BRITAIN'S BRIEFEST WAR

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 112, 2 May 1908, Page 4

BRITAIN'S BRIEFEST WAR

The frontier war which ended a 9liort time ago with the submission of the /.akka. Kliels, after lasting exactly sixtoon (lavs, enjoys the distinction of being the'shortest campaign upon which Britain has ever embarked. ; Tliat, however, against the combined llunza and Nagar tribes, which broke out in 181)1, ran it a close second. The immediate cause wag our starting to build a road through the hill country north of Kashmir. The tribesmen swooped down upon the road-iuakeis like a cloud of locusts, and killed numbers of them. . Hostilities were commenced on December 2nd, and ended on the 22nd, with tile submission of the Khan of Nagar. The first Matabele war lasted three months and one day, on paper. But the ival work of the campaign was endedT>y the fall of Buluwayo, which took place on November 4th, 1893, the advance to that place, which marked the real (ipening of the war, having only been so late as October Kith. In other words, the most warlike and numerous tribe of savages then existing in South Africa was utterly routed and dispersed in a little over a fortnight, 'Jlhe shortest really great war oil record, however, was that between Austria and Prussia, which broke out on ,lune 18th. ISfIU, and ended on July 30th. a period of precisely six weeks li'om day i,i ,l-iv Dili-ill" thiiU biiol period tlieve were'fought no fewer than thirty-two pitched battle-, exclusive of skirmishes Included amongst the ioniier was the decisive conflict at Sadowa, winch laid the found a lion of «ie present German Knipire. .The total cost of the war was oilleiallv put at .€73,000,000. More than miartor of a million men were killed and wounded. Lhe map of Europe bad to Itc redruiw'ii. M\ us tho result ol f(.n'ty-two lighting.