I'm sure they did, too. I'm reminded of an old indian saying, "Don't start shyt you can't finish"
So who went into who's territory and created the confrontation between "him or me"?
That would be the rebels.
In this case "start shyt" is living in your own land where others want to impose their presence on you.
That would be the rebels.
I'm at a loss here as to understand what you mean. The Invading armies went from North to South, not South to North.