The shortest war in history lasted only 38 minutes - Apparently.
On August 27, 1896, the British and Zanzibar armies clashed in a brief naval battle, with Zanzibar surrendering after just 38 minutes. The war was sparked by a dispute over who should be the ruler of Zanzibar, a small archipelago off the coast of Tanzania. The British were able to quickly overpower the Zanzibari forces, and the war ended with a formal surrender. This bizarre episode has been documented in historical records and is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the shortest war in history.