What are the largest, most recent Russia/Ukraine-type invasions?

Great Debates
1

Basically what the title asks. Russia recently annexed Crimea, and looks poised to potentially annex more of Ukraine.

What were the largest/most significant similar forceful annexations in the last 20-50 years?

I’m thinking of the US in Afghanistan and Iraq - though, of course, we claimed we (wink wink) weren’t annexing the land. Just replacing who was in control.

Maybe something like China WRT Mongolia?

Heck - I was an International Relations major in college. I should know this. Of course, that was 40 years ago. Anyone wanna debate SALT II? Now THAT was a useful area of study! :roll_eyes:

2

Wasn’t it Iraq invading Kuwait?

3

Morocco’s occupation and annexation of most of Western Sahara, starting in 1975.

4

Your thread title and your OP are in conflict. Are you asking about large-scale “invasions” (which obviously include Iraq and Afghanistan) or “forceful annexations” (which would not include Iraq and Afghanistan under any reasonable understanding of the term)? An invasion, and even an occupation, is not an annexation. Annexation involves the illegal incorporation of a foreign territory into the invading state’s territory. That clearly was never attempted in Iraq and Afghanistan.

5

Yeah - I realize that. But I imagine answering either could be of interest. US (recent) practice seems to be to invade in support of regime change. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait was an unsuccessful attempt at annexation.

When - since WWI, have nation states successfully annexed territory through military invasion?

6

The Nazis at the start of WWII and their conquest of Poland and France seem like the most apt comparison.

7

If you’re going to include all of the annexations since World War I, that’s going to be a hell of a list. Obviously Nazi German and the Soviet Union annexed significant territories as they expanded. There were also numerous annexations during decolonization as newly independent states adjusted their borders.

But this also invites the question of what constitutes a “successful” annexation. Was the annexation successful if it was reversed within a few years (e.g. the Nazi’s conquests) or after several decades (e.g. Soviet annexation of the Baltic states)? Does it need to be internationally recognized? What if armed resistance continues in the annexed territory?

9

Apologies - I missed an I.

I intended to type “since WWII”.

10

East Timor hoped to become an independent nation as the Portuguese left, but the Indonesians strangled that baby in its cradle.

Cyprus hoped to become an independent nation as the UK left, but Turkey recalled its prior hegemony and grabbed the north end.

Tibet, a state once lightly-vassaled to the Ching Empire, was drawn back into the fold under Mao.

11

Keep in mind, we’re not really sure what Putin’s game is here; is it a flat-out war of conquest to bring Ukraine back into Russia, or is it something else? An attempt to grab lucrative pieces of Ukraine? Maybe a way to force the Ukrainians to be a client state and dancing to the Kremlin’s jig?

12

I heard today that one possibility is to gain energy concessions from Ukraine. Like they have to sell a majority of their oil to Russia. Not sure if I buy it though.