Most Forgotten or Over Looked Wars in History

[Nobody]

And there have been quite a few really obscure ones. These I remeber solely for their names:

The War of Clubs (Finland 16th c.)

The War over Jenkin's Ear (British 18th c.)

The Football War (Central America 1970's.)

Theres the Dog Tax War.

 

[Kweli]

in my opinion there are lots of forgotten wars even in present time. well, just look what's going on in africa, there are lots of wars, poverty, and even genocids. but what does the usa & europe to solve this conflicts, next to nothing. it's really a disgrace.

the thing which makes me really sad is that european states caused nowaydays issues in africa with their imperialism, they made the africans slaves.

where is the morale? nowhere!!!

i think a country needs oil or similiar things to get help from the western states.

???FEEDBACK???

 

[Sims2789]

The Soviets were too busy fighting the White Russians at home to worry about invading France or Germany, but they probably would have installed a Communist government in Poland had they won.

 

[DexterJ]

although Europe takes most of the blame historically for the current state of Africa - and rightly so, for example the creation of artificial states which are too ethnically diverse to function as proper nations. But Africa gets loads of money from the west these days, it has got poorer since the end of imperialism. and I think a lot of this is to do with its own ruling elites, which during the cold war were propped up by the west or the USSR, but these days arent. for example this guy:

Ten BMWs for Swazi king's wives

Swaziland's King Mswati III has bought 10 new BMW series 5 cars for his wives.
Swaziland's media reports that it has cost him $820,000. The 36-year-old king frequently hits the headlines with stories about his lavish lifestyle.

Two months ago, Africa's only remaining absolute monarch was criticised for buying himself a $500,000 luxury car.

Swaziland has one of the world's highest Aids rates and about a third of his subjects rely on food aid handouts.

"This is basically an upgrade of the ones they have been using," a royal official told the Swazi Times

The Maybach car, which the king bought in December, has a television, DVD player, 21-speaker surround-sound system, fridge, cordless telephone and sterling silver champagne flutes.

As well as 10 wives, the king has three fiancees.

In recent years, he has asked parliament for $15m to build a palace for each of his spouses and $45m to buy a royal jet.

Street protests led to him abandoning the plans to buy a luxury jet.

Swaziland's unemployment rate stands at 40% while almost 70% of the country's one-million population live on an average daily income of $1 or less.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4263599.stm

 

[Titan2018]

While interesting, we're drifting OT.

I think that in the US the Barbory Coast wars are the least know. The only real referance to it is in the USMC athem ("the shores of Tripoli"). The War of 1812 is also largely forgoten, likely because there were some incidents during the war that the US would rather forget: the burning of the Whitehouse and Capital Hill by the Brits, the surrender (yes surrender!) of Detroit, etc. It's a reminder that the US wasn't always the world's superpower.

 

[pawpaw]

Michigan-Ohio war of 1835-1836 over the strip of land seperating the two areas and the town of Toledo. Michigan only backs down after the government gives them the upper pennsular. Having lived in Toledo I think they were ready fighting over the LOSER had to take it

 

[privatehudson]

Having lived in Toledo I think they were ready fighting over the LOSER had to take it

That reminds me of Sherman

"After the Mexican War, General Sherman was enlisted by President Zachary Taylor to survey the newly acquired lands of New Mexico, Arizona, and California, all of which proved to be disappointingly arid.

"Well, Captain," Taylor asked upon Sherman's return, "will our new possessions pay for the blood and treasure spent in the war?"

"Between you and me, General," Sherman replied, "I feel we'll have to go to war again." "What for?" Taylor asked, aghast. Replied Sherman: "To make 'em take the darn country back!"

 

[pawpaw]

"Between you and me, General," Sherman replied, "I feel we'll have to go to war again." "What for?" Taylor asked, aghast. Replied Sherman: "To make 'em take the darn country back!"

like that

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

These are four that pop to mind. Wars that you don't hear of often. There are others, but there are too many Forgotten Wars[/b] to mention

Angolan Civil War 1974- (Most people probably haven't even heard of Angola)
Soviet-Poland 1920-21
First Balkan 1912-13
Second Balkan War 1913

 

[sydhe]

The (second) Russo-Japanese War of 1939. The Russians badly defeated the Japanese army and made a peace which lasted until 1945, which allowed Russia to fight only in Europe when Germany attacked, and to the Japanese adopting an alternate naval-oriented strategy and Pearl Harbor.

The Sino-Japanese war of the 1890s is also largely forgotten.

 

[Dann]

The Sino-Japanese war of the 1890s is also largely forgotten.

Not by us. That's how Qing China lost Korea and Taiwan to the Japanese.

 

[The Last Conformist]

luiz and YNCS: Thanx for fleshing those wars out.

Adding the Club War: A peasant uprising in Finland in the winter of 1596-97. The revolting peasants were mostly too poor to be able afford proper weapons. Instead they would walk out into the forest and cut themselves a decent club.
And then they fought the well armed govt forces. Not much luck there. It lasted four or five months. I've seen estimates of casualties run up to 20.000. At the time Finland's population has been estimated at approx. 200.000.

20k dead seems way too high. Ylikangas, in his book of the war, estimates 2-3k, IIRC. (That's still 1-1.5% of the poulation - imagine the US losing 3-4 million people in a few months of war!)

The victorious aristocrats didn't have much use of their victory - they supported King Sigismund against his rebellious uncle the duke Karl (later Charles IX), which they had to pay for when the King was defeated at Stångebro (only a few kilometers from where I'm right now) in 1598 and left his Swedish realm never to return (he still reigned in Poland to his death in 1632).

 

[Verbose]

I remebered it wrong then.

Just goes to show what an easy to forget war it was.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Nah - I'd be entirely unsurprised if someone had estimated the death toll at 20k. Exaggerated estimates of casualties in wars are all over the place in historical writings.

A strangely forgotten war is the Russo-Swedish war of 1570-95, Sweden's lengthiest war since the middle ages (possibly ever - can't think of any medieval war lasting longer offhand). Had the Russians won, Sweden's Baltic empire would've ended almost as soon as it began. Instead, she retained and expanded her possessions, and the scene was set for the long confrontation with Poland.

 

[gael]

The Irish invasion of British controlled canada.

The deal with the states when..eh, victorous, was for it to be called 'New Ireland'

 

[privatehudson]

The Irish invasion of British controlled canada.

The deal with the states when..eh, victorous, was for it to be called 'New Ireland'

I mentioned those

 

[Jack the Ripper]

scotland vs. england
war of 1812
world war I
Israel's war with Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, etc. after it's independence in 1948
world war III (the war we are in now)

 

[Steph]

WWI? Overlooked ?

 

[FriendlyFire]

world war III (the war we are in now)

Yeap there are dozens of gureillia wars being fought around the globe. Or the new correct term is "low intensity conflict"

From Neaple to Aceh
From Sudan to Congo

 

[Jack the Ripper]

WWI? Overlooked ?

you'd be surprised, buddy