The Shortest Battle in History
The shortest battle in history was the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896. It lasted 38 minutes! The Sultan lost 500 men, the British ended up with one sailor injured.
The Longest Battle in History
The longest battle in history is Verdun which lasted almost 10 months in 1916. Some sources cite 714,231 casualties on both sides. That’s 70,000 casualties a month on average!
The Longest Siege in History
The longest siege in history is often cited as the Siege of Candia, which pitted the defending Venetians in the town of Heraklion (Crete) against the Ottomans and lasted 21 years. The Ottomans were ultimately victorious but allowed the defenders and civilians to depart safely as part of the negotiated surrender of the place.
But the longest siege in history is in fact the Siege of Ceuta where the Spanish defended the town against the Moroccans for a total of 26 years! A Spanish relief force finally arrived and chased the Moroccans away, only for an outbreak of plague to ravage the newly liberated town!
-RBM
