go to war vs skirmish

go to war

verb
  • To enter into an armed conflict. 

  • (of a person) To depart, typically from one's home, to join an army at war. 

skirmish

verb
  • To engage in a minor battle or dispute 

noun
  • A brief battle between small groups, usually part of a longer or larger battle or war. 

  • Any minor dispute. 

  • A type of outdoor military style game using paintball or similar weapons. 

How often have the words go to war and skirmish occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )