---
title: "3 of the stupidest wars ever fought in world history"
description: "As terrible as war is, some causes are worthy of taking up arms. The following examples do not fall into that category."
date: "2022-07-11"
modified: "2022-08-15"
authors:
  - name: "Blake Stilwell"
    job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran"
    link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/"
url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/3-of-the-stupidest-wars-ever-fought-in-world-history/"
categories:
  - "History"
---

# 3 of the stupidest wars ever fought in world history

![Golden retriever puppy lying on grass with its head resting between its front paws, looking up with large, dark eyes. The fur is soft and light golden in color. Small white flowers and green leaves are scattered around on the ground.](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/dog-4372036_1920.jpg>)
*Ad-war-able... (Image by \<a href="https://pixabay.com/users/birgl-6508325/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4372036" target="\_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"\>birgl\</a\> from \<a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4372036" target="\_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"\>Pixabay\</a\>)*

There are a lot of good reasons humans have gone to war in the past few centuries, believe it or not. Halting or preventing genocides, declaring independence to give oppressed people a homeland, and of course, defending ones homeland from an invader would all be good reasons to take up arms against another country.

These wars were none of those things, and are presented in no particular order.

---

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/19612777/origin.jpg>)
*It is, admittedly, a nice bucket. (Screen capture from [YouTube](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx3H_AYVDTk>))*

### The War of the Oaken Bucket

While the War of the Oaken Bucket sounds more like a college gameday rivalry, it was really a 1325 war between two Italian states, Bologna and Modena, that killed 2,000 people. It was really a proxy war between supporters of the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy and, before I get too far into the details here, what you really need to know is that it was started because some Modenese soldiers took the bucket from Bologna's town well.

Even dumber is the lopsided victory the Modenese won in defending that bucket. At the Battle of Zappolino, some 32,000 Bolognese marched on 7,000 Modenese – and were chased from the battlefield.

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/19612803/origin.jpg>)
*Surprisingly unrelated to the ongoing debate over Canadian bacon being real bacon.*

### The Pig War

This is a war that could have devolved into a much larger conflict, which makes it even stupider than it sounds. On San Juan Island, between the mainland United States and Canada's Vancouver Island, was shared by both American settlers and British employees of the Hudson Bay Company. While the island was "shared" in practice, both countries had a claim to the northwestern island and it created a lot of tensions in the region. Those tensions boiled over in June 1859 when an American farmer shot a British boar for tearing up his potato crop. Arguments ensued and the farmer was almost arrested by the British.

The U.S. Army got wind of the situation and sent Capt. George Pickett (later of Pickett's Charge fame) with a company of soldiers, who promptly declared the island American property. Of course the British responded by sending in its trump card, the Royal Navy. For weeks, it appeared the standoff would spark a greater war between the two powers, but cooler heads prevailed and the sides took joint custody of the island.

### War of the Stray Dog

Another war that is exactly what it sounds like, except this one really did cause a number of deaths, as well as a 1925 fight that saw 20,000 Greeks meet 10,000 Bulgarians on the battlefield. The catalyst was a dog that had gotten away from a Greek soldier. The soldier chased after the dog, even though it ran across the Greek border with Bulgaria. Bulgarian border guards, seeing a Greek soldier running through their territory, of course shot him.

The Greeks then began an invasion of Bulgaria, occupying border towns and preparing to shell and take the city off Petrich before the League of Nations intervened, negotiating a cease fire.

---

*Feature image: Wikimedia Commons*

## Author
Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house.

### Author social links  
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