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US invasion plan for Canada (1920) [pdf]
- datawander 13y agoThe US has invasion plans for every conceivable scenario, friend or foe. As fascinating and as much as I like these topics, this is on Hacker News because....?
- joelrunyon 13y ago> As fascinating and as much as I like these topics... From the guidelines: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. Seems you answered your own question.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- mpyne 13y agoI mentioned this last time, but that doesn't seem to make it less interesting to people.
- sliverstorm 13y agoHeck, the US probably has plans for invading the US.
- krapp 13y agoAgain?
- sliverstorm 13y agoPresumably in the event that the opposition establishes a foothold in some part of the country.
- arethuza 13y agoRelated Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Red http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Red Also, if you find that interesting you might like the exercise "Operation Skyshield" that had UK nuclear bombers successfully penetrating US air defenses in the 1960s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Skyshield http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Skyshield Edit: Also, the book "What Ifs? of American History" has a scenario with the US going to war with the British Empire in 1896 - with the apt title of "The Whale Against the Wolf". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Ifs%3F_of_American_History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Ifs%3F_of_American_History
- japaget 13y agoThe download weighs in at 139 MB. Does anyone have a TL; DR?
- jitl 13y agotl;dr a just-in-case plan by the US Armed Forces to invade Canada as part of a war against Great Britain, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Red http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Red
- LyndsySimon 13y agoThe last time we marched on Montreal, Washington DC ended up razed and Congress fled the Capitol. In light of that, I might be coerced into supporting an invasion of Canada...
- mhurron 13y agoCanada isn't a British colony now so it's doubtful the redcoats would burn the White House this time.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- Kluny 13y agoRedcoats no, Canadians yes.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- sabbatic13 13y agoBut the Queen's Guard is dependent on the Canadians for the bear skins they need to make those giant grenadier hats. If we invade Canada and put that vital commodity in jeopardy, the regiment may attack the White House in the name of outrageous fashion (also because those hats insult the French, every time they wear them, so it's a 2fer).
- chm 13y agoI'm genuinely unable to tell if you are being sarcastic or not.
- lotux 13y agoAmerican were crazy since 1920!, well, since forever
- pcvarmint 13y agoMainly since Woodrow Wilson, who gave us involvement in WWI, The Federal Reserve, The Income Tax, The Federal Trade Commission, The Clayton Act, The 17th Amendment direct election of U.S. Senators, The Espionage/Sedition Act. Ever since Wilson, we've been imperial.
- aaron-lebo 13y agoWilson gets criticized a lot, and I get that. But wouldn't you have to say that the imperialism at the lastest started during McKinley's administration and continued into Roosevelt's (consider for example Roosevelt's actions towards Colombia to get the Panama canal). But let's be fair, Wilson held out for a long, long time as far as WWI was concerned. Teddy would have got into the war 2 years earlier. I am interested in how the direct election of U.S. senators ties to imperialism?
- ewoodrich 13y agoI am interested in how everything but the Espionage/Sedition Act makes us "imperial". The FTC, really?
- Avshalom 13y agoWe've been explicitly imperial since at least Monroe, but really the US has been in the empire business since it was still a colony.
- jballanc 13y agoI've often wondered if history textbooks 500 years from now won't view the US as just a later off-shoot of the British empire, much as modern history books treat the Byzantine empire as a continuation of the Roman empire.
- sandworm101 13y agoAn invasion scenario came up far more recently, during the Quebec referendum: 1.Quebec separates from Canada. 2.Northing Quebec (Native) separates from south (French) 3.Protesters interrupt power lines through northern Quebec. 4.New York City goes dark. 5.US Paratroopers land in northern Quebec to restore NY power.
- trekky1700 13y agoI read this as 5 US Paratroopers, though I think that'd be all it would take. They are the "French" Canadians ;) jokes
- chm 13y agoThat's a good point there. I don't think separation would be desirable if the natives aren't involved. Separation should guarantee them complete liberty and more support than what is given by the Canadian Government.
- jerryhuang100 13y agoSince most Canadians live within 30 KMs range of the US-Cdn border, I would say it should take no longer than a day, eh?
- mitchty 13y agoDepends on if we can get our hands on all that lovely syrup. Otherwise we really don't have much reason to invade.
- sospep 13y agobacon, my friend, bacon
- qbrass 13y agoThat's ham.
- bigfoot13442 13y agoI doubt it. The Maple Syrup Mafia has control over that.
- redthrowaway 13y agoThe US had plans to invade Canada, the Canadian Gov't planned to try to hold out until the British rescued us, and the British figured Canada wasn't worth the bother.
- daveslash 13y agoI've been told that the State of Maine is the only actual State to have ever "Declared War" on another country. The term "war" is rhetorical, but I don't think any other state has declared hostilities on a foreign country. The Aroostook War was a confrontation in 1838/39. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroostook_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroostook_War [edit] There is also still territory whose sovereignty is disputed between the U.S. and Canada. Machias Seal Island is a small desolate rock off the Coast of Maine. Both countries claim it. Canada posts 2 Canadian Coast Guard folks on the island year round just to reaffirm their claim. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machias_Seal_Island http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machias_Seal_Island
- trekky1700 13y agoIronically, a year after this document was made, this was built: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Arch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Arch May these gates never be closed
- slyall 13y agoThe West Wing - Invasion of Canada http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g81eGiLXA1M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g81eGiLXA1M
- sb057 13y agoReminds me of the Swiss contingency plan in case poor French start invading, and it was published last year! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/24329818 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/24329818
- Jick3 13y agoThis would make a great comedy. USA invades Canada, most Yank troops desert and move to Canada. With severely depleted military horde, USA reinstates draft. Most potential draftees move to Canada; Canadian militia now outnumbers American Army. USA can't drop nukes a few miles from its own border; besides, Exxon needs that tar sands oil. Canadian militia considers remodeling White House again. Harper declares the militia illegal; Canadian civil war breaks out. Mexico retakes Texas, the West Coast states (except for Orange County) secede and join Canada, Quebec secedes and becomes New France. It was a normal day.
- beloch 13y agoI wonder if they had a plan for occupying Canada. As the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have proven, the challenges of long-term occupation are of a different order of magnitude than merely defeating a nation's military. Additionally, a Canadian insurgency would likely be far more difficult to deal with than either of those countries. The population is higher than either Iraq or Afghanistan, geographically more spread out and better educated/trained/equipped on average. e.g. Canada is nowhere near the U.S. in terms of total gun ownership, but they do have a lot of rifles that see daily use (Bears, eh!). There's also no language barrier and massive avenues for intelligence leaks both ways thanks to the intertwined nature of the two nations, but such leaks do tend to benefit the smaller, more mobile side asymmetrically. The U.S. economy would likely be crippled due to loss of trade with the U.S.'s largest trading partner as well as foreign sanctions. Large portions of the U.S. would be left without electrical power. The flow of fossil fuels from North of the border would soon stop and likely stay stopped (Pipelines are railroads are relatively easy for their own workers to disable). I honestly doubt any U.S. administration that tried to attack Canada would survive the domestic insurrection that would soon occur.