Up next in 10
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GKonYoutube
In this video I talk about the countries that the United States have, throughout their history, officially invaded. The 'officially' is important, given that presence of US troops in various regions throughout the world is very common at many points in history. But for this video, I decided to limit the scope to the actual official invasions, by land troops, of a territory belonging to a country that the US were at war with. I also briefly mention the full number of conflicts that the US has been involved with, accounting for the number of victories, losses, or unresolved and current conflicts. After providing an overview of all the modern countries (or historical predecessors) whose territory the US has at one point invaded, I go through a reasonably sized list of examples of these invasions, looking into some in more detail and learning why, when and how the United States of America moved forward with these invasions. With the biggest element of this being understanding the motive for said invasion; most often to conquer new territories, establish influence / prevent another power from doing so, or to guarantee trade and business interests. Save a few exceptions when righteousness was truly the reason for invasion. In these examples we shortly learn about cases such as the First Barbary War, when they invaded Algiers, Tunis, Morocco or Libya, protectorates of the Ottoman Empire. The Spanish-American War, where they took the remnants of the Spanish Colonial Empire for themselves (Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam), the invasions of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Iraq, Lebanon or Afghanistan. As well as their expeditions to Korea and China during colonial times. Not to mention the various interventions, some of which part of the 'Banana Wars' in Central America and the Caribbean; invading and occupying nations such as Nicaragua, Panama, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, among a few more.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 INTRO
00:25 How many conflicts have the US fought?
01:36 The common element: invasions
02:36 Criteria for what we consider an invasion
03:58 Map overview of invaded countries
05:31 First Barbary War
06:26 Mexican-American War
07:00 Mexican Border War
07:23 Second Opium War (China)
08:26 Joseon Expedition + Korean War
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
The United States. Ever since their declaration of independence in 1776, the United States have
0:06
been a part of many wars. After all, their independence was forged in a revolutionary
0:10
war against the British. This isn't a one-of-a-kind example, by the contrary
0:15
a large number of countries throughout history achieved their independence through war
0:20
One other example is Portugal fighting against Castile to become its own kingdom
0:25
But throughout its almost 250 years of existence, military conflicts have been a big part of the United States existence
0:33
Again, not an exception, it has been so for almost all countries
0:38
Although the US do set themselves apart for being involved in more recent conflicts than other nations
0:45
Throughout all their history, when it comes to official conflicts, there have been at least 106 of them
0:51
In 81, they were victorious. Only 10 times they were defeated, with the first defeat only coming in 1866, so they
1:00
went almost 100 years undefeated, that is impressive. 11 of them were either unresolved, settled with a pre-war status quo, or unclear, and
1:10
4 of them are still ongoing. Although, remember, the size of these wars is not considered
1:15
World War II is listed as a win, in the same way the occupation of Utah against the Mormon
1:21
colonists is. But through all of those conflicts, some wars that the US was a part of were defensive
1:28
others were offensive, but in many wars categorized as either, one thing happened
1:33
US invasions. You see, other than the Revolutionary War itself, some other early wars with the British
1:41
Mexicans, Native Americans, and then the Civil War, there's been no war fought in the continental
1:46
United States for a long time. In the latter, you can even consider it a foreign invasion as it was Americans vs. Americans
1:54
Even in World War II, the Contiguous 48 saw no conflict in their own land and only Hawaii
1:59
and other Pacific Islands were invaded by the Japanese. This is because in every other war that the US were a part of, whether having started the
2:07
conflict or not, they were the invading force fighting the battle in another country's territory
2:13
In this video, we're going to do two things. First, provide a brief overview of all the conflicts the US have been a part of throughout
2:19
its history, where an invasion took place. Not listing them all in detail, but learning where they happened
2:26
Second, choose a few key examples of those and go through them specifically understanding
2:31
when, why and how some countries were invaded by the United States
2:37
Let's move forward with the overview. It's important to note that it's difficult to categorize all conflicts that the US have
2:42
been a part of, especially the ones that they invaded a country in
2:46
Not only do they differ in the type of conflict that it was, whether it was fought on land
2:51
sea, air or a combination of those, posing the question, do we only consider an invasion
2:57
if it was done with boots on the ground. I will use this criteria for the video, excluding conflicts that were exclusively naval and or air
3:06
Second, listing the countries which have been invaded by the US is a challenge in itself
3:11
For instance, in the Spanish-American War, the US invaded the territories of Cuba and
3:15
the Philippines which were controlled by the Spanish. Do we consider the invaded country Spain, even though American troops were never in
3:22
Spain per se, or do we consider Cuba and the Philippines as the invaded ones, even though
3:26
the countries were not established at the time? I would argue the first one is the more correct option as, at the time, it was Spanish territory
3:34
that was being invaded, even if not its European mainland. Although this isn the best example because both Cuba and the Philippines were also invaded on their own but anyway We must also differentiate military conflicts and wars from participation or aid in foreign civil wars or coup d
3:52
even when they were organized by the US themselves. For the sake of this video, I will leave both these cases out
3:58
With that being said, let's provide a visual list of invasions through this map
4:02
I'm going to fill in the countries as I list them, but of course they didn't invade the entirety of the countries, keep that in mind
4:09
and assuming the Spanish criteria, so I'll be considering the invaded countries, the ones that
4:14
controlled the territories at the time, the US has, in no particular order, invaded the following
4:20
nations. The British, Canada, Northern American natives, the historic predecessors of modern Libya
4:26
Tunis, Morocco, Algiers, all of which were protectorates of the Ottomans, Mexico
4:32
Qing China, the Joseon Dynasty and then Korea, Germany, both the Empire and the Third Reich
4:38
Italy, Spain, the Philippines, Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Austria
4:45
Japan, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq and also Grenada and Panama
4:52
There's also other small examples of US troops invading the land of other countries but that
4:57
aren't necessarily included in a specific conflict and tons of other countries and regions
5:02
where US troops have been or are that we could fill in on this map but I wanted to keep this
5:08
exclusive to official invasions. Again, it's very confusing to categorize all of them, so this list might be incomplete
5:15
or slightly off in some cases. If you notice any mistakes or missing nations, feel free to point them out in the comments
5:22
So now that we've provided that overview, let's look at some specific examples that
5:27
show us the types of invasions these were, why they happened, when and how
5:32
Immediately at the start of the 19th century was the first overseas invasions by the United
5:36
States, the first Barbary War in 1801 which took place in the Ottoman protectorates of Tripolitana
5:43
as well as in Morocco. The Ottoman protectorates of the Barbary States wanted to charge protection
5:48
fees so that US ships wouldn't be raided by them, they refused to pay and so went into war
5:53
It was mostly a naval conflict but the US did actually invade with a few hundred men
5:57
and this invasion was the turning point of the conflict through the Battle of Derna
6:01
when a mercenary army recruited and led by US marines marched through the North African desert
6:07
from Alexandria in Egypt to the eastern port city of Derna in Libya, defeating the Corsairs
6:13
The Second Barbary War in 1815 also saw overseas invasion, this time in Algiers
6:18
for the same reasons, but the invasion was literally just at the end of the conflict
6:22
99.9% of which was naval and they also won this one. The next invasion of a foreign country was the Mexican-American War in 1846. Following the
6:32
American annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered theirs, the two recently independent
6:37
North American nations went to war. Not only the US warned Texas, but also to follow the idea of
6:42
manifest destiny and continue expanding west into territories that were at the time part of the
6:48
Mexican Empire. The US won and the territories of the current states of California, Nevada, Utah
6:53
Arizona and New Mexico were conquered. Conflicts with Mexico existed various times throughout history with many other examples
7:00
taking place, like the Mexican border war of 1910, the last major conflict fought on
7:05
American soil and somewhat connected to WWI, although not really, there were just some
7:10
specific Mexican revolutionary factions that decided to attack border towns, but since
7:15
the German Empire went in Mexico to attack the US, they supported them apparently
7:19
Having already been involved in invasions in North America and Africa, Asia was next
7:24
with the second Opium War in China in 1856 Siding with the UK and France the US fought and won against the Chinese This was a colonial war over the right to import opium to the country the US weren
7:37
a big part of the war but offered aid to the UK and a Chinese garrison at Canton shelled
7:42
a US steamer leading to the battle of the Pearl River forts where the US launched an
7:48
amphibious assault against a series of forts in what is today Guangzhou, China
7:53
They returned to China in 1899 with the Boxer Rebellion. This was an anti-colonial uprising, so all the colonial powers united against them
8:02
and the US was one of them, forming the Eight Nation Alliance. The Boxers had the Colonial Legation Quarter of Beijing surrounded
8:10
and so this Eight Nation Army moved on to break the siege
8:14
In this painting, we can even see US troops climbing the walls of Beijing
8:18
and placing an American flag on top of them. There were also other small conflicts in which US soldiers took place during these uprisings
8:27
And after a few internal wars against the natives, they were back to Asia in 1871 through
8:32
the US expedition to Korea against the Joseon dynasty, mostly taking place in the Gwangwa Island
8:39
The reason for the presence of the American land forces in Korea was to support an American
8:43
diplomatic delegation sent there and led by the US ambassador to China
8:48
The Koreans didn't want a trade treaty and requested the US not to go into their territory
8:53
with them ignoring the request, and so the Koreans attacked the ship that was in their
8:58
territorial waters. In retaliation, about 650 Americans landed and captured several forts
9:05
culminating in the Battle of Gungwa. A news article from the time makes the argument that
9:10
it was the US ambassador's plan to demonstrate American power over what he considered to be
9:16
a weaker nation. Also, of course, having been fully involved in another Korean war later in
9:21
history in 1950, fighting alongside the South and invading the North. A key part in conflict
9:27
within the Cold War, placing North and South Korea against each other, one supported by the
9:32
Soviet Union and China and the other by the US, this war was unresolved and remains so up to today
9:38
Next, we have Germany, which was invaded by the US three times throughout its history. The first
9:43
First was the second Samoan civil war in 1898 where the US, UK and Germany were fighting
9:49
over who should control Samoa, they ended up splitting it into an American and German
9:53
colony, the German one is now independent Samoa. Then World War I where they also invaded Austria-Hungary and World War II where they also invaded Italy
10:03
fighting through various other European territories that were under the control of these nations
10:07
at the time. A key invasion target of the US was also Spain, although as we saw not in its European mainland
10:13
As I pointed out on the map, the Spanish-American War of 1898 was the final destruction of the
10:19
Spanish colonial empire. It began with US participation in the Cuban War of Independence and then the Philippine Revolution
10:26
The US won and Spain relinquished sovereignty over Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines
10:32
to the United States. Following that war and the loss of these territories by Spain, the US also invaded both of these nations
10:39
So the Philippines war was immediately after with the locals fighting for independence
10:44
however the US won and the Philippines became an unincorporated territory of the United States
10:49
while the conflict with Cuba was only much later in history in 1961 with the Bay of Pigs
10:55
invasion, a failed military invasion attempting to overthrow their revolutionary government. Moving past Mexico there were also several other US interventions in Central America
11:05
and the Caribbean such as Nicaragua in 1912, siding with the regime against revolutionary
11:10
forces to stop any other nation from building a Nicaraguan c Haiti in 1915 with the landing of 300 soldiers in the capital of Port to take control of Haiti political and financial interests protecting American businesses there there a series of US invasions and occupations in Central
11:27
American nations to secure their own business interest known as the Banana Wars
11:32
The Dominican Republic in 1916 following a local revolution that wasn't friendly to
11:37
the US and leading to the establishment of an American sponsored puppet government
11:41
Grenada in 1983 was the same with the US not accepting a revolutionary government and invading
11:47
to restore the previous one. Panama in 1989 where the primary purpose was to depose their de facto ruler, General Manuel
11:55
Noriega who was wanted by US authorities. And Haiti again in 1994 to remove a military regime and restore the previous government
12:04
At the end of the 20th century several invasions in Southeast Asia also took place
12:09
Vietnam in 55, Laos in 59, and Cambodia in 67, all of these resulting in a catastrophic defeat by the US in 1975
12:18
They were all a part of the Cold War too, with the Soviet Union and China supporting one side and the US the other
12:23
US interventions had to do with wanting to stop the spread of Soviet influence to the rest of Asia
12:29
And finally, the Middle Eastern area was time and time again invaded by the US
12:34
beginning with the Lebanon crisis in 1958, when Lebanese president requested US intervention to
12:40
stop a political and religious crisis. It was part of the Eisenhower doctrine, which aimed to provide
12:45
assistance to any Middle Eastern country that was being threatened by armed aggression, also seeking
12:51
to prevent the expansion of communism into the region, returning to Lebanon in 1982 in a
12:57
multinational intervention to establish a peacekeeping mission for the country's internal conflict. Then they also invaded Iraq first in 1990 and then again in 2004, the first being to
13:08
stop Iraq from annexing Kuwait and the second due to false pretense of stopping the usage of weapons
13:14
of mass destruction in Afghanistan also in 2001 for region stabilization purposes, arguably having
13:21
very much the opposite effect. So, that is a brief overview of all the times US soldiers have invaded
13:28
the territory of another country within the context of an official conflict, attempting to
13:34
provide an important piece of context that there are far more US military interventions and wars
13:40
that they have taken part in, but that for this video, the point was only to consider nations they
13:44
have physically invaded on the ground with their own soldiers, also considering the invaded country
13:49
the nation in control of those invaded territories at the time, and not necessarily the countries that
13:54
exist there today, leaving out naval and aerial-only conflicts, as well as US participation
13:59
in coups or internal conflicts of other nations, providing a potentially complete list of all
14:05
these countries the US have invaded, and understanding in which parts of the world that happened
14:10
then going through a good number of specific examples of US invasions, and learning where
14:15
why, and how those invasions happened, which I believe provide us with a good understanding
14:20
of what events have triggered them throughout history, either to expand their territory
14:25
safeguard trade, safeguard business interests, or keep other powers from expanding their spheres
14:30
of influence, in addition to a few legitimate defenses against forces of evil, if you will
14:36
And why, at least in modern times, they seem to take part in more external conflicts than almost
14:42
any other nation in the world. What is your opinion about these invasions? Are any other
14:46
big ones missing and which other countries have a history of foreign invasions or being
14:51
invaded, let me know in the comments. Thanks so much for watching this video, subscribe if you want and I will see you next time for
14:58
more general knowledge
#Hobbies & Leisure
#education
#Military
#Politics
#World News
#War & Conflict