DID YOU KNOW…
The Anglo-Zanzibar War: A Conflict Over Before Breakfast
Did you know the shortest war in recorded history lasted an astonishingly brief 38 to 45 minutes? It was fought between the United Kingdom and the Zanzibar Sultanate in 1896.
This peculiar conflict, known as the Anglo-Zanzibar War, erupted on August 27, 1896. It began when Khalid bin Barghash seized the Zanzibari throne without British consent following the previous Sultan's death. When Barghash refused to comply with a British ultimatum, British warships opened fire on his palace at 9:02 AM. By 9:40 AM, Khalid had fled and his defenses were silenced, making it the shortest war ever recorded.
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