For everyone amusement here, with special note of the Canadians on this website, is information concerning war planning to invade Canada name war plan Red created between the two world wars.
Bet a large amount of money somewhere locked away in the Pentagon is a current up to date war plan to do the same thing in case of need.
The US military love to have plans to pull out that cover any possible need.
Oh the US military code name for Canada where Crimson in this plan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Red
Outline
The Maritimes in eastern Canada were the primary areas of strategic importance for the planWar Plan Red first set out a description of Canada's geography, military resources, and transportation[citation needed], and went on to evaluate a series of possible pre-emptive American campaigns to invade Canada in several areas and occupy key ports and railways before British troops could provide reinforcement to the Canadians - the assumption being that Britain would use Canada as a staging point. The idea was that the American attacks on Canada would prevent Britain from using Canadian resources, ports, or airbases.[citation needed]
A key move was a joint US army-navy attack to capture the port city of Halifax, cutting off the Canadians from their British allies.[citation needed] Their next objective was to "[s]eize Canadian Power Plants near Niagara Falls" (Carlson, 2005). This was to be followed by a full-scale invasion on three fronts: From Vermont to take Montreal and Quebec, from North Dakota to take over the railhead at Winnipeg, and from the Midwest to capture the strategic nickel mines of Ontario.[citation needed] In parallel, the U.S. Navy was to seize the Great Lakes and blockade Canada’s Atlantic and Pacific ports.[citation needed]
[edit] Zones of operationThe main zones of operation discussed in the plan are:
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick:
Occupying Halifax, following a poison gas first strike, would deny the British a major naval base and cut links between Britain and Canada.
The plan considers several land and sea options for the attack and concludes that a landing at St. Margarets Bay, a then undeveloped bay near Halifax, would be superior to a direct assault via the longer overland route.
Failing to take Halifax, the U.S. could occupy New Brunswick by land to cut Nova Scotia off from the rest of Canada at the key railway junction at Moncton.
Quebec and the valley of the Saint Lawrence River:
Occupying Montreal and Quebec City would cut the remainder of Canada off from the Eastern seaboard, preventing the movement of soldiers and resources in both directions.
The routes from northern New York to Montreal and from Vermont to Quebec are both found satisfactory for an offensive, with Quebec being the more critical target.
Ontario and the Great Lakes area:
Occupying this region gains control of Toronto and most of Canada's industry, while also preventing Britain and Canada from using it for air or land attacks against the U.S. industrial heartland in the Midwest.
The plan proposes simultaneous offensives from Buffalo across the Niagara River, from Detroit into Ontario, and from Sault Ste. Marie into Sudbury. Controlling the Great Lakes for U.S. transport is considered logistically necessary for a continued invasion.
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is a central nexus of the Canadian rail system for connecting the country.
The plan sees no major obstacles to an offensive from Grand Forks, North Dakota, to Winnipeg.
Vancouver and Victoria:
Although Vancouver's distance from Europe reduces its importance, occupying it would deny Britain a naval base and cut Canada off from the Pacific Ocean.
Vancouver could be easily attacked overland from Bellingham, Washington, and Vancouver Island could be attacked by sea from Port Angeles, Washington.
The British Columbia port Prince Rupert has a rail connection to the rest of Canada, but a naval blockade is viewed as easy if Vancouver were taken.
[edit] No attacks outside Western HemisphereUnlike the Rainbow Five plan, War Plan Red did not envision striking outside the Western Hemisphere. The plan assumed that the British Empire would have a much larger army and slightly larger navy. Because of the Empire's historical strength the United States had traditionally planned for a defensive war with it, and War Plan Red continued doing so even as American power grew to match Britain's. Its authors saw conquering Canada as the best way to attack the British Empire, and believed that doing so would cause Britain to negotiate for peace. A problem with the plan was that it did not discuss how to attack the Empire if Canada declared its neutrality, which the authors believed was likely. (The plan advised against accepting such a declaration without permission to occupy Canadian ports and some land until the war ended.)[4]
Based on extensive war games conducted at the Naval War College, the plan rejected attacking British shipping or attempting to destroy the British fleet. The main American fleet would instead stay in the western North Atlantic to block British-Canadian traffic. The navy would wait for a good opportunity to engage the British fleet, and if successful would then attack British trade and colonies in the Western Hemisphere.[4]
In 1935 War Plan Red was updated and specified which roads to use in the invasion. "The best practicable route to Vancouver is via Route 99" (Carlson, 2005). Further, in 1935 Americans planned to build three military airfields near the Canadian border and disguise them as civilian airports. "In February 1935, the War Department arranged a Congressional appropriation of $57 million to build three border air bases for the purposes of pre-emptive surprise attacks on Canadian air fields" (Berlin Glasnost, 1992–2007). The airfields were to be kept secret, but their existence was accidentally published by the Government Printing Office and reported on the front page of the New York Times on May 1, 1935.
Help yourselves!
