United Kingdom

1 civilisation, 21 wars

Civilisations whose heartland lies in today's United Kingdom, and wars fought on its land or by its peoples.

Timeline

Oldest first

Civilisation
Neolithic Britain
War
Gallic Wars
Rome and its allies
Ancient Rome, Gallic peoples allied with Rome, among them the Remi and, until 52 BCE, the Aedui, and Germanic horsemen hired by Caesar
against
Gallic, Germanic and British peoples who fought Caesar
Helvetii and their allies (58 BCE), Suebi under Ariovistus (58 BCE), Belgic peoples, among them the Nervii and the Eburones, Veneti and other peoples of Armorica, Britons under Cassivellaunus (54 BCE), and Arverni and the Gallic coalition led by Vercingetorix (52 BCE)
Rome held all of Gaul up to the Rhine; Caesar withdrew most of his troops in 50 BCE as civil war loomed, and Gaul was organised into Roman provinces in 27 BCE.
War
First Anglo-Mysore War
Mysore and, until 1768, Hyderabad
Kingdom of Mysore and Hyderabad, under the Nizam, until 1768
against
East India Company forces and their allies
East India Company forces, Sepoy regiments of the Company's Madras and Bombay armies, Carnatic, under Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, and Maratha forces under Murari Rao, from 1768
The Treaty of Madras (1769) ended the war; the Company and Mysore each promised to help the other if attacked.
War
First Anglo-Maratha War
East India Company forces and Raghunathrao
East India Company forces, Sepoy regiments of the Company's Bombay, Madras and Bengal armies, and Raghunathrao's followers
against
The Maratha Confederacy
The Peshwa's government at Poona, under the regency of Nana Fadnavis, Mahadaji Shinde of Gwalior, and Tukoji Holkar of Indore
The Treaty of Salbai (May 1782) returned most conquests on both sides; the Company kept Salsette and stopped backing Raghunathrao.
At the same time here: Second Anglo-Mysore War
War
Second Anglo-Mysore War
Mysore, France and the Dutch Republic
Kingdom of Mysore, Kingdom of France: troops and a fleet under the Bailli de Suffren, and Dutch Republic: the Dutch East India Company garrison of Negapatam, held jointly with Hyder Ali's troops until November 1781
against
East India Company forces and Crown troops
East India Company forces, Sepoy regiments of the Company's Madras and Bombay armies, and Crown troops sent from Great Britain, with Hanoverian regiments
The Treaty of Mangalore (11 March 1784) restored the territory each side had held before the war.
At the same time here: First Anglo-Maratha War
War
Third Anglo-Mysore War
Kingdom of Mysore
Kingdom of Mysore
against
East India Company forces and their allies
East India Company forces, Sepoy regiments of the Company's Madras and Bombay armies, British Army regiments, Maratha Confederacy, Hyderabad, under the Nizam, and Kingdom of Travancore
By the Treaty of Seringapatam (March 1792) Mysore gave up about half its territory to the Company and its allies, and Tipu handed over two of his sons as hostages.
War
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
Mysore and French volunteers
Kingdom of Mysore and French volunteers from Mauritius
against
East India Company forces, British Army regiments and Hyderabad
East India Company forces, Sepoy regiments of the Company's Madras and Bombay armies, British Army regiments, and Hyderabad, under the Nizam
Tipu Sultan was killed when Seringapatam fell on 4 May 1799; the Company restored the Wodeyar dynasty to a smaller Mysore bound to it by a subsidiary alliance.
War
Second Anglo-Maratha War
East India Company forces, British Army regiments and their allies
East India Company forces, Sepoy regiments of the Company's Bombay, Madras and Bengal armies, British Army regiments, Mysore irregular cavalry, The Peshwa Baji Rao II, who ceded territory to pay for a Company force under the Treaty of Bassein (supporting), and Hyderabad, under Nizam Ali Khan (supporting)
against
Maratha chiefs, with French officers in Scindia's service
Gwalior, under Daulat Rao Scindia, Nagpur, under Raghuji II Bhonsle, Indore, under Yashwantrao Holkar, from 1804, Bharatpur, under Raja Ranjit Singh, from 1804, and French officers commanding Scindia's regular battalions
Scindia and Bhonsle gave up large territories, including the Delhi–Agra region, by treaties of December 1803; the Treaty of Rajghat with Holkar ended the fighting in December 1805.
War
Third Anglo-Maratha War
East India Company forces
East India Company forces and Sepoy regiments of the Company's Bombay, Madras and Bengal armies
against
The Peshwa, Nagpur and Indore
The Peshwa Baji Rao II's forces, Nagpur, under Appa Saheb Bhonsle, and Indore, under Holkar
Baji Rao II surrendered in June 1818; the Company annexed his lands, abolished the office of Peshwa and made the other Maratha states princely states under its control.
War
First Opium War
British Empire
United Kingdom (Royal Navy and British Army) and East India Company forces, with Indian troops
against
Qing China
Qing dynasty
In the Treaty of Nanking (29 August 1842) the Qing ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain, opened five ports to British trade and agreed to pay 21 million silver dollars.
War
First Anglo-Sikh War
East India Company forces and British Army regiments
East India Company forces, British Army regiments, and Sepoy regiments of the Company's Bengal army
against
The Sikh Empire and Ladwa
The Sikh Empire and its army, the Khalsa and Ladwa, under Raja Ajit Singh
By the Treaty of Lahore (9 March 1846) the Sikh state gave up the Jullundur Doab and other lands and paid an indemnity; the Company placed a Resident and a garrison at Lahore.
War
Second Anglo-Sikh War
East India Company forces, British Army regiments and their allies
East India Company forces, British Army regiments, Sepoy regiments of the Company's Bengal army, Pashtun irregulars raised by Herbert Edwardes, and Bahawalpur, under its Nawab
against
The Sikh Empire's army (the Khalsa) and Afghan allies
Mulraj's forces at Multan, a province of the Sikh Empire, Khalsa regiments of the Sikh Empire under Sher Singh and Chattar Singh Attariwalla, and Afghan horsemen sent by Dost Mohammad Khan of Kabul
The Sikh army surrendered in March 1849, and on 29 March the East India Company annexed the Punjab and deposed Maharaja Duleep Singh.
War
Second Opium War
Britain and France
United Kingdom (Royal Navy and British Army), Indian regiments under British command, Second French Empire, and United States (supporting)
against
Qing China
Qing dynasty
In the Convention of Peking (October 1860) the Qing confirmed the Treaties of Tianjin, opened Tianjin to trade, ceded southern Kowloon to Britain and raised the indemnity to 8 million taels each for Britain and France.
At the same time here: Indian Rebellion of 1857
War
Indian Rebellion of 1857
Rebel sepoys, the Mughal court at Delhi and allied rulers
Mutinous regiments of the Company's Bengal Army, The Mughal court at Delhi, under Bahadur Shah Zafar, Nana Sahib's forces at Cawnpore, Awadh rebels under Begum Hazrat Mahal, Jhansi, under Rani Lakshmibai, and Jagdishpur, under Kunwar Singh
against
East India Company forces, the British Army and their allies
East India Company forces, British Army regiments sent by the Crown, Indian soldiers who fought for the Company: sepoy regiments that stayed with it, Sikh, Punjabi Muslim and Pashtun units raised in the Punjab, and Gurkha battalions, Sikh princely states of Patiala, Nabha and Kapurthala, Gwalior, under Maharaja Jayajirao Scindia (supporting), Rampur, under Nawab Yusuf Ali Khan, Jodhpur, under Maharaja Takht Singh, and Kingdom of Nepal, under Jung Bahadur Rana
Company and allied forces took the last rebel centres by mid-1858; the British Crown took over the government of India from the East India Company, and the last Mughal emperor was exiled to Rangoon.
At the same time here: Second Opium War
War
World War I
Allies (Entente)
France, United Kingdom, Russian Empire (until 1917), Kingdom of Serbia, Kingdom of Italy (from 1915), and United States
against
Central Powers
German Empire, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Kingdom of Bulgaria (from 1915)
The Allies won: Germany signed an armistice on 11 November 1918 and the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, and the German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Ottoman empires broke up.
War
World War II
Allies
Soviet Union (from 1941), United States, United Kingdom, Republic of China (Nationalist government), France, and Second Polish Republic
against
Axis
Nazi Germany, Empire of Japan, and Kingdom of Italy (until 1943)
The Allies won: Germany surrendered unconditionally on 8 May 1945 and Japan on 2 September 1945.
War
Korean War
North Korea, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army and the Soviet Union
North Korea, Chinese People's Volunteer Army, and Soviet Union
against
South Korea and the United Nations Command
South Korea, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands, Canada, France, New Zealand, Philippines, Türkiye, Thailand, South Africa, Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ethiopia, and Colombia
An armistice, not a peace treaty, ended the fighting on 27 July 1953, with the front line close to the 38th parallel; Korea stayed divided.
War
Soviet–Afghan War
Soviet Union and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
Soviet Union and Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (PDPA government)
against
Afghan mujahideen and their backers
Afghan mujahideen, Pakistan (supporting), United States (supporting), Saudi Arabia (supporting), China (supporting), United Kingdom (supporting), Iran (supporting), and Egypt (supporting)
The Soviet Union withdrew all its troops by 15 February 1989 without defeating the mujahideen; the war between the Afghan government and the mujahideen went on.
At the same time here: Falklands War
War
Falklands War
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
against
Argentina
Argentina
The Argentine garrison surrendered on 14 June 1982 and British administration of the islands resumed; the defeat brought down Argentina's military government, and Argentina still claims the islands.
At the same time here: Soviet–Afghan War
War
Gulf War
US-led coalition
United States, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, France, Egypt, Syria, and Kuwait
against
Iraq
Iraq
Iraqi forces left Kuwait and the coalition declared a ceasefire on 28 February 1991; Iraq accepted UN ceasefire terms, and sanctions on it stayed in place.
War
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
US-led coalition and the Afghan government
United States, United Kingdom, Northern Alliance (2001), and Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (from 2001, under its interim names until 2004)
against
The Taliban and al-Qaeda
Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) and Al-Qaeda
The Taliban took Kabul on 15 August 2021 and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan fell; the last US and allied troops left on 30 August.
At the same time here: Iraq War
War
Iraq War
US-led coalition and the post-2003 Iraqi governments
United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Poland, Kurdish Peshmerga, and Iraqi governments after 2003
against
Ba'athist Iraq, then the insurgent groups
Ba'athist Iraq (Saddam Hussein's government), Ba'athist and Sunni insurgent groups, Al-Qaeda in Iraq / Islamic State of Iraq, and Mahdi Army
Saddam Hussein's government fell in April 2003 and new Iraqi governments were formed under occupation; the last US troops left in December 2011, while violence inside Iraq continued.
At the same time here: War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)