List of wars extended by diplomatic irregularity

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There are different claims of wars extended by diplomatic irregularity which involve long peaceful periods after the end of hostilities where, for various reasons, the belligerents could be considered to be in a technical state of war. For example, occasionally small countries named in a declaration of war would accidentally be omitted from a peace treaty ending the wider conflict.

Such "extended wars" are discovered much after the fact, and have no impact during the long period (often hundreds of years) after the actual fighting ended. The discovery of an "extended war" is sometimes an opportunity for a friendly ceremonial peace to be contracted by the belligerent parties. Such peace ceremonies are even conducted after ancient wars where no peace treaty was expected in the first place, and in cases where the countries were not even at war at all, such as the case of Berwick-upon-Tweed and Russia. These "treaties" often involve non-sovereign sub-national entities, such as cities, who do not in reality have the power to declare or end wars.

Related situations (not necessarily listed below) include:

  • Frozen conflicts, where an armistice (ceasefire) is signed or fighting comes to an end, but there is intentionally no peace treaty because the underlying political conflict has not been resolved.
  • A state of war that ends without a peace treaty when the original declaration of war was deemed to be illegal, such as the declaration of war by Thailand against the United States was mutually recognized to be after World War II.
  • Political conflicts that continue after the signing of a peace treaty that formally ends the state of war. For example, the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 ended the state of war between Japan and the Soviet Union that was declared during World War II, but the Kuril Islands dispute remains an unresolved consequence of the war.

Extended wars[edit]

Combatants Historical conflict Declaration of war De facto peace De jure peace De facto duration De jure duration De factode jure difference Status of claim
 Isles of Scilly
vs
 Dutch Republic
First Anglo-Dutch War (Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War) 1651 1654 1986 4 335 329 The Dutch Republic under Michiel de Ruyter declared war solely on the Isles of Scilly, as the final stronghold of the Royalist naval force which was capturing Dutch merchant ships. When the Dutch and the Commonwealth of England signed the Treaty of Westminster (1654), this separate state of war was not mentioned and thus not included in the peace. The Dutch ambassador, visiting in April 1986 to conclude peace, joked that it must have been harrowing to the Scillonians "to know we could have attacked at any moment."[1]
Huéscar
vs
 Denmark
Peninsular War 1809 1814 1981 6 172 167 The Spanish town of Huéscar declared war on Denmark, as a result of the Napoleonic wars over Spain, where Denmark supported the French Empire. The official declaration of war was forgotten until it was discovered by a local historian in 1981, followed by the signing of a peace treaty on 11 November 1981 by the city mayor and the Ambassador of Denmark. Not a single shot was fired during the 172 years of war, and nobody was killed or injured.[2][3][4]
 Montenegro
vs
 Japan
Russo-Japanese War 1904 1905 2006 2 102 101 Montenegro declared war in support of Russia but Montenegro lacked a navy or any other means to engage Japan. After Montenegro (independent in 1904, but united with Serbia by 1918) had voted in 2006 to resume its independence, it concluded a separate peace treaty in order to establish diplomatic relations with Japan.[5][6] See Japan–Montenegro relations.
 Costa Rica
vs
 Germany
World War I 1918 1918 1945 1 28 27 Due to a dispute over the legitimacy of the government of Federico Tinoco Granados, Costa Rica was not a party to the Treaty of Versailles and did not unilaterally end the state of war.[7] The technical state of war ended after World War II only after they were included in the Potsdam Agreement. Costa Rica did not issue a declaration of war against Germany in World War II.[8]
 Soviet Union
vs
 Japan
Soviet–Japanese War
(Part of World War II)
1945 1945 1956 1 11 10 The Soviet–Japanese War was a short conflict that lasted less than a month in 1945. However, despite this, the Soviets refused to sign the Treaty of San Francisco and did not unilaterally end the state of war. Ultimately, the state of war was not formally ended until the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956,[9] 11 years later.
 Poland
vs
 Japan
World War II 1941 1945 1957 4 16 12 In December, 1941, the Polish government-in-exile declared war on Japan, but Japan rejected declaration of War. However, when it came to sign the Treaty of San Francisco, Poland, which was under Soviet occupation, did not sign the Treaty of San Francisco and did not unilaterally end the state of war. Ultimately, the state of war was not formally ended until 1957, when Japan concluded a separate peace treaty in order to establish diplomatic relations with the Polish People's Republic.[a][10][11]
UN Forces (led by United States)
vs
 Iraq
Gulf War 1991 1991 2003 1 13 12 The UN resolution which ended the first Gulf War only enacted a ceasefire. It did not end the state of war with Iraq.[12] The British Government would, 12 years later, use the de jure state of war with Iraq to provide the legal basis for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[13] Opponents of the Iraq War have criticised this interpretation, with one source labelling it as "legal gymnastics" (see Legality of the Iraq War).[14][15][16]

Disputed[edit]

Combatants Historical conflict Declaration of war De facto peace De jure peace De facto duration De jure duration De factode jure difference Status of claim
 United States
vs
 Germany
World War II 1941 1945 1951 4 10 6 The state of war between the United States and Germany was terminated on 19 October 1951.[17]
The Allies

vs Nazi Germany Germany

World War II 1939 1945 1990 6 51 45 Since Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, no formal peace agreement was signed, therefore meaning that no unified German government was able to make peace with the Allies until the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany was signed by the Allies.

Symbolic peace agreements[edit]

Combatants Historical conflict Declaration of war De facto peace De jure peace De facto duration De jure duration De facto - de jure difference Status of claim
Greece
vs
Persia
Greco-Persian Wars 499 BC 449 BC 1902 50 2403 2353 Greece and Persia may or not have formed a peace treaty in antiquity but if they did neither nation knew of it when Greece re-appeared on the map.[18]
Rome
vs
Carthage
Third Punic War 149 BC 146 BC 1985 4 2134 2130 Ancient Rome and Ancient Carthage never signed a peace treaty after the Romans seized and completely destroyed the city of Carthage in 146 BC and enslaved its entire surviving population, leaving no entity with which to make peace. In 1985 the mayors of modern Rome and Carthage municipality signed a peace treaty and accompanying pact of friendship.[19]
Sparta
vs
Athens
Peloponnesian War 431 BC 404 BC 1996 28 2427 2399 The mayors of modern-day Athens and Sparta signed a symbolic agreement to end the war in 1996.[20][21] By then, the two cities had been part of modern-day Greece for over a century.
Berwick-upon-Tweed
vs
Russia
Crimean War 1853 1856 1966 4 114 110 Local custom in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed states that when the United Kingdom declared war on the Russian Empire that the town was included in the declaration of war, but was left out of the peace treaty. Although research concluded that they had never been included in either,[22] a peace treaty was nonetheless allegedly signed between Robert Knox and an unnamed Soviet official.[23] However, Jim Herbert of the Berwick Borough Museum said in 2006 that contemporary newspaper reports did not confirm that a treaty had been signed, nor could Knox's remark to the Soviet official who was said to have attended the signing, "Tell the Russians they can sleep easy in their beds", be verified.[23]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The Polish government-in-exile never recognized the peace treaty and remained in a technical state of war with Japan until it disbanded on 31 December 1991, following the fall of communism in Poland.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Britain: Peace In Our Time". Time. 28 April 1986. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008.
  2. ^ "Famous moments and visits".
  3. ^ "Ministry of foreign affairs of Denmark".
  4. ^ "Huéscar. Efemérides en la comarca de Huéscar. Visitas ilustres".
  5. ^ "Montenegro, Japan to declare truce". United Press International.
  6. ^ http://slavicchronicles.com/history/the-102-year-war-between-montenegro-and-japan/
  7. ^ United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (1919). Treaty of peace with Germany: Hearings before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, sixty-sixth Congress, first session on the Treaty of peace with Germany, signed at Versailles on June 28, 1919, and submitted to the Senate on July 10, 1919. Government Printing Office. pp. 206–209. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  8. ^ "11 Wars That Lasted Way Longer Than They Should Have". Mental Floss. 11 June 2012.
  9. ^ Texts of Soviet–Japanese Statements; Peace Declaration Trade Protocol. New York Times, page 2, October 20, 1956. Subtitle: "Moscow, October 19. (UP) – Following are the texts of a Soviet–Japanese peace declaration and of a trade protocol between the two countries, signed here today, in unofficial translation from the Russian". Quote: "The state of war between the U.S.S.R. and Japan ends on the day the present declaration enters into force [...]"
  10. ^ https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/strangest-war-in-history-seventy-one-years-ago-today-poland-declared-war-on-its-old-friend-japan---and-it-lasted-for-16-years-3723
  11. ^ https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/remember-when-poland-declared-war-on-japan-and-it-lasted-16-years.html
  12. ^ Goldsmith, Peter (17 March 2003). "A case for war". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  13. ^ Morrison, David (28 October 2015). "Was Britain's military action in Iraq legal?". Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  14. ^ Oborne, Peter (31 October 2015). "Peter Oborne's unofficial Chilcot Inquiry into Iraq war".
  15. ^ Wilmshurst, Elizabeth (24 March 2005). "Wilmshurst resignation letter". Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  16. ^ "Clegg clarifies stance after saying Iraq war 'illegal'". 21 July 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  17. ^ "TERMINATION OF THE STATE OF WAR WITH GERMANY | Harry S. Truman". www.trumanlibrary.gov. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  18. ^ [1]", Business Insider, 10 December 2015.
  19. ^ "'Better Late Than Never' Category: Rome, Carthage Finally Make Peace". Los Angeles Times. Reuters. 20 January 1985. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  20. ^ "Sparta & Athens". NPR. 12 March 1996. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  21. ^ "Athens, Sparta sign peace pact". United Press International. 12 March 1996. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  22. ^ Strochlic, Nina (26 February 2015). "Berwick-upon-Tweed, the British Town at War With Russia". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  23. ^ a b Graham, Spicer (24 July 2006). "Myth Or Reality? Berwick Revisits Its 'War With Russia'". Culture 24. Archived from the original on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2009.