US Soil Invaded

After some more thinking I have come up with this scenario which I consider to be the most likely timeline of a large scale war on american soil in the 20th century. It involves a more successfull entente that breaks up after WW1.
My initial ideea required a Russian empire that has survived ww1 relatively intact. (The Ottoman empire surviving too is a nice bonus) Russia needs to stay in/rejoin the entente, so by the time the final peace treaties are signed it must be able to throw its weight around. The Russians and French collaborate to impose a peace threaty that is even harsher for Germany then in OTL. Now it would be quite possible that with Germany out of the picture, the old English-Russian rivalry in Asia is rekindeled. England will be more and more concerned with Russian power and seek to contain it. To do so, it will strengthen the ties with Japan (and maybe the Ottoman empire, if it survives) in the face of the common enemy, and seek other allies (but without much success at first). Eventually Britain will leave the entente, while France will remain loyal to Russia. Tensions between the two rival alliances will grow, and it is probable that Russia and Japan will end up going to war against eachother, dragging their respective western allies with them. Britain will of course be reluctant to fight, but the need to preserve the balance of power wil compell it to act. At first, the Anglo-Japanese, being weaker than their enemies, will be pushed back. In desperation, Britain will turn to a previously unthikable solution: an alliance winth Germany. Let us assume that the Germans, with British help, can rebuild their forces in spite of the inevitable French attack, and that they can turn the tide of the war. The Anglo-German-Japanese alliance must be winning the war, so that they feel emboldened for their next move. We can suppose that during all this time, the US has been happily suplying both sides with war materials. Even close to defeat, the Franco-Russians would still recieve copoius amounts of supplies from America. Obviously, the UK will want to do something about this, but the public will not support yet another war against a fellow democracy. So the English will settle for a "proxy war". They will instruct their German allies to launch an unrestricted submarine campaign against US shipping. It is hoped that the war in Eurasia will be over soon enough and then the UK can broker a peace. Meanwhile, the Royal navvy will try to covertly support the Ubootwaffe, while pretending to stay neutral. However, the pretense of neutrality can not be kept for long. After a series of incidents, thensions between the US and UK rise to unbearable levels. (Let's assume that Japan has allso attacked the US at the same time or at an earlier date, thus creating another source of tnsions). Finally, the Americans can't take it any more and launch an invasion of Canada. The English and their allies rush in reinforcements, and a large scale war rages across North America....
 
Not to ruin the mood but you people forget that America a 100 years ago was just an unimportant little country. It had huge territory for sure but a low population density. You could go from the Pacific to the Atlantic uninposed. If the US had to bear the full might of the British Empire lets say in 1900 it could be defeated. The Us became an economic and millitary behemote because during the 2 WWs they stayed out the fighting until the oposing nations where exausted. Oh yeh and they sold a lot of stuf for top dolars fore both sides (dont forget that America sold oil to Germany until the end of 1941). Its just that America dident become an important global player until the 1910. It got a lot of luck. Thats it. And if somebodey brings up the war of 1812 and how the Us won against the British than i just say that the British where in a 10 year war with the French already and coudent spare the ships and man to fight a real war. If the french where a no issue than america would be kaput.
 
Not to ruin the mood but you people forget that America a 100 years ago was just an unimportant little country. It had huge territory for sure but a low population density. You could go from the Pacific to the Atlantic uninposed.
You exaggerate. The US at the time had 76 million people, giving it a higher population than Germany, and almost twice as much as Metropolitan France. Also, it had recently become the largest economy in the world, with something like 18-25% of the world's wealth. You can look those figures up; there are several estimates.

If the US had to bear the full might of the British Empire lets say in 1900 it could be defeated. The Us became an economic and millitary behemote because during the 2 WWs they stayed out the fighting until the oposing nations where exausted.
That's what made the US a superpower, which is quite a bit different from being a "Great Power," which the US had recently become at the time. I agree with you on one point, that the British navy at its height probably could have effectively blockaded and even invaded the US, but in all likelihood they were the only power that could have done so.

Oh yeh and they sold a lot of stuf for top dolars fore both sides (dont forget that America sold oil to Germany until the end of 1941). Its just that America dident become an important global player until the 1910. It got a lot of luck. Thats it.
More like geographic isolation, a high population capacity, and a great deal of immigration than luck.

And if somebodey brings up the war of 1812 and how the Us won against the British than i just say that the British where in a 10 year war with the French already and coudent spare the ships and man to fight a real war. If the french where a no issue than america would be kaput.
I don't think there's anyone here who would seriously claim the US could have actually won the war of 1812, which was a stalemate, not a win.

Also, it bears mentioning that the US was in the middle of a massive military modernization program in 1900 and would finish well before 1910. It's true, though, that the US was much less militarily inclined than it is today, with only something like 1.5% of its GDP spent on defense (compared to around 3.5% for the british)


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A big factor in there being a post-1900 invasion of the USA is planning one in such a way that it wouldn't be strategic suicide. Basically, before anyone can invade the US, someone has to think rightly or wrongly that it's the best course of action. Effectively, there is very little that anyone could gain from outright invasion that a blockade or an enforced isolation couldn't accomplish. The only nations in a position for a land invasion are Britain and Mexico. Britain at the time had had a peaceful relationship with the US for nearly a century, something neither of them really wanted to end. Britain wouldn't have much to gain from annexing any continental US State, and it would have soured relations between them for a long time to come. Mexico, meanwhile, wasn't in any position to even attempt to invade the US on its own.
 
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