20th Century nation most deserving of invasion

[BuckyRea]

Certainly the growing consensus in the realm of international law and justice is that one nation really ought not go about invading its neighbors. It's simply uncivilized behavior in a world where there are ever-evolving transnational institutions designed to peacefully mediate grievances between heavily armed geopolitical opponents.

But that said, sometimes the so-called victim really had it coming, like Winnie-the-Pooh poking his big fat orange paw into some poor bees' honeycomb and openly consorting with pink pigs. Of course, no one ever deserves to be stung nigh unto death by a blitzkrieg of bees, particularly by those which practice the noxious governmental tyranny of absolutist monarchy and horde that sweet sweet nectar of life which is honey. But that said, Winnie-the-Pooh was kinda askin' for it.

But let us elevate this conversation to the world of public affairs, for which the antics of Christopher Robbins' hallucinatory figments are but an allegory. Which 20th Century nation got the lickin' it most richly deserved by a karmic agent who only just so happened to be the embodiment of postmodern evil?

 

[sophie]

Poland.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Soviet Union obviously.

 

[LightSpectra]

None of the above, though at least Austria-Hungary had a just casus belli against Serbia in 1914.

Don't tell me that the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was independent of the Serbian government. The man who ordered the attack, Dragutin Dimitrijević, was a prominent member of the Serbian General Staff; and Prime Minister Nikola Pašić informed the Russian foreign ministry that Austria was going to invade in an impossibly accurate time frame before the actual assassination.

Nevertheless, I still think the invasion was a mistake, since the matter could possibly have been resolved through other means.

 

[Communisto]

What could the hereros possibly have done to deserve genocide?

 

[Dachs]

What the hell is the "Russia 1905" option supposed to mean?

 

[Traitorfish]

What the hell is the "Russia 1905" option supposed to mean?

The Russo-Japanese War, but I'm not sure what invasion he thinks occurred- presumably he's referring to Japanese encroachment in Manchuria, although it was never actually part of Russia, simply a Chinese province under Russian influence.

 

[Dachs]

Yes, hence the "what the hell is it supposed to mean" thing. Plus, if you're going to put up the Russo-Japanese War, the least you could do is get the date (1904) right.

 

[_random_]

Poland.

This. I'm ethically opposed to killing people who aren't Polish.

 

[cubsfan6506]

"Herreros by Germany, 1904: Industrialize or die, suckers!"

Not to sound ignorant but what event does this refer to?

 

[Dachs]

The Herero genocide. Which wasn't an invasion; a bunch of people in northern Namibia rebelled against German rule and Lothar von Trotha's troops ended up slaughtering a metric ****ton of them. Exciting stuff.

 

[Tee Kay]

Poland.

More deserving are friends of Poland.

 

[r16]

me , me would say anyone with an attention crave .

 

[Lord Baal]

None of the above. Tibet in 1951. No, that's not a joke.

 

[Tee Kay]

None of the above. Tibet in 1951. No, that's not a joke.

Tibet is not a country! It's always been a part of China!

 

[Lord Baal]

Tibet is not a country! It's always been a part of China!

It is a nation though.

*phew* Technicalities; saving my arse since 2001.

 

[Louis XXIV]

None of the above, though at least Austria-Hungary had a just casus belli against Serbia in 1914.

Don't tell me that the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was independent of the Serbian government. The man who ordered the attack, Dragutin Dimitrijević, was a prominent member of the Serbian General Staff; and Prime Minister Nikola Pašić informed the Russian foreign ministry that Austria was going to invade in an impossibly accurate time frame before the actual assassination.

Nevertheless, I still think the invasion was a mistake, since the matter could possibly have been resolved through other means.

It doesn't make sense to assassinate him, though (not from the Serbian perspective). Franz Ferdinand was probably the most sympathetic to the Serbian cause. He was calling for a Tri-Monarchy which would have given home rule to the Serbs inside the Empire. Plus, Serbia had to have known they couldn't win against Austria. Considering the amount of time everyone thought it would take for Russia to mobilize, it's hard to imagine them believing they would hold out long enough even for Russia to come to their aid. I find it much more plausible that they were supportive of the Black Hand without actually knowing what they were doing and then were caught by surprise with the result.

BTW, since there's an other option, I'm going to go with Germany, 1944, since it's, well, obvious.

EDIT: I don't think that either Iraq or Austria-Hungary were unjustified with taking some action against their target, but, in both cases, their action was disproportionate to the crime committed.

 

[LightSpectra]

It doesn't make sense to assassinate him, though (not from the Serbian perspective). Franz Ferdinand was probably the most sympathetic to the Serbian cause. He was calling for a Tri-Monarchy which would have given home rule to the Serbs inside the Empire.

Why is it that you conclude "Serbia killing Franz Ferdinand wasn't smart" to "therefore, Serbia probably didn't do it?" Is ultranationalistic terrorism ever smart to begin with? It's a well-documented fact that the man who ordered the assassination was on the Serbian General Staff. I suppose the Serbs weren't content with half of them being within the Empire and the other half being independent.

Plus, Serbia had to have known they couldn't win against Austria.

Serbia was de facto allied with Russia; in fact, the Serbians were counting on the fact that they were Russia's only ally in the Balkans since Bulgaria's heel-turn in the Second Balkan War, and thus were quite willing to draw Austria-Hungary into open war. This was the stated plan of several people within the Serbian government (though not all of them were in favor of actually sparking such a war).

Considering the amount of time everyone thought it would take for Russia to mobilize, it's hard to imagine them believing they would hold out long enough even for Russia to come to their aid.

General Staffs were made of all kinds of brazen overconfidence since the days of the elder Moltke.

I find it much more plausible that they were supportive of the Black Hand without actually knowing what they were doing and then were caught by surprise with the result.

Then explain Pašić's message to the Russian embassy.

 

[Lord Baal]

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was actually a really smart move from the standpoint of a Serbian nationalist. Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia in retaliation, prompting Russia to rush to Serbia's assistance. The end-result; a vastly enlarged Serbia/ Yugoslavia. This was actually Princeps' stated plan at his interrogation.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Cambodia, 1978.