How feasible is this plan?

MacCaulay

Banned
I don't know how you read this from my statements, but I don't think you read everything I posted. I made it perfectly clear that sensible defensive deployments in expectation of British aid is a much better idea, not that I believed Canada ought not to fight. :rolleyes::p

EDIT: Also, does anyone have anything to comment on the likelihood of the plans goals being achieved? Is it likely for the pre-motorization Canadian military to drive hundreds of miles into the United States for whatever benefits they expect to gain from the plan, such as it is?

The fact is, the Canadians expected by the 1930s to lose a war against America. (this is also a war they'd never probably have to fight. That's the most important part.)

This is a completely different way of thinking about warfare than most Americans think about it, and it's how alot of countries think about combat: "We'll probably lose, and there's no cavalry coming over the hill to save us."
The American style of battle is that we'll normally always come out ahead somehow, because we've got the tools to pull out the win. The Canadians don't have that. The never did. So what they have to deal with the hard reality that maybe (probably) they won't win.
So what you get when you write up a plan knowing you'll probably lose in the end is something like this. A plan that really puts the maximum amount of lives lost in your enemy's front yard and out of your own.
 
So what you get when you write up a plan knowing you'll probably lose in the end is something like this. A plan that really puts the maximum amount of lives lost in your enemy's front yard and out of your own.

Precisely.

The plan flat out states that this is just something to do to keep the Americans busy until reinforcements (possibly) arrive. A quick pre-emptive strike, destroy some strategic bridges and railroads, then run like hell back home. Given the hand they were dealt with, this is pretty much all that they can do.

Besides, the plan also stipulates that there was supposed to be a rapid build-up of forces prior to the attack, so it's not like they would be attacking the US with peacetime numbers anyway. Sure--they'll be cannon fodder but at least it's cannon fodder that's attacking a country on its soil.

Edit: I think what some of the Americans in this thread are failing to understand is the mentality behind this plan.

"The Americans are going to attack. If we do nothing, we get curbstomped within three weeks. If we get some time to build up our defences, we can keep them out for six weeks. If we launch this plan, it will take the Americans two weeks to clean up the mess we made and another week to get re-organized. Hey--we just got the time we needed to build up our defences!"

So what started off as a three week long curbstomp become a nine week long slog. Hey--better than nothing and maybe you can do something else during that extra time.
 
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I have to laugh though every time I read that the Canadians hoped to strike a blow at the heart of America by capturing the great industrial metropolis of Great Falls, MT....
 
I have to laugh though every time I read that the Canadians hoped to strike a blow at the heart of America by capturing the great industrial metropolis of Great Falls, MT....

I do wonder how the war would play out on the plains. Small forces in a vast land with scattered settlements. Rivers might be important for transportation.

The plan calls for moving from Great Falls to Minneapolis if possible. Is there a rail line running from Great Falls to Minneapolis, perhaps with a line running into Canada?
 
This brings up the question of just how much did warplans of the time take into account political considerations?

Afterall, this particular defense plan can be called "balsy," "fatalistic," or "if we are going down, we will be going down swinging," only given the USA being some fantasy evil empire that is coming north to butcher all Canadians. It's not just a question of whether Canada can hold out 3 weeks or 6, but also a question of whether the American public would be willing to absorb the costs of either, whether the American government would be willing to discuss neutralizing Canada, etc. There's also the question of whether the eventual American invasion would be a civilized affair with civilian property respected, or something like Sherman's March to the Sea, complete with a chemical bombardment of Halifax, whether the occupation would be orderly with the understanding that the U.S. army would withdraw pending an overall settlement ending the war and good chances for resuming a profitable relationship postwar, or would the U.S. be dead set on dismembering and absorbing Canada even if it means losing every holding outside of North America and hunkering down to crush insurgency, etc.

This defense scheme seems predicated on the war necessarily being a total war, only ending with one side's total defeat. Indeed, by its very nature, it's Canada specifically and intentionally throwing away any chance for a limited war or quick negotiated settlement.
 
I do wonder how the war would play out on the plains. Small forces in a vast land with scattered settlements. Rivers might be important for transportation.

The plan calls for moving from Great Falls to Minneapolis if possible. Is there a rail line running from Great Falls to Minneapolis, perhaps with a line running into Canada?

well, I'm sure you could get to Minneapolis from Great Falls by rail back then, although it's a heck of a long distance; they'd be better off by attacking a whole lot closer to Minneapolis if they really want to get there. Basically, capturing Great Falls MT means you've captured the middle of nowhere...
 
And I've noticed this on the board among Americans: there's this idea that "why would Canada fight? We're America!" Which in itself it basically the American attitude of "We're awesome, and why wouldn't they want to be part of us?" It's not that we'd say it that way, but that's what a big part of it is. Canadians, like it or not, don't want to be American. If they did, they'd move to America.

Oh my Tap-dancing Christ, THANK YOU!!!

Finally, someone gets it. :rolleyes: :D
 
well, this American is perfectly well aware of the fact that nearly all Canadians do not want to become part of the USA, and would fiercely fight any annexation.
That's why I'm building the Grinders.
 
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