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Countries that Have Won the Most Battles

We looked at all the battles that have a Wikipedia page. Which countries and empires have appeared on the winning side of the most battles throughout history?
Groups together different dynasties that arose from a similar cultural group
Quiz by UG332
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Last updated: December 14, 2019
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First submittedApril 11, 2019
Times taken31,234
Average score75.0%
Rating4.03
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Battles Won
Answer
1115
France
1105
United Kingdom
833
United States
560
Germany / Prussia / HRE
491
Russia / Soviet Union
387
Spain
344
Poland
259
Rome
244
China
210
Turkey / Ottomans
209
Austria
183
Japan
165
Sweden
137
Australia
Battles Won
Answer
132
Italy
128
Confederate States
114
Netherlands
110
Portugal
108
Islamic Caliphates
107
Byzantine Empire
102
Iran / Persian Empires
93
India / Mughals
92
Mongolia
89
Greece
82
Canada
79
Denmark
78
Korea
76
Egypt
Quizmaster
+11
Level ∞
Jun 30, 2019
Not counting the French Royalists who won 90 battles fighting against the Republicans in the French Revolution. Simply too difficult to decide how to count them.
Quizmaster
+13
Level ∞
Jun 30, 2019
This quiz is based on original research from @UG332. A few notes:

  • France includes the Franks

  • UK includes England but not Scotland

  • Germany includes Prussia and the Holy Roman Empire

  • Russia includes the Soviet Union and the Kievan Rus

  • Spain includes Castille, Aragon, and Leon

Well, you get the picture.

TheLastFish
+6
Level 69
Jun 30, 2019
Would should the Franks be included in France???
Arii78
+7
Level 45
Jul 2, 2019
Because the Frank kingdom mostly led to the kingdom of France (and everything that followed) ?
pentamom
+26
Level 24
Jul 2, 2019
Why does France include the Franks, but Italy doesn't include the Romans? The distinctions seem arbitrary to me.
kalbahamut
+21
Level 83
Aug 14, 2019
It is. Extremely. If Russia and the USSR are the same, and Germany and Prussia and the Holy Roman Empire are the same, etc... then Italy should include the Roman and Byzantine Empires, and Byzantine should probably also be accepted for Greece and vice versa, and the Confederacy should be counted as part of the United States.

Also maybe accept Arab Caliphate for Islamic Caliphate. Or, heck, why not Saudi Arabia.

Temudhun
+6
Level 69
Sep 8, 2019
I don't know which caliphates are included in the "Islamic Caliphates", some of them were based in Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Andalusia, and they didn't necessarily included Saudi Arabia. Heck, the Ottoman Empire was also a caliphate. It doesn't make sense to count all of them as the same entity, unless they only count the Rashidun, Damascus Umayyads and Abbassids.
UG332
+4
Level 67
Sep 8, 2019
The caliphates would be the Umayyads, Rashiduns and the Abbasids. The ones centered in Egypt were seperated in their own category.
UG332
+3
Level 67
Sep 8, 2019
I included the ottomans with Turkey because most people associate The Ottoman Empire with Turkey. I get that is a caliphate, but then it wouldn't fit well in my opinion. But i have decided to make Arab and Saudi Arabia work for Islamic Caliphate.

The Franks are with France because I don't think many people would guess the Franks. I would do the same for Rome but i think most people would be angry with the fact that i included Rome with Italy as their are major differences. This does go the same for the Franks, but yet again, most people don't know the difference between the two.

IsleAuHaulte
+3
Level 88
Sep 10, 2019
Over the top arbitrary is using the English language version of Wikipedia. In other words, internet armchair warriors who speak English will decide the entire history of how many battles they've heard of across all cultures. China and India alone would have drastically more battles listed by scholars in those countries.

Really, the South in the U.S. Civil War won at least 2 times more battles in 4 years than the powerful empires of Thailand (Siam) or Burma in a couple thousand years of existence? They don't even make the list by English speaking war nuts?

Once again, Wikipedia is a junk source and this is a subject that really is totally uncountable.

Djilas
+2
Level 82
Mar 29, 2020
Wikipedia is a work in progress. The good news is that the number of CSA victories won't increase, while you can always add more Asian or Eastern European battles.
Quizmaster
+57
Level ∞
Jun 30, 2019
Dear nitpickers, please try to keep in mind the immense amount of time this quiz required to make. Keep your comments polite and constructive. If you don't like the choices that the quiz creator made, make your own quiz!
halpie
+16
Level 77
Jun 30, 2019
It's an incredible amount of research, and a part of what makes this website great. Thank you UG332 and QM!
kalbahamut
+10
Level 83
Aug 14, 2019
Make your own quiz.. or.. offer constructive criticism? No?
tales
+4
Level 76
Sep 9, 2019
I know how much effort it takes to research all this because I also have a quiz about wars (https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/145474/countries-that-have-never-lost-a-war), so I would not criticize most of your choices.

However, the one choice that I find unacceptable is counting the Confederate States as a country. They should definitely not be included here, since they were never recognized by any other country.

WolfCam
+20
Level 65
Jun 30, 2019
It’s kind of odd how the confederacy, a country that existed for about 5 years, has more known wins in battle than Mongolia, a nation which conquered most of Asia
QRU
+30
Level 74
Jun 30, 2019
Pages in an english speaking encyclopedia, even a vast one, is not the same a known wins in battle.
Djilas
+7
Level 82
Jul 1, 2019
It's also US-based, with sources available for each vastly different.
jeepy
+4
Level 66
Jul 10, 2019
Also, a lot of principalities/cities surrendered before they had to fight!
lazydaisee
+13
Level 44
Jul 28, 2019
Most of Mongolias battles would have been against villages and towns whose names are not even known. We have to accept that the world has plenty of 'lost' history.
therealpappy
+2
Level 57
Sep 22, 2020
well a war that took place 200 years ago in this country is gonna have much better documentation on smaller battles than a war (or conquest for that matter) fought across the globe over 700 years ago. There are people alive today who were alive at the same time as civil war vets.
RedLightning
+7
Level 47
Jun 30, 2019
I really like this quiz!
UG332
+5
Level 67
Jun 30, 2019
Thanks Red Lightning :)
TheLastFish
+10
Level 69
Jun 30, 2019
Can we assume that all these countries won about 50% of their battles? So you just have to start enough wars to get it on the top of this list. ;-)
UG332
+1
Level 67
Jun 30, 2019
Lol ;D
kapulani3
+3
Level 74
Sep 8, 2019
Not necessarily. Four of the top five did not start WWI or WWII but I bet a lot of the battles they won were in those wars. Your premise is faulty because you you can start wars all the time but if you are a terrible fighter you will lose the battles.
UG332
+3
Level 67
Sep 8, 2019
That's why I'm making a ratio of wins/loses for each country, hopefully soon
TomatosRaafatos
+1
Level 73
Sep 9, 2019
Yaaaaasssss!
Sifhraven
+1
Level 65
Sep 8, 2019
Yea these numbers don't say anything, besides which countries have/had a bigger lust for war. Percentages of battles won would give you a much better picture. Of what I can't tell you, are you good if you killed the most amount of other people?
cornflakesfu
+18
Level 85
Jun 30, 2019
If you included Starcraft battles, Korea would be way higher on this list.
StealthyNinja467
+2
Level 27
Jul 1, 2019
+1
StealthyNinja467
+4
Level 27
Jul 1, 2019
And Overwatch
JSSTyger
+4
Level 54
Jul 1, 2019
So we have a bunch of smarty pants here! I score 15 and only beat (or equalled) less than 2%.
MATHIAS1
+3
Level 74
Jul 1, 2019
If you have basic history knowledge you can get most of these. Just start in 4000 BC and go over every major empire. And don't forget Europeans fought a lot since the fall of certain (also warmongering) empire
scambigol
+4
Level 75
Jul 1, 2019
Great!! Can we have most wins by century, by continent etc?
UG332
+2
Level 67
Jul 1, 2019
Not a bad idea, I can do that!
iuvas
+4
Level 93
Jul 1, 2019
i found it great! Thank you so much!

Many things could be said about how to define a "battle" or a "country" so any classification would and will be debateable but i think your effort was excellent.

It would be nice, since you have already got the DataBase, a quiz about a fought/won or a fought/loss ratio by country

iuvas
+2
Level 93
Jul 1, 2019
in addition to my previous comment, and just out of curiosity, i would like to know how did you put in the battles by Italian and German states before their unification in the 1800s. I mean, for Germany it is clear that Prussia and HRE are counted, but what about Bavaria (for instance). For Italy, did you count Piedmont Kingdom? or Venice, Naples, Church state and so on?
UG332
+4
Level 67
Jul 1, 2019
Bavaria and such is included with Germany and Italy. The Church State was included with Vatican City.
TomatosRaafatos
+2
Level 73
Sep 9, 2019
More like the Vatican City was included with the Church State... which wouldn't have changed the number anyway :)
kalbahamut
+8
Level 83
Jul 1, 2019
I got 100%, but not sure why the Confederacy is not counted with the United States. I mean, surely they shared more culturally with the Union than, say, modern and ancient Egypt, modern and ancient China, or France and the Frankish Empire. For that matter... why wouldn't the Romans and Byzantines be grouped in with Italy and/or Greece? Just a quirk of history that we think of these empires as being separate, because we actually learn about them. If we learned more about the Mughal Empire in Western grade school then we would not conceptualize them as the same as modern India, either.
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Jul 1, 2019
Confederacy will work now
kalbahamut
+6
Level 83
Jul 2, 2019
I didn't mean that Confederacy should be an accepted type-in I meant that the Confederates should be grouped in with the USA. It would make more sense than some of the other entities that are grouped together.
Algernon
+2
Level 72
Jul 4, 2019
Agreed with @Kal.

That does seem a strange differentiation to make.

arklstrend
+6
Level 38
Aug 9, 2019
All the CSA's battles were against the USA. What would you do, count them twice or decide they were all draws?
kalbahamut
+2
Level 83
Aug 14, 2019
You would just use the same standard as every other entry on the quiz. Count up the number of Wikipedia pages. Not the number of belligerents. If either side won, that would be one for the USA. The quiz counts battles that Russia won against Georgia, previously part of the USSR. I guess the quiz is trying to take the position that Northerners were the "true" Americans, and that the English are the "true" Britons, as Scotland is not included in their total, either. And generally I don't think anyone is getting credit for fighting on both sides of a conflict. Still, it's weird.
mf3
+2
Level 86
Jul 1, 2019
Not even sure why "Confederacy" doesn't work, you have to enter "Confederate States". And does Greece count for both Athens and Sparta? (so a win either way).
UG332
+1
Level 67
Jul 1, 2019
I'll fix that soon, and yes Athens and Sparta are included with Greece.
mf3
+8
Level 86
Jul 1, 2019
In that case, I agree completely with kalbahamut that the Confederacy and the US should be together.
Ferbin
+7
Level 75
Jul 1, 2019
I'm surprised there's no ignorant comments on France being number 1.
mikeb
+1
Level 66
Sep 8, 2019
But you get credit for thinking of at least one.
StealthyNinja467
+5
Level 27
Jul 1, 2019
I was having a perfectly normal day until I saw this quiz. I figured it would be fun, so I took it. Got 23/28, so I looked at what I missed. Then I almost fainted. Poland has won battles??? Complete shocker.

Great quiz though btw

UG332
+2
Level 67
Jul 1, 2019
Lol, I was suprised too XD
coxbury
+6
Level 56
Sep 8, 2019
Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Jery
+7
Level 59
Sep 8, 2019
Of course we won battles. A lot of them. Long time ago but still counted :)
dogmeat
+3
Level 66
Jul 1, 2019
Australia? I can only guess that if you supply a small contingent to a larger force you're a winner

Seems very Eurocentric. Incas ruled from Colombia to argentina - they won plenty of battles?

Quizmaster
+6
Level ∞
Jul 1, 2019
The Incas didn't have writing nor did any of the civilizations they encountered until the Spanish rolled in. It would be very difficult to figure out how many battles they fought in.
footygenius
+1
Level 69
Jul 1, 2019
I'm genuinely surprised Italy made the list, while Israel did not
TomatosRaafatos
+1
Level 73
Sep 9, 2019
Italy fought in two World Wars... and had battles in Africa. Israel only fought four wars since it's inception. All of them were quite short, and i don't think you can even divide them to that many separate battles. Whatever that total number is it would definitely be less than 76, I would guess.
cmountenay
+6
Level 85
Jul 1, 2019
The HRE has more consistency with Austria than it does with Germany. The Habsburgs ruled the HRE along with Austria from 1452-1804, before just ruling Austria. In conflicts like the Thirty Years War or the various wars with the Ottomans, I'd count them as Austrian victories and defeats. But I understand that it's an inexact science.
UG332
+5
Level 67
Jul 2, 2019
Yeah, I wondered if I should include them with Austria but I decided it would be a more acceptable and more known answer with Germany. Mostly because of its location.
UG332
+5
Level 67
Jul 2, 2019
But it is a very good point you brought up.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 83
Sep 8, 2019
There were Hapsburgs on a lot of different thrones, not just Austria's.
philswift59
+14
Level 49
Jul 2, 2019
Australia may win 137 battles, but they will never beat the Emu's.
PrettyTiedUp
+2
Level 67
Jul 2, 2019
I'm surprised that England and Scotland are not considered separately, considering that we have been knocking each other about for centuries.
UG332
+1
Level 67
Jul 2, 2019
It said it didn't include Scotland for the UK. :)
J0360299
+1
Level 53
Aug 14, 2019
Although I imagine most scottish battles (won and lost) would either be internal or against the english, I feel that any fought against other 'peoples' or countries should be included as the answer is the UK
Ghostbuster
+2
Level 90
Jul 6, 2019
I propose a net wins quiz, so the numbers in this quiz minus the times they were on the losing side.
dogla305
+3
Level 60
Jul 28, 2019
Too bad some empires didn't document stuff as "well" as europeans did. Would love to see how many battles aztec, maya and Incan empires won.
NINJAQKk
+2
Level 69
Aug 11, 2019
Good job ryry!
kalbahamut
+7
Level 83
Aug 14, 2019
This also has a lot to do with which people/cultures a) obsess about their own (perceived) military history the most and b) use Wikipedia the most. Probably many thousands of battles out there that don't have their own Wikipedia page. The Syrian Civil War has been going on for over 8 years now... but there is no cottage industry of Syrian Civil War enthusiasts and re-enactors who spend their time on Wikipedia writing articles on every little skirmish that occurred during those 8 years.
ALA02
+1
Level 61
Aug 30, 2019
Time to quickly fight 11 tiny countries and gain that top spot🇬🇧
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Sep 8, 2019
One reason "Islamic Caliphates" is so low might be restrictive type-ins? Arab Caliphate, for one, might be accepted. Though if the rationale for not using that is that you are including non-Arab Islamic Caliphates then... that's just another example of different disparate empires grouped together under the same heading that have less to do with one another than the American North and South.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Sep 8, 2019
and for that matter the Byzantine Empire was the, or at least a, Roman Empire.
coxbury
+1
Level 56
Sep 8, 2019
A slightly controversial statement - it is generally recognised as a Greek one! However I see the point.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 83
Sep 8, 2019
It was the Eastern Roman Empire officially. And eventually after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, it even conquered Rome. Most of the people in the lands controlled by the empire spoke Greek. But, so what? Many of the people in the British Empire spoke Hindi.
coxbury
+1
Level 56
Sep 8, 2019
I think i would disagree. however it would depend upon exactly WHEN we might decide to look at it. after the Great Schism there were large differences between the Western Empire, ruled at least nominally by the HRE, and spiritually dependant upon the Pope (vatican) - roman catholic, and the Eastern Empire. Mostly Greek Speaking, not bound to the Emperor, and largely (Greek) Orthodox. The two entities were clearly separate, and wholly different - and antagonistic.
coxbury
+1
Level 56
Sep 8, 2019
However I suspect good arguments could be put forward to support either view.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 83
Sep 8, 2019
"The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople." .... cut and paste from Wikipedia. This isn't a controversial or even novel view. Historians didn't even start referring to it as the Byzantine Empire until much later, to differentiate from the "other" Roman Empire.
coxbury
+1
Level 56
Sep 8, 2019
I tried for some time to work out what the right entry for Islamic expansion might be, and then gave up. Ummayad might be a posible alternative, but excludes all other dynasties
UG332
+1
Level 67
Sep 8, 2019
I am accepting Arab Caliphate for Islamic Caliphate
PatoPotato
+1
Level 50
Sep 8, 2019
26/28. Surprised that Australia and Canada made it on the list. Guessing Australian battles were won predominately in WWII, Korea and Vietnam with Canada having a few WWII and even maybe ones against the USA?
grantdon
+1
Level 74
Jan 13, 2021
*predominantly...and add in the Boer War, WWI, and the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for Australian forces...I'd guess Canada would be similar
WoodyJohnson
+1
Level 62
Sep 8, 2019
Did you count Vikings battles? I think surely they should be on the list couse they won houndrets of battles
coxbury
+1
Level 56
Sep 8, 2019
see Denmark for Vikings?
coxbury
+2
Level 56
Sep 8, 2019
This is a very interesting quiz, although I agree with som comments that question the validity of the relevant 'countries' or 'nations'. However it was a very good stab at an extremely difficult subject. I wonder whether there would be any difference if you chose the subject of 'wars' won, rather than 'battles'. the difficulty I suppose would be the issue of who 'won'!

I am not at all surprised that Poland made the list, but am surprised that Lithuania didn't - did you choose Poland to represent the Commonwealth as opposed to Lietuva?

I wonder also about Assyria - that lot that came doen like a wolf on the fold etc. However I suppose the issue is documentation.

Afghanistan? Given that for some 300 years no other country has conducted a successful invasion - however guerillas dont fight battles.

Macedonia? Please don't subsume them in Greeks. It would cause all sorts of geopolitical angst!

So yes - a good quiz. it must be it creates so many questions

Coxbury

UG332
+1
Level 67
Sep 8, 2019
Yes i tried my best mixing in nations and empires together and separating certain countries/nations because of common knowledge with certain people. It was very tough mixing in Greece with Macedon, deciding to seperate the CSA and USA, Putting Germany, Prussia and HRE together. I am making a quiz series that go into a certain part of history and seeing who won the most battles in that time period. I seperate certain countries away like Macedon, Athens, Sparta, etc.. But when i was making this quiz, i had to decided to combine all of these nations to try and make it easier for people to answer. Because i don't think that many people would guess the HRE or the Franks, so thats why i decided to combine.
Gassu
+13
Level 70
Sep 8, 2019
Emus:

Wars fought: 1

Wars won: 1

Winning quota: 100%

TomatosRaafatos
+1
Level 73
Sep 9, 2019
#InsideJokeWeek
TomatosRaafatos
+3
Level 73
Sep 9, 2019
That single battle difference between Austria and the Ottomans though... I could feel the distant screams of the hapsburgs rolling in their graves... and the faint cries of joy coming from the Sultans' tombs.
bocoker
+1
Level 78
Sep 9, 2019
As someone who has been living in France for a decade or so, let's just say...you learn something every day, or not.
RME
+1
Level 50
Sep 10, 2019
is Rome a country?
Breizh35
+1
Level 63
Feb 1, 2020
I hope your kidding
stillNogame
+1
Level 34
Sep 11, 2019
Nice quiz! Though somehow I missed the United States
MississippiSnopes
+1
Level 60
Sep 12, 2019
Too many judgment calls and arbitrary categorizations to make this one fun.
Landanar
+2
Level 48
Feb 15, 2020
Americans are so americans.

It so funny.

Confederate States won more battles then Byzantine Empire, Arabic Caliphate, Portugal and Persia! All these countries were world powers during many years.

Even you count every shootout with the Indians on Wild West...

peardestroyer
+1
Level 55
Apr 30, 2020
Nice! Can you add a caveat that some of these countries don't exist anymore?
JohnnyYeet
+2
Level 56
Sep 24, 2020
I really love this quiz. However, in my opinion, the CSA shouldn't be on here by a long shot. It is just Americans being Americans and saying that the Confederates weren't true Americans. That was a civil war, it shouldn't count. You didn't count the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic as two different entities, did you? That was also a civil war, which was far more destructive and legitimate than the American one. Also, I think Rome and the Byzantine Empire should be merged, you merged HRE, Prussia, and Germany. Amazing Quiz though!
Nathaniel
+1
Level 72
Dec 7, 2020
I hope you didn't include Nazi Germany in Germany.
Kalleanon
+2
Level 66
Jul 29, 2021
Why not?
Yungmiko3
+1
Level 31
Feb 18, 2021
But what do you constitute for China. After they become a republic? after they become Communist? Are you including all the previous dynasties? Also why is the Byzantine empire and Rome a different thing. The Byzantines at the time referred to themselves as Romans and it was the Eastern Roman empire the name Byzantine came after it fell.
NielsDeNoob
+2
Level 65
Apr 6, 2021
Civil wars shouldn't be included, so that probably excludes 75% of the US battles.
Potatoe1187
+1
Level 65
Apr 8, 2021
Maybe make an opposite version?

"Countries that Have Lost the Most Battles"

TurkicKhaganate
+1
Level 38
Nov 18, 2022
Mughals isn't Indian

There are Turkic because Mughals are continue of Timurids and Timurids are Turkic

agoel
+2
Level 63
Mar 29, 2023
I only got Rome by typing Romania lol
FatSpartanJediLlama
+1
Level 67
Apr 10, 2023
Same lol
FatSpartanJediLlama
+1
Level 67
Apr 10, 2023
Fun quiz, got 23
Tadeu
+1
Level 58
Jul 6, 2023
Couldnt spell Byzantine for my life, and its weird to consider the confederate states a nation by it self since they never got to actually secede, they failed
Fianchetto
+1
Level 68
Nov 13, 2023
Wait... France won battles?
Snoflakes
+1
Level 69
Nov 19, 2023
This is a really cool quiz! Where did Australia get the conflict to achieve 128 I wonder
UG332
+1
Level 67
Nov 19, 2023
From what I recall, most of their involvement was through the World War Era (And no, none of them involved Emus).
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