England in 1066, the Normans defeated the Anglo-Saxons. Ten days after the 1991 Slovenian War of Independence, a peace agreement was reached. Israel defeated the United Arab Emirates in 1967 in six days. The short war, on the other hand, lasted until one. Chapter of a soap opera.

“… I seized power, declared a dictatorship, became a marshal, and introduced compulsory folk education.
“How long have you been President Hon’ble?”
“For five full minutes, sir …”

One of the most memorable conversations of Gene Rezda Invisible Brigade c. In a novel. Only he was able to write jokes like that. Maybe even Coroli Natty. And, of course, life! The shortest battle in history lasted exactly thirty-eight minutes.

At 9 a.m. on August 27, 1896, the British Zanzibar declared war on the British Guard. The battle ended at 9:38 p.m. This latent story may have been due to the desire for power of a self-appointed sultan and his hot head caused by the tropical climate.

Sultan Hamad bin Duwaini died two days ago. The next candidate for the British government was Hamud bin Mohammed, but the Sultan’s son-in-law, Khalid bin Bargas, deceived everyone and seized power. According to bad language, he poisoned the sultan to get the throne.

What the new sultan did not expect was geopolitics. Zanzibar is a few kilometers from Tanzania, which was a German colony at the time. The coup d’tat of Barkas threatened the local situation and the interests of Britain, especially since an agreement in 1866 allowed the British to finally make a statement about the Sultan’s person.

So in less than two days, the British answer came. At dawn on August 27, H.M.S. Philomel and H.M.S. Troops. The warships also brought a short message to Barcas: he would hand over power to Hamud bin Mohammed at 9 a.m., otherwise …

Barcas was a sultan a day and a half ago, but a strong character would not be broken by the first threat. The new and self-appointed ruler asked an American diplomat to negotiate with the British on his behalf as he sent his team to the defensive positions around his palace. However, British commander Sir Harry Holdworth Rawson was the colonial motorcyclist for the game. The Admiral ordered the artillery fire from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. All ships were aimed at the palace.

Half an hour later, the ruins contained only traces of the Sultan’s residence, so British warships transferred the fire to the ruling boat Glasgow, which made the mistake of firing on British troops. The ships also fired at the boats within minutes. The Sultan’s army of three thousand was already at a loss of five hundred by this time. Barcas’ strong character was overshadowed by political intelligence and survival instinct, and he realized it was time to escape. He rushed to the German consulate before the Zanzibar forces surrendered. The British Admiral declared war at 9:38 a.m., which included an English loss: a major wounded.

A few days later, London ascended the throne of the first elected Hamud bin Mohammed, and a week later no one remembered Sultan Barcas, who had lost his country in the 38-minute war that ruled the island for a day and a half. Barkas was then deported to Tanzania by the German ambassador. After the British invasion of Africa in 1916, the former ruler was arrested and briefly deported to the Seychelles, which we will consider the fruitful path today. Barcas finally died in 1927 in Mombasa.

The 38-minute war also had economic consequences. The British government paid the price of the artillery fired at Zanzibar with the new sultan. Sailors’ mercenaries were generously relieved of the cost of handling the wounded soldier, the cost of coal used in the operation, and the depreciation of the ships.