Random Longest Wars In History (19 items)

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  (#1) Punic Wars

  Three brutal wars between Rome and Carthage between 264 BC and 146 BC ended with Carthage destroyed and conquered, and the city itself sacked and burned. That would seem to be the end of it, except for the fact that due to the destroying, sacking, and burning, Carthage never actually signed a peace treaty that ended the war with Rome.

  This wasn’t rectified until 1985, when the mayor of Rome and the mayor of modern Carthage (now a suburb of Tunis) signed a ceremonial peace treaty as a sign the past had been put to bed.

  While it makes for a good story, most historical scholars don’t accept this diplomatic irregularity, and have the Punic Wars lasting about 45 years - still an extremely long time for two nations to be slaying each other.
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  (#5) Kuril Islands Dispute (160 Years And Counting)

  Japan and Russia have been feuding over the Kuril Islands, a small chain located between Hokkaido in the south and Kamchatka in the north, since relations were established between the two nations in 1855. Various occupations of the islands came and went until August 1945, when Russian forces invaded and captured the islands as part of their Manchurian Strategic Operation against Japan.

  Confusingly, the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951, which formally ended the war with Japan, ordered Japan to give up all claims to the Kuril Islands, but didn’t recognize the Soviet Union's sovereignty over them. They fell into a quasi-legal zone, but Russia still had physical control over them. Both nations claim dominion, with Japan calling them the “Northern Territories” and Russia calling them the “South Kuril District.” The two nations are still squabbling over who has claim to what.
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  (#11) North Korea vs. South Korea (62 Years And Counting)

  The state of war that’s existed between the two Koreas since the 1950s might have lessed in intensity after the end of the Korean War in 1953, but it’s never officially ended. North and South have clashed repeatedly in the last six decades, and the North has announced on six different occasions that it wouldn’t abide by the terms of the armistice that both nations signed, though little happened in the wake of these declarations.

  Both sides keep substantial military forces in the Demilitarized Zone, and there have been dozens of violent incursions, incidents, and shootouts between North Korean forces and South Korean and UN troops. The risk of the two Koreas going back to a full-scale war is still high.
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  (#12) WWII Allies Vs. Germany (45 Years)

  While Nazi Germany signed the Instrument of Surrender and ended their war with the Western Allies in 1945, Germany itself was divided between the victorious powers. So no single state existed that had authority to sign a final peace treaty, and the war technically continued well into the Cold War. The US needed a legal pretext to keep troops in West Germany, and only ended its state of war with Germany in 1951.

  Though the political landscape had completely changed, it wasn’t until German reunification in 1990 that the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany could be signed. 
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  (#4) Arauco Wars (Approx. 290 Years)

  A series of irregular conflicts, the Arauco Wars began in 1536 when the Spanish tried to colonize the Mapuche tribe in what’s now Chile. Spain met a strong army in the course of exploring the Strait of Magellan, and though outnumbered, they took out thousands of Mapuches with their superior firepower and forced them to retreat.

  Despite multiple attempts to break the tribe, the Mapuche remained independent from Spanish rule, thanks in part to the natural boundary of the Biobío River. Battles were common during the 300 years of Spanish presence, until 1609, when a maintenance treaty was signed between the Spanish-appointed governor of Chile and the Mapuche chiefs. Spain was later expelled from Chile in the War of Chilean Independence, beginning in 1810, and Mapuche tribesmen fought on both sides of the conflict.

  Peace was established on January 7, 1825.
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  (#7) Hundred Years' War (116 Years)

  The 100 Years' War was so long that there’s actually an extra 16 years that just got rounded off. In fact, the “war” was actually three wars, separated by fairly long periods of peace: the Edwardian War (1337-1360); the Caroline War (1369-1389); and the Lancastrian War (1415-1453).

  In 1337, a long squabble over recognition and title broke out in war between France and England. Three years later, King Edward III of England crossed the English Channel and destroyed the French fleet - with a full-scale invasion happening six years later. England won the Edwardian phase and took possession of France. France then pushed the English out in the second phase before disintegrating into internal conflict, but pulled it together to win the third phase of the war - generations after everyone who fought the first phase was dead. A broke and defeated England soon fell apart into the Wars of the Roses and relinquished their claim on the French throne.

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