Wars Fought in Europe Timeline 499 BCE-Present Day

Wars in EuropeThis timeline details the main wars that have taken place in Europe excluding the Balkans and Russia

 

499 BCE to 449 BCE
Greco-Persian Wars
Fought between: Greek City States against Persian Empire
Location: Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Aegean
Result: Greek victory
431 BCE to 404 BCE
Peloponnesian War
Fought between: Athens against Sparta
Location: Greece, Sicily, Asia Minor
Result: Peloponnesian victory
395 BCE to 387 BCE
Corinthian War
Fought between: Athens against Sparta
Location: Greece, Aegean Sea
Result: Inconclusive
335 BCE to 323 BCE
Wars of Alexander the Great
Fought between: Macedon against Persian Empire, Greek City States, Ilyria, Thrace
Location: Balkan Region, Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Holy Lands, Egypt, Turkey, Afghanistan
Result: Alexander’s Empire expanded
280 BCE to 275 BCE
Pyrrhic War
Fought between: Rome, Carthage against Greece
Location: South Italy, Sicily
Result: Roman Victory in Italy, Carthaginian victory in Sicily
264 BCE to 241 BCE
First Punic War
Fought between: Rome against Carthage
Location: North Africa, Italy, Mediterranean
Result: Roman Victory
218 BCE to 201 BCE
Second Punic War/Hannibalic War
Fought between: Rome against Carthage
Location: Western Mediterranean
Result: Roman Victory
205 BCE to 200 BCE
Cretan War
Fought between: Macedon, Aetolian League, Cretan Cities against Rhodes, Byzantium, Athens
Location: Crete, Rhodes, Greece, Aegean Sea
Rhodes alliance victory
191 BCE to 189 BCE
Aetolian War
Fought between: Rome against Aetolian League
Location: Aetolia (north Greece), Greece
Result: Roman victory
149 BCE to 146 BCE
Third Punic War
Fought between: Rome against Carthage
Location: Carthage (Tunisia)
Result: Roman Victory
113 BCE to 101 BCE
Cimbrian War
Fought between: Rome against Germanic Tribes
Location: Europe
Result: Roman victory
88 BCE to 84 BCE
First Mithridatic War
Fought between: Rome against Pontus
Location: Achaea, Greece, Aegean Sea
Result: Roman Victory
83 BCE to 81 BCE
Second Mithridatic War
Fought between: Rome against Pontus
Location: Anatolia (Turkey)
Result: Inconclusive
75 BCE to 63 BCE
Third Mithridatic War
Fought between: Rome against Pontus
Location: Anatolia (Turkey)
Result: Roman victory
66 BCE to 217 CE
Roman-Parthian War
Fought between: Roman Republic/Empire against Parthian Empire
Location: Anatolia (Turkey), Armenia, Syria, Judea, Mesopotamia
Result: Stalemate
58 BCE to 50 BCE
Gallic Wars
Fought between: Roman Empire against Gaul (France, Belgium)
Location: Gaul (France, Belgium)
Result: Roman victory
49 BCE, January to 45 BCE, 17th March
Caesar’s War
Fought between: Julius Caesar against Pompey Magnus
Location: Italy, Greece
Result: Victory for Julius Caesar
44 BCE to 36 BCE
Roman Civil War/Sicilian revolt
Fought between: Marc Antony and Octavian against Sextus Pompey
Location: Sicily
Result: Victory for Marc Antony and Octavian
41 BCE to 40 BCE
Perusine War/Fulvia’s Civil War

Fought between: Roman Republic under Octavian against Fulvia, Lucius Antonius
Location: Rome, Perusia

43 to 77 CE
Fought between: Roman Empire against Britain
Location: Britain
Result: The Romans conquered Britain.
c60 to c61 CE
Fought between: Britons led by Boudicca of the Iceni Tribe and the Roman Empire
Location: England
The Iceni were defeated and Boudicca died.
66 to 136
66 to 136 CE
Jewish-Roman War
Fought between: The Roman Empire against Judea and Jewish rebels
Location: Judea (Israel), Egypt, Cyprus, Mesopotamia (Iraq)
Result: Roman victory, Jerusalem occupied, many Jews exiled.
June 68 to December 69 CE
Roman Civil War/Year of the Four Emperors
Fought between: Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian who each became Emperor
Location: Roman Empire
Result: Vespasian emerged victorious and was Emperor until 79.
86 to 88
86 to 88 CE
Domitian’s Dacian War
Fought between: The Roman Empire against The Dacian Kingdom
Moesia (Serbia), Dacia (Romania)
Result: The Romans drove the Dacians out of Moesia
101 to 102 CE
First Dacian War
Fought between: Roman Empire against Dacian Kingdom
Location: Dacia (Romania)
Result: Rome gained land near the River Danube.
105 to 106 CE
Second Dacian War
Fought between: The Roman Empire against The Dacian Kingdom
Location: Dacia (Romania)
Result: Rome gained land in Dacia.
115 to 117 CE
Kitos War/Second Jewish-Roman War
Fought between: The Roman Empire against Cypriot Jews
Location: Crete, Cyrenaica (northern Libya), Cyprus, Egypt, Judea (Israel), Mesopotamia (Iraq)
Result: Roman victory but little changed
166 to 180 CE
Marcomannic Wars (Part of the Germanic Wars)
Fought between: The Roman Empire against Germanic and Sarmatian Tribes
Location: River Danube (which marked the northern edge of the Empire)
Result: Roman victory, the tribes were forced to accept terms.
235 to 284 CE
Crisis of the Third Century/Military Anarchy/Imperial Crisis
Fought between: The Roman Empire against Roman Military, Visigoths and Vandals
Location: Throughout the Roman Empire
Result: The Roman Empire was in crisis for much of the century as factions warred against each other.
376 to 382
First Gothic War (Part of the Germanic Wars)
Fought between: The Roman Empire against The Goths
Location: The Balkans
Result: The Goths became nominal subjects of the Roman Empire.
402 to 403
Second Gothic War (Part of the Germanic Wars)
Fought between: Roman Empire against Visigoths
Location: Italy
Result: The Goths were defeated at Verona but the Visigoths received a large subsidy from Rome
526 to 532
Iberian War (Part of the Roman-Persian Wars)
Fought between: Byzantine Empire against Sassanid Persian Empire
Location: South Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan), Upper Mesopotamia (Syria, Turkey)
Result: Persian victory
535 to 554
Gothic War (Part of the Germanic Wars)
Fought between: Byzantine Empire against Franks, Ostrogoths
Location: Italy, Dalmatia (Croatia)
Result: Roman victory but short-lived
c.600 to 793
Frisian–Frankish wars
Fought between: Frankish Empire against Frisian Kingdom (Netherlands)
Location: Netherlands, France
Result: The Franks subdued the Frisians
772 to 851
The Wars of Charlemagne/Saxon Wars
Fought between: Frankish Empire against Saxons
Location: Saxony (Germany), Polabian Slav territories (Eastern Germany), Frisia (Netherlands), Austrasia (Belgium, Netherlands)
Result: Frankish victory
899 to 933
The Magyar Wars
Fought between: Magyar Kingdom against Lombardy, Germany
Location: Saxony, Lombardy (Germany)
Result: Defeat for the Magyars
1066, September to 1072
Fought between: Normans against Anglo Saxons
Location: England
Result: Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson was killed at the Battle of Hastings, William of Normandy took the country and was crowned King on 25th December 1066.
June 1215 to 11th September 1217
First Barons’ War
Fought between: English Barons led by Robert Fitzwalter, supported by France and Scotland against King John of England
Location: England
Result: Royal victory and the removal of the French from England.
1236 to 1242
Mongol Invasion of Europe (Part of the Mongol Conquests)
Fought between: Mongol Empire and Genghis Khan against Russia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Polish States
Location: Eastern Europe
parts of Eastern Europe became vassal states of the Mongols
Spring 1264 to 16th September 1265
The Second Barons’ War
Fought between: English Barons led by Simon de Montfort against Henry III, King of England
Location: England
Result: Barons had some early victories but were eventually defeated by the Crown forces.
March 1296 to 1st May 1328
First War of Scottish Independence
Fought between: Scotland against England
Location: Scotland, Ireland, Northern England
Result: Scotland maintained independence, English were victorious in Ireland
April 1333 to 3rd October 1357
Second War of Scottish Independence
Fought between: Scotland against England
Location: Scotland and England
Result: Scottish victory
10th November 1337 17th July 1453
Hundred Years’ War
Fought between: England and Burgundy against France and Scotland
Location: England, Flanders, France, Spain
Result: England lost all possessions in France apart from Calais.
Autumn 1400 to Autumn 1415
Owain Glyndwr’s Rebellion (Welsh Revolt)
Fought between: Welsh against English
Location: Wales
Result: English Victory
30th July 1419 to 30th May 1434
Hussite Wars (Bohemian Wars)
Fought between: Hussites against Papal States, Hungary, Holy Roman Empire
Location: Bohemia (Czechia)
Result: Hussites defeated
1455, 22nd May to 1487, 16th June
Fought between House of York (England) against House of Lancaster (England)
Location: England, Ireland, Wales
Result: Lancastrian victory
October 1494 to 7th April 1498
Italian War of 1494-98
Fought between: France against League of Venice (Venice, Naples, Papal States, Spain, Milan, Florence, England)
Location: Italy
Result: League of Venice victory
1499 to 22nd September 1504
Italian War of 1499-1505
Fought between: France, Papal States, Venice against Spain, Milan, Naples
Location: Italy
Result: Spanish victory
10th December 1508 to August 1516
War of the League of Cambrai
Fought between: Papal States, France, Holy Roman Empire, Spain against Venice (1508 – 1510)
Fought between: France, Duchy of Ferrara against Papal States, Venice (1510 – 1511)
Fought between: France, Duchy of Ferrara, Florence, Scotland against Papal States, Venice, Spain, England, Holy Roman Empire, Swiss Confederacy (1511 – 1513)
Fought between: France, Duchy of Ferrara, Venice against Papal States, Spain, England, Holy Roman Empire, Swiss Confederacy, Milan (1513 – 1516)
Location: England, France, Italy, Spain
Result: Victory for France and Venice
May 1521 to 6th September 1566
Wars of Suleiman the Magnificent
Fought between: Ottoman Empire against Hapsburg Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Persia
Location: Hungary, Persia (Iran), Iraq, Moldova
Result: Expansion of the Ottoman Empire
Summer 1521 to Spring 1526
Italian Wars of 1521-26 (Four Years War)
Fought between: France, Venice against Spanish Empire, Holy Roman Empire, England, Papal States
Location: Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands
Result: French defeat, Francis I captured by Charles V
Summer 1526 to 15th August 1530
War of the League of Cognac
Fought between: France, Venice, Florence, Milan, Papal States, England against Spanish Empire, Holy Roman Empire
Location: Italy:
Result: Hapsburg victory, Treaty of Cambrai
March 1562 to April 1598
French Wars of Religion
Fought between: Protestants, Huguenots and England against Catholics, Catholic League, Spain
Location: France
Result: Edict of Nantes gave rights to Huguenots
Autumn 1568 to January 1648
The Dutch Revolt (Eighty Years War)
Fought between: Dutch Republicans, England, France, Nassau against Spanish Empire, Holy Roman Empire
Location: Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands
Result: The Dutch gained independence
1570 to 7th March 1573
Fifth Ottoman-Venetian War (War of Cyprus)
Fought between: Ottoman Empire against Venice, Spain, Italian States
Location: Cyprus, Ionian Sea, Aegean Sea
Result: Ottoman victory
February 1587 to 18th August 1604
Anglo-Spanish War
Fought between: England, Dutch Republic, France against Spanish Empire
Location: Atlantic Ocean, France, Spain, Netherlands, England
Result: Treaty of London restored the status quo
23rd May 1618 to 15th May 1648
Thirty Years War
Fought between: Protestant Forces (Sweden, France, Dutch, German States) against Catholic Forces (Holy Roman Empire, Spanish Empire, Hungary, Croatia)
Location: Germany and its border countries
Result: Peace of Westphalia
22nd August 1642 May 1646
Fought between: English Royalists against English Parliamentarians
Location: England
Parliamentarian victory
Spring 1648 to January 1649
Fought between: English Royalists against English Parliamentarians
Location: England
Result: Parliamentarian victory, King Charles I executed
February 1649 to 3rd September 1651
Third English Civil War
Fought between: English Royalists against English Parliamentarians
Location: England and Scotland
Result: Parliamentarian victory, Charles II escaped, Scotland governed by England
May 1672 to August 1678
Franco-Dutch War (Dutch War)
Fought between: France, England, Sweden against Dutch Republic, Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Denmark, Norway
Location: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Italy, Catalonia, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea
Result: Treaty of Nijmegen, territorial changes on both sides
26th October 1683 to 15th October 1684,
War of the Reunions
Fought between: France against Spanish Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Genoa
Location: Spanish Netherlands, Spain, Genoa
Result: Truce of Ratisbon – France gained land
September 1688 to September 1697
War of the Grand Alliance (Nine Years War)
Fought between: Dutch Republic, England, Holy Roman Empire, Scotland (non Jacobite), Spain, Sweden against France, Jacobite Scotland and Ireland
Location: French border countries, Scotland, Ireland, North America
Result: Treaty of Ryswick – territorial changes
12th March 1689 to 3rd October 1691
Williamite War in Ireland (Part of the War of the Grand Alliance)
Fought between: England, Scotland (non Jacobite), Dutch Republic against France, Irish Jacobites
Location: Ireland
Victory for King William III.
16th April 1689 to Spring 1692
Jacobite Uprising (Part of the War of the Grand Alliance)
Fought between: England, Scotland (non Jacobite), Dutch Republic against France, Scottish Jacobites
Location: Scotland
Jacobites defeated
February 1700 to August 1721
Great Northern War
Fought between: Swedish Empire against Russia
Location: Europe
Result: Russian Victory, fall of Swedish Empire
Autumn 1701 to March 1714
War of the Spanish Succession
Fought between: Spanish loyal to Charles VI, Austria, Prussia, Hanover, Great Britain and Dutch Republic against Spanish loyal to Philip V, France, Bavaria
Location: Europe, North America, India, West Africa, East Indies
Result: Treaty of Utrecht, Philip became King of Spain but renounced claims to the French throne.
Autumn 1733 to 18th November 1738
War of Polish Succession
Fought between: Polish supporters of Stanisław I Leszczyński, France. Spain, Sardinia, Parma against Polish supporters of Augustus III, Russian Empire, Hapsburg Empire, Saxony, Prussia
Location: Poland, Italy, Rhineland
Result: Treaty of Vienna, Augustus III became King
December 1740 to 11th June 1742
First Silesian War (Part of the War of Austrian Succession)
Fought between: Hapsburg Empire against Prussia
Location: Silesia, Moravia, Bohemia
Result: Prussian Victory, Prussia gained Silesia
April 1744 to 25th December 1745
Second Silesian War (Part of the War of Austrian Succession)
Fought between: Hapsburg Empire against Prussia
Location: Silesia, Bohemia, Upper Saxony
Result: Prussian Victory
Summer 1745 to 16th April 1746
Jacobite Uprising (The Forty-Five)
Fought between: Great Britain against Jacobites, France
Location: Scotland, England
Result: Jacobites defeated at Battle of Culloden
Summer 1756 to 10th February 1763
Seven Years War (Third Silesian War)
Fought between: Great Britain, Prussia, Hanover Brunswick against France, Austria, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Saxony, Mughal Empire
Location: Europe, Caribbean, North America, India, Philippines
Result: Anglo-Prussian victory
17th September 1757 to 22nd May 1762
Pomeranian War (Part of the Seven Years War)
Fought between: Prussia against Sweden
Location: Pomerania, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Result: Prussian victory
Spring 1787 to January 1792
Austro-Turkish War
Fought between: Austrian Empire against Ottoman Empire
Location: Eastern Europe
Result: Treaty of Sistova, Austria agreed not to expand into Ottoman lands
Spring 1787 to January 1792
Second Russo-Turkish War
Fought between: Russian Empire against Ottoman Empire
Location: Eastern Europe
Result: Russian Victory
14th July 1789 to November 1799
Fought between: French Royalists against French Republicans
Location: France
Result: Republican victory, monarchy overthrown
17th April 1792 to October 1797
War of the First Coalition (French Revolutionary Wars) (Precursor to the Napoleonic Wars)
Fought between: France against Austria, Prussia, Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Naples, Sicily
Location: Europe, Caribbean
Result: French victory
late 1799 to 25th March 1802
War of the Second Coalition (Part of the Napoleonic Wars)
Fought between: France against Austria, Russia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Portugal, Naples
Location: Europe, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Middle East
Result: French victory
May 1803 to October 1806
War of the Third Coalition (Part of the Napoleonic Wars)
Fought between: France against United Kingdom, Russia, Holy Roman Empire, Sweden
Location: Central Europe, Italy, Atlantic
Result: French victory
October 1806 to July 1807
War of the Fourth Coalition (Part of the Napoleonic Wars)
Fought between: France against Prussia, United Kingdom, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, Sicily
Location: Central Europe, Wallachia, Moldavia
Result: French victory
2nd May 1808 to 17th April 1814
Peninsular War (Part of the Napoleonic Wars)
Fought between: France against Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom
Location: Iberian peninsula
Result: French defeat
10th April 1809 to 14th October 1809
War of the Fifth Coalition (Part of the Napoleonic Wars)
Fought between: France against Austria, United Kingdom, Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, Brunswick
Location: Central Europe, Netherlands
Result: French victory
January 1812 to April 1814
War of the Sixth Coalition (Part of the Napoleonic Wars)
Fought between: France against Austria, Prussia, Russia, United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily
Location: Central Europe, Eastern Europe, France
Result: French defeat
23rd March 1848 to March 24th 1849
First Italian War of Independence
Fought between: Sardinia, Tuscany against Austria
Location: Northern Italy
Result: Austrian victory
October 1853 to February 1856
Fought between: British, French, Turkish against Russia
Location: Crimean Peninsula, Balkans, Black Sea
Result: Russian defeat
29th April 1859 to 11th July 1859
Second War of Italian Independence
Fought between: France, Sardinia against Austria
Location: Northern Italy
Result: Austrian defeat
14th June 1866 to 23rd August 1866
Austro-Prussian War (Seven Weeks’ War)
Fought between: Austrian Empire against Prussia
Location: Bohemia (Czech Republic), Germany, Italy
Result: Prussian victory
16th June 1866 to 3rd October 1866
Third War of Italian Independence
Fought between: Italy against Austria
Location: Northern Italy
Result: Italian victory
19th July 1870 to 10th May 1871
Franco-Prussian War
Fought between: France against Prussia, North German Confederation
Location: Prussia, France
Result: German victory, Germany unified
1914, 28th July to 1918, 11th November
Fought between: Central Powers – Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria against Allies (Entente) – British Empire, France, Russia
Location: Europe, Africa, Middle East, Pacific, Atlantic Ocean
Result: Allied Victory
1918, May to 1920, November
Russian Civil War
Fought between: Red Bolsheviks against White Tsarist
Location: Russian Empire
Result: Bolshevik victory
1920, 7th May to 1920, 12th October
Polish-Soviet War
Fought between: Soviet Union against Poland
Location: Central Europe
Result: Polish victory
1936, 17th July to 1939, 1st April
Spanish Civil War
Fought between: Spanish Nationalists against Spanish Republicans
Location: Spain
Result: Spanish Nationalist victory,
1939, 1st September to 1945, 2nd September (war in Europe ended 1945, 8th May)
World War II  – War in Europe
Axis Powers – Germany, Italy against Allies – United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Norway, Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia
Location: Europe
Result: Allied victory
1946, 30th March to 1949, 16th October
Greek Civil War
Fought between: Greek Government against Greek Communists
Location: Greece
Result: Greek Government victory
1988, 1st March to 1999, 10th June
Kosovo War
Fought between: Kosovo, Albania, Croatia, NATO against Yugoslavia
Location: Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Albania
Result: Yugoslav troops withdrew from Kosovo
1991, 31st March to 1995, 12th November
Croatian War of Independence
Fought between: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina against Yugoslavia, Serbs
Location: Croatia
Result: Croatian victory
1991, 27th June to 1991, 7th July
The Ten Day War
Fought between: Slovenia against Yugoslavia
Location: Slovenia
Result: Slovenian victory
1992, 1st March to 1995, 14th December
Bosnian War
Fought between: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, NATO against Yugoslavia
Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Result: Stalemate, partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina
1994, 11th December to 1996, 29th August
First Chechen War
Fought between: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against Russia
Location: Chechnya, Dagestan
Result: Chechen victory
1999, 23rd September to 2009
Second Chechen War
Fought between: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against Russia
Location: Northern Caucasus (mainly Chechnya and Dagestan)
Result: Russian victory
2008, 7th August to 2008, 16th August
Russia–Georgia war
Fought between: Georgia against Russia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia
Location: Georgia, South Ossetia, Abkhazia
Result: Russia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia victory
began 2014, 6th April, ongoing
War in Ukraine/Donbas War
Fought between: Ukraine against Russia, Donetsk, Luhansk
Location: Donbas, Donetsk, Luhansk

 

First published 2015; updated and republished Feb 1 2022 @ 10:00 pm – Updated – [last-modified]

Harvard Reference for this page:

Heather Y Wheeler. (2015 – 2022). Wars Fought in Europe 499 BCE to Present Day.

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