The War That Was Shorter Than a Lunch Break

On August 27, 1896, the world witnessed the ultimate "blink and you'll miss it" moment in military history: the Anglo-Zanzibar War. This conflict between the British Empire and the Sultanate of Zanzibar holds the record for the shortest war in history, lasting a grand total of approximately 38 to 45 minutes On This Day - What Happened on August 27. It all started when Sultan Khalid bin Barghash seized the throne without British approval. The British issued an ultimatum that expired at 9:00 AM; when the Sultan refused to budge, British warships opened fire. By 9:45 AM, the Sultan had fled, the palace was in ruins, and the war was over August 27: Facts & Historical Events On This Day. To put that in perspective, you could have watched a single episode of a sitcom—with commercials—and missed the entire geopolitical upheaval!