Washington: America’s newly elected President Donald Trump keeps making statements about making Canada the 51st state of America. Even after the resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he made a similar statement. On this statement of Trump, Trudeau has said that there is no possibility of this. But this is not the first time that the question of annexing Canada has been raised in America. There was a time in history when America saw Canada as a potential threat to itself. At that time, America had made a detailed plan to capture Canada, which is known as ‘War Plan Raid’.
During the years 1914-18, the First World War alerted America. In fact, America was worried that if tensions with Britain increased, the allies of the British Empire might attack it. In such a situation, America had to make a strategy for its security. At that time the British Empire was spread all over the world. America’s neighbor Canada was also part of the British Empire. America feared that in the event of war, British troops might take time to reach America from Europe or elsewhere, but British troops present in Canada could immediately attack American borders.
Why did America make the plan?
Although there was no direct enmity between America and Britain at that time. But considering the vastness of the British Empire and its military strength, America made this plan as a precaution. Many types of plans were made from 1919-1939. War Plan Red was prepared after the Geneva Naval Conference in 1927. This scheme was updated again in 1934–35 and showed the British Empire as ‘red’.
goal of the plan
- To attack cities and military bases situated on the border areas of Canada first.
- Studying Canada’s geography, military resources and transportation networks.
- Attack and capture major ports and railways so that Britain cannot use Canada’s resources or facilities.
However, this plan remained limited to papers only. The Second World War began with Germany’s attack on Poland in 1939, and America’s attention turned to Europe and the Pacific region. NATO was formed in 1949 after the Second World War, after which Britain and America started working as close allies.
Canada had also made a plan to attack
In response to America’s plan, Canada had also made preparations in case of a possible attack. The name of this scheme was ‘Defense Scheme No. 1’. Its objective was to launch a preemptive attack on America as soon as there were indications that America was going to attack Canada. The objective was to disrupt American forces by occupying border American cities, and after the initial attacks, Canadian forces were to return to their lines and take up defensive positions. The purpose of the Canadian plan was to surprise the American army and slow down its attack, giving the British army time to help Canada.
Tags: America News, canada news, international news, US news, world news
FIRST PUBLISHED: January 8, 2025, 10:40 IST
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