A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to
punish a
political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing
state or
union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavior by
miscreants, as
revenge or
corrective action, or to apply strong diplomatic pressure without a formal
declaration of war (e.g.
surgical strike). In the 19th century, punitive expeditions were used more commonly as pretexts for colonial adventures that resulted in annexations, regime changes or changes in policies of the affected state to favour one or more
colonial powers.
Stowell (1921) provides the following definition:
When the territorial sovereign is too weak or is unwilling to enforce respect for international law, a state which is wronged may find it necessary to invade the territory and to chastise the individuals who violate its rights and threaten its security.[1]
Historical examples
In the 5th century BC, the
Achaemenid Empire launched a series of campaigns against
Greece to punish certain Greek city-states for getting involved in the
Ionian Revolt.
In the early 1st century AD,
Germanicus engaged in punitive expeditions against the Germanic tribes as repercussion for the Roman Legions that were destroyed in the
Battle of Teutoburg Forest.
Also in the 13th century,
Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis and the founder of the
Yuan Dynasty, sent emissaries demanding tribute from the
Singhasari kingdom of
Java. The ruler of the Singhasari kingdom,
Kertanagara, refused to pay tribute and tattooed a Chinese messenger, Meng Qi, on his face.
A punitive expedition sent by Kublai Khan arrived off the coast of Java in 1293.
Jayakatwang, a rebel from the Kediri Kingdom, had killed Kertanagara by that time. The Mongols allied with
Raden Wijaya of
Majapahit against Jayakatwang and, once the Singhasari kingdom was destroyed, Wijaya turned against the Mongols and forced them to withdraw in confusion.
During the
Eighty Years' War, Spanish Admiral
Luis Fajardo made a successful raid to the
Caribbean in 1605 with his fleet. He sailed from Spain to
Araya, on the Venezuelan coast, where he
massacred a fleet of smugglers and Dutch privateers who blocked the area and were engaged in illegally extracting
salt.
The
Battle of Kabul in 1842 was undertaken by the British against the Afghans following their disastrous
retreat from Kabul in which 16,000 people were killed.
The
French Campaign against Korea in 1866 was a response to the earlier execution by Korea of French priests proselytizing in Korea.
The 1867
Formosa Expedition was a failed punitive operation of the United States to Taiwan.
The 1868
British Expedition to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) was a rescue mission and punitive expedition against Emperor
Tewodros II of Ethiopia, who had imprisoned several missionaries and two representatives of the British government in an attempt to force the British government to comply with his requests for military assistance. The commander of the expedition, General
Sir Robert Napier, was victorious in every battle against the troops of Tewodros, captured the Ethiopian capital, and rescued all the hostages.
Benin Expedition of 1897 was a British punitive action that led to the annexation of the
Kingdom of Benin. The New York Times reported on January 13, 1897 that a "punitive expedition" would be formed to "punish the murderers of the Benin City expedition".[4]
The
Pancho Villa Expedition from 1916 to 1917, led by General
John J. Pershing, was an operation in retaliation against Pancho Villa's incursion into the United States.[5]
In
World War II, German Einsatzgruppen were involved in the mass murders of civilians in Poland and USSR as the punishment for the acts of resistance and collaboration with the communists.
The
1979 invasion of Vietnam by China was characterised by
Deng Xiaoping as an act of punishment necessitated by Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia, saying that "Children who don't listen have to be spanked."[7]
The
2016 Indo-Pakistani military confrontation began with alleged punitive "surgical strikes" carried out by India. These strikes were a punitive action in response to Pakistan's inaction in curbing the activities of terrorist organisations such as
Lashkar-e-Taiba and
Jaish-e-Mohammad, which India held responsible for the
Uri attack.
^"To Punish the Murderers; Great Britain Will Send Another Expedition to Benin City". The New York Times. January 13, 1897. Retrieved 2008-08-24. The Daily News will to-morrow say that the Government has ordered that an expedition be formed to punish the murderers of the Benin City expedition. The punitive expedition, which will be prepared at Old Calaber, will be made up of men from the forces of the Niger Coast Protectorate and a contingent of sailors from the British West African squadron.
^Ferguson, Niall (May 24, 2005).
"Cowboys and Indians". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-25. The United States also faces two other problems that the United Kingdom did not 85 years ago. The British were able to be ruthless: they used air raids and punitive expeditions to inflict harsh collective punishments on villages that supported the insurgents.
A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to
punish a
political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing
state or
union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavior by
miscreants, as
revenge or
corrective action, or to apply strong diplomatic pressure without a formal
declaration of war (e.g.
surgical strike). In the 19th century, punitive expeditions were used more commonly as pretexts for colonial adventures that resulted in annexations, regime changes or changes in policies of the affected state to favour one or more
colonial powers.
Stowell (1921) provides the following definition:
When the territorial sovereign is too weak or is unwilling to enforce respect for international law, a state which is wronged may find it necessary to invade the territory and to chastise the individuals who violate its rights and threaten its security.[1]
Historical examples
In the 5th century BC, the
Achaemenid Empire launched a series of campaigns against
Greece to punish certain Greek city-states for getting involved in the
Ionian Revolt.
In the early 1st century AD,
Germanicus engaged in punitive expeditions against the Germanic tribes as repercussion for the Roman Legions that were destroyed in the
Battle of Teutoburg Forest.
Also in the 13th century,
Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis and the founder of the
Yuan Dynasty, sent emissaries demanding tribute from the
Singhasari kingdom of
Java. The ruler of the Singhasari kingdom,
Kertanagara, refused to pay tribute and tattooed a Chinese messenger, Meng Qi, on his face.
A punitive expedition sent by Kublai Khan arrived off the coast of Java in 1293.
Jayakatwang, a rebel from the Kediri Kingdom, had killed Kertanagara by that time. The Mongols allied with
Raden Wijaya of
Majapahit against Jayakatwang and, once the Singhasari kingdom was destroyed, Wijaya turned against the Mongols and forced them to withdraw in confusion.
During the
Eighty Years' War, Spanish Admiral
Luis Fajardo made a successful raid to the
Caribbean in 1605 with his fleet. He sailed from Spain to
Araya, on the Venezuelan coast, where he
massacred a fleet of smugglers and Dutch privateers who blocked the area and were engaged in illegally extracting
salt.
The
Battle of Kabul in 1842 was undertaken by the British against the Afghans following their disastrous
retreat from Kabul in which 16,000 people were killed.
The
French Campaign against Korea in 1866 was a response to the earlier execution by Korea of French priests proselytizing in Korea.
The 1867
Formosa Expedition was a failed punitive operation of the United States to Taiwan.
The 1868
British Expedition to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) was a rescue mission and punitive expedition against Emperor
Tewodros II of Ethiopia, who had imprisoned several missionaries and two representatives of the British government in an attempt to force the British government to comply with his requests for military assistance. The commander of the expedition, General
Sir Robert Napier, was victorious in every battle against the troops of Tewodros, captured the Ethiopian capital, and rescued all the hostages.
Benin Expedition of 1897 was a British punitive action that led to the annexation of the
Kingdom of Benin. The New York Times reported on January 13, 1897 that a "punitive expedition" would be formed to "punish the murderers of the Benin City expedition".[4]
The
Pancho Villa Expedition from 1916 to 1917, led by General
John J. Pershing, was an operation in retaliation against Pancho Villa's incursion into the United States.[5]
In
World War II, German Einsatzgruppen were involved in the mass murders of civilians in Poland and USSR as the punishment for the acts of resistance and collaboration with the communists.
The
1979 invasion of Vietnam by China was characterised by
Deng Xiaoping as an act of punishment necessitated by Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia, saying that "Children who don't listen have to be spanked."[7]
The
2016 Indo-Pakistani military confrontation began with alleged punitive "surgical strikes" carried out by India. These strikes were a punitive action in response to Pakistan's inaction in curbing the activities of terrorist organisations such as
Lashkar-e-Taiba and
Jaish-e-Mohammad, which India held responsible for the
Uri attack.
^"To Punish the Murderers; Great Britain Will Send Another Expedition to Benin City". The New York Times. January 13, 1897. Retrieved 2008-08-24. The Daily News will to-morrow say that the Government has ordered that an expedition be formed to punish the murderers of the Benin City expedition. The punitive expedition, which will be prepared at Old Calaber, will be made up of men from the forces of the Niger Coast Protectorate and a contingent of sailors from the British West African squadron.
^Ferguson, Niall (May 24, 2005).
"Cowboys and Indians". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-25. The United States also faces two other problems that the United Kingdom did not 85 years ago. The British were able to be ruthless: they used air raids and punitive expeditions to inflict harsh collective punishments on villages that supported the insurgents.