Defensive war

A defensive war is one of the causes that justify war by the criteria of the Just War tradition. It means a war where at least one nation is mainly trying to defend itself from another, as opposed to a war where both sides are trying to invade and conquer each other.

Examples

• The invasions of Darius during the Greco-Persian Wars. Greeks were defending their homeland from the Persians.
• Various invasions in World War II, such as the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France, and the Battle of Britain and the Second Sino-Japanese War were offensive wars.
• The Croatian war of Independence was a defensive war, where Croatia defended its territorial integrity and independence from an outside aggression.

See also

• Battleplan (documentary TV series)
• Defensive jihad