Author Topic: What if the Nazis had invaded America? Maps reveal how Hitler could have attacked the U.S. (as imagined by 1942 issue of Life magazine)  (Read 1949 times)

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Offline TomSea

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What if the Nazis had invaded America? Maps reveal how Hitler could have attacked the U.S. (as imagined by 1942 issue of Life magazine)

By Paul Bentley for the Daily Mail
Updated: 15:37 EDT, 1 September 2011

The year is 1942. After the Luftwaffe launch a devastating attack on the British fleet, Hitler's ships race across the Atlantic and - with the help of 5th columnists - invade America.

This is just one of the nightmare scenarios imagined by Life magazine at the time, when the threat of a Nazi invasion seemed all too real.

Created in the months after Pearl Harbor, the March 2 issue featured a series of maps showing how experts predicted Hitler might try to annex the U.S.

On the maps below, black arrows alone mean a feint, while black with a grey border indicates a full invasion...


Option 1: Hit and run across the Atlantic. One scenario imagined by Life magazine sees the Germans invade the U.S. from the East Coast. But first, they would have needed to take out the British fleet, rescue captured Vichy France and Italian fleets - and have help from 5th columnists in the U.S. Meanwhile, separate assaults would be made on Seattle, San Francisco and LA

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2032699/What-Nazis-invaded-America-Maps-published-1942-Life-issue-detailed-plans-Hitler-invasion-U-S.html#ixzz4lmPZW5HQ
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Offline endicom

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I think that only the U.S. had the manufacturing and logistics capability for that scale of war.

Offline skeeter

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I think that only the U.S. had the manufacturing and logistics capability for that scale of war.

The Nazis couldn't invade England. I'm fairly certain they never for a second considered invading the US.

Offline Bigun

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I think that only the U.S. had the manufacturing and logistics capability for that scale of war.

Absolutely right! Much like the Chinese of today who have a massive military that would be formidable for anyone trying to invade China but pretty much useless otherwise.
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Offline Free Vulcan

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The Nazis couldn't invade England. I'm fairly certain they never for a second considered invading the US.

They drew up plans but that was as far as it got. No doubt Hitler's ego thought he could do it, but he wouldn't have made it past the Appalachians.
The Republic is lost.

Offline skeeter

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They drew up plans but that was as far as it got. No doubt Hitler's ego thought he could do it, but he wouldn't have made it past the Appalachians.

I doubt he woulda made it halfway across the Atlantic. No lift/logistic capability.

Offline Smokin Joe

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The Nazis couldn't invade England. I'm fairly certain they never for a second considered invading the US.
No, but they did have a 'New York" bomber drawn up, and were working on an ICBM.
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Offline Bigun

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I doubt he woulda made it halfway across the Atlantic. No lift/logistic capability.

LOL! They couldn't get the biggest battleships in the world at the time out of Norwegian waters!  How the hell anyone could even contemplate them getting an invasion force across the Atlantic is a mystery to me!
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Offline Smokin Joe

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LOL! They couldn't get the biggest battleships in the world at the time out of Norwegian waters!  How the hell anyone could even contemplate them getting an invasion force across the Atlantic is a mystery to me!
The absence of air cover to get the Tirpitz to the ocean is what killed it. If the Luftwaffe had made covering for the Tirpitz enough of a priority to get it into the pond proper, it might have changed things, even if it would not win the war.
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

Offline Gefn

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The absence of air cover to get the Tirpitz to the ocean is what killed it. If the Luftwaffe had made covering for the Tirpitz enough of a priority to get it into the pond proper, it might have changed things, even if it would not win the war.


I'm bookmarking this. It's kinda fascinating to me, but I'm happy it didn't happen. Kinda reminds me of the man in the Iron Castle, no?
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Offline Bigun

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The absence of air cover to get the Tirpitz to the ocean is what killed it. If the Luftwaffe had made covering for the Tirpitz enough of a priority to get it into the pond proper, it might have changed things, even if it would not win the war.

Perhaps, but that raises even more questions doesn't it?
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Offline Free Vulcan

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I doubt he woulda made it halfway across the Atlantic. No lift/logistic capability.

No, but assuming he did, we would have shredded his troops with a gun behind every blade of grass and around every corner.
The Republic is lost.

Offline Smokin Joe

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Perhaps, but that raises even more questions doesn't it?
It makes for fertile ground to speculate. It might have shifted everything from carriers to the Atlantic, and air wings to attempt to sink the ship with the standoff capability to damage allied shipping and sea power in the Atlantic without being hit, other than from the air or by submarine. The shift in assets may have delayed the actions in the Pacific War.

An unintended consequence would be the delay of the island hopping campaign until the bomb was developed, in which case, the US would have taken an island to launch the bomb from, used carrier aircraft for cover, and ended the war with fewer American Casualties  (If, at that point, the resolve to use The Bomb was present.)
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

Offline skeeter

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The absence of air cover to get the Tirpitz to the ocean is what killed it. If the Luftwaffe had made covering for the Tirpitz enough of a priority to get it into the pond proper, it might have changed things, even if it would not win the war.

Having the 'fleet in being' in Norway including the Tirpitz was probably more effective than having it loose in the Atlantic. Its presence as a constant menace to the russian convoys tied up quiet a number of major Royal Navy fleet units for a long time.

Offline Restored

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Take Iceland
Take Greenland
Invade Maine and move south

Virtually impossible due to logistics
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Offline Joe Wooten

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It would have been impossible for Germany to invade the US. Hitler had to stop new naval construction after the war started because they did not have the industrial capacity to have both a huge army/air force and a navy. The United States had more industrial capacity than all the rest of the world combined. The result of the war was decided when Japan attacked us and Hitler declared war two days later. With the USA all in, it was only a matter of time.