German Emperor Wilhelm II planned attack on the United States

[Ecthy]

100 years ago that is

German article (serious site, good rep) is here http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,195171,00.html

Apparently, they intended to get America to recognize German interests worldwide. Attacks on New York and Boston were planned, one of the goals was gaining control over Panam (well, the canal at least).

They stopped developping further plans when the US started expanding their own fleet, I think the plans were finally dropped in 1906. Isn't this hilarious, of some sort? And don't tell me it's evidence for Germany's WWI fault...

[DinoDoc]

Can you translate it? I'm sorry he dropped it. You might be speaking English now.

[Paul Hanson]

I'll say one thing for you Germans; you aren't afraid of a good fight.

[DinoDoc]

Do you think that Germany would have made a worthy addition to the USA?

[Ecthy]

I don't think the loss would have been that enormous, nor would the US have been such arseholes as Clemenceau ended up being... so I think it would have been a white peace in the end, if not some nice overseas addition for us

[Jack_www]

I am not shocked. They tryed to get Mexico to attack the United States, if the US enter the war by saying that they could get back the lands they lost in the American Mexican war about 70 years earlier. The land that the United States has lots of natural resources, so of course any country who wanted to be a world power would want those resources. And now that United States is a Super Power I think that is even more so now.

[Jack_www]

Anther thing I just remembered too, the US also was preventing any European form trying to regan former colonies in South and North America. (Monroe Doctrine ) So that of course would really bug any country in Europe that wanted power and land, countries like Germany.

[Oldenbarnevelt]

The man must have been a Civ addict.

-

[Ecthy]

Emperor Wilhelm II supposedly planned attacks on New York and Boston

For almost 10 years, Emperor Wilhelm II. supposedly made plans for attacking the USA. Thus - so say documents in the military archive of Freiburg - the Empire intended to strengthen global German influence and control the Panama Canal.

Hamburg - Referring to documents in the military archive of Freiburg, the "Zeit" reports about the Empire's attack plans. According to that, the attack was supposed to happen before the Great War (doh!, Ecth.) Targets should be Boston and New York.
The German government intended to force the United States to recognize German interests on the American continent and in the Pacific, the Zeit reports. Furthermore, control over the Panama canal was another objective.

The Emperor himself is said to have been the driving force behind it. The USA had crossed the Emperor's attempts to construct colonies and military bases all over the world (how did they do that?, Ecth.). Therefore, Naval Officer Eberhard von Mantey created plans to force the "United states of North America" to agree on a contract that would favour Germany in the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean in the winter of 1897/98.

One year later, Mantey got an opportunity to carry on with his plans. At this point he supposedly created plans for an attack on New York, a 3-million-metropolis back then. "In New York, great panic will erupt at the very thought of a possible bombardment" the Zeit quotes him from the documents.

In those days, the armament in the Empire was on high conjunction. Wilhelm II. resolved the Supreme Naval Command in the beginning of 1899 and took over the direct naval command. Another year later, in June 1900, the Reichstag (Imperial parliament, Ecth.) passed the Second Naval Law, fully according to the ideas of the Secretary of Imperial Navy Affairs, Alfred von Tirpitz (the man with that weird beard that is split into 2 halfs, Ecth.). That law contained an expansion of the Imperial Fleet as it was put in place by the First Naval Law by the factor 2. (verdoppeln?, Ecth.)

Apparenlty, most naval strategists (DLs!, Ecth.) already dreamed of a quick victory of the new fleet in the new world. Only the Head of the General Staff, Alfred von Schlieffen, warned them of "uncalculatable" risks in that transatlantic intervention. The plans were continued until 1906, when the USA began to massively expand their own fleet. Plus, the political situation in Europe had entered a more difficult phase. (zugespitzt?, Ecth.)

In the plans the author of the Zeit-article sees proof for a thesis about parallels between the Empire and the Third Reich that has been debated for tens of years; apparently, 40 years later, the Nazis seeked to fight the Endkampf / Final Battle for world supremacy against the USA as well.

[Adalbertus]

The man was a bit insane in that respect. No wonder he dismissed Bismarck (someone I wouldn't vote for but who knew what was possible and what not).

[Ecthy]

To be quite honest, I would

[faded glory]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Do you think that Germany would have made a worthy addition to the USA?

We would lose. Our army was 1500 cavalry out west fightin engines in 1900. And 5,000 volunteer's along our borders. Would take forever to mobilize. We were still using Muskets! lol

[Jack_www]

How would think things would have turned out if Germany attacked the US? Personally I think such an attack without an island of other land mass near by that you could use as a base of opperations would be hard to pull off. The risk of getting found out while on route to US with troops would be high since it would take a week or more to more troops form Germany to US. SO such an attack would be nest to impossible, and that is probelly why they never did it. Now if they could have an ally near the United States to help them, like Mexico, that would have been a different story.

[faded glory]

Ya but the US army was a pathetic force during peacetimes back then. Everywar we have fought before ww2 we were caught under manned and ill equipped. We would have to call up rag-tag militia's and 50,000 conscripts for 60 days. Had Germany attacked the panama canal with a large force, there isnt a whole lot we could of done. They had a huge modern naval fleet which later fought in WW1, we had a large fleet but it was from the 1880's already. And Germany had many regional allies in the caribean who didnt like america at the time.

[Shi Huangdi]

This isn't realalistic, the British would not have allowed this.

"We would lose. Our army was 1500 cavalry out west fightin engines in 1900. And 5,000 volunteer's along our borders."

At that time, the United States still had good, strong State Militias, that could have defended the USA. Any attack on America proper would also have to deal with an armed populace.

The Germans made the bet when they restored Submarine warfare and the Zimmerman telegram that they it would take the USA too long to mobilize. They were wrong.