The term Invasion of England may refer to the following planned or actual invasions of what is now modern
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain
The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain is the process which changed the language and culture of most of what became England from Romano-British to Germanic. The Germanic-speakers in Britain, themselves of diverse origins, eventually develope ...
Great Heathen Army
The Great Heathen Army,; da, Store Hedenske Hær also known as the Viking Great Army,Hadley. "The Winter Camp of the Viking Great Army, AD 872–3, Torksey, Lincolnshire", ''Antiquaries Journal''. 96, pp. 23–67 was a coalition of Scandin ...
in 865
* Danish invasion of England, ending successfully at the
Battle of Assandun
The Battle of Assandun (or Essendune) was fought between Danish and English armies on 18 October 1016. There is disagreement whether Assandun may be Ashdon near Saffron Walden in north Essex, England, or, as long supposed and better evidenc ...
David I of Scotland
David I or DauÃd mac MaÃl Choluim ( Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Mal ...
and subsequent occupation until 1157.
* The 1139 invasion of England by
Matilda
Matilda or Mathilda may refer to:
Animals
* Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder
* Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse
* Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...
during The Anarchy
* The 1149 and 1153 invasions by the future Henry II during The Anarchy
* The 1216 invasion of England by
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...
and
Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II ( Medieval Gaelic: '; Modern Gaelic: '; 24 August 1198 – 6 July 1249) was King of Scotland from 1214 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of York (1237) which defined the boundary between England and Scotland, virtually un ...
, during the
First Barons' War
The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. The conflict resulte ...
.
* Various invasions by the Scots from 1314-1513 during the
Wars of Scottish Independence
The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of ...
Anglo-Scottish Wars
The Anglo-Scottish Wars comprise the various battles which continued to be fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland from the time of the Wars of Independence in the early 14th century through to the latter years of the ...
* The 1326 invasion of England by Isabella of France and Roger Mortimer, leading to Isabella's regency until the ascendancy of her son, Edward III
* The
English Channel naval campaign, 1338–1339
The English Channel naval campaign of the years 1338 and 1339 saw a protracted series of raids conducted by the nascent French navy and numerous private raiders and pirates against English towns, shipping and islands in the English Channel, whic ...
, who sought several French raids on English coastal towns like
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
and
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
Winchelsea
Winchelsea () is a small town in the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The ...
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and Gravesend, among other ports, were plundered and burned.
* The 1386 invasion by France was organised but never executed during the Hundred Years' War
* The 1470 invasion in support of the
Readeption of Henry VI
The Readeption was the restoration of Henry VI of England to the throne of England in 1470. Edward, Duke of York, had taken the throne as Edward IV in 1461. Henry had fled with some Lancastrian supporters and spent much of the next few years in ...
Lambert Simnel
Lambert Simnel (c. 1477 – after 1534) was a pretender to the throne of England. In 1487, his claim to be Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, threatened the newly established reign of Henry VII (1485–1509). Simnel became the ...
, who claimed to be
Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick
Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick (25 February 1475 – 28 November 1499) was the son of Isabel Neville and George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, and a potential claimant to the English throne during the reigns of both his uncle, ...
, the rightful king
* The 1495 landing with troops at
Deal
A deal, or deals may refer to:
Places United States
* Deal, New Jersey, a borough
* Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* Deal Lake, New Jersey
Elsewhere
* Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia
* Deal, Kent, a town in England
* Deal, ...
Richard of Shrewsbury
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
, the rightful king
* The 1513 invasion of England by the Scots under
James IV
James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...
, which culminated in the
Battle of Flodden
The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...
* The 1545
French invasion of the Isle of Wight
The French invasion of the Isle of Wight occurred during the Italian Wars in July 1545. The invasion was repulsed.
France had a long history of attacking the Isle of Wight, and the 1545 campaign proved to be the last time to date that the F ...
during the Italian Wars
* The 1588 Spanish Armada was a failed invasion of England after it was heavily defeated by storms and the English fleet.
* The 1595 Spanish successful raid on Cornwall.
* The 1596
2nd Spanish Armada
The 2nd Spanish Armada also known as the Spanish Armada of 1596Wernham pp. 139–140 was a naval operation that took place during the Anglo–Spanish War. Another invasion of England or Ireland was attempted in the autumn of 1596 by King Philip ...
3rd Spanish Armada
The 3rd Spanish Armada, also known as the Spanish Armada of 1597, was a major naval event that took place between October and November 1597 as part of the Anglo–Spanish War.Graham pp. 212–213 The armada, which was the third attempt by Spain ...
dispersed by storms off the Lizard; landfall by small number of Spanish troops in Cornwall and Wales.
* The 1640 Scottish Covenanter invasion of England as part of the
Second Bishops' War
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
, culminates at the Battle of Newburn.
* The 1644 Scottish Covenanter invasion (led by the
Earl of Leven
Earl of Leven (pronounced "''Lee''-ven") is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1641 for Alexander Leslie. He was succeeded by his grandson Alexander, who was in turn followed by his daughters Margaret and Catherine (who are usu ...
) of Northumberland as part of the
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...
.
* The 1648 invasion of England by a Scottish army in support of Charles I (King of Scots) against the English Parliament, launching the
Second English Civil War
The Second English Civil War took place between February to August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 1641†...
Raid on the Medway
The Raid on the Medway, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in June 1667, was a successful attack conducted by the Dutch navy on English warships laid up in the fleet anchorages off Chatham Dockyard and Gillingham in the county of Kent. At t ...
Second Anglo-Dutch War
The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas and trade routes, whe ...
.
* The 1685 landing in England by the Duke of Monmouth and his supporters during the Monmouth Rebellion
* The 1688 landing in England by
William III of Orange
William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from ...
, known in historiography as the Glorious Revolution.
* The 1690 attack by the French on
Teignmouth
Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at th ...
, Devon.
Following the Acts of Union 1707
* The (1708) planned French invasion to put James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) on the British throne as part of the War of the Spanish Succession.
* The
Jacobite rising of 1715
The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ;
or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts.
At Braemar, Aberdeenshire ...
, from a Scottish base, in support of James Edward Stuart, defeated at Preston.
* The (1744) planned French invasion of Britain as part of the Austrian War of Succession.
* The 1745 French-backed Jacobite invasion of Britain led by Bonnie Prince Charlie.
* The (1759) planned French invasion halted when defeated by Royal Navy at the battles of Lagos and Quiberon Bay.
* The 1778 raid of
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...
by
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.
* The (1779) never executed Franco-Spanish plans to invade Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War.
* Landing of a small French force, led by the Irish-American William Tate, at
Fishguard
Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two p ...
in February 1797
* The (1803–1809) planned but never executed Napoleonic invasion of Britain, constantly thwarted by the Royal Navy.
* The (1940) planned German Invasion of England, referred to as
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle o ...
.
Fiction
There have been numerous portrayals of an invasion of Britain in fiction (especially by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
) including:
Films
* ''
Went the Day Well?
''Went the Day Well?'' is a 1942 British war film adapted from a story by Graham Greene and directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. It was produced by Michael Balcon of Ealing Studios and served as unofficial propaganda for the war effort. The film shows ...
'' (1942)
* '' It Happened Here'', a 1966 film portraying a Nazi invasion
* ''
Jackboots on Whitehall
''Jackboots on Whitehall'' (a.k.a. ''Nazi Invasion: Team Europe'') is a 2010 British adult animated/puppet satirical action comedy film set in an alternative history Second World War, in which Nazi Germany has seized London. The British must b ...
'' (2009)
* '' How I Live Now'', a 2013 film depicting the invasion of England by unknown terrorists
Books
* '' SS-GB'' by Len Deighton, alternate history of Nazi Germany's successful invasion in 1940
* '' The Swoop!'' by P. G. Wodehouse
* '' Asterix in Britain'' portraying a Roman
* ''
Rule Britannia
"Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year. It is most strongly associated with the Royal Navy, but is also used by the ...
'' by
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geo ...
- an invasion by the United States
* ''The Long White Winter'' by
Sebastian Faulks
Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – ''The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', '' Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also pub ...
* ''
The Battle of Dorking
''The Battle of Dorking: Reminiscences of a Volunteer'' is an 1871 novella by George Tomkyns Chesney, starting the genre of invasion literature and an important precursor of science fiction. Written just after the Prussian victory in the Franc ...
'' by
George Tomkyns Chesney
Sir George Tomkyns Chesney (30 April 1830 – 31 March 1895) was a British Army general, politician, and writer of fiction. He is remembered as the author of the novella ''The Battle of Dorking'' (1871), a founding work in the genre of invasion ...
* ''
Fatherland
A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...
Owen Sheers
Owen Sheers (born 20 September 1974) is a Welsh poet, author, playwright and television presenter. He was the first writer in residence to be appointed by any national rugby union team.
Early life
Owen Sheers was born in Suva, Fiji in 1974, and b ...
* ''
The War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...
The Invasion of 1910
''The Invasion of 1910'' is a 1906 novel written mainly by William Le Queux (along with H. W. Wilson providing the naval chapters). It is one of the most famous examples of invasion literature. It is viewed by some as an example of pre-World War ...
'' by
William Le Queux
William Tufnell Le Queux ( , ; 2 July 1864 – 13 October 1927) was an Anglo-French journalist and writer. He was also a diplomat (honorary consul for San Marino), a traveller (in Europe, the Balkans and North Africa), a flying buff who officia ...
* ''
Ruled Britannia
''Ruled Britannia'' is an alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove, first published in hardcover by New American Library in 2002.
The book is set in the years 1597–1598, in an alternate universe where the Spanish Armada is successful in 158 ...
'' by
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed hi ...
, alternate history of Spanish Armada's successful invasion in 1588
Scottish Marches
Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the late medieval and early modern eras, characterised by violence and cross-border raids. The Scottish Marches era came to an end during the first decade of the 17th century ...
*
Historical immigration to Great Britain
The historical immigration to Great Britain concerns the movement of people, cultural and ethnic groups to the British Isles before Irish independence in 1922. Immigration after Irish independence is dealt with by the article Immigration to the ...