News, What if the Nazis had invaded America? Maps reveal how Hitler could have attacked the U.S.

[rbohm]

Originally Posted by mwruckman

If the Germans had been able to keep the war going lets say to 1947 America might have had to contend with the Amerika bomber (German B-29), the stealthy flying wing (H-2) bomber of the Horton Twins and last but not least von Braun's A9/10 a three stage ICBM. All of these could have dropped a calling card on cities in the US or Canada like New York, Washington, Halifax or Montreal. These weapons might have carried Eugen Sanger's Dirty Uranium bomb or the Germans might have even had the real thing an atomic bomb. They could have also carried a surprise package from I.G. Farben.

everyone wants to pull up all the german "wonder weapons" that could have turned the tide of the war. in the end they forget that the US was also developing wonder weapons of our own. take jet fighters for instance. in 1945 the P80 was starting to enter squadron service, and the F84 wasnt far behind. had germany actually developed a bomber capable of hitting the US, it would have been good for one attack, and then american jets would have been in place to defend our airspace.

as for nuclear weapons that germany was developing. at the time they had the SAME issues we had of size. NOTHING germany had could carry the smaller of the two bombs that was dropped on japan, even our own B29s struggled to carry the darn things. even the V2 had a small warhead, so even if von braun had been able to develop a three stage missile that could hit the US, it couldnt carry a warhead larger than anything that was used against britain, at least not for many years.

as for an actual invasion, the german supply lines would have been quite long as everything they would have needed would have to come from europe until german soldiers were able to establish a strong foothold on US soil, and that means they would have had to take over not only farm land, but oil refineries as well, and they would have to deal with a growing US navy putting out warships like they were automobiles. imagine trying to get a large invasion force across the atlantic ocean with a half dozen fleet carrier battle groups, and 100 submarines blocking your path, along with thousands of land based bombers and attack planes of all types ready willing and able to put lots of bombs on target. the best hitler could have hoped for is to destroy the allied invasion force at normandy, and hope for a negotiated peace between the allies and his country.

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Had they sent an invasion force the Japanese probably could have taken Hawaii as they did the Philippines and held it for awhile. There were quite a few Japanese Americans there who while they did not aid the Japanese may not have put up a huge resistance to occupation, particularly had the Japanese government worked out a power sharing deal with them. Probably not PC to say that, but it would have been a real possibility.

actually japan DID bring an invasion force when they attacker pearl harbor, the reason they didnt go ahead with an invasion is they didnt get the carriers, and they didnt kill all the fighter aircraft in hawaii. in the case of japan, the only thing they would have had to bring in was oil products to fuel their war machine in hawaii, as nearly everything else they needed to support the troops was already there.

[BigJon3475]

hitler making fun of roosevelt - YouTube

[Escort Rider]

Originally Posted by rbohm

actually japan DID bring an invasion force when they attacker pearl harbor, the reason they didnt go ahead with an invasion is they didnt get the carriers, and they didnt kill all the fighter aircraft in hawaii. in the case of japan, the only thing they would have had to bring in was oil products to fuel their war machine in hawaii, as nearly everything else they needed to support the troops was already there.

Are you sure you're not confusing the Pear Harbor surprise attack with the Battle of Midway six months later? At Midway they brought an invasion force, which never stormed the beaches because of Japanese reverses in the naval battle (i.e., the loss of all four aircraft carriers). I do not believe they had an invasion force along at Pearl Harbor, but I'm not positive and will stand corrected if you give me a reference.

[Ghengis]

Aha! Just as I suspected all this time, reading between the lines it's apparent that Hitler had his willing stooges imbedded and waiting the order deep behind the lines in those Wisconsin Cheese-heads. The leadership is probably still bent over a shortwave radio searching for the signal to this very day.

[NJGOAT]

The Japanese did not bring an invasion force with them to Pearl Harbor for several reasons:

1. The Pearl Harbor Task Force was composed of "fast" ships that were able to keep up with the pace of the carriers. The entire point of the attack was to surprise the American fleet. Transports are slow and ponderous and the number needed to transport enough troops for an invasion as well as all their various support ships would have made the entire task force much more noticable.

2. Pearl Harbor represented the absolute operational limit of the Japanese fleet. By the time the final strike sortie was landing the fleet was at the point of not being able to make it back to their oilers for refueling. The Japanese simply did not have enough oilers to sustain an entire invasion fleet going to Hawaii.

3. All the available troop transports were being used to go after the actual targets of the Japanese such as the Phillipines, Singapore/Malaya, Mariana, Caroline and Palau Islands, Borneo/Celebes and Sumatra/Java. Remember the Japanese were after resources, particularly oil and rubber and there was nothing in Hawaii to make it worth taking. Many people overlook that absolute blitz that the Japanese launched on the Pacific and the vast amount of territory that they seized within three months of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

[NJGOAT]

On the topic of the "Nazi invasion", it was a virtual impossibility. Even if Britain had fallen there is very little chance that the Germans or the Japanese would have been able to seriously threaten the United States with an invasion. Harassing raids, maybe some bombings, sure, but no all out invasion.

Articles like that one were published with the very real purpose of making people afraid and engaged in the war effort. Most Americans at the time still thought that the continental United States was virtually impenetrable. While Pearl Harbor certainly shocked people, Hawaii is a LONG way away from the mainland US. Even after Pearl Harbor there was still an air of belief that there was a minimal threat to the US itself. Articles like that one in Life galvanized people and made them feel that they were defending the country. Organizations like the Civil Air Patrol, AA batteries in major cities, blackouts along the coast, etc. were NOT necessary other than for the psychological impact they had on people.

[BigJon3475]

The existence of this fear-and the possibility of such a conflict-are of definite concern to the people of the United States for whom I speak, as they must also be to the peoples of the other nations of the entire Western Hemisphere. All of them know that any major war even if it were to be confined to other continents, must bear heavily on them during its continuance and also for generations to come.
Are you willing to give assurance that your armed forces will not attack or invade the territory or possessions of the following independent nations: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain and Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Yugoslavia, Russia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Iraq, the Arabias, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Iran.

Letter to Adolf Hitler, April 14, 1939

[BigJon3475]

Hitler's reply to U.S. president F.D.Roosevelt - YouTube