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Name the War Quiz

Based on the combatants and the years, name the war (or series of wars).
One of these wars is apocryphal
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: August 27, 2018
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First submittedMarch 16, 2010
Times taken176,843
Average score56.3%
Rating4.28
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Belligerents
When
War
Allies vs. Central Powers
1914–1918
World War I
Allies vs. Axis
1939–1945
World War II
North vs. South
1861–1865
American Civil War
Lancaster vs. York
1455–1485
War of the Roses
Athens vs. Sparta
431–404 BC
Peloponnesian War
Troy vs. Greece
circa 1,200 BC
Trojan War
England vs. France
1337–1453
Hundred Years War
USA vs. British Empire
1812–1815
War of 1812
Argentina vs. United Kingdom
1982
Falklands War
Spain vs. USA
1898
Spanish American War
Russia vs. British, French and Ottomans
1853–1856
Crimean War
Rome vs. Carthage
264–146 BC
Punic Wars
US coalition vs. Iraq
1990–1991
Persian Gulf War
Israel vs. Many Arab Countries
1967
Six-Day War
Israel vs. Many Arab Countries
1973
Yom Kippur War
France vs. Most of Europe
1803–1815
Napoleonic Wars
+2
Level 33
May 24, 2013
Good quiz. Most places the US vs Britain is known as the American War of Independence or Revolutionary War.
+25
Level 59
May 24, 2013
I think you have your dates wrong, the american war of independence started in 1775 finishing in 83, whereas the war of 1812 as the name suggests started in 1812, it was fought between both the US and Britain, but it was largely just a backdrop to the Napoleonic wars happening in Europe at the time.
+11
Level 45
May 24, 2013
Maybe the Europeans saw it as a backdrop. Here in America, it was a very big deal. There were hopes of conquering Canada, and there were fears of losing our independence. 200 years later, we still sing a song about it as our national anthem.
+7
Level 33
May 24, 2013
Oh yeah, my bad. Both were pretty minor wars in the grand scheme of things though.
+16
Level 82
May 27, 2013
I wouldn't call the Revolutionary War minor at all. It was the beginning of the end for the British Empire, and the beginning of the United States of America. Two superpowers that completely dominated the world through most of the past 300 years. The beginning of the transition of the core of Western civilization from the old world to the new. With 100,000 or so casualties on all sides, the scale of the war was massive next to many others that make this list. If you consider it a minor war then it's puzzling why you'd even bother taking a quiz on wars at all. There are probably only a handful you'd consider noteworthy.

On the other hand, the War of 1812 was, indeed, pretty trivial. Though it is an interesting footnote to history that a lot of people don't know about, and again, if you're taking a quiz on wars then it's not beneath mentioning or knowing about. Certainly as significant as the Falklands Wars, Yom Kippur War, Trojan War, etc.

+1
Level 92
May 29, 2013
@kalbahamut, I think Ozchris may have been referring to 1812 and the Napoleonic wars in his 'both'. Again, not sure if I agree with the classification, but...
+12
Level 33
Jun 22, 2013
No, I was referring to the War of Independence as a minor war. In terms of amount of people fighting - definitely. It certainly doesn't compare to the Napoleonic wars. I guess it's affect on history gives it greater weight.
+1
Level 37
Jun 11, 2014
The War of 1812 was not minor or trivial--the British burned Washington D.C. to the ground. I don't call that minor.
+1
Level 45
Aug 6, 2014
Well, Erikthev, that would depend on whether or not Obama was inside at the time...
+1
Level 30
Dec 18, 2014
.. Is there no such thing as respect for the leader of our country? He is a person, as we all are, and does have his flaws (Your political views notwithstanding)..
+7
Level 33
Sep 13, 2016
@kalbahamut, revolutionary war by no means beginning of an end for British empire. Nevertheless, the empire started its rising after this war, and was at its height until First World War.
+6
Level 82
Sep 30, 2016
I know, I know... you oversensitive little children can't take ANY comment that could possibly be construed to mean that the USA, symbol of all the reaons why your own countries are presently irrelevant, is in any way important. My fault for not being careful to not hurt your fragile egos. But I was not saying that the USA dominated the British Empire or began to eclipse its former master during the Revolution. That didn't happen until the 20th century. But it WAS the beginning of a series of events that led to the end of the Empire. And it was the first time a country gained independence from Britain. If you believe that losing the enormously lucrative colonies in North America that became the United States was not a significant blow, YOU are ignorant of history. Many historians even divide the British Empire into "first" and "second" empires, with the first ending at the American Revolution. The "second" empire remained strong through the World Wars after which point it collapsed.
+2
Level 68
Jun 29, 2023
Mate SHUT TF UP ALREADY
+12
Level 75
Jun 5, 2017
So a war for independence that ended 101 years before the Berlin Conference was the beginning of the end of the British Empire. Interesting. I guess we could also say that Eve ate the apple and the rest was history.
+3
Level 82
Mar 28, 2018
Sure, you could say that, if you're the sort of person who is so staggeringly brilliant that you believe "beginning" and "end" are synonyms. And if you think that nothing that ever happens takes more than 30 seconds to unfold. I'm just flat out flabbergasted by how amazingly intelligent and sophisticated some of you people are. The depth of understanding in your comments leaves me speechless. Thank you, tshalla, for your ingenious perspective on this.
+2
Level 82
Oct 9, 2018
It was different, it was English people declaring independence from the mother country. By and large English public opinion has always been on the side of the American project. The empire continued to grow long after American independence. It was the world wars that broke the empire, and rightly so, dreadful way to carry on. We could no longer compete with American and Russian imperial ambitions, we were dead broke.
+1
Level 82
Oct 9, 2018
Again, "beginning of the end" does not mean "the end." The American colonies were a very significant part of the British Empire. Losing them was huge. And it was also the first time they had lost any colonies. Other losses would follow over the next 150 years, culminating in the end of an empire that had lasted for over 400.

If the American Empire falls, we might say that the beginning of the end was sometime in the 1980s when the country's democratic institutions started being auctioned off to corporations. But in all likelihood even if that happens the country will remain powerful and influential for at least another 50 + years. That doesn't mean you can't look back and figure out when events were set in motion that eventually led to a decline.

+2
Level 64
Aug 20, 2019
Before that war the English had already lost colonies to the Dutch and other countries, some were regained later others not.
+1
Level 82
Sep 18, 2019
I meant lost in the sense that they had declared independence, not just changed hands to another colonial power.
+6
Level 76
Oct 16, 2020
Please be sensitive, guys. A lot of Americans can't cope with being told that the US war of independence wasn't the biggest thing in the world for the British. It hurts their feelings.
+4
Level 82
Oct 16, 2020
Kahi: you're ridiculous.
+1
Level 89
Dec 18, 2020
Losing to the U.S. was more like losing an important player on the way to the Super Bowl.
+2
Level 39
Aug 3, 2021
the US war of independence was a major war on both sides it just was more major for Americans than it ever was for the British. the war of 1812 was really only major for America because the British were too busy with Napoleon.
+1
Level 82
Aug 17, 2021
of course the Revolutionary War was more major for the US than for the British Empire. But it still had enormous and profound implications for the British. Anyone saying otherwise simply doesn't know what they are talking about.

1812 was indeed fairly minor. Though it could have ended differently and if it had that would have had pretty major implications, as well. But it didn't.

+2
Level 77
Feb 9, 2022
Oh yeah, it was definitely a very minor war. The States basically threw a little hissy fit over some taxes, crossed a river and killed some Hessians, and made a clunky version of democracy. Of course, that was the beginning of the beginning of the end of world relevance for the United States.
+1
Level 36
Feb 7, 2024
That is A gross oversimplification but that is the gist of it.
+1
Level 62
Feb 9, 2022
Well, the most lasting impact in Britain of the War of Independence was probably that it enshrined parliamentary powers. To George III the war in the "colonies" was to have been the crowning achievement of his attempted power grab.

PS: when I went to school we still called the war of 1812 "Mr Madison's War" after the US president at the time.

+1
Level 82
Feb 9, 2022
That was not the most lasting impact the Revolutionary War had on Britain. Just going to remind myself that I'm not talking to any actual historians here.
+2
Level 71
Feb 9, 2022
Personally, I don't think it was the beginning of the end for the British Empire as a whole, which remained the dominant global power for more than a century. However, it was the end of the first wave of colonialism, based in the Americas, characterized by direct European colonization, mercantilism, raw resource extraction, etc. The imperialism that came in the 1800s was very different. Also, the American Revolution directly inspired Latin American independence, which finished off Spain and Portugal as world powers. So, while I wouldn't consider it an end for the British Empire, I'd say it led to a massive restructuring in European politics and how (and where) they administered their empires.

And, I'm surprised no one had mentioned this, but the American Revolution also influenced the French Revolution, the latter of which had massive implications. If America hadn't gained independence, I doubt it, or the Napoleonic Wars, would have even happened.

+1
Level 82
Feb 9, 2022
yes, that, and a lot of other things. It had massive, massive implications for Britain and for the world. Read a history book on the subject sometime. Seriously. Any of them. Written by serious historians of any nationality. The colonies were *hugely* profitable and important to the Empire. Their gaining independence was the first time in the history of European colonialism that this had happened. The repercussions were gigantic. This isn't a controversial opinion. Disagreeing with it doesn't mean you are disagreeing with me, personally. It puts you at odds with the established consensus. But, I know, that while when I'm commenting I'm concerned mostly about what's true and right, others do it for reasons other than that. Because I always think it's funny when other people accuse me of commenting out of vanity, or jingoism, or national pride, or political bias... and I just don't think about these things usually. But other people must or they wouldn't see them so often in others.
+1
Level 82
May 24, 2013
haha. Before the comments were deleted with the last update, I recall one of the first comments made the same point/mistake. Anyway, yes, definitely two completely different wars.
+3
Level 27
May 25, 2013
Yuk it's six days and I typed seven
+5
Level 82
May 27, 2013
They had to call it off on the seventh day because it was Shabbat.
+3
Level 75
Oct 9, 2018
I tried seven days, then five days, then gave up. Duh.
+8
Level 85
Aug 18, 2013
To say the War of 1812 was the USA vs British Empire is a bit of an exaggeration. At best there were few hundred British soldiers in Canada. A more accurate description would be USA vs Canadian militia and their Indian allies.
+6
Level 68
Nov 14, 2013
First, the Canadian militia were part of the British Empire, even though they did not wear the traditional red clothing. Second, Canada was not the only theater of the war. The most famous theater was the area of Washington/Baltimore, which had official Redcoats burn the White House. Thirdly, the Indians factored in only a small bit into the grand scheme of things. If you say that a few hundred soldiers can be ignored in Canada, then the Indians can also be set aside.
+4
Level 75
May 23, 2014
"In 1814 we took a little trip, along with Col. Jackson down the mighty Mississip'. We took a little bacon and we took a little beans, and we fought the bloody British in the town of New Orleans..."
+1
Level 82
Sep 30, 2016
^ yeah that's not even close to being accurate.
+1
Level 56
Apr 26, 2014
A couple of little corrections: it should be the Spanish-American War (with the hyphen) and the Hundred Years' War (with the apostrophe). Nice quiz, though!
+1
Level 33
May 8, 2014
What about the Cold War? Or the Vietnam War? I had a great uncle who fought in the rice patties during the Vietnam War, and now he won't eat a single bit of rice. If their is one piece of rice on his plate, he will send the whole meal back and have them cook it again. And what about the Revolutionary War?
+1
Level 48
May 20, 2014
That's kind of like my husband's thing with the pork chop MREs. Except you're very unlikely to get an MRE in a restaurant.
+1
Level 45
Aug 6, 2014
Poor him... rice is amazing!
+1
Level 36
Feb 7, 2024
The Cold war isn't a real war rather a power grab by to major powers to out compete them in power and influence.
+1
Level 51
Apr 16, 2015
I tried 100 year war and it didn't take it. :/ Also, for the life of me could not remember how many days the Six Day War was. lol
+2
Level 36
Dec 29, 2015
I tried "Antisemitic War" for both of the wars against Israel and it didn't work. I don't understand why, it must have been the case?!
+16
Level 74
Feb 21, 2016
Possibly because Arabs are Semites too?
+1
Level 30
Mar 28, 2018
Good point.. nowadays semitic has wrongly been used to describe Jews, while the semitic racial group covers a much larger group of people than that. We need a new term for anti-Jew... any suggestions?
+4
Level 46
Apr 26, 2018
How about racism?
+2
Level 46
May 11, 2021
but the jews aren't really a race are they?
+2
Level 36
Feb 7, 2024
They are a real race as Jewish people had Some physical differences than other Ethnic groups which allowed the Germans in WW2 differentiate them from other minorities. so Judaism might be the religion for Jewish there is an ethnic Jewish as well.
+4
Level 67
Feb 9, 2022
Whoopi Goldberg would like a word.
+3
Level 77
Feb 10, 2022
Antisemitism has always specifically referred only to racism against Jewish people. The term “Semitic” to refer to racial or ethnic groups of people is obsolete so it is inaccurate to say that Arabic people are Semitic (although linguists still sometimes refer to Semitic languages). Incidentally, Wilhelm Marr popularized the term “Antisemitism” to spread his hatred of Jews as a race. He did this because religious discrimination was becoming increasingly unpopular in academics during his time. This way, he used racial theory to justify his particular brand of racist Germanic supremacism. Also, the Jewish peoples aren’t a singular race, even if much of Europe saw Jews as a different race for centuries. Really, being Jewish is religious and ethnocultural primarily, but there is a correlation to particular races, and that depends on the Jewish population in question.
+1
Level 74
Mar 5, 2016
Couldn't remember how long the six-day war was, so I had to guess a bunch of numbers. Got 100%
+1
Level 51
Jul 26, 2016
It's in the name
+2
Level 66
May 20, 2019
But that is exactly the thing you have to guess..
+2
Level 51
Jul 26, 2016
Vietnam War? Korean War? even though this one isn't a war more tensions but the Cold Word?
+1
Level 16
Aug 26, 2017
I think it's mostly very old wars, those are more recent. The Cold War was not a war.
+4
Level 82
May 20, 2019
Gulf War more recent than any of those. The quiz is not intended to be comprehensive.
+2
Level 35
Aug 28, 2016
Great quiz but, where is the Korean War? or Vietnam? or US Revolution?
+4
Level 50
Feb 9, 2022
it doesn't say it'e every war ever, or American's favourite wars lol
+2
Level 43
Nov 6, 2016
World War I should also have the Great War as an acceptable answer as the term World War I did not become its name until after the start of World War II. Until then it was commonly referred to as the Great War
+2
Level 45
Feb 10, 2022
The Napoleonic Wars were also called the Great War in the 19th century, so Great War would not be specific to one question.
+6
Level 51
May 18, 2017
Israel is amazingly good at still existing, seeing as practically every country in the Middle East hates them. Not only that but once they beat their opposition in six days!
+4
Level 84
Oct 10, 2017
Friends in high places (the ones that really exist, aka the western powers).
+4
Level 51
Dec 7, 2017
Who didn't help in that war. In fact, they probably physically couldn't have gotten weapons production going before it ended!
+6
Level 30
Mar 28, 2018
It's not just that. It's their brilliantly militaristic mindset, their determination for their own homeland, their superior armory, their highly effective, highly efficient, highly-trained army.

And never forget, they are God's chosen people.

+1
Level 31
Apr 3, 2018
He's right you know.
+2
Level 82
Aug 18, 2019
had nothing to do with that.
+1
Level 68
May 26, 2017
How is the average only 8? I got 16 easily, and I'm more of a georaphy person than history.
+1
Level 22
Oct 10, 2017
Shoulda looked closer at the dates and I'd have got the hundred years war
+2
Level 55
Oct 10, 2017
Please accpet Troyan War for Trojan War
+4
Level 30
Mar 28, 2018
Noooo thats just wrong.
+1
Level 28
Oct 10, 2017
My site may be incorrect, but coming from wikipedia

Date 22 May 1455 – 16 June 1487

"Lancaster vs. York

1455-1485

War of the Roses"

made me think of the 30 years war, because the dates are off by 2 years, making it a 30-year gap. :3 Consider changing the date.

+1
Level 83
Jan 28, 2018
Firstly: what? Secondly: technically 1487 is right though: everyone always forgets the Battle of Stoke. (And I don't blame them tbh, it was a shambles.)
+2
Level 69
May 12, 2018
The Thirty Years war was almost 200 years later in Central Europe, between Catholics and Protestants (nominally)
+1
Level 67
Oct 9, 2018
This is also a super minor thing, and I may be mistaken, but because they're a series of wars I'm pretty sure they're commonly known as the "Wars of the Roses" over this time span (though I think it makes sense to accept "War of the Roses" still, or you could always change it to the Kathleen Turner movie!)
+1
Level 68
Mar 28, 2018
Some people know the War of the Roses as the Cousins War.
+8
Level 71
May 12, 2018
But not many.
+4
Level 69
Apr 1, 2018
Please accept Great War as alternative for World War I. For 25 years, this is all it was know as and it is still often referred to as such, depending on context.
+1
Level 31
Apr 3, 2018
Seconded. It is called that in so many textbooks etc. Could accept October War for Yom Kippur War too.

Don't worry about calling it the War of Southron Independence though;)

+1
Level 63
Apr 26, 2018
NO!!! I put the 7 days war! :(
+1
Level 63
Jul 13, 2018
Would you accept War Between the States for American Civil War.
+2
Level 52
Jan 19, 2021
Must have been pretty hard to fight only on state borders!
+3
Level 72
Oct 9, 2018
Many southerners call the American Civil War "The War Between the States."
+1
Level 63
Oct 11, 2018
Yes, please accept that.
+1
Level 31
Oct 9, 2018
I put english civil war which I think should be accepted
+7
Level 38
Oct 9, 2018
The war most remembered as the English Civil War is the war of 1642-1651 (Cromwell vs. the Royalists).
+2
Level 46
Aug 20, 2019
Where's the Boer War???
+6
Level 82
Mar 18, 2020
Too boering to mention.
+3
Level 66
Sep 18, 2019
We must add the Great Emu War.
+1
Level 43
Feb 1, 2020
One of the only wars that fascinates me is the Crimean War. No idea why... it just does.
+1
Level 57
Jan 16, 2021
We never even heard of a whisper of it in American schools, mostly because the American Civil war overshadowed that entire period of time in USA, but its super interesting to learn about now
+1
Level 31
Mar 23, 2020
Please accept the June War for the six days war - this is a common name for it
+1
Level 45
Mar 29, 2020
I thought the 6 day war was the 7 day war :/
+1
Level 51
May 4, 2020
I cannot believe only a quarter of the takers got the Yom Kippur War.
+1
Level 64
Feb 9, 2022
Hard to spell it
+1
Level 76
Oct 16, 2020
The 1990-1991 war should be the 'Second Gulf War'. That's what it was called at the time, because the term 'gulf war' has already been taken for the 8-year-long war between Iran and Iraq than ended only two years earlier.
+3
Level 13
Oct 23, 2020
The most difficult part is that in my native language these wars are spelled differently or they are just named different. Somehow it's "Troy" and it's "Trojan War" and not "Troyan". Quiz didn't count "Troyan", maybe just adjective from "Troy" is spelled with a "J" and not the "Y".

I also forgot how exactly was "Yom Kippur War" called, I knew how it sound, like "Kippur something" but couldn't remind it. Also I knew about Athens vs. Sparta but as well, I forgot how was it called, and probably I would have difficulties with spelling. Well I ended with 8/16 haha.

Overall good quiz. 4/5

+3
Level 57
Dec 3, 2020
I mean, you are taking the quiz in English, are you not?
+3
Level 77
Feb 9, 2022
He doesn’t seem to be complaining, but just sharing his experience.
+3
Level 56
Jun 9, 2021
Petition to add the Emu War and the Football War?
+1
Level 57
Jul 7, 2021
And the Evelyn War
+2
Level 58
Jan 19, 2022
Can ramadan war be accepted for yom kippur?
+1
Level 76
Feb 9, 2022
allow pelopponese? if nothing else i want credit for writing it all out correctly
+1
Level 63
Feb 9, 2022
I believe the North vs South hint could be misleading, it could easily be interpreted as the Vietnam or Korean wars.
+4
Level 53
Feb 10, 2022
The dates are shown to avoid such misjudgments. Otherwise hints such as France vs. Britain could also go down under 1000 different wars without the dates given to specify that it was the 100 Years' War.
+1
Level 69
Feb 9, 2022
I can't believe I pulled Peloponnesian War out of my distant memory
+1
Level 53
Feb 10, 2022
I know I'm not the only person that knew the answer to Athens vs. Sparta but couldn't spell it to save my life.
+1
Level 64
Feb 11, 2022
Coalition Wars for the last one?
+1
Level 67
Mar 19, 2022
Great Quiz! Try adding the Korean War, Vietnam War, or the American or French Revolution
+1
Level 32
Apr 6, 2022
You should add the Seven Years' War, as it is largely considered to be the first global war.
+1
Level 40
Apr 22, 2022
I said 7 day war… :(
+1
Level 37
Apr 29, 2022
WOW, am I slow... Only just occurred to me that Napoleon and Hitler's reign were each only 12 years long.
+1
Level 48
Apr 29, 2022
I must have typed "Troyan wars" a dozen times. Forgot the spelling.
+1
Level 54
Jun 16, 2022
Much improved. I like it now -- re-rated.
+1
Level 20
Jun 23, 2023
13/16 :)
+1
Level 61
Jul 26, 2023
Accept Coalition wars for the last one?
+1
Level 62
Aug 25, 2023
"Malvinas war" should be admitted as an option in the falkland question
+1
Level 31
Mar 25, 2024
Can you add Crimea as a possible answer for the Crimean War?
+1
Level 45
Mar 28, 2024
Love the Edwin Starr quote in the description! :). Made me smile as always Quizmaster.