FThis is a list of battles and wars that involved or occurred in Bangladesh throughout different periods of history. Some of the battles and wars occurred when the modern area of Bangladesh was under different empires, especially the Mughal Empire and the British Empire, and the Bengalis served in both the Mughal and the British militaries. Since the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, it has its own military.
The Pāla Empire (r. 750–1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffix Pāla ("protector" in Sanskrit), it took part in the major All-Indian conflict, the Kannauj Wars.
| First Kannauj War(750s - 770) | Pala Empire | Pratihara DyanstyRashtrukuta Dynasty | Defeat | |
(770 CE) | Pala Empire | Pratihara DyanstyRashtrukuta Dynasty | Victory | |
| First Pala-Tibetan War | Pala Empire | Tibetan Empire | Defeat[1] | |
| Third Kannauj War(816 - 820 CE) | Pala Empire | Pratihara DyanstyRashtrukuta Dynasty | Defeat | |
| Pala Conquest of Pragjyotisha and Utkala | Pala Empire | PragjyotishaUtkala | Victory[2] [3] | |
Second Pala-Tibetan War
| Pala Empire | Tibetan Empire | Victory[4] | |
| First Pala-Pratihara War | Pala Empire | Pratihara Dyansty | Victory[5] | |
| Second Pala-Pratihara War | Pala Empire | Pratihara Dyansty | Victory[6] | |
| Third Pala-Pratihara War | Pala Empire | Pratihara Dyansty | Victory | |
| Chola invasion of Ganges(1019-1021 CE) | Pala Empire | Imperial Cholas | Defeat[7] |
Bengal became independent from the Delhi Sultanate in 1338, and remained independent till 1576 (except for brief Mughal and Afghan occupations in the 1540s). During this period, the Bengal Sultanate had its own military, and took part in various wars and armed conflicts.[8]
| Conflict | Bengal Sultanate and allied forces | Opposition forces | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengali expedition in Nepal (1349–1350) Location: Nepal | Bengal | Nepal | Victory[9]
| |
| First Delhite invasion of Bengal (1353–1354) Location: Bengal | Bengal | Delhi Empire | Defeat[10] [11] | |
| Second Delhite invasion of Bengal (1358–1360) Location: Bengal | Bengal | Delhi Empire | Victory[12] | |
| Bengal Sultanate–Jaunpur Sultanate War (1415–1420) Location: Bengal | Bengal Timurid Empire Ming China | Jaunpur Sultanate | Victory[13] [14]
| |
| Restoration of Min Saw Mon (1429) Location: Rakhine | Bengal | Hanthawaddy Kingdom | Victory[15] [16] [17]
| |
| Bengal Sultanate–Kamata Kingdom War (1498) Location: Assam | Bengal | Kamata Kingdom | Victory[18]
| |
| Bengali conquest of Chittagong (1512–1516) Location: Chittagong | Bengal | Arakan | Victory[19]
| |
| Bengal conquest of Orissa (1568) Location: Orissa | Bengal | Victory
| ||
| Mughal invasion of Bengal (1572–1576) Location: Bengal | Bengal | Mughal Empire | Defeat |
In 1576, the Mughal Empire conquered Bengal and turned it into a province of the empire. The Mughal rule continued until 1717, when Mughal Subadar (provincial governor) Murshid Quli Khan declared the independence of Bengal. During this period, Bengalis served in the Mughal military, and took part in many wars undertaken by the Mughals.
In 1717, Murshid Quli Khan, who was the provincial governor of the Mughal province of Bengal, taking advantage of the weakness of the declining Mughal Empire, declared the independence of Bengal and established himself as the Nawab of Bengal. Bengal remained independent until 1764, when the British annexed the region. During this period, Bengal had its own military, and Bengalis served in it.
| Conflict | Bengal subah and allied forces | Opposition forces | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of Jaipur | Bengal | Defeat
| ||
| First Battle of Katwa | Bengal | Victory | ||
| Battle of Birbhum | Bengal | Victory | ||
| Second Battle of Katwa | Bengal | Victory | ||
| Second Battle of Midnapur | Bengal | Victory | ||
| Battle of Burdwan | Bengal | Victory | ||
| Battle of Rani Sarai | Bengal | Victory | ||
| First Anglo–Bengal War (1756–1757) | Bengal | 
| Victory | |
| Second Anglo–Bengal War (1757) | Bengal |
| Defeat
| |
| Third Anglo–Bengal War (1763–1764) | Bengal Oudh Mughal Empire |
| Defeat
|
| Conflict | Bangladesh and allied forces | Opposition forces | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of Ramu (1824) (Part of First Anglo-Burmese War) | Burmese Empire | British Empire | Burmese victory | |
| Indian War of Independence (1857–1859) | Indian Sepoys (including Bengali sepoys) Mughal Empire Maratha Empire GwaliorJhansi Oudh Many other factions |
Kingdom of Nepal | Defeat
|
In 1947, East Bengal became a province of the newly established state of Pakistan, and retained this name till 1955. During this period, Bengalis served in the Pakistani military and took part in various conflicts involving Pakistan.
East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan in 1955, and it became one of the two units of Pakistan under the Pakistani policy of 'One Unit'. East Pakistan remained a part of Pakistan till 1971. During this period, Bengalis continued to serve in the Pakistani military and took part in the wars in which Pakistan participated during this period.
| Conflict | Bangladesh and allied forces | Opposition forces | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal conflict in Bangladesh (1972-present) Location: Bangladesh | Various anti-Government groups | Ongoing
| ||
| Communist insurgency in Bangladesh (1972–1975) Location: Bangladesh |  | Communist insurgents | Victory
| |
| Chittagong Hill Tracts Conflict (1977–1997) Location: Chittagong Hill Tracts | | Tribal insurgents | Victory
| |
| Gulf War (Operation Moru-prantar) (1991) Location: Iraq and Kuwait |     | Iraq | Victory
| |
| Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002) Location: Sierra Leone |      | RUF AFRC (1997–2002) West Side Boys (1998–2000)  (1997–2002) NPFL (1991–2002) | Victory | |
| Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation (1991) Location: Bangladesh–Myanmar border and Northern Rakhine State | (border skirmish) Rohingya Solidarity Organisation |  | Victory
| |
| 1999 East Timorese crisis (1999–2005) Location: East Timor |   | Pro-Indonesia militia | Victory | |
| Bangladesh–India Border Skirmishes (2001-2019)
Location: Bangladesh–India border | |  | Ceasefire [28]
| |
| Bangladesh Rifles Revolt (2009) Location: Dhaka | | Mutineers from Bangladesh Rifles | Victory
| |
| Central African Republic Civil War (2012-present) Location:Central African Republic | (As a part of MINUSCA) | Coalition of Patriots for Change | Ongoing
| |
| Bangladesh–Arakan Army Conflict (2015) Location: Bangladesh–Myanmar border | | Arakan Army | Victory
|