Unbroken Chains

mowque

Banned
(After a long break, I'm back with this and have re-written it)

American Lake, A Study of American Policy in the Caribbean. Dr. Steven Poitt, 2007. New York, Goldyn Publishing.


By 1900, it seemed that America's dominance in the Western Hemisphere would not be questioned, let alone challenged. The rapid pace of industrialization had transformed America. The combination of relative stability (with the notable exception of the Civil War), a large growing population, massive geographic size, and abundant resources, had produced a economic giant of no equal. The United States held 23.5% of the world's manufacturing output, compared to England's 18%. Even these numbers hide the true performance of America industry. The United States produced more steel then the next three powers (England, Germany, France) combined. This growth was driven by massive American companies. In one famous example the Andrew Carnegie steel company was producing more steel that all of England. Huge companies, like Singer, Rockefeller Oil, Colt, and International Harvester dominated the world market and often pushed European firms to the limit. These massive conglomerates also produced vast sums of money for America. With a national income three times higher then England, the United States produced more money then the next 4 powers combined. This cash was also produced by a large and rich population. With a urban population 14 million, American cities were booming. Despite the squalor that many urban dwellers lived in, per captia, Americans lived far better then any other nation.


Despite this economic superiority, America's power was diffused. While being led by a increasingly vigorous government, its military power remained tiny. The long history of isolationism (while slowly being shaken off) retarded any creation of a large standing army. Indeed, its army was a minuscule 127,000, in a world where large conscript armies were the measuring stick of power. Even small states like Italy or Japan fielded army's many times the size of the United States. (see Figure 2.1) While this lack of force can be understood by many factors. Distance from other large nations, tradition of lazzie-faire, and isolationism all combined to create a dislike of large armies. But even more puzzling is the size of the American navy. For a nation that depended on naval trade, the USA still had a second class navy. Despite its build-up under the McKinley administration (which would be substantially increased during the Roosevelt), the US navy was still only a fraction of the Royal Navy, and much smaller then French or German forces.


Figure 2.1 Number of Military Personnel in 1900
Russia
1,162,000
France
769,000
Germany
694,000
Britain
571,000
Austria-Hungry
425,000
Italy
332,000
Japan
217,000
United States
127,000




Still, despite these numbers, in the Caribbean at least, it seems that America was unchallenged. Indeed, American troops intervened in Latin America on a regular basis, mostly in response to calls from American companies. The idea of a Central American canal was being pushed through, without consideration of Caribbean nations. American warships flitted back and forth across the water, a impressive sign of growing American strength. The America occupation of Cuba and Belize continued apace, with no signs of ending.


Against this background, and these impressive statistics, it seems hard to see any power(or combination of powers) challenging this behemoth. However, war is not fought by numbers, but by men. Germany was a rising power in its own right and the extension of its influence was taken by granted by its government. Due to the overblown nationalism of the day, some risks (that in hindsight are foolish) were taken. One was the challenge of American power in the Caribbean. Still, while the factors in the German example may be extreme, it was unavoidable that some showdown like it would occur. The Monroe Doctrine was declared in a world where global empires were on the march, and many factors pushed them to look to Latin America as yes another venue for conquest. Also, America's latent power was constantly underestimated by the Europeans of the time, doubly so when considering its army. The First Atlantic War was preceded by many issues, crisis, and conflicts, of various sizes, ranging from the Venezuelan border Crisis of 1895, to the Alaskan-Canadian border dispute . These were only the worst signs of a break in American- European diplomacy. Geopolitics virtually guaranteed a flash point, and Germany just had more factors going for it.


Before we discuss the First Atlantic War itself, a brief survey of the combatants (USA excluding, due to the previous chapter)might be in order.


Germany- a rising industrial power in its own right, it was the new force to be reckoned with. Its navy was going through a massive build up, its army was one of the largest and most professional in Europe, based on a rich, well educated middle class. Its industry was booming, while trade flourished. While a authoritative state, no could doubt its ability as a industrial war making state. Its successes in the Franco-Prussian War, and even the Danish wars, showed Europe its strength. Unlike America however, (which developed in a near vacuum) Germany was rising in area already dominated by European powers. No matter how strong its army, and no matter how clever its diplomacy, peace could not be maintained indefinitely. Still, most Germans wanted peace, and the war mongers were content to wait till better circumstances. But, all Germans agreed that they deserved a 'place in the sun'. Jealous of states like France, and England, Germany was demerited to play catch up in terms of Empire building. What better place to start then lush Venezuela, where they had legal claim anyway?


Its large navy, capable economy, and aggressive spirit made it a serious contender for the Untied States, and was not taken lightly by American planners. Indeed, many war plans at the time considered a war with Germany,although the danger (as had all dangers pre-1900)had always been considered quite abstract.
 
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(NB: This is co-authoured, not a collaberative)



Britain: Four Centuries of Empire. Eric Hobsbawm, 1983.

Volume IV: The Sun Never Sets


Chapter X: The Unwilling Warrior


As we have seen, the period preceding the Venezuela War (also called the First Atlantic War) was without question the most successful period, in terms of expansion, in the history of the British Empire. In 1815 the Empire covered roughly 2,000,000 sq. mi. By 1902 it extended over 12,000,000 sq. mi., nearly a quarter of the globe.


The Royal Navy, larger than that of the two next greatest naval powers combined, was the still greatest navy the world had ever seen. It was used extensively, both in threat and in practice. The long period of relative peace arising from a balance of power between the major European states depended ultimately on the use of British maritime supremacy. It also served to assure that the population on the British Isles were confident that a foreign invasion was an impossibility. Similarly, the Armed forces of the British Empire were unparalleled. With soldiers on every continent, all dominions and territories contributed to its seizable manpower. While the contingent in Britain proper was smaller than other European Armies, the sheer weight of the Empire was enough to allow Britain to exert considerable diplomatic and military force.


This confidence and power allowed Britain to reach a state of unparalleled security and ability. A massive zone of 'informal' empire wrapped the globe, and reached into China, South America and even the Middle East. The “Sterling bloc' was perhaps the single largest economic entity in the world, and was the stable foundation upon on which all others rested. This immense supply of capital allowed British investment to be the most sought after goal for any nation intent on improving itself. Combined with these cultural and financial advantages, Britain often translated them into pure force. The mere presence of a British fleet could overthrow governments and avoid wars. No nation on Earth, let alone Europe could make a move without consulting a the British reaction.


Britain was confident of its place in the sun. For who, besides possibly Russia (and even that threat was confined to Central Asia at worst), could even attempt to bring down this behemoth?
 
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mowque

Banned
(Archived from the New York Times of 1902)




December 2
War Clouds over Venezuela!


The crisis over Venezuela deepened this morning as Venezuelan president Castro has declared that he will not be able to pay the debt owed to the English-German consortium. He has called upon President Theodore Roosevelt to help arbitrate the dispute. Roosevelt was responded saying that is is happy to help a neighboring nation and is willing to aid them. England and Germany are reported to be outraged and have sent warships into the area, intending to blockade the small South American nation. The results of this action have yet to be seen, although most observers say this will end badly.


December 10
Blockade answered with Ultimatum


Washington issued a ultimatum today to the powers blockading Venezuela. “We cannot allow this blatant infringement of free trade to continue. Europe has no place bringing military force to the coasts of the New World. America demands that Britain and Germany agree to sit at the negotiating table. They have two days.” This blistering statement come on the heels of news that a German warship has sunk two Venezuelan freighters bound for America. Roosevelt has taken a characteristically hard stance and has invoked the Monroe Doctrine, stating that this military action infringes on Venezuela's rights. It is clear that Roosevelt means to threaten war over this, and many rumors are circulating the capital. But one thing seems sure, Admiral Dewey has taken a fleet and is stationed just off of Venezuela. Germany and England have made no reply as of yet.


December 13
WAR IN THE CARIBBEAN!


War has been declared early this morning between the United States of America and the European powers of Britain and Germany. It seems that as the ultimatum ran out of time, Admiral Dewey engaged the European fleets off of Venezuela, sinking two English ships. Other then that the information is unclear, but it seems that the 'Hero of Manila' has done it again. Congress approved the war speedily, as Roosevelt urged them on. Making a dramatic and angry speech, Roosevelt has promised to end till “all the Americas' are free. American support for the war is overwhelming as it seems clear Europe initiated hostilities. Roosevelt has asked for volunteers and they are filling the recruiter stations by the thousands. London and Berlin have done nothing over the issue their own quiet decelerations. Roosevelt has made it clear he sees Germany as the true foe and Britain merely a 'puppet of the Kaiser'. Reports of American ships leaving their ports and focusing on the Caribbean appear to be true, as America plunges into war.
 
Interesting to see who else joins in. US colonial possessions are going to be hard to keep. Japan could use the recent Anglo-Japanese treaty as an excuse to grab US Pacific colonies.
 

Raymann

Banned
Well the US can get back its colonies by exchanging them for parts of Canada. Central and Western Canada will call pretty quickly...the British won't put much effort into defending them until the east is secure, which might not even happen.

I can also see a lot of pressure for the US to join the Franco-Russian Alliance. The Ottomans might even join since (like Venezuela) they also own money to Germany and the UK.

If the US loses this war, expect a massive shipbuilding program and round 2 soon after.
 

Susano

Banned
Well its a good start. Of course, from what youve told me, the TL might go downhill in plausibility soon ;)
 

mowque

Banned
Shadow of Mahan: A Study of Naval Doctrine of the First Atlantic War. Bram van Heuveln, 1990. The Hague.




Chapter 3 War Plans


If nothing else, the German war plan was a simple one, if ambitious, Relying on its own fleet, combined with the Royal Navy, it would push open the sea lanes from Europe, sweep the American fleet out of the Caribbean and into port, and then proceed to land troops wherever required. This plan was based off the idea that Germany would be the major partner (at least in the Caribbean). While this plan was been ridiculed by historians and military strategists for nearly a century, perhaps looking at it with a fresh face might prove educational.


The plan fit perfectly with mainstream naval thought of the time. Massive battleships would fight a few decisive battles, where either the navy would win or be sunk. The Germans assumed (rightly) that combined with the Royal Navy they would win any single engagement and could easily secure the supply lines. This belief in battleships shows the power that Mahan still had. It was in this erroneous belief that battleships were the only ships worth counting that lead tot he High Sea's Fleets demise, not the strategy. The German fleet was well prepared and was a fine example of a new 'high-tech' navy. Equipped with the finest materials, it was a fleet blessed with favor by Berlin. Eager to show it off, it is no surprise that the eventual plan was grandiose. While this hubris is often discussed, their were plenty of reason why they thought they could succeed in such daring.


The supply problem was not as a big of oversight as it may appear. For one thing,t he idea of supplying a modern, oil driven navy across the globe was still a new idea at the time. No one knew how reliant these ships were, in real conditions, on naval bases for upkeep and refueling. Most assumed that once they forced open the Atlantic (let alone conquer Venezuela) that supplies would be redundant. They could simple bring it all via ship from Germany, let alone adding in Britain's impressive sealift capabilities. This idea combined with the accurate summation of dozens of war games, led Berlin to think that any naval actions would be short, decisive and in their favor. Any other action would be undertaken by Imperial Troops, and would be fighting against the Venezuelan army, hardly a matter of worry. The original planned called for nothing more then some shelling of American cities and naval bases, no ground combat against American forces.


In short, the war against America was to be brief, professional, decisive, and naval in nature. What the war turned into was wholly different.


England on the other hand had a much murkier landscape to deal with. Its decision making processes was far more complex that Germany and had to take into account far more factors. War with America had been the worst case scenario for decades in Whitehall. Accordingly, the first order of business was to keep the war small and end it quickly, no matter the political or even territorial cost. This was harp contrast to Germany who saw the current war as a opportunity. Britain saw the newly evolving conflict as a lose-lose situation. They would do anything to avoid escalating it.


Political issues aside however, the military situation was startlingly the same. Britain was also in the grip of Mahan-ian thought. Massive battleships would steam across the Atlantic, face the American ships in true Nelsonioan fashion and would proceed to smash the American fleet. They had good reason to believe this. Not only was the British fleet superior in size but it was also far better in quality. The Majestic class was the world-wide standard for battleships at the time, and these provided the core of Britain main fleet. America's smaller, less trained, inexperienced fleet had little to stand against them. Everything else would be minor after these relatively few fleet actions, presumably involving only small amount of landing troops. While the naval issue was clear, on land the British were far weaker.
Canada was extremely vulnerable from invasion, especially during a warm year like 1902. The long, undefended border stretched form coast to coast. Britain had long considered far Western Canada indefensible, doubly so in the nearly empty space between British Columbia and Ontario. While it was nearly impossible to defend, Canada was easy to invade. Mainly flat and sparely populated most American commanders saw few problems with invading their northern neighborers. Many American railroads ran in close proximity to the border and would provide useful launching points for American troops, while the British would never be able to field anywhere near the numbers needed to defend such a large area. Many in Whitehall wrote West Canada off, and concentrated on holding on to more urban (and richer) east.


Still, despite these disadvantages, Britain was hopeful that the war would pass quickly without any large changes on the status quo. It was doubted that even TR would take the Monroe Doctrine as article of faith and would peruse a 'total war' because of it. And even if the war did become uncontrollable Britain still had the Royal Navy to fend off American predations and to keep supply lines open, and an Empire of resources to use. Also, politically they had much sway with Japan and Whitehall used its influence, hoping that Japan might do some of the fighting or even scare America off.
 
Nice start. I already know some of what's going to happen, so not going to comment more, for fear of spoilers, but I look forward to the next update!
 
Interesting...on the surface I'd expect that TR just teabagged a hornet's nest here fighting both the UK and the Reich, but the last post indicates otherwise. I'm really curious to see where this goes, how oil logistics changes the to-be-expected naval curbstomp, what Japan does, and how the Brits and Western Canadians take US occupation (BC/Alberta as Alsace/Lorraine?).
 

mowque

Banned
The First Atlantic war shattered both sides view of warfare. Both sides thought that the war would be short, limited to a few decisive battles, and would be light in cost. They could not have been more wrong however. The war opened with American ships firing on a small combined Anglo-German fleet off of Venezuela. Despite this bold attack, the American ships were soon faced with enemy re-enforcements and were force to withdraw. Soon, English and German ships filled the Gulf, and their superior numbers and gunnery soon forced American ships to harbors from Texas to Cuba. In only two months, the Germans (the Royal Navy was mostly absent as their government tried to keep the war small) have complete control of the Caribbean and the surrounding waters. As the High Command waited for the first wave of troops bound for Venezuela to arrive, German skippers were instructed to 'cause confusion' in the enemy. So in accordance with these vague (and frankly illegal) orders German ships began shelling American cities. Mobile, Miami, Corpus Christi all became battlefields as the helpless American Navy watched on. The only part of the US Navy that wasn't bottled up head north, to try and interfere with the Atlantic sealanes and the German logistic lines.
This sense of helplessness goaded TR into doing something he might not of otherwise done. Faced with inaction on the part of the navy (still being called together from across the globe) and sense of hopelessness as the German army steaming across the Atlantic, he decided to do something. Something big. While Roosevelt, up to this point, had painted Germany as the greater threat, he was determined to strike back at his foes.


In early February, the invasion of Canada began. Luckily he had been a warm year so it was hoped that the surprise of the invasion would be off putting to any English reaction. As with most grand strategic war plans it was a simple one. Large American forces would strike out of the great plains towards Regina and other towns along the transcontinental Railway. Farther East, TR envisioned a massive assault all throughout the Great Lakes, and hoped to take the Ontario peninsula by storm. In British Columbia, the plans had been drawn up long ago, and were a fine piece of tactail work. The plan revolved around a combined arms approach, landings in Vancouver, naval ships cutting off Victoria, and a land assault from Washington to cut off any troops in Vancouver.


By March these plans were well under way, and America attention turned to them ignoring the losing cause in the south and the burned and gutting cities. In the North, it seemed a triumph of American arms. Troops had been quickly mobilized and the thousands of volunteers were being trained. So far, only professionals in the tiny American army were being used, and with great effect. Troops had poured out of North Dakota, and using extensive use of calvary had outflanked many Canadian positions, and were moving north quickly. Fortifications were thrown up around Regina but Canadian defenders wondered if they had the men to defend them. In BC it was also going according to plan. Due to good intelligence American landings went off flawlessly and Canadian defenders were outflanked all around Vancouver. While fighting still went on in the outskirts of the city, it center was in American hands. Plans were already drawn up for the push north, to hit the enemy as he was reeling. Few British troops were present, as most of them had stayed in the more important East and had been busy fortifying it. In the West, Canada had to rely on its self and this fact caused much rancor among the population.


In the East, the armies had dozens of reporters and cameramen in tow and all perpetrations were visable to the world. To make things worse TR often intervened and leaned heavy on the army staff to get his way This caused innumerable delays, mishaps and debacles. The British took advantage of the time given to them. Fresh from the Boer war, the British had learned the value of trenches and machine guns and used both in Canada. They entrenched everywhere, and sent about arming Canadians quickly. Their surprisingly attitude gained them few friends among the 'colonials' however and anti-British sentiment swirled around the country. Still, with the American building up in Michigan and New York, few dared say much. By March the American army was ready to move. The grandiose plan of Roosevelt had bee toned down to three landings on the Ontario Peninsula. One near the small town of Godreich on the western side , a large one near Mississauga and then the biggest blow aimed at Windsor. They were all set for the same day and on March 5th the might of the American army was unleashed. This was the first time fighting had occurred in the East. In the West the American army was still making great gains. The cold ground had proved hard to carve out trenches and the Canadian army had been thrown back and outflanked many times. A large force had just marched out of Montana headed directly up Lake Okangan, headed for the city of Vernon. It was making good headway. Local resistance was minimal due to many factors.


Canada had a weak national identity, population density was low, and most were tied to the land. The few that weren't merely fled away from the war zones. The British were at a loss as they tried to organize a resistance. Failing this they relied on their superior calvary and tactics. Drawing on their Boer experience they kept to small, daring raids of calvary. Still, while troublesome these raised hardly slowed the US troops down. Pushing on, Regina was soon to fall and the British Empire was already drawing up plans to defend far to the north.


Back in Ontario, the landings went badly from the start. The Godreich landing never even occurred due to bad weather, bad intelligence, and shelling. British artillery shot at the broken up troopships and then soon retreated. The Mississauga landing went through but it was filled with mishaps. The landing was badly placed and British reaction was swift. The American commander was cautious and didn't push ahead from the beachhead. The Americans advanced bloodily into the British trenches and the Canadian troops acted admirably in not giving up an inch. Accurate shelling killed many American troops and all froward movement stalled quickly and it turned into a bloody morass of dead and ying troops as quarter master tried to empty the troopships among shelling and machine gun bullets.


The third landing went off best, and the Canadians were caught off guard at the sheer size of the landing. In two days the beachhead had gained greatly, and had made some headway. Newspapers from San Francisco to new York proclaimed victory, and most assumed that the East would fall like the West. They were soon proven wrong.


Quick British reaction and sheer bravery on the part of the mis-used Canadian units soon stopped the American tide. Machine guns and trenches were expensive to storm and despite the bold thrusts by American troops, the small area of maneuver and bad intelligence caused the advance to stop. Deaths soon went into he hundreds and the papers started to scale back reporting. Most went to the west where, by mid-April more major cities had fallen and the railway was long cut. The morale of the Western troops was low, even among Canadians. Most saw this war as imposed by British aggression and they viewed it poorly. Local resistance was little although the Canadians hardly thought of the Americans as their liberators. As the armies pushed north, england gave up all hope of securing West Chanda ever again. This leaked out and caused massive loss of morale, even in the East, where British aid was plenty.


By May, the lines had seemed to cement, at least in Ontario. American troops had been stopped moving forward at all. The recent new set of trench and machine guns had stopped all movement. The British were pouring reserves in, and the American could do little to stop them. The other beachhead had collapsed entirely, causing a great propaganda loss for the Americans, not to mention a very real military one. In the East, battle raged around Winnipeg but the city held, raising morale. Farther East the Americans surged up the Rockies, quickly pushing back any enemy forces. A small column out of Alaska caused much confusion although the American were poorly led, weakly armed, and ill-provisioned. The “White Scare' as it was called, pushed many newspapers in London to call for peace, citing a inept war, and a bad ally. Combined with little gain and much to lose, the peace table was finally sought. So by April, the war in Canada was all but over.
 

Raymann

Banned
Nice update.

So what's going on in the Philippines, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico? And is Mexico dumb enough to try anything?
 
My main question to this would be why would the Americans invade Western Canada? Especially with their incredibly small professional army at the time as stated in the first post.

The area was fairly unexploited in 1902 [The Gold and Oil not being properly tapped into until the back end of WW1 iirc] meaning that the USA has just expended man, machine and resources invading a sparsely populated area with hardly any infrastructure in it for... trees, a bit of Gold and propaganda purposes?

That makes no sense considering the USA has no large-scale standing army at the time. Quite a bit of it would be deployed down in Florida and in Cuba to protect from Potential Anglo-Germanic invasion.

Even so. The logical thing would've been a build up focused on Boston with the intent of striking hard at Quebec, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The main places the Canadians had populated and the areas the British would base naval forces and other things at. Then you would go about invading the cut-off and barely defended Western Canada which might've even capitulated after the loss of the more prosperous East.

You also seem to skip that, quite rapidly after the Boer War [And the fair sized Canadian Particicpation during it, meaning quite a few combat veterans in the Colonial Units upon returning home] they formed medical, veterinary, signals, ordnance and service organizations to complement the British-officer led militias. So how have the British been "at a loss to form a defence" from the Canadian population?

With war declared I have a feeling the Canadians would've organized into their militia's fairly quickly [As indeed they did back in 1812] in preparation of British re-deployment to a Carribean theatre.

There seems to be a bit of a bent of the "Hollywood British" here in some of this writing as I very much doubt the British would have sat on their laurels after they heard of the Buildup of U.S forces near to their Eastern Border [as they inevitably would due to the warm relations shared between the Empire and the USA at the time of the war] and simply sat back and waited.

Even if they were only limited raids, or a naval blockade from Nova Scotia to disrupt trade and supplies the British would in all likelyhood have done this to slow down or disrupt the US build up. This is the greatest Empire the world had ever seen stretching around the globe with vast numbers at it's disposal. There's just a touch of the "Pirates of the Carribean British" about them, despite later holding the line when the Americans attacked.
 

mowque

Banned
Thanks for the response! Japan and the Pacific will be covered int he Next post.

Ok, now to Heruss. Thanks for the long winded answer.:).

The area was fairly unexploited in 1902 [The Gold and Oil not being properly tapped into until the back end of WW1 iirc] meaning that the USA has just expended man, machine and resources invading a sparsely populated area with hardly any infrastructure in it for... trees, a bit of Gold and propaganda purposes?

I think the answer here is that TR wants to strike back anyway he can and he sees Canada as the perfect target. Navally he is completely outclassed, and the Germans are bombing ports and ships everywhere in the South. (not th mention that IOTL TR had always liek the idea of annexing Canada)

Even so. The logical thing would've been a build up focused on Boston with the intent of striking hard at Quebec, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The main places the Canadians had populated and the areas the British would base naval forces and other things at. Then you would go about invading the cut-off and barely defended Western Canada which might've even capitulated after the loss of the more prosperous East

See I thinkt he reason it seems backward is that TR is planning just such a blow. For one thing, the TTL landings of the German troops in Venuela are inspiring genreals to think aphmious landings. Also a march through vermont and Maine would be a hard one. I think TR hoped to bypass all of that and hit hard in Ontario. He probably didn't think he would grab all of Canada, eventhough he hoped!. Unfortnaly the plan backfired. Thew few troops he sent to the West did spetcaulaly well, but the 'mian blow' inthe East failed.

Even if they were only limited raids, or a naval blockade from Nova Scotia to disrupt trade and supplies the British would in all likelyhood have done this to slow down or disrupt the US build up. This is the greatest Empire the world had ever seen stretching around the globe with vast numbers at it's disposal. There's just a touch of the "Pirates of the Carribean British" about them, despite later holding the line when the Americans attacked.

I hope I havn't made the Birtish too weak here. America IS huge and right next door. And the Canadians aren't too thrilled at being dragged into a war against a close neighbor, one they have good realtions with. It he West they basically just swarmed the small popualtion under. In the areas where the Britsh care about, sea and East Canada, they defended it ably (as I thinkt hey would).

Thanks and I don't mind the questions, even if i can't answer them to your statisfaction!
 
It's good reading regardless. I just think there are areas where you're not thinking militarily or logically with the resources at the United States disposal. As much as TR wanted to annex Canada, I can't see him wasting time at Regina in the West, when the main resources, troops and population centres are in the East where the British have also built up in the interim.

You have to take into account the UK has around 500,000 troops from the UK at it's disposal, but nearly 3-4 MILLION when you take into account colonial troops around the Empire, and by 1902 it's started shifting these forces around to use in other wars Canadians and Indians being deployed in the Boer War, for example.

This is the Britain at the Zenith of it's Empire. It's an ENORMOUS thing to go up against even in one theatre.

Whitehall was nervous about the USA because it partially regarded it as a sleeping giant, but also because it'd take a lot of resources to organize and fight against properly that it had at it's disposal, but with trade being good, didn't truly regard as necessar.

With Naval domination in the Carribean assured you can almost certainly count on the Jamaican and other units [Again, led by smaller, purely British contingents augmented by larger bodies of colonial troops] attempting to take places like Cuba and other US holdings of the time in the Carribean, with even potential landing sites in Florida and Louisiana. Which again, gives greater emphasis on the USA wanting to put troops in the South, rather than attacking Canada.
 
You have to take into account the UK has around 500,000 troops from the UK at it's disposal, but nearly 3-4 MILLION when you take into account colonial troops around the Empire, and by 1902 it's started shifting these forces around to use in other wars Canadians and Indians being deployed in the Boer War, for example.

This is the Britain at the Zenith of it's Empire. It's an ENORMOUS thing to go up against even in one theatre.

Whitehall was nervous about the USA because it partially regarded it as a sleeping giant, but also because it'd take a lot of resources to organize and fight against properly that it had at it's disposal, but with trade being good, didn't truly regard as necessar.

With Naval domination in the Carribean assured you can almost certainly count on the Jamaican and other units [Again, led by smaller, purely British contingents augmented by larger bodies of colonial troops] attempting to take places like Cuba and other US holdings of the time in the Carribean, with even potential landing sites in Florida and Louisiana. Which again, gives greater emphasis on the USA wanting to put troops in the South, rather than attacking Canada.
I can't say much about America's war strategy, that's largely mowque's domain, but I can address some of the British strength issues. If you'll pardon the spoilers, Britain's strength is underused due to lack of co-ordination politically back in blighty. Let's just say that the war isn't too popular in parliament.
 
Oh I dunno. War wasn't popular against the Germans in 1914 but that soon changed, didn't it? What's stopping it here?
 
Oh I dunno. War wasn't popular against the Germans in 1914 but that soon changed, didn't it? What's stopping it here?
The lack of a "just cause", the fact that the Boer wars are only just over, and the increasing unpopularity of the incumbent government all play a part. Also, there is much to be politically gained by division, even within the ruling party (as the OTL split over free trade shows).
 
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