List of wars involving Sri Lanka

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Part of a series on the

History of Sri Lanka
Chronicles

* Dipavamsa
* Mahavamsa
* Cūḷavaṃsa
* Rajavaliya
* Pujavaliya

Periods

Prehistory

* Stone Age
Bronze Age
Iron Age

| 300,000 BP
-543 BC

|

Pre Anuradhapura

* Indo-Aryan settlement

| 543-377 BC

Anuradhapura

* Arrival of Buddhism
Dutthagamani's campaign
Fall of Anuradhapura

| 377 BC-1017

Polonnaruwa

* Chola conquest
Sinhalese Resistance
Invasion of Kalinga Magha

|  1017-1232

Transitional

* Vijayabā Kollaya
Wars of Kotte Succession
Crisis of the Sixteenth Century

| 1232-1597

Kandy

* First Kandyan–Dutch war
Second Kandyan–Dutch war
Kandyan–British wars

| 1597-1815

British Ceylon

* Great rebellion
Matale rebellion
Buddhist revival
World War II
Independence

| 1815-1948

Sri Lanka

* Dominion
Republic

| 1948-present
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* v
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This is a list of wars involving the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and its predecessor states.

Legend
Victory
Defeat
Other result
Ongoing conflict

## Anuradhapura Kingdom

[edit]

Conflict | Sri Lanka and allies | Opponents | Results | Sri Lankan commanders | Sri Lankan losses

|
|
|
|
|

King | General | SL
forces | Civilians
Battle of Vijithapura
(162/161 BCE)  |  Anuradhapura Kingdom | Chola dynasty | Victory |

Dutugamunu

|  | Unknown  | Unknown
Anuradhapura invasion of Chola
(120)  |  Anuradhapura Kingdom | Chola dynasty | Victory |

Gajabahu I

|  | Unknown  | Unknown
Anuradhapura invasion of Pandya
(862)  |  Anuradhapura Kingdom | Pandya dynasty | Victory |

Sena II
Sena II

General Kuttaka

| Unknown  | Unknown
Anuradhapura invasion of Pandya
(917)  |  Anuradhapura Kingdom | Pandya Dynasty |  |

Kassapa IV

|  | Unknown  | Unknown

(946)  |  Anuradhapura Kingdom | Pandya dynasty |  |

Dappula V

General Viduragga

| Unknown  | Unknown
Chola invasion of Anuradhapura kingdom |  Anuradhapura Kingdom | Chola dynasty | Victory

* The whole Chola force with the generals retreated.

Mahinda IV

General Sena

| Unknown  | Unknown
Invasion of Anuradhapura by Rastrakuta empire |  Anuradhapura Kingdom | Rashtrakuta dynasty | Victory

* Rashtrakuta forces were defeated in kayts
* General sena and Rashtrakutas have an alliance after the defeat

Mahinda IV

General Sena

| Unknown  | Unknown
Chola conquest of Anuradhapura
(992–1017)  |  Anuradhapura Kingdom | Chola dynasty | Defeat

* Anuradhapura Kingdom destroyed by the Chola dynasty
* Rajarata annexed as a Chola province
* Polonnaruwa made as the administrative capital of the Chola in Sri Lanka

Mahinda V

|  | Unknown  | Unknown

## Polonnaruwa kingdom

[edit]

Conflict | Sri Lanka and allies | Opponents | Results | Sri Lankan commanders | Sri Lankan losses

|
|
|
|
|

King | General | SL
forces | Civilians
Polonnaruwa–Pagan War
(1165–1181)  | Polonnaruwa kingdom
Angkorian Empire | Pagan Kingdom
Chola dynasty (in Pegu) | Victory

* Chola stronghold in Pegu lost to Polonnaruwa
* Pathein and Pegu occupied by the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa
* Angkorian Empire occupies certain parts of Pagan Kingdom
* Grant of land to Sinhalese commanders

Parakramabahu I

|  | Unknown  | Unknown
Pandyan Civil War
(1169–1177)  | Polonnaruwa kingdom
Pandya dynasty (Parakrama Pandyan I) | Chola dynasty
Pandya dynasty (Kulasekhara Pandyan) | Victory

* Parakramabahu I and Vira Pandyan conquer the Pandya dynasty
*   * Rameshwaram occupied by Sinhalese and Pandyan forces

Parakramabahu I

Lankapura Dandanatha

| Unknown  | Unknown
1173 Polonnaruwa invasion of Chola
(1173)  | Polonnaruwa kingdom | Pandya dynasty
Chola dynasty | Victory

* Pandyan empire conquered by Parakramabahu I and Vira Pandyan of the Pandya dynasty

Parakramabahu I

Lankapura Dandanatha

| Unknown  | Unknown

## Transitional period

[edit]

Conflict | Sri Lanka and allies | Opponents | Results | Sri Lankan commanders | Sri Lankan losses

|
|
|
|
|

King | General | SL
forces | Civilians
Ming–Kotte War
(1410 or 1411)  |  Kingdom of Kotte
Ming Dynasty | Alagakkonara dynasty | Victory |

Parakramabahu VI

Zheng He

| Unknown  | Unknown
Kotte conquest of the Jaffna kingdom
(1449–1454)  |  Kingdom of Kotte |  Kingdom of Jaffna
Vanni chieftaincies

* * *

Supported by:
Vijayanagar Empire

| Victory

* Kotte captures the Jaffna kingdom
* Parakramabahu VI appoints Prince Sapumal as a representative of Kotte in Jaffna

Parakramabahu VI

Prince Sapumal

| Unknown  | Unknown
Kotte invasion of Vijayanagar
(1456)  |  Kingdom of Kotte | Vijayanagar Empire | Victory |

Various

Various

| Unknown  | Unknown
Sinhalese–Portuguese War
(1518–1658)  |  Kingdom of Sitawaka
Kingdom of Kandy
Kingdom of Jaffna
Principality of Raigama
Dutch East India Company |  Portuguese Empire

* Lascarins

Kingdom of Kotte

| Victory

* End of the kingdoms of Kotte, Sitawaka, Jaffna and Raigama
* Establishment then destruction of Portuguese Ceylon
* Sinhalese and Dutch divide territories of the island
* Establishment of Dutch Ceylon

Various

Various

| Unknown  | Unknown
Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom
(1560–1619)  |  Kingdom of Jaffna
Kingdom of Kandy

* * *

Supported by:
Thanjavur Nayak kingdom

|  Portuguese Empire | Defeat

* Cankili II imprisoned and executed by the Portuguese
* Fall of the Jaffna kingdom

Cankili I
Puviraja Pandaram
Periyapillai
Puviraja Pandaram X
Ethirimana Cinkam
Cankili II

|  | Unknown  | Unknown
Dutch–Portuguese War
(1602–1663)  |  Kingdom of Kandy
Dutch Republic
Kingdom of England
(until 1640)
Johor Sultanate
Kingdom of Kongo
Kingdom of Ndongo
Rio Grande Tupis
Nhandui Tarairiu Tribe  |  Kingdom of Portugal

* * *

Supported by:
Crown of Castile
(until 1640)
Kingdom of Cochin
Potiguara Tupis

| Treaty of Hague

* Formation of the Dutch Empire
* Portuguese Restoration War
* Portuguese victory in South America and Africa
* Dutch victory in the East

Senarat
Rajasinghe II

|  | Unknown  | Unknown
First Kandyan–Dutch War
(1670–1675)  |  Kingdom of Kandy
France |  Dutch Republic

* Dutch East India Company

| Defeat

* French expelled from all occupied territories
* Expansion of Dutch Ceylon, offensives of Rajasinha II repelled

Rajasinha II

|  | Unknown  | Unknown
Second Kandyan–Dutch War
(1764–1766)  |  Kingdom of Kandy |  Dutch Republic

* Dutch East India Company

| Defeat

* Treaty of Batticaloa
* Dutch occupation of Kandy until the Treaty of Batticaloa
* All coastal regions ceded to the Dutch

Kirti Sri Rajasinha

|  | Unknown  | Unknown
Vanniyar Rebellion
(1782)  |  Vanni chieftaincies
Kingdom of Kandy |  Dutch Republic | Victory

* Vanni region liberated from Dutch rule

Pandara Vanniyan

|  | Unknown  | Unknown
Kandyan Wars
(1796–1818)  |  Kingdom of Kandy
Vanni chieftaincies |  British Empire
Kandyan Opposition  | Defeat

* Kandyan convention signed between the British and the Kandyan chiefs, abolishing the Kandyan monarchy
* Vanni region lost to the British
* End of 2357 years of Sinhalese independence

Sri Vikrama Rajasinha

|  |

Unknown

Unknown

## British Ceylon

[edit]

Conflict | British Ceylon and allies | Opponents | Results | Governor(s) | British Ceylon losses

|
|
|
|
|

British Ceylon
forces | Civilians
Matale Rebellion
(1848)  |  British Empire

* British Ceylon

|  Kandyan rebels  | Victory |

The Viscount Torrington

|  |
Second Boer War
(1899–1902)  |  British Empire

* British Ceylon

|  Orange Free State

South African Republic

* * *

Foreign volunteers from:

* Netherlands
* German Empire
* Belgium
* France
* United States
* Italy
* Russian Empire
* Russian Poland
* Sweden
* Denmark

| Victory

* Treaty of Vereeniging:
* All Boers to surrender arms and swear allegiance to the Crown
* Dutch language permitted in education
* Promise to grant Boer republics self-government
* £3,000,000 compensation "reconstruction aid" to Afrikaners

West Ridgeway

|  |
World War I
(1914–1918)  | The Allies

* British Empire
* British Ceylon

* Belgium

* France

* Kingdom of Greece

* Portugal

* Kingdom of Romania

* Russian Empire

* Kingdom of Italy

* Japan

* United States

* Kingdom of Serbia

* Kingdom of Montenegro

| Central Powers and Allies

* Austria-Hungary

* German Empire
* German Empire
* Ottoman Empire

* Kingdom of Bulgaria

| Victory

* Treaty of Versailles:
* German demobilization

Treaties of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Trianon:

* Demise of Austria-Hungary

Russia pulls out in 1917

* Russian Civil War
* Creation of the Soviet Union
* Joseph Stalin Rises to power

Creation of League of Nations:

* Mesopotamia ceded from the Ottoman Empire
* Palestine and Jordan ceded from the Ottoman Empire
* Tanganyika ceded from Germany
* Part of Kamerun ceded from Germany
* Part of Togoland ceded from Germany
* German New Guinea ceded to Australia
* German Samoa ceded to New Zealand
* German South-West Africa ceded to South Africa

Robert Chalmers
Reginald Edward Stubbs
John Anderson
Reginald Edward Stubbs
William Manning

|  |
World War II
(1931–1945) | The Allies

* British Empire
* British Ceylon
* France

* Poland

* Belgium

* Netherlands

* Luxembourg

* Czechoslovakia

* Norway

* Kingdom of Greece

* Kingdom of Yugoslavia

* Soviet Union

* United States

* Nepal

* Union of South Africa

* Brazil

* China

| Axis Powers

* Nazi Germany

* Kingdom of Italy

* Hungary

* Empire of Japan

* Kingdom of Bulgaria

* Croatia

* Kingdom of Romania

* Manchukuo

* Mengjiang

* Finland

* Thailand

* Vichy France

| Victory

* Fall of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan
* Allied military occupations of Germany, Japan, Austria and foundation of the Italian Republic in place of the Kingdom of Italy
* Beginning of the Nuclear Age
* Dissolution of the League of Nations and creation of the United Nations
* Emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as rival superpowers and beginning of the Cold War

Graeme Thomson
Francis Graeme Tyrrell
Reginald Edward Stubbs
Maxwell MacLagan Wedderburn
Andrew Caldecott
Henry Monck-Mason Moore

|  |
Easter Sunday Raid
(1942)  |  British Empire

* British Ceylon

|  Empire of Japan | Defeat |

Andrew Caldecott

|  |
Cocos Islands mutiny
(1942)  |  British Empire

* British Ceylon

|  Ceylonese mutineers  | Victory |

Andrew Caldecott

|  |

## Dominion of Ceylon

[edit]

Conflict | Ceylon and allies | Opponents | Results | Ceylon commanders | Ceylon losses

|
|
|
|
|

Head(s) of Government | Defence Minister(s) | Ceylonese
forces | Civilians
1971 JVP insurrection
(1971)  |  Ceylon

* United Front
* SLFP
* CCP (Pro-Soviet)
* LSSP

* * *

Military support:
India
Pakistan
Soviet Union

|  Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna

* * *

Supported by:
North Korea (alleged)

| Victory

* Rebel forces surrender
* Ceylonese government reestablishes control over the island

Sirimavo Bandaranaike

| 53  | 1,200

## Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

[edit]

Conflict | Sri Lanka and allies | Opponents | Results | Sri Lankan commanders | Sri Lankan losses

|
|
|
|
|

Head(s) of Government | Defense Minister(s) | SL
forces | Civilians
Sri Lankan Civil War
(1983–2009)  |  Sri Lanka
India (1987–1990) |  Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

* * *

Supported by: India (until 1987)

| Victory

* Decisive victory by the Sri Lankan government
* Rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam organisation is wiped out
* Sri Lankan government reestablishes control over entire island
* Tamil National Alliance drops the demand for a separate state

J. R. Jayewardene
Ranasinghe Premadasa X
Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
Chandrika Kumaratunga
Mahinda Rajapaksa

Ranasinghe Premadasa
Ranjan Wijeratne
Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
Tilak Marapana
Mahinda Rajapaksa

| 28,708  | 60,000–100,000
1987–1989 JVP insurrection
(1987–1989)  |  Sri Lanka
India

* * *

Pro-government paramilitaries: Eagles of the Central Hills
Black Cats

|  JVP

* Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya
* IUSF

* * *

Supported by: North Korea
PLOTE (until 1988)

| Victory

* Emergency conditions in South, Western and Central provinces lifted
* Insurgency fails following the fall of the Eastern bloc

J. R. Jayewardene
Ranasinghe Premadasa

|  |
Operation Prosperity Guardian
(2023–present)  |  Sri Lanka
United States
United Kingdom
Australia
New Zealand
Canada
Denmark
Greece
Netherlands
Norway
Bahrain
Singapore

* * *

Supported by:
Seychelles

|  Supreme Political Council

* Houthi movement

| Ongoing

* SLNS Gajabahu completes its maiden patrol of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and is set to return to the island.[1][2]
* Government of Sri Lanka confirms that future patrols would take place.[3]

Ranil Wickremesinghe

|  |

## Sri Lankan peacekeeping

[edit]

Conflict | Sri Lanka and allies | Country | Results | Sri Lankan commanders | Sri Lankan losses

|
|
|
|
|

Head(s) of Government | Defense Minister(s)
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
(1978–present)  |  Sri Lanka |  Lebanon | Ongoing |

Various

United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti
(2004–present)  |  Sri Lanka |  Haiti | Ongoing |

Various

United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad
(2007–2010)  |  Sri Lanka |  Central African Republic
Chad | Ended |

Mahinda Rajapaksa

United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali
(2013–present)  |  Sri Lanka |  Mali | Ongoing |

Mahinda Rajapaksa
Maithripala Sirisena
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Ranil Wickremesinghe

| 3[4][5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Red Sea crisis: Navy OPV heads home after maiden patrol". The Morning. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
2. ^ "SLNS Gajabahu returns from Red Sea". Ceylon Today. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
3. ^ "Red Sea crisis: SLN prepped to continue patrols". The Morning. 3 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
4. ^ "Three Sri Lankan soldiers die in Mali attack | Daily FT".
5. ^ "Sri Lanka's first combat deaths since 2009: Families mourn fallen UN peacekeepers". www.sundayobserver.lk. 2019-02-03.

* v
* t
* e

Major armed conflicts involving  Sri Lanka

Domestic|

* Kotte conquest of the Jaffna kingdom
* 1971 JVP insurrection
* 1987–1989 JVP insurrection
* Sri Lankan civil war

Foreign|

* Battle of Vijithapura
* Anuradhapura invasion of Pandya
* Chola conquest of Anuradhapura
* Polonnaruwa–Pagan War
* 1173 Polonnaruwa invasion of Chola
* Pandyan Civil War
* Malay invasions of Sri Lanka
* Ming–Kotte War
* Sinhalese–Portuguese conflicts
* Siege of Kotte
* Battle of Mulleriyawa
* Campaign of Danture
* Dutch–Portuguese War
* Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom
* 1560
* 1591
* First Kandyan–Dutch War
* Second Kandyan–Dutch War
* Kandyan Wars
* Great Rebellion of 1817–1818
* Matale rebellion
* Second Boer War
* World War I
* World War II
* Easter Sunday Raid
* Cocos Islands mutiny
* Operation Prosperity Guardian

Peacekeeping|

* United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
* United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
* United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad
* United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

Related articles|

* Military history
* Ceylon in World War II

* v
* t
* e

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