List of wars involving the United States
This is a list of wars fought by the United States of America.
18th-century wars
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. |
United States Sweden |
Eyalet of Tripolitania Sultanate of Morocco |
Victory
|
1811 German Coast Uprising (1811) Location: Territory of Orleans |
United States | Rebel slaves Supported by: |
Victory
|
Tecumseh's War (1811) Part of the American Indian Wars and the War of 1812 Location: Northwest River Ohio |
United States | Tecumseh's Confederacy
List |
Victory
|
War of 1812 (1812–1815) Location: Eastern and Central North America |
United States Choctaw Cherokee Nation Creek Allies |
United Kingdom
List |
Stalemate
Treaty of Ghent; Status quo ante bellum with no boundary changes
|
Creek War (1813–1814) Part of the American Indian Wars and the War of 1812 Location: Southern United States |
United States Lower Creeks Cherokee Nation Choctaw |
Red Stick Creek | Victory
|
Second Barbary War (1815) Part of the Barbary Wars Location: Mediterranean Sea and the Barbary states. |
United States | Regency of Algiers | Victory
|
First Seminole War (1817–1818) Part of the Seminole Wars and the American Indian Wars Location: Pensacola, Spanish Florida |
United States | Seminole
|
Victory
|
Texas–Indian wars (1820–1875) Part of the American Indian Wars and the Mexican Indian Wars Location: Texas |
Spain
|
Comanche | Victory
|
Arikara War (1823) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Missouri River |
United States | Arikara | Stalemate
|
Aegean Sea Anti-Piracy Operations of the United States (1825–1828) Part of Piracy in the Mediterranean Location: Off Greece, Aegean Sea |
United States | Greek Pirates | Victory
|
Winnebago War (1827) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Illinois and Michigan Territory |
United States | Prairie La Crosse Ho-Chunks with a few allies |
Victory
|
First Sumatran expedition (1832) Part of the Sumatran expeditions Location: Aceh Sultanate |
United States Netherlands |
Chiefdom of Kuala Batee | Victory
|
Black Hawk War (1832) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Illinois and Michigan Territory |
United States Ho-Chunk Menominee Dakota Potawatomi |
Black Hawks British Band Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi allies |
Victory
|
Second Seminole War (1835–1842) Part of the Seminole Wars and the American Indian Wars Location: Florida, United States |
United States | Seminole | Victory
|
Second Sumatran expedition (1838) Part of the Sumatran expeditions Location: Aceh Sultanate |
United States Netherlands |
Chiefdom of Kuala Batee | Victory
|
Aroostook War (1838) Location: Maine and New Brunswick |
United States | United Kingdom | Compromise Webster–Ashburton Treaty
|
Ivory Coast Expedition (1842) Part of the African Slave Trade Patrol Location: Ivory Coast |
United States | Ivory Coast
|
Victory
|
Mexican–American War (1846–1848) Location: Texas, New Mexico, California and Mexico |
United States California Republic |
Mexico | Victory
|
Cayuse War (1847–1855) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Oregon |
United States | Cayuse | Victory
|
Apache Wars (1851–1900) Part of the Texas–Indian wars Location: Southwestern United States |
United States | Apache Ute Yavapai |
Victory
|
Puget Sound War (1855–1856) Part of the American Indian Wars Location: Washington |
United States Snoqualmie |
Nisqually Muckleshoot Puyallup Klickitat Haida Tlingit |
Victory
|
First Fiji Expedition (1855) Part of the Fiji Expeditions' Location: Fiji |
United States | Fiji | Victory |
Rogue River Wars (1855–1856) Location: Rogue Valley |
United States | Rogue River people | Victory
|
Third Seminole War
Part of the Seminole Wars and the American Indian Wars |
United States | Seminole | Victory
|
Yakima War
Part of the American Indian Wars |
United States Snoqualmie |
Yakama Walla Walla tribe Umatilla tribe Nez Perce tribe Cayuse tribe |
Victory
|
Second Opium War
Part of the Opium Wars |
British Empire French Empire United States |
Qing dynasty | Victory
|
Utah War
Part of the Mormon wars |
United States | Deseret/Utah Mormons (Nauvoo Legion) | Compromise
|
Navajo Wars
Part of the American Indian Wars |
United States | Navajo | Victory
|
Second Fiji Expedition
Part of the Fiji Expeditions |
United States | Fiji | Victory |
First and Second Cortina War (1859–1861) |
United States
|
Cortinista bandits | Victory |
Paiute War
Part of the American Indian Wars |
United States | Paiute Shoshone Bannock |
Victory
|
American Civil War (1861–1865) Location: United States |
United States | Confederate States | Victory
|
Yavapai Wars (1861–1875) Location: Arizona |
United States | Yavapai Apache Yuma Mohave |
Victory |
Dakota War of 1862 (1862) |
United States | Dakota Sioux | Victory
|
Colorado War (1863–1865) |
United States | Cheyenne Arapaho Sioux |
Victory
|
Shimonoseki War (1863–1864) Location: Kanmon Straits |
British Empire Dutch Empire French Empire United States |
Chōshū Domain | Victory
|
Snake War (1864–1868) Locations: Oregon, Nevada, California, and Idaho |
United States | Paiute Bannock Shoshone |
Victory |
Powder River War (1865) Location: Powder River State |
United States | Sioux Cheyenne Arapaho |
Stalemate |
Red Cloud's War (1866–1868) Location: Powder River State |
United States | Lakota Cheyenne Arapaho |
Defeat
|
Formosa Expedition (1867) Location: Southern Formosa (Taiwan) |
United States | Paiwan | Defeat
|
Comanche Campaign (1867–1875) Location: Western United States |
United States | Cheyenne Arapaho Comanche Kiowa |
Victory
|
United States expedition to Korea (1871) Location: Ganghwado |
United States | Joseon Dynasty | Victory |
Modoc War (1872–1873) Location: California and Oregon |
United States | Modoc | Victory
|
Red River War (1874–1875) Location: Texas |
United States | Cheyenne Arapaho Comanche Kiowa |
Victory
|
Las Cuevas War (1875) |
United States | Mexican bandits | Victory
|
Great Sioux War of 1876 (1876–1877) |
United States | Lakota Dakota Sioux Northern Cheyenne Arapaho |
Victory
|
Buffalo Hunters' War (1876–1877) |
United States | Comanche Apache |
Victory |
Nez Perce War (1877) |
United States | Nez Perce Palouse |
Victory
|
Bannock War (1878) |
United States | Bannock Shoshone Paiute |
Victory
|
Cheyenne War (1878–1879) Location: Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Montana |
United States | Cheyenne | Victory
|
Sheepeater Indian War (1879) Location: Idaho |
United States | Shoshone | Victory |
Victorio's War (1879–1881) Location: Mexico |
United States Mexico |
Apache | Victory
|
White River War (1879–1880) Location: Colorado |
United States | Ute | Victory
|
Pine Ridge Campaign (1890–1891) Location: South Dakota |
United States | Sioux | Victory
|
Garza Revolution (1891–1893) |
Mexico United States |
Garzistas | Victory |
Yaqui Wars (1896–1918) |
United States Mexico |
Yaqui Pima Opata |
Victory |
Second Samoan Civil War (1898–1899) Location: Samoa |
Samoa United States |
Mataafans Germany |
Compromise
|
Spanish–American War (1898) Location: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines and Guam |
United States Cuban Revolutionaries Filipino Revolutionaries |
Spain | Victory
|
Philippine–American War (1899–1902) Location: Philippines |
1899-1902 United States 1902-1906 |
1899-1902 Philippine Republic Limited Foreign Support: 1902-1906 |
Victory
|
Moro Rebellion (1899–1913) |
United States | Moro Remnants of the Sulu Sultanate |
Victory |
Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901) Location: China |
United Kingdom Russia Japan France United States Germany Italy Austria-Hungary |
Righteous Harmony Society (Boxers) China |
Victory
|
20th-century wars
Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result for the United States and its Allies |
---|---|---|---|
Crazy Snake Rebellion (1909) Location: Oklahoma |
United States | Creek | Victory |
Border War (1910–1919) Part of the Mexican Revolution Location: Mexico–United States border |
United States | Mexico Germany |
Victory
|
Negro Rebellion (1912) Part of the Banana Wars Location: Cuba |
Cuba United States |
Cuban PIC | Victory
|
Occupation of Nicaragua (1912–1933) Part of the Banana Wars Location: Nicaragua |
United States Nicaragua |
Nicaraguan Liberals Sandinistas |
Victory
|
Bluff War (1914–1915) |
United States | Ute Paiute |
Victory |
Occupation of Veracruz (1914) Part of the Mexican Revolution Location: Mexico |
United States | Mexico | Victory
|
Occupation of Haiti (1915–1934) Part of the Banana Wars Location: Haiti |
United States Haiti |
Haitian Rebels | Victory
|
Occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–1924) Part of the Banana Wars Location: Dominican Republic |
United States | Dominican Republic | Victory
|
World War I (1914–1918) Location: Europe, Africa, Asia, Middle East, the Pacific Islands, and coast of North and South America |
France Russia |
Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Bulgaria |
Victory
|
Russian Civil War (1918–1920) |
White Movement British Empire Japan |
Russian SFSR Far Eastern Republic Latvian SSR Ukrainian SSR Commune of Estonia Mongolian Communists |
Defeat
|
Last Indian Uprising (1923) Location: Utah |
United States | Ute Paiute |
Victory |
World War II (1939–1945) Location: Europe, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Mediterranean, North Africa, North and South America |
Soviet Union United States United Kingdom China France Poland Canada Australia New Zealand India South Africa Yugoslavia Greece Denmark Norway Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg Czechoslovakia Brazil Mexico Ethiopia Mongolia Philippines Viet Minh KLA |
Germany Japan Italy Hungary Romania Bulgaria Finland Thailand Manchukuo Mengjiang Croatia Slovakia Albania |
Victory
|
Korean War (1950–1953) Part of the Cold War Location: Korea |
South Korea United States United Kingdom Australia Belgium Canada France Philippines Colombia Ethiopia Greece Luxembourg Netherlands New Zealand South Africa Thailand Turkey |
North Korea China Soviet Union |
Stalemate
|
Laotian Civil War (1953–1975) Part of the Indochina Wars and Cold War Location: Laos |
Kingdom of Laos United States South Vietnam Thailand Supported by: Philippines Taiwan |
Pathet Lao |
Defeat
|
Lebanon Crisis (1958) Location: Lebanon |
Lebanon United States |
Lebanese Opposition: | Victory
|
Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) Part of the Cold War Location: Cuba |
CDRF United States |
Cuba | Defeat
|
Simba rebellion, Operation Dragon Rouge (1964) Part of the Congo Crisis and the Cold War |
Congo-Léopoldville Belgium United States |
Simba rebels Uganda[4] |
Victory
|
Vietnam War (1963–1973[a], 1975[b]) Part of the Cold War and Indochina Wars |
South Vietnam United States South Korea Australia New Zealand Thailand Philippines Khmer Republic Kingdom of Laos |
North Vietnam Viet Cong Khmer Rouge Pathet Lao China North Korea Supported by: |
Defeat
|
Communist insurgency in Thailand (1965-1983) Part of the Cold War Location: Thailand |
Thailand Taiwan (until July 1967) United States Malaysia |
Communist Party of Thailand Pathet Lao |
Victory
|
Korean DMZ Conflict (1966–1969) Part of the Korean conflict and the Cold War Location: Korean Demilitarized Zone |
South Korea United States |
North Korea | Victory
|
Dominican Civil War (1965–1966) Location: Dominican Republic |
Dominican Loyalists United States Inter-American Peace Force |
Dominican Constitutionalists | Victory
|
Insurgency in Bolivia (1966–1967) Part of the Cold War Location: Bolivia |
Bolivia United States |
Ejército de Liberación Nacional | Victory
|
Cambodian Civil War (1967–1975) Location: Cambodia |
Kingdom of Cambodia (1967–1970) Khmer Republic (1970–1975) United States South Vietnam Other Supports |
National United Front of Kampuchea Khmer Rouge Other Supports |
Defeat
|
War in South Zaire (1978) Location: Zaire |
Zaire France Belgium United States Morocco |
Front for the National Liberation of the Congo
Supported by: |
Victory
|
Gulf of Sidra encounter (1981) Location: Gulf of Sidra |
United States | Libya | Victory
|
Lebanese Civil War (1982–1984) Location: Lebanon |
Lebanese Armed Forces
UNIFIL Multinational Force in Lebanon: Lebanese Front Army of Free Lebanon SLA Israel |
Lebanese National Movement Jammoul PLO Amal Movement Iran Syria Arab Deterrent Force |
Defeat
|
Invasion of Grenada (1983) Part of the Cold War Location: Grenada |
United States Barbados Jamaica Antigua and Barbuda Dominica Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
PRG of Grenada Cuba Military advisors: |
Victory
|
Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986) |
United States | Libya | Victory
|
Bombing of Libya (1986) Location: Libya |
United States | Libya | Victory
|
Tanker War (1987–1988) Location: Persian Gulf |
United States | Iran | Victory
|
Tobruk encounter (1989) Location: Mediterranean Sea |
United States | Libya | Victory
|
Invasion of Panama (1989–1990) Location: Panama |
United States Panamanian Opposition |
Panama | Victory
|
Gulf War (1990–1991) Location: Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Israel |
Kuwait United States United Kingdom Saudi Arabia France Canada Egypt Syria Qatar Bahrain United Arab Emirates Oman Bangladesh |
Iraq | Victory
|
Iraqi No-Fly Zone Enforcement Operations (1991–2003) Location: Iraq |
United States United Kingdom France Australia Belgium Netherlands Saudi Arabia Turkey Italy |
Iraq | Victory
|
First Intervention in the Somali Civil War (1992–1995) Location: Somalia |
United States United Kingdom Spain Saudi Arabia Malaysia Pakistan Italy India Greece Germany France Canada Botswana Belgium Australia New Zealand |
Somali National Alliance | Defeat
|
Bosnian War (1992–1995) Part of the Yugoslav Wars Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Bosnia and Herzegovina
United States |
Republika Srpska YPA Serbian Krajina Western Bosnia FR Yugoslavia |
Victory
|
Intervention in Haiti (1994–1995) Location: Haiti |
United States Poland Argentina |
Haiti | Victory
|
Kosovo War (1998–1999) Part of the Yugoslav Wars Location: Serbia |
KLA AFRK Albania Croatia United States Belgium Canada Czech Republic Denmark France Germany Hungary Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Poland Spain Turkey United Kingdom |
FR Yugoslavia | Victory[9][10][11][12]
|
Operation Infinite Reach (1998) Location: Sudan and Afghanistan |
United States | al-Qaeda Sudan Harkat-ul-Mujahideen Lashkar-e-Taiba |
Blunder
|
- ^ 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 13 December 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 Location: Afghanistan |
Resolute Support Mission Afghanistan United States Canada United Kingdom Australia Croatia Czech Republic Georgia Germany Italy Romania Spain Turkey Formerly: ISAF |
Taliban
Allied groups
Taliban splinter groups IS-Affiliates:
2001 Invasion: |
Ongoing
| |
Iraq War (2003–2011) Part of the War on Terror Location: Iraq |
United States Iraq United Kingdom Australia South Korea Italy Georgia Poland Spain Netherlands Ukraine Romania |
Ba'ath Loyalists
Islamic State of Iraq 2003 Invasion: |
Victory
|
|
War in North-West Pakistan (2004–present) Part of the War on Terror Location: Pakistan |
United States |
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan al-Qaeda Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Turkistan Islamic Party Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi |
Ongoing
| |
War in Somalia (2007–present) Location: Somalia and Northeastern Kenya |
Somalia United States United Kingdom Kenya Ethiopia AMISOM |
Al-Shabaab Hizbul Islam |
Ongoing
| |
Operation Ocean Shield (2009–2016) Location: Indian Ocean |
NATO United States Malaysia Norway United Kingdom New Zealand Denmark Netherlands Italy South Korea India |
Somali pirates | Victory
| |
American-led intervention in Libya (2011) Part of the Libyan Crisis Location: Libya |
NATO United States United Kingdom Belgium Bulgaria Canada Denmark France Greece Italy Netherlands Norway Romania Spain Turkey Sweden Jordan Qatar United Arab Emirates |
Libya | Victory
| |
Operation Observant Compass
(2011–2017) Location: Uganda |
Lord's Resistance Army | Partial Victory
| ||
American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present) Part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the Iraqi Civil War, the Spillover of the Syrian Civil War, and the International ISIS campaign Location: Iraq |
United States Iraq Kurdistan Australia Belgium Canada Denmark France Germany Jordan Morocco Netherlands United Kingdom Turkey |
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria | Victory
| |
American-led intervention in Syria (2014–present) Part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the Syrian Civil War and the International ISIS campaign Location: Syria |
United States
Democratic Federation of Northern Syria CJTF-OIR Members: Israel (limited involvement; against Hezbollah and government forces only) Formerly:
|
ISIS
al-Qaeda linked groups:
Partial Support: Syria (limited encounters with US and Israel) |
Ongoing
| |
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) Location: Yemen |
Hadi government Saudi-led Coalition: Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Senegal Sudan Qatar (2015–2017) |
Supreme Political Council Houthis Ahrar al-Najran Supported by: Iran Hezbollah North Korea |
Ongoing
| |
American intervention in Libya (2015–present) Part of the Second Libyan Civil War Location: Libya |
United States Libya |
Islamic State in Libya | Ongoing
|
See also
- Military history
- Timeline of United States military operations
- United States involvement in regime change
- List of ongoing armed conflicts
References
- ^ Serial 89, 18th Congress, 1st Session, Senate Document No. 1, p. 95
- ^ The Nation. J.H. Richards. 1889. pp. 256–.
- ^ "History: World War I".
- ^ Mujaju 1987, p. 484.
- ^ "Communist Insurgency In Thailand" (PDF). CIA Report. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ^ a b "Anatomy of a Counterinsurgency Victory" (PDF). January 2007. Retrieved 1 December 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.
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/07/world/nato-was-closer-to-ground-war-in-kosovo-than-is-widely-realized.html
- ^ https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/isec.2009.34.1.83?journalCode=isec
- ^ "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. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ "Sectarian divisions change Baghdad's image". MSNBC. 3 July 2006. Retrieved 18 February 2007.
- ^ Michael Petrou (9 September 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. U.S. Conflicts in the 21st Century: Afghanistan War, Iraq War, and the War on Terror. ISBN 1-4408-3879-8.
Al Qaeda in Iraq was decimated by the end of the Iraq War in 2011
- ^ South, Todd (2019-01-20). "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 2019-01-20.
- ^ 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 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Al-Qaeda's Resurgence in Iraq: A Threat to U.S. Interests". U.S. Department of State. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
- ^ "Somali piracy is down 90 per cent from last year". The Journal. 15 December 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ^ Holmes, Oliver (24 January 2012). "UPDATE 1-Anger, chaos but no revolt after Libya violence". Bani Walid. Reuters Africa. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ^ Baddorf, Zack (20 April 2017). "Uganda Ends Its Hunt for Joseph Kony Empty-Handed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
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[permanent dead link], 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