# Most recent time a nation was conquered **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571 "2012-11-20T01:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/1 "2012-11-20T01:54:12Z")
Something that one thinks about having happened a lot of times throughout history is one nation conquering and completely subsuming another… that is, country 1 beats country 2 in a war, and after that, country 1 is twice as big as it was before, and country 2 doesn’t exist at all. When was the most recent time this happened? Was there a point during WWII when the maps published in Germany showed a Europe containing no Poland at all, just a bigger Germany? (of course, that didn’t last). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/2 "2012-11-20T01:58:59Z")
Before the first Gulf War, Iraq invaded and annexed Kuwait. It didn’t stick, of course, because of the Gulf War, but they did it. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/3 "2012-11-20T02:06:55Z")
What about something like Vietnam, where it was one country to begin with, but the split into two countries was generally recognized? At around the the same time frame as the full annexation of South Vietnam, Indonesia invaded and annexed East Timor, although that also didn’t stick in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/4 "2012-11-20T02:19:08Z")
Morocco and Western Sahara, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/5 "2012-11-20T02:26:34Z")
The Tamil Tigers did their best to create an [independent Tamil state](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Eelam) in the north of Sri Lanka. They managed to control various sections of the island to varying degrees during their 20-odd year existence, but this de facto state was reconquered by the Sri Lankan army in 2009, and the Tamil Tigers were wiped out. However, I don’t believe any other nations ever recognized Tamil Eelam during its existence, so it may not count for your purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/6 "2012-11-20T02:27:46Z")
The forced reunification of Vietnam is the only permanent swallowing up of an entire UN-recognized nation since WWIi that I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/7 "2012-11-20T02:29:11Z")
Wait! Let’s not forget Tibet. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/8 "2012-11-20T02:39:38Z")
Also, along similar lines but with the addition of some small degree of diplomatic recognition, we have [Biafra,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biafra) which was independent for three years before being (effectively) reconquered by Nigeria. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/9 "2012-11-20T02:52:09Z")
Well Indonesia invaded and occupied East Timor from 1975 until 2002, and took over West Papua in 1969. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/10 "2012-11-20T03:20:52Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Was there a point during WWII when the maps published in Germany showed a Europe containing no Poland at all, just a bigger Germany? (of course, that didn’t last). Yes. The [Greater German Reich](http://www.zonu.com/Europe/Germany/Historical_en.html) included Poland. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/11 "2012-11-20T03:34:03Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Well Indonesia invaded and occupied East Timor from 1975 until 2002, and took over West Papua in 1969. Was West Papua ever an Independent country? I thought it was just a colonial remnant of the Dutch East Idies when Indonesia forced it’s claim to the entiirity of the former DEI. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/12 "2012-11-20T04:08:19Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > When was the most recent time this happened? Was there a point during WWII when the maps published in Germany showed a Europe containing no Poland at all, just a bigger Germany? (of course, that didn’t last). It wasn’t just German Maps. The National Geographic map of Europe in 1940 showed a very large Germany, although the “Poland” label still stretched across the Germany-USSR border. The 1943 map showed the pre-war boundaries, though. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/13 "2012-11-20T04:14:02Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Was West Papua ever an Independent country? I thought it was just a colonial remnant of the Dutch East Idies when Indonesia forced it’s claim to the entiirity of the former DEI. No. East Timor on the other hand briefly declared its independence from Portugal, but was almost immediately invaded and occupied by Indonesia. Another former Portuguese colony that was occupied and absorbed was Goa in India in 1961. That one has stuck. [Sikkim](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikkim)was quasi-independent after the British left India in 1948, although an Indian protectorate, but was taken over completely in 1975. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/14 "2012-11-20T06:43:59Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Another former Portuguese colony that was occupied and absorbed was Goa in India in 1961. That one has stuck. If you’re going to count colonies taken over, there’s Hong Kong and Macau. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/15 "2012-11-20T06:46:04Z")
Seems to me some parts of the former Yugoslavia tried to devour each other with varying degrees of success. Azerbaijan grabbed part of Armenia and Russia a significant chunk of Georgia, but these aren’t the complete land grabs the OP envisions. Yemen was two separate countries until 1990. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/16 "2012-11-20T08:51:51Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > If you’re going to count colonies taken over, there’s Hong Kong and Macau. But they weren’t conquered militarily. Then again Western Sahara wasn’t either. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/17 "2012-11-20T11:00:15Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > It wasn’t just German Maps. The National Geographic map of Europe in 1940 showed a very large Germany, although the “Poland” label still stretched across the Germany-USSR border. The 1943 map showed the pre-war boundaries, though. I went looking for that map. You can see it [here](http://www.mapsales.com/national-geographic/continent-wall-maps/europe-1940-wall-map.aspx). It’s odd in that “Poland” is written in the same typeface as other countries, but crosses over the borders. In faint red text you can see that the area of Poland is labelled “Germany” in the west, “USSR” in the east, and “Government General of Poland” in the middle (but still within the greater German borders). ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/18 "2012-11-20T11:54:51Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Something that one thinks about having happened a lot of times throughout history is one nation conquering and completely subsuming another… that is, country 1 beats country 2 in a war, and after that, country 1 is twice as big as it was before, and country 2 doesn’t exist at all. > > When was the most recent time this happened? Was there a point during WWII when the maps published in Germany showed a Europe containing no Poland at all, just a bigger Germany? (of course, that didn’t last). Concerning Germany and Poland, that’s technically not entirely correct. In 1939, Poland was occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union occupied the Eastern part of Poland. This part too came under German occupation in 1941, but the Soviets eventually regained it. The land was annexed and became part of the Soviet Union. To this day, the Eastern part of what was until 1939 Poland is an integral part of Russia and the Ukraine respectively. Basically, Stalin’s deal with Hitler and the land grab became final. After Germany attacked and defeated Poland in 1939 and occupied the Western part of the country, it didn’t integrate (=annex) the whole of Poland into Germany. Germany did annex the territories it lost to Poland in 1918/19 plus a big chunk of adjacent land. Central Poland on the other hand was occupied by Germany under the so-called _Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete_ (General Government for the occupied Polish territories). This part of the country (including the capital Warsaw) technically did not become a part of Germany. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/19 "2012-11-20T12:04:37Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The forced reunification of Vietnam is the only permanent swallowing up of an entire UN-recognized nation since WWIi that I can think of. “Forced” by the Vietnamese. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571/20 "2012-11-20T13:50:51Z")
The most recent nation-on-nation conquest of a noticeable duration I can think of is the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia. Lasted from 1978 to 1990. But still there where some Khmer Rouge holdout areas. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-recent-time-a-nation-was-conquered/641571.md?page=2)