On a recent local PBS program it was mentioned in passing that during the War of 1812 the British captured and held Fort Niagara. This of course got me to thinking. When was the last time a foreign army occupied a US possession that would later become, or was at that time, part of the fifty states ? Also, the same question regarding just a US possession in general. Just to be a little more precise rule out local “freedom fighters” and Native Americans. I was thinking maybe the Spanish American War but I’m not sure.
Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians was attacked by the Japs in WWII, but I don’t recall whether or not they occuppied it.
Well, I’m sure the Hawaiian Queendom had an “army” of sorts, and it is now a state. I don’t know how far back that takes things. 1920s?
The Japanese did occupy Attu and Kiska, in the Aleutians, during WW II. There may have been some propoganda value, but I believe the operation was mainly a feint to attempt to through the U.S. off of their plans for Midway.
The Japanese occuppied parts of the Aleutian islands of Attu and Kiska as a sideline to the Midway operation in June 1942. IIRC it was a considerable pain in rear to dig them out, but can’t recall how long they held out.
Attu was a very bloody fight, with the Japanese taking an incredible 98% casualty rate–only 28 Japanese prisoners were captured, out of some 2600 men (the US casualties were nearly 4000). The tenacity of the Japanese meant that much of the fighting involved clearing out bunkers and trenches at short range. One US unit, B Company of the 17th Infantry Regiment, had to scale sheer cliffs under Japanese fire to clear a ridge overlooking Holtz Bay. Several “banzai” suicide charges were made by the desperate Japanese.
The climate was almost as formidable a foe, with heavy fogs, unpredicable winds and raw temperatures, and the US units were not fully equipped or trained for winter warfare.
Here’s a very detailed account of the occupation and battle:
http://www.hlswilliwaw.com/aleutians/Aleutians/html/aleutians-wwii.htm
A quote from the above mentioned-page:
A few months later, a second assault force was readied for the invasion of Kiska, intended as a joint US-Canada operation. There was no opposition. The last Japanese had been evacuated by submarine a few weeks before. There were still 28 US fatal casualties, caused mostly by “blue-on-blue” friendly fire incidents. 4 Canadians were killed by Japanese munitions.
Here’s a link for Kiska info:
http://www.multipointproductions.com/heroes/henri/henri2.htm
If you’re talking about something that was a state at the time, I would assume that you would have to go back to the Civil War. However, that’s a Great Debate.
The Mexican-American war was, ostensibly, started over a U.S. claim that “American blood was shed on American soil”. In a sense that was true because the US won the war and made it American soil without any doubt. (I’m forgetting the name of the river that was in dispute: the Nueces(???) )
I thought that WWII might be the answer if we were talking about US possessions (Pacific islands being in the middle of the war) but forgot all about Alaska.
Wasn’t thinking about whether they were states at the time since when they became states most had pretty secure borders.
Thanks for the links.
How 'bout the American Embassy in Taiwan? Technically, it was American soil.
A sub-set of the St. Regis Mohawks claims they are independent of both the US and Canada; their reservation rests, in part, in New York.
Then there’s those zany Texans… and the Conch Republic.
Of course, none of the above can realistically be considered to be on par with the occupation of Attu, Kiska, and Adak, not to mention Midway, Wake, Guam, and the Philippines.