"What would be the most "even" small war?" Topic

Even in terms of weapons, tactics, abilities, leadership, everything? The US Civil War was fairly even in everything except numbers and supplies. The bad Confederate generals out West were balanced by bad US ones in the East, the weapons, troops, etc. were mostly the same, etc. So what war was balanced the most you can think of?

The Crimea. Two sclerotic drunks mauling each other

Most of the Successors wars seem pretty even. Their respective kingdoms were about equal in power, and their military systems were extremely similar.

For 'Small War', I imagine the wars of the African tribes against each other, or American indians?

Graustark and Trans-Balkania

The 1885 Serbo-Bulgarian war.

The Sikh Wars

Germany v Russia in WWII has always struck me as a pretty even match up.

Sweden vs Denmark in 1813.

The Rosebud campaign between Crook and Sitting Bull in 1876 has widely different "armies" with different strengths and weaknesses. Seems like a lot of potential for a small campaign featuring dynamic commanders.

Carlist Wars.

1814 Niagara Campaigns, and Eastern NY – War of 1812.

some contemporary writers noted it was more like a civil war than a usual European theatre conflict.

my next door neighbor and the woman across the street seem to be evenly matched but i'm not sure that would make for an interesting game

World War one.

Both sides sat in one positin, never varying for more than three or four miles or so for four years and had equally horrendous casualties the counting of which becomes pointless after a while. Eventually one side develops war winning tactics and he other war winning tanks, both of which fail to bring victory. Eventually one side starves to the point of exhaustion, a causal factor absolutely unrelated to the war on the battlefield.

I don't see anything more even.

Or boring.

Otto

Another vote for the war of 1812.

The Transvaall War.

Simplistic nonsense Otto.

Agre with Ben – Western Front may have seemed that way, but German lost it's overseas Empire – no trenches in Africa – and the Esstern Front seems to have been pretty mobile.

Moros in the Phillippines. US had firepower, but Moros were TERRIFFIC in hand to hand.

In terms of forces arrayed, wasn't the Russo-Japanese war fairly even? (despite the mismatched outcome) Or am I an idiot?

Spanish civil war? Some campaigns in the US civil war were evenly matched even if the overall war wasn't

Successors is a good one as are many of the others

Hereros versus the Germans. The Hereros had three or four major victories, the Germans about six.

GarrisonMiniatures – I don't know how the First World War fits of the 'small war' title, nor am I sure the ACW would be classed as that – plus, can you can really ignore logistics and manpower?

Whilst Otto does ignore large parts of the First World War, his description of the Western Front is full of myths. Only the German's came up with tactics? Tanks were going to win the war on their own? There were no attacks more than a few miles deep? The German army lost because it was starving? One of many factors and the process of its destruction started with Verdun and the Somme.

As for an actual small war? Malaya? Mexican-American?

The wars of revolutionary Europe 1830-1849

How about a war naval war between San Marino and Liechtenstein? That ought to be pretty evenly matched.

Iran-iraq

Many of the wars mentioned above are neither small, nor even in the terms laid down in the OP. Many previously asymmetrical in all sorts of aspects.

Frankly, I'm struggling to think of any at all between forces of similar training, weaponry, cohesion and doctrine. Maybe some of the smaller Roman civil wars? Some of the wars in South America in the 1800s?

Bulgaria vs serbia 1885. I repeat :p

War of 1812….

Otto's description of WW1 presumably comes from watching 'Blackadder goes Forth'. I would suggest learning about The Battle of the Hundred Days if you want to know how the war really ended.

And either way, I don't think WW1 can really be considered a 'small war' – in that case what, one wonders, would a large one be?

Theoretically, the Falklands War should have been fairly evenly matched: similar-ish equipment, similar-ish numbers etc… but it didn't turn out that way.

Small? I guess most of us ignore the small part?

And what is small? Anything smaller then Global conflict?

I'm sure many smaller conflicts from, Bronze and Iron age we never have any evidence for might be quite even.

20 vs 20 vikings fighting over pasture land, would be even?

Or some bronz age eastern europeans fighing over bizon land.
Modern wars(anything past Medieval period) tend not to be small.)(With a few exceptions)

Chilean Civil War

And

War of the Pacific – 1880 both sides had very similar forces and almost identical navies.

Torstenson War – forces of around 30,000 a side

Another vote for the Niagara campaign of 1814 in the War of 1812.

H.G. Well's drawing room floor. c.1913

H.G. Well's drawing room floor. c.1913

What a terrible war. So much brutality and warcrimes. I understand why H.G Wells was put on trial and publicaly hanged so all his victims could see.

I think the Swiss civil war (1847) takes some beating. Rebels (Conservative Inner Switzerland) 79,000 men 88 guns – 26 dead, 114 wounded; Confederation: 99,000 and 172 guns: 60 dead and 386 wounded. It lasted 27 days. The reason the winners (Confederation) lost more is because the commander Dufour (Chair of Red Cross Founding Committee too) would not allow his artillery to use shell – only roundshot – to minimise losses whilst his strategy (encirclement) made the rebels give up. All very pragmatic and Swiss.

Russo-Swedish War of 1788-1790 – very small land war, most battles had about 3,000 men per side (if that). The naval part of this war was fairly big but the land war had very evenly matched forces – about 11,000 men in each army.

Swedish – Norwegian War of 1808 – both sides evenly matched – regardless of the outcome, battles more like skirmishes compared to other Nap. Wars.

Norwegian War of Independence 1814 – evenly matched armies, and neither side really wanted to kill the other side – see above.

The Swiss can behave civilly in a civil war – kudos to them.

The MAW. A bit of dynamism from the Mexican commanders and it could have gone very differently.