# When was the last war fought between actual nations? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974 "2015-11-19T13:01:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/1 "2015-11-19T13:01:07Z")
Was it the Falkland War? IIt seems most wars since WW2 have been one nation vs insurgents/communists/terrorists/ scary idea of the day which just happened to be in another country. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/2 "2015-11-19T13:11:40Z")
2012 Heglig Crisis between South Sudan and Sudan. Both recognised UN member states. > **[Heglig Crisis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heglig_Crisis)** > > Sudanese victory > The Heglig Crisis was a brief war fought between the countries of Sudan and South Sudan in 2012 over oil-rich regions between South Sudan's Unity and Sudan's South Kordofan states. South Sudan invaded and briefly occupied the small border town of Heglig before being pushed back by the Sudanese army. Small-scale clashes continued until an agreement on borders and natural resources was signed on 26 September, resolving most aspects of the conflict. > South Sudan's independence wa... ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/3 "2015-11-19T13:19:33Z")
The Iraq War? Russia/Georgia? ---
**Author:** ![SHARKBITEATTACK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@SHARKBITEATTACK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SHARKBITEATTACK)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/4 "2015-11-19T13:20:17Z")
Gulf War ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/5 "2015-11-19T14:24:47Z")
The forceful annexation of the Crimea by Russia in 2014 I think counts as an act of war against Ukraine. Both Russian and Ukrainian troops were involved, and two Ukrainian soldiers were killed. Russian troops have surreptitiously been involved in the conflict in southwest Ukraine as well. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/6 "2015-11-19T20:23:24Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > The Iraq War? The Iraqi military basically surrendered to US troops at the border. That was a war against insurgents, mainly. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/7 "2015-11-19T20:31:16Z")
The last major war that wasn’t a one-sided beat-down, or basically a state versus an insurgency, or a sneaky attempt of a state to hide behind an insurgency, or any other form of “asymmetric conflict” - I dunno. A good contender may be the Iran-Iraq War (ended in 1988). ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/8 "2015-11-20T02:09:21Z")
[Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a major war against each other](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eritrean%E2%80%93Ethiopian_War) from '98 to 2000. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/9 "2015-11-20T02:49:36Z")
We’ll need to define “war” and we’ll need to define “between actual nations”. On the first part, do we count border skirmishes and other limited belligerent actions? There are plenty of those to go around. As for “between actual nations”, I think you’ll find that many of the “civil wars” one finds these days are not particularly internal at all, but rather enormously complicated proxy wars. If you want to go for the most straightforward definition, the Heglig Crisis is probably the last one, followed by the Libyan Civil War. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/10 "2015-11-20T03:09:56Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The forceful annexation of the Crimea by Russia in 2014 I think counts as an act of war against Ukraine. Both Russian and Ukrainian troops were involved, and two Ukrainian soldiers were killed. Russian troops have surreptitiously been involved in the conflict in southwest Ukraine as well. The Russian military action in _eastern_ Ukraine is [not exactly surreptitious, and has killed thousands of people](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014%E2%80%9315_Russian_military_intervention_in_Ukraine). ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/11 "2015-11-20T03:14:20Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > The Iraqi military basically surrendered to US troops at the border. That was a war against insurgents, mainly. The whole war was about one state toppling another. It is literally the textbook definition of “state on state war.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/12 "2015-11-20T03:55:30Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > The Russian military action in _eastern_ Ukraine is [not exactly surreptitious, and has killed thousands of people](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014%E2%80%9315_Russian_military_intervention_in_Ukraine). > [@](#): > > surreptitious > adjective sur·rep·ti·tious \ˌsər-əp-ˈti-shəs, ˌsə-rəp-, sə-ˌrep- > : done in a secret way > > 1: done, made, or acquired by stealth : clandestine > 2: acting or doing something clandestinely : stealthy \ Russia has made every effort to keep the direct involvement of its troops secret, which is what I was referring to. Of course, it’s a very poorly kept secret. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/13 "2015-11-20T04:03:36Z")
Hopefully it will be a very long time until the last war. I have a feeling there won’t be many people left after that one to talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/14 "2015-11-20T04:46:04Z")
North Korea an South Korea are still at war. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/15 "2015-11-20T04:52:53Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Russia has made every effort to keep the direct involvement of its troops secret, which is what I was referring to. Of course, it’s a very poorly kept secret. I think the Russians are capable of much greater secrecy than that, where necessary. In Ukraine they’ve just baldly lied about it, even as photographs were taken of their personnel and equipment going into action. (They made similarly shameless statements about the Crimean occupation, until it was achieved and over.) It is a contemptuous fig-leaf. The actual point, however, is that however surreptitious it is or isn’t, it _is_ a real war, and far more lethal than your passing mention suggests. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/16 "2015-11-20T04:53:51Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > The Iraqi military basically surrendered to US troops at the border… No. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/17 "2015-11-20T05:09:47Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > The actual point, however, is that however surreptitious it is or isn’t, it _is_ a real war, and far more lethal than your passing mention suggests. The question isn’t how lethal it is, but whether it fits the criterion in the OP of being a war between nation-states, rather than a nation-state against insurgents (even if the insurgents have outside help). The most numerous forces confronting Ukrainian troops have been local insurgents rather than Russians. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/18 "2015-11-20T05:58:23Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The forceful annexation of the Crimea by Russia in 2014 I think counts as an act of war against Ukraine. Both Russian and Ukrainian troops were involved, and two Ukrainian soldiers were killed. Russian troops have surreptitiously been involved in the conflict in southwest Ukraine as well. Officially no Russian troops were involved. “Militias” put the the pro-Russian Aksyonov government in place then Crimea declared independence and held a referendum where they voted to join Russia. Of course no one believes thats what really happened, but it makes it murky as far as if it meets the OP’s definition or not. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/19 "2015-11-20T07:48:47Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > North Korea an South Korea are still at war. True. Turkey has passed Declarations of War against Syria and Iraq, as of July. Thinking there were probably a few other likely candidates lurking in the Middle East, not to mention, well, everywhere else, I turned to Google. In fact, there are enough countries at war on the globe right now that [Wikipedia maintains this handy list](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_armed_conflicts) of conflicts organized by scope, beginning with “major war”. The Information Age is depressing at times. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974/20 "2015-11-20T09:50:47Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > North Korea an South Korea are still at war. One reason is that its impossible for the war to end, who can South Korea make a peace treaty with, as to them, North Korea is not a country with which to make a peace treaty… Another is that if they accidentally kill a civilian , then they can say “war was declared, it was thought the civilians would be aware … their mistake” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-war-fought-between-actual-nations/737974.md?page=2)