# List of wars involving Sri Lanka

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 |
By Topic :
Agriculture
Armed Forces
Army
Air Force
Navy
Economy
Education
Geography
Politics
Tamil immigration
World Heritage Sites :
Sri Lanka portal
Bibliography
Glossary
Timeline :
vte :
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

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

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

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

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

| Conflict | Ceylon and allies | Opponents | Results | Ceylon commanders | Ceylon commanders | Ceylon losses | Ceylon losses |
| Conflict | Ceylon and allies | Opponents | Results | 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 | Sirimavo Bandaranaike | 53 | 1,200 |

## Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

| Conflict | Sri Lanka and allies | Opponents | Results | Sri Lankan commanders | Sri Lankan commanders | Sri Lankan losses | Sri Lankan losses |
| Conflict | Sri Lanka and allies | Opponents | Results | 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 | 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. Government of Sri Lanka confirms that future patrols would take place. | Ranil Wickremesinghe | Ranil Wickremesinghe | | |

## Sri Lankan peacekeeping

| Conflict | Sri Lanka and allies | Country | Results | Sri Lankan commanders | Sri Lankan commanders | Sri Lankan losses |
| Conflict | Sri Lanka and allies | Country | Results | Head(s) of Government | Defense Minister(s) | Sri Lankan losses |
| United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (1978–present) | Sri Lanka | Lebanon | Ongoing | Various | Various | |
| United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (2004–present) | Sri Lanka | Haiti | Ongoing | Various | Various | |
| United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (2007–2010) | Sri Lanka | Central African Republic Chad | Ended | Mahinda Rajapaksa | Mahinda Rajapaksa | |
| United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (2013–present) | Sri Lanka | Mali | Ongoing | Mahinda Rajapaksa Maithripala Sirisena Gotabaya Rajapaksa Ranil Wickremesinghe | Mahinda Rajapaksa Maithripala Sirisena Gotabaya Rajapaksa Ranil Wickremesinghe | 3 |