this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2025
214 points (92.8% liked)

History

6637 readers
70 users here now

Welcome to History!

A community dedicated to sharing and discussing fascinating historical facts from all periods and regions.

Rules:

FOLLOW THE CODE OF CONDUCT

NOTE: Personal attacks and insults will not be tolerated. Stick to talking about the historical topic at hand in your comments. Insults and personal attacks will get you an immediate ban.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
all 49 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Mk23simp@lemmy.blahaj.zone 42 points 1 year ago

22 countries have never been invaded by the British yet.

[–] vk6flab@lemmy.radio 20 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Hmmm.

When were Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain , Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Austria or Romania invaded by the British?

[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 25 points 1 year ago (2 children)

France and Britain have a long history of warfare.

[–] BastingChemina@slrpnk.net 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I think it would be easier to list the periods where France and Britain were NOT at war which each other rather than the opposite.

[–] heavydust@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

I think they still deserve some invasion for their awful food (jelly and honey glazed carrots). They need some education and it can only happens with some kind of war.

[–] vk6flab@lemmy.radio 3 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Warfare and invasion are not the same thing.

[–] athairmor@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

Are you saying the British never sent troops into French territory? Any incursion by armed forces into another state’s territory is the very definition of invasion.

[–] OhNoMoreLemmy@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago

There's been a lot of occupation as well. E.g. the hundred year war.

If we can say Russia invaded Ukraine, England invaded France

You're trying to be a pedant, yet you appear foolish.

[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Ignoring history and being pedant on the Internet are not the same thing. But you're doing a good job at both.

[–] bleistift2@sopuli.xyz 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Germany, and probably Austria: World War 2

At the time the Netherlands and Belgium were occupied by Germany. Don’t know if that counts.

France: Probably during the Hundred Years’ war.

[–] LarsIsCool@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Weird to exclude Luxembourg from that as they were also occupied by Germany and freed by the Allied forces

Edit: checked the book and:

  • Netherlands, The: it counts the Battle of the Sluys and other various navel battles fought on Dutch territory as valid examples
  • Belgium: it counts the battles that were fought on the land that is now Belgium, so not counting from its creation. It also counts assisting the local people, so for example fighting off the French in defense together with the Flemish

So the book is taking "invasion" more lenient than the comment section:

  • The act of invading, especially the entrance of an armed force into a territory to conquer.

The introduction also states "invasion, had some control over, or fought conflicts in the territory"

[–] Sylvartas@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Italy, probably WW2 too (operation dragoon)

[–] IrateAnteater@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Maybe they are counting any wars where the British fought? If so, the two world wars would account for a lot of it.

[–] FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Still Switzerland? We weren’t invaded in WW2 or WW1.

[–] ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 8 points 1 year ago

Switzerland was a part of the wars of the 2nd, 5th and 6th coalition against Napoleon against the British.

[–] Klear@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah, they are. It's bullshit.

[–] Redredme@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Rampjaar. 1672. We where the dutch republic back then so it included belgium, Luxembourg. We had a lot of wars before and after between us and the English in which the english took a lot of our colonies by fotce.

Belgium was "invaded" during WW1 and again during WW2.

Spain: ever heard of Gibraltar?

The English fucked with everyone who had a ship back then.

[–] leftascenter@jlai.lu 2 points 1 year ago

Parts of probably, e.g. Gibraltar

[–] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)
  • Netherlands - Holmes’ Bonfire, 1666, 1944
  • Belgium - Napoleonic wars — Waterloo
  • France - (as England) 1230, 1337-60, 1369-89, 1373, 1415-53, 1562, (as Britain) 1794, 1795, 1813, 1815, 1944
  • Germany - 1914-18, 1944-5
  • Spain - 1808-13
  • Italy - 1944-45
  • Austria - 1945
[–] adam_y@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (3 children)

The Britain's invaded Britain. Power move.

[–] Sconrad122@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

So many times depending on who you trace modern Brits to. Romans invaded the Celts. Saxons invaded the Romans. Normans invaded the Saxons. And that's just England. Wales and Scotland could probably come up with another dozen plus examples between them

[–] Nighed@feddit.uk 4 points 1 year ago

I guess the civil war counts?

[–] asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

That's the American Revolution.

[–] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 year ago

Horseshit, half the countries in the world didn't even bother getting around to existing until long after the British put the great project on pause

[–] boonhet@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The map is bullshit tbh. It includes countries where the brits actually helped achieve independence (the Baltics after WWII).

The definition of invasion according to the book is apparently "has fought in conflicts in territory".

E.g Sweden is uninvaded according to this map. If Norway invades Sweden and the UK goes to help Sweden, it'll count as the brits having invaded Sweden for this map.

[–] FelixCress@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yup, when did Britain invade Poland, Lithuania, Estonia or Latvia?

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Finland, as we were part of the non-invaded Sweden

[–] LarsIsCool@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

To clarify a lot of confusion I see in the comments. This book considers a country to be invaded when:

  • At any point during the history of England, Whales, northern Ireland, Scotland, and or significant predecessors any army of theirs "invaded",

  • Counting any part of the land that is now considered part of the UN country. So not only from when the country existed,

  • And being invaded meaning they had some control over, or fought conflicts in the territory.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Well, The British? What do you have to say for yourselves?!

[–] crapwittyname@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

Loves me empire, hates immigrants, simple as.

[–] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 2 points 1 year ago

Please calm down and would the outstanding 22 form an orderly queue.

[–] Adulated_Aspersion@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

US?

Edit: I am incorrect. I didn't see the "never" in the title.

[–] RandomVideos@programming.dev 4 points 1 year ago

To distinguish Chad and Romania, Romania should add the UK flag in a corner (like New Zealand)

[–] Benchamoneh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 year ago

Looks like the US is going to try to break this record

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

The Brit fears the Mongolian

[–] waigl@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Pretty sure the British never invaded South Sudan…

[–] Elkot@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago
[–] John@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 year ago

They saw the Flag of Ivory Coast and thought they allready invaded it.

Rule #1 to not get invaded: Hide your country as centrally as possible in your continent.

[–] pancho@lemmy.eco.br 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

At first I thought that it was a bit of a stretch to include Brazil there, but I think that you can say that if you consider the English corsairs/pirates activity during the early period of Portuguese colonization.

Edit: also, probably that's the reason why the indland countries in South America are out of this list.

Don't rush them! They're doing their best. If anything, the Tories have been working with US Republicans to get things back on track.

[–] wicked_angel@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago
[–] 1984@lemmy.today 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

British are pretty welcome. Bring tea, cookies and the office guy. :)

[–] PanArab@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago

I don't think they ever invaded the entirety of the Arabian Peninsula, they had protectorates: Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, South Yemen, and the seven emirates that later formed UAE.