List of wars involving the United States
This is a list of wars involving the United States.[1]
18th-century wars
Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result for the United States and its Allies |
---|---|---|---|
American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) Location: Eastern North America, Gibraltar, India, Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic |
Watauga Association |
US-allied victory
| |
Cherokee–American wars (1776–1795) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Old Southwest |
US-allied victory | ||
Northwest Indian War (1785–1793) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Northwest Territory |
Chickasaw |
Western Confederacy
List
|
US-allied victory
|
Shays' Rebellion (1786–1787) Location: Massachusetts |
Anti-government protesters | US victory
| |
Whiskey Rebellion (1791–1794) Location: Western Pennsylvania |
Frontier tax protesters | US victory | |
Quasi-War (1798–1800) Location: Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean |
Co-belligerent: |
Convention of 1800
| |
Fries Rebellion (1799–1800) Location: Pennsylvania |
Frontier tax protesters | US victory | |
19th-century wars
Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result for the United States and its Allies |
---|---|---|---|
First Barbary War (1801–1805) Part of the Barbary Wars Location: Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tripoli |
US-allied victory | ||
1811 German Coast Uprising (1811) Location: Territory of Orleans |
Rebel slaves Supported by: |
US victory | |
Tecumseh's War (1811) Part of the American Indian Wars and the War of 1812 Location: Northwest River Ohio |
Tecumseh's Confederacy
List
|
US victory | |
War of 1812 (1812–1815) Location: Eastern and Central North America |
Creek Allies |
List
|
Inconclusive/Other Result
|
Creek War (1813–1814) Part of the American Indian Wars and the War of 1812 Location: Southern United States |
Lower Creeks |
Red Stick Creek | US-allied victory |
Second Barbary War (1815) Part of the Barbary Wars Location: Mediterranean Sea and the Barbary States |
US victory | ||
First Seminole War (1817–1818) Part of the Seminole Wars and the American Indian Wars Location: Pensacola, Spanish Florida |
Seminole
|
US victory
| |
Texas–Indian Wars (1820–1875) Part of the American Indian Wars and the Mexican Indian Wars Location: Texas |
US-allied victory
| ||
Arikara War (1823) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Missouri River |
Arikara | Inconclusive/Other Result
| |
Aegean Sea Anti-Piracy Operations of the United States (1825–1828) Part of Piracy in the Mediterranean Location: Offshore Greece, Aegean Sea |
US victory
| ||
Winnebago War (1827) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Illinois and Michigan Territory |
Prairie La Crosse Ho-Chunks with a few allies |
US-allied victory
| |
First Sumatran expedition (1832) Part of the Sumatran expeditions Location: Aceh Sultanate |
Chiefdom of Kuala Batee | US-allied victory
| |
Black Hawk War (1832) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Illinois and Michigan Territory |
Ho-Chunk Menominee Potawatomi |
Black Hawks British Band Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi allies |
US-allied victory
|
Texas Revolution (1835–1836) Location: Texas |
|
Texian victory
| |
Second Seminole War (1835–1842) Part of the Seminole Wars and the American Indian Wars Location: Florida, United States |
Seminole | US victory
| |
Second Sumatran expedition (1838) Part of the Sumatran expeditions Location: Aceh Sultanate |
Chiefdom of Kuala Batee | US-allied victory
| |
Aroostook War (1838) Location: Maine and New Brunswick |
Inconclusive/Other Result
| ||
Ivory Coast expedition (1842) Part of the African Slave Trade Patrol Location: Ivory Coast |
|
US victory
| |
Mexican–American War (1846–1848) Location: Texas, New Mexico, California and Mexico |
US-allied victory
| ||
Cayuse War (1847–1855) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Oregon |
Cayuse | US victory
| |
Apache Wars (1851–1900) Part of the Texas–Indian wars and the American Indian Wars Location: Southwestern United States |
Apache Ute Yavapai |
US victory
| |
Bleeding Kansas (1854–1861) Location: Kansas and Missouri |
Anti-slavery settlers (Free-Staters) |
Pro-slavery settlers (Border Ruffians) | Free-Stater victory.
|
Puget Sound War (1855–1856) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Washington |
Snoqualmie |
Nisqually Muckleshoot Puyallup Klickitat Haida Tlingit |
US victory
|
First Fiji expedition (1855) Part of the Fiji expeditions Location: Fiji |
Fiji | US victory | |
Rogue River Wars (1855–1856) Location: Rogue Valley |
Rogue River people | US victory
| |
Third Seminole War (1855–1858) Part of the Seminole Wars and the American Indian Wars Location: Pensacola, Florida |
Seminole | US victory
| |
Yakima War (1855–1858) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Washington Territory |
Snoqualmie |
Yakama Walla Walla tribe Umatilla tribe Nez Perce tribe Cayuse tribe |
US victory |
Second Opium War (1856–1859) Part of the Opium Wars Location: China |
US victory
| ||
Utah War (1857–1858) Part of the Mormon wars Location: Utah Territory and Wyoming |
Deseret/Utah Mormons (Nauvoo Legion) | Inconclusive/Other Result
| |
Navajo Wars (1858–1866) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: New Mexico |
US victory
| ||
Second Fiji expedition (1859) Part of the Fiji expeditions Location: Fiji |
Fiji | US victory | |
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry (1859) Part of pre-Civil War conflicts Location: West Virginia |
Abolitionist Insurgents | US victory | |
First and Second Cortina War (1859–1861) Location: Texas and Mexico |
US-allied victory | ||
Paiute War (1860) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Pyramid Lake, Nevada |
Paiute Shoshone Bannock |
US victory
| |
American Civil War (1861–1865) Location: Southern United States, Northeastern United States, Western United States, Atlantic Ocean |
US victory
| ||
Yavapai Wars (1861–1875) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Arizona |
Yavapai Apache Yuma Mohave |
US victory | |
Dakota War of 1862 (1862) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Minnesota and Dakota |
US victory
| ||
Colorado War (1863–1865) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska |
Inconclusive/Other Result
| ||
Shimonoseki War (1863–1864) Location: Kanmon Straits |
US-allied victory
| ||
Snake War (1864–1868) Part of the American Indian Wars Locations: Oregon, Nevada, California, and Idaho |
Paiute Bannock Shoshone |
US victory | |
Powder River War (1865) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Powder River State |
Inconclusive/Other Result | ||
Red Cloud's War (1866–1868) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Powder River State |
Lakota-allied victory
| ||
Formosa expedition (1867) Location: Southern Formosa (Taiwan) |
Paiwan | Partial US victory
| |
Comanche Campaign (1867–1875) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Western United States |
Kiowa |
US victory
| |
Korea expedition (1871) Location: Ganghwado |
Inconclusive/Other Result
| ||
Modoc War (1872–1873) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: California and Oregon |
US victory
| ||
Red River War (1874–1875) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Texas |
Kiowa |
US victory
| |
Las Cuevas War (1875) Location: Texas and Mexico |
Mexican bandits | US victory
| |
Great Sioux War of 1876 (1876–1877) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Montana, Dakota and Wyoming |
US victory
| ||
Buffalo Hunters' War (1876–1877) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Texas and Oklahoma |
Apache |
US victory | |
Nez Perce War (1877) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana |
Nez Perce Palouse |
US victory
| |
Bannock War (1878) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming |
Bannock Shoshone Paiute |
US victory
| |
Cheyenne War (1878–1879) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Montana |
US victory
| ||
Sheepeater Indian War (1879) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Idaho |
Shoshone | US victory | |
Victorio's War (1879–1881) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Mexico |
Apache | US-allied victory
| |
White River War (1879–1880) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Colorado |
Ute | US victory
| |
Pine Ridge Campaign (1890–1891) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: South Dakota |
US victory
| ||
Garza Revolution (1891–1893) Location: Texas and Mexico |
Garzistas | US-allied victory | |
Yaqui Wars (1896–1918) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Arizona and Mexico |
Pima Opata |
US-allied victory | |
Second Samoan Civil War (1898–1899) Location: Samoa |
Samoa |
Mataafans |
Inconclusive/Other Result
|
Spanish–American War (1898) Location: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines and Guam |
US-allied victory
| ||
Philippine–American War (1899–1902) Location: Philippines |
1899–1902 1902-1906 |
1899–1902 Limited Foreign Support: 1902-1906 |
US victory
|
Moro Rebellion (1899–1913) Location: Philippines |
US victory | ||
Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901) Location: China |
US-allied victory
|
20th-century wars
Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result for the United States and its Allies |
---|---|---|---|
Crazy Snake Rebellion (1909) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Oklahoma |
Creek | US victory | |
Border War (1910–1919) Part of the Mexican Revolution Location: Mexico–United States border |
US victory
| ||
Negro Rebellion (1912) Part of the Banana Wars Location: Cuba |
US-allied victory
| ||
Occupation of Nicaragua (1912–1933) Part of the Banana Wars Location: Nicaragua |
US-allied victory
| ||
Bluff War (1914–1915) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Utah and Colorado |
Ute Paiute |
US victory | |
Occupation of Veracruz (1914) Part of the Mexican Revolution Location: Mexico |
US victory | ||
Occupation of Haiti (1915–1934) Part of the Banana Wars Location: Haiti |
US-allied victory | ||
Occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–1924) Part of the Banana Wars Location: Dominican Republic |
US victory | ||
World War I (1917–1918) Location: Europe, Africa, Asia, Middle East, the Pacific Islands, and coast of North and South America |
US-allied victory
| ||
Russian Civil War (1918–1920) Location: Russia, Mongolia, and Iran |
Bolshevik victory
| ||
Last Indian Uprising (1923) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Utah |
Ute Paiute |
US victory | |
World War II (1939–1945) Location: Europe, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Middle East, Mediterranean, North Africa, Oceania, North and South America |
US-allied victory
| ||
Korean War (1950–1953) Part of the Cold War Location: Korea |
Inconclusive/Other Result
| ||
Laotian Civil War (1953–1975) Part of the Indochina Wars and Cold War Location: Laos |
Supported by: |
Supported by: |
Pathet Lao-allied victory
|
Lebanon Crisis (1958) Location: Lebanon |
US-allied victory
| ||
Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) Part of the Cold War Location: Cuba |
Cuban government victory | ||
Simba rebellion, Operation Dragon Rouge (1964) Part of the Congo Crisis and the Cold War Location: Congo |
US-allied victory | ||
Vietnam War (1955–1964[lower-alpha 1], 1965–1973[lower-alpha 2], 1974–1975[lower-alpha 3]) Part of the Cold War and Indochina Wars Location: Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos |
North Vietnamese-allied victory
| ||
Communist insurgency in Thailand (1965–1983) Part of the Cold War Location: Thailand |
|
US-allied victory
| |
Korean DMZ Conflict (1966–1969) Part of the Korean conflict and the Cold War Location: Korean Demilitarized Zone |
US-allied victory
| ||
Dominican Civil War (1965–1966) Location: Dominican Republic |
US-allied victory
| ||
Insurgency in Bolivia (1966–1967) Part of the Cold War Location: Bolivia |
US-allied victory
| ||
Cambodian Civil War (1967–1975) Part of the Cold War Location: Cambodia |
Other Supports |
Other Supports |
Khmer Rouge-allied victory
|
War in South Zaire (1978) Part of the Cold War Location: Zaire |
Supported by: |
US-allied victory
| |
Gulf of Sidra encounter (1981) Location: Gulf of Sidra |
US victory
| ||
Multinational Intervention in Lebanon (1982–1984) Location: Lebanon |
Multinational Force in Lebanon: |
|
US-allied victory
|
Invasion of Grenada (1983) Part of the Cold War Location: Grenada |
Military advisors: |
US-allied victory
| |
Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986) Location: Gulf of Sidra |
US victory | ||
Bombing of Libya (1986) Location: Libya |
US victory
| ||
Tanker War (1987–1988) Location: Persian Gulf |
US victory
| ||
Tobruk encounter (1989) Location: Mediterranean Sea |
US victory
| ||
Invasion of Panama (1989–1990) Location: Panama |
US-allied victory
| ||
Gulf War (1990–1991) Location: Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Israel |
US-allied victory
| ||
Iraqi No-Fly Zone Enforcement Operations (1991–2003) Location: Iraq |
US-allied victory
| ||
First U.S. Intervention in the Somali Civil War (1992–1995) Part of the Somali civil war (1991–present) Location: Somalia |
Inconclusive/Other Result
| ||
Bosnian War (1992–1995) Part of the Yugoslav Wars Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina |
US-allied victory | ||
Intervention in Haiti (1994–1995) Location: Haiti |
US-allied victory
| ||
Kosovo War (1998–1999) Part of the Yugoslav Wars Location: Serbia |
US-allied victory[13][14][15][16]
| ||
Operation Infinite Reach (1998) Location: Sudan and Afghanistan |
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen |
Inconclusive/Other Result
| |
- Advisory role from the forming of the MAAG in Vietnam to the Gulf of Tonkin incident.
- Direct U.S. involvement ended in 1973 with the Paris Peace Accords. Air Force and Special Ops continued some operations until April 1975; President Ford in a televised speech on April 23, 1975 declared the end of Vietnam War.
- The war reignited on December 13, 1974 with offensive operations by North Vietnam, leading to victory over South Vietnam in under two months.
21st-century wars
Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result for the United States and its Allies |
---|---|---|---|
War in Afghanistan (2001–present) Part of the War on Terror and the War in Afghanistan (1978–present) Location: Afghanistan |
Formerly: |
Allied groups
Taliban splinter groups
2001 Invasion: |
Ongoing
|
2003 invasion of Iraq (2003) Part of the War on Terror Location: Iraq |
US-Allied Victory
| ||
Iraq War (2003–2011) Part of the War on Terror Location: Iraq |
2003 Invasion: |
Inconclusive[19]
| |
War in North-West Pakistan (2004–present) Part of the War on Terror Location: Pakistan |
Ongoing
| ||
Second U.S. Intervention in the Somali Civil War (2007–present) Part of the Somali Civil War (1991–present) and the War on Terror Location: Somalia and Northeastern Kenya |
Hizbul Islam |
Ongoing
| |
Operation Ocean Shield (2009–2016) Part of the War on Terror Location: Indian Ocean |
Somali pirates | US-allied victory
| |
International intervention in Libya (2011) Part of the Libyan Crisis and the First Libyan Civil War Location: Libya |
US-allied victory
| ||
Operation Observant Compass (2011–2017) Part of the War on Terror Location: Uganda |
US-allied victory
| ||
American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present) Part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the Iraqi Civil War, the Spillover of the Syrian Civil War, the War on Terror and the International ISIS campaign Location: Iraq |
Ongoing
| ||
American-led intervention in Syria (2014–present) Part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the Syrian Civil War, the War on Terror and the International ISIS campaign Location: Syria |
Formerly:
|
|
Ongoing
|
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) Part of the War on Terror and the International ISIS Campaign Location: Yemen |
Saudi-led Coalition: |
Supported by: |
Ongoing
|
American intervention in Libya (2015–present) Part of the Second Libyan Civil War, the War on Terror, and the International ISIS Campaign Location: Libya |
Ongoing
| ||
See also
References
- These numbers are gathered from a combination of surviving muster rolls and veteran applications for land grants. It is likely that the statistics on the Texian army size in both 1835 and 1836 underestimate the number of Tejanos who served in the army. American volunteers who returned to the U.S. without claiming land are also undercounted. Lack (1992), p. 113.
- history, Martin Kelly Martin H. Kelly is a former; Teacher, Social Studies; Books, The Author of Two History; life, one on Colonial; Tampa, the other on American Presidents He is an online course developer for the UK-based Pamoja Education company He lives in; Florida. "American Involvement in Wars from Colonial Times to the Present". ThoughtCo. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- "Tripolitan War | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- r2WPadmin. "First Barbary War". American History Central. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- Serial 89, 18th Congress, 1st Session, Senate Document No. 1, p. 95
- Lack (1992), pp. 122–3.
- The Nation. J.H. Richards. 1889. pp. 256–.
- "History: World War I".
- Mujaju 1987, p. 484.
- "Communist Insurgency In Thailand" (PDF). CIA Report. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- "Anatomy of a Counterinsurgency victory" (PDF). January 2007. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- "Statement by Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speakes". September 23, 1982.
- "The Collapse of Lebanon's Army: U.S. Said to Ignore Factionalism". March 11, 1984.
- http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a432768.pdf
- Cambridge Scholars Publisher (2015). Coercive Diplomacy of NATO in Kosovo. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 289–. ISBN 978-1-4438-7668-1.
- Erlanger, Steven (November 7, 1999). "NATO Was Closer to Ground War in Kosovo Than Is Widely Realized" – via NYTimes.com.
- Lake, Daniel R. (2009). "The Limits of Coercive Airpower: NATO's "Victory" in Kosovo Revisited". International Security. 34: 83–112. doi:10.1162/isec.2009.34.1.83.
- "The operation was essentially a failure" (Bergen 2002, p. 124)"... The highly unsuccessful Operation Infinite Reach ... backfired and acted as a recruitment drive for bin Laden's Al Qaeda" (Williams 2017, pp. 52-53)."... The failed strikes were dubbed Operation Infinite Reach ... the missile attacks exposed the inadequacy of American intelligence and the futility of military power" (Wright 2006, p. 285). Zenko (2010, p. 139) judges Operation Infinite Reach to be both a political and military failure.
- "Central Asian groups split over leadership of global jihad". The Long War Journal. August 24, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
- Outcome of war heavily debated
- "Sectarian divisions change Baghdad's image". NBC News. July 3, 2006. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
- Petrou, Michael (September 9, 2011). "The decline of al-Qaeda". Maclean's.
George W. Bush gambled on surging thousands more troops to the embattled country. It paid off. Al-Qaeda in Iraq is now a diminished force without territory.
- Spencer C. Tucker (December 14, 2015). U.S. Conflicts in the 21st Century: Afghanistan War, Iraq War, and the War on Terror. ISBN 978-1-4408-3879-8.
Al Qaeda in Iraq was decimated by the end of the Iraq War in 2011
- South, Todd (January 20, 2019). "Army’s long-awaited Iraq war study finds Iran was the only winner in a conflict that holds many lessons for future wars". Army Times. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
- Galbraith, Peter W. (2007). The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End. Simon & Schuster. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7432-9424-9.
- "Iran expands regional 'empire' ahead of nuclear deal". Reuters.
- "How to Stop Iran's Growing Hegemony". National Review Online.
- "The JRTN Movement and Iraq's Next Insurgency | Combating Terrorism Center at West Point". Ctc.usma.edu. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
- "Al-Qaeda's Resurgence in Iraq: A Threat to U.S. Interests". U.S. Department of State. February 5, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
- "Petition asking for halt on US drone strikes in Pakistan dismissed by SC | Pakistan Today". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- "Service and Sacrifice: Ugandan 'Blue Helmets' support UN efforts to bring peace to Somalia". UN News. April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
- Somalia, EUTM. "Home". EUTM-Somalia. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
- "Somali piracy is down 90 per cent from last year". The Journal. December 15, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
- Holmes, Oliver (January 24, 2012). "UPDATE 1-Anger, chaos but no revolt after Libya violence". Bani Walid. Reuters Africa. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
- African migrants sold in Libya 'slave markets', IOM says. BBC.
- "Migrants from west Africa being 'sold in Libyan slave markets'". The Guardian.
- Baddorf, Zack (April 20, 2017). "Uganda Ends Its Hunt for Joseph Kony Empty-Handed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- "IS left 200 mass graves in Iraq - UN". November 6, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- Reuters (June 15, 2019). "Belgium takes back six children of Isis fighters from Syrian camps". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- Press, Deb Riechmann, The Associated (April 16, 2019). "Trump vetoes measure to end US involvement in Yemen war". Military Times. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- "Houthis – Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance". Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- "How Yemen's Iran-backed Rebels Weaponized Drones Against Saudi Arabia". Haaretz. May 21, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- "Saudi air defence intercepts five Houthi drones: SPA". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- "Arab Coalition says Iran-supplied drone shot down in southern Saudi Arabia". The National. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- "Houthi drones kill several at Yemeni military parade". Reuters. January 10, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- "Wreckage of UAE aid ship attacked by Houthi rebels - in pictures". The National. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
- "Yemen's Houthis say they attacked Abu Dhabi airport using drone". Reuters. July 26, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
External links
- Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research (HIIK)
- Conflict Barometer – Describes recent trends in conflict development, escalations, and settlements
- A Continent Divided: The U.S.-Mexico War, Center for Greater Southwestern Studies, the University of Texas at Arlington
- Timeline of wars involving the United States, Histropedia
- U.S. Periods of War and Dates of Recent Conflicts, Congressional Research Service