hostile expedition
Noun: 1. A military campaign designed to achieve a specific objective in a foreign country: This term refers to an organized, armed operation by a nation's military forces that is conducted in another country with aggressive intent. The objective is typically strategic, such as conquest, regime change, or the destruction of a specific military capability.
The term "hostile expedition" is a formal and somewhat historical noun phrase used primarily in military, historical, and political contexts. It describes an offensive military action beyond one's own borders. - It functions as a subject or object in a sentence. - It often implies the expedition is an act of aggression.
- The general planned a hostile expedition to disrupt the enemy's supply lines deep within their territory.
- Historians debate whether the operation was a peacekeeping mission or a hostile expedition.
- Launching a hostile expedition without a clear exit strategy can lead to prolonged conflict.
- The phrase can be used in legal or diplomatic contexts to characterize an act of war or aggression under international law.
- The UN resolution condemned the cross-border incursion as an unlawful hostile expedition.
- Expedition (noun): A journey or voyage undertaken for a specific purpose, often exploratory or military. (Note: "Expedition" alone is neutral; "hostile" specifies the aggressive nature).
- Invasion (noun): An instance of invading a country or region with an armed force. This is a stronger, more common synonym.
- Military campaign (noun phrase): A series of military operations intended to achieve a large objective in a certain area and time.
- Invasion
- Incursion
- Foray (can imply a smaller, quicker attack)
- Armed intervention
- Peacekeeping mission
- Humanitarian intervention
- Defensive operation
(While "hostile expedition" itself is not an idiom, it relates to formal phrases describing war.) - To launch an expedition: To begin such a military campaign. - The king decided to launch an expedition against the coastal fortresses.
- a military campaign designed to achieve a specific objective in a foreign country