American Revolution: Invasion of Canada

I would appreciate some insight as to how a successful American invasion of Canada would look during the American Revolution. In other words, and more to the point, put all British claims in Canada in American hands by the war's end. Make them get their @$$ handed to them so hard, have the British get trounced so badly, that they are forced to surrender all Canadian land to the American revolutionaries. NOT looking to make this ASB, but definitely workable.
 
Huh, American militias (limited by the harvest season and a poor financial system)takes away the RN's chief source of timber, beats one of the world's best professional army and foremost navy?

How indeed?

Mind you the Canadian colonies were not too integrated with the 13 colonies. Nor for that matter the Americans capable of any sustained offensive against professional troops. They may be able to tire out the British, but they certainly can't take the RN's chief source of timber without hell to pay.
 
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The Royal Navy would ensure they can't get past the St. Lawrence, they might have problems for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (more unprotected).
 
The best way for Canada to become part of the revolution would be for them to willingly take part in it, not to be invaded. If you take away the Quebec Act of 1774 away you could have the French Canadians be more willing to rise up against the British, especially if you get someone who is extremely anti-catholic and anti-French as governor of Quebec.
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
The best way for Canada to become part of the revolution would be for them to willingly take part in it, not to be invaded. If you take away the Quebec Act of 1774 away you could have the French Canadians be more willing to rise up against the British, especially if you get someone who is extremely anti-catholic and anti-French as governor of Quebec.
The problem being that many Patriot leaders were viciously anti-Catholic and considered the liberties granted to "Papists" in the Quebec Act as "intolerable."
 
The problem being that many Patriot leaders were viciously anti-Catholic and considered the liberties granted to "Papists" in the Quebec Act as "intolerable."

And even if you tweak that, you still have the Canadians having little common interest with their southern neighbors - they're not riled up by the policies of the '60s and '70s, so they have an interest in apathetic support of the status quo, not of armed opposition.

Logistics are more of an issue for the Americans than fighting ability. Look at Arnold's march, and what went wrong.

It doesn't bode well for the Americans being able to supply and support a presence able to even take Quebec, let alone "all Canadian lands".
 
Well even if Arnold takes Kebec, British troops are comming. It is difficult to judge the amount of support for both side during the revolution. The British normaly sa support in the places they happend to occupy. That said, best bet is a succsessfull invasion early, before Burgoyne returnes. Question is were are his tropps going to lad? This migh lead to an earlier souther strategy.
 
I can see how the Patriots can obtain more of Canada but not all of Canada.

1.) Stronger support in New Brunswick - if there is stronger support in New Brunswick, perhaps the US gets a little more added onto what would be Maine.

2.) Capturing Fort Niagara and Fort Detroit - With the capture of these two forts and being able to defend them, the Americans might be able to recieve what is Ontario today in the Peace of Paris.

For this, you could have no US advance on Quebec, but have the Americans and Arnold advance on Fort Niagara. Keep the Montgomery expedition against Montreal in order to defend New York but have Arnold take Niagara again for the defence of New York. The Americans would eventually retreat from Montreal in a delayed tactic which could still have Arnold defending Lake Champlain in 1776. The Americans keep Niagara as the British want to focus on the Hudson in 1777....lose at Saratoga

The Americans recieved Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota by capturing of British outposts by George Rogers Clark. He was able to sucede with scratch forces. Giving him 500 more men to go along with the forces that he had might get him to Fort Detroit.

The Sullivan campaign of 1779 was another chance for the Americans to take Fort Niagara. Have Sullivan be a little more daring, or put someone else in charge who is and have them capture Fort Niagara.

As the British turn South, the Americans keep the northern forts.

When the Peace of Paris rolls around, the British keep Nova Scotia, New Foundland, and Quebec but the Americans keep what will become Ontario, or Upper Canada at the time.

So thus the USA gets the sparsly populated portion of Canada in the 1780's by capturing the two forts of Niagara and Detroit which is not too out of reason for them to capture.
 
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