Secret plans for World War III: US may have tried to overthrow Napoleon and Hitler

In addition to US plans for World War III, we have previously written about Soviet and British plans, which you can read here:

The Cold War was still in full swing when Operation Dropshot was encrypted in 1977, with the United States plotting to defeat the Soviet Union and its allies in a possible war of attrition. The draft, drawn in 1949, four years after the end of World War II, shows a fantasy of World War II in 1957.

Like all other World War II plans, the creator of this plan expects the enemy – in this case the Soviet Union and its allies – to launch offensive operations against the planner and his allies – the United States and its Western allies. For the United States, the Soviet Union would have waged a war to spread the ideology of communism and “enter world domination.”

It is important to note that at that time neither the Soviet Union nor the United States had a large supply of nuclear weapons capable of delivering intercontinental ballistic missiles., Which determined the international dialogue of the 60s and 70s and, according to many, their deterrent, essentially preventing an open war between the Eastern and Western powers. Therefore, even the makers of Operation Dropshot did not consider the effect of determining the conflict of these strategic weapons, i.e. this draft looks very different from the action plan developed in the latter part of the Cold War.

In 1949, American policymakers determined the situation so that if the Soviet Union launched an offensive it could de facto capture all continental Europe and advance as far as Cairo in the Middle East.

England would not have been killed, according to the Americans, but would have suffered significant damage as a result of Soviet rocket attacks and bombings. As for the United States, policymakers saw it as still there The Soviet Union in the late 1950s had no American invasion capability.On the other hand, bombings, submarines and weapons of mass destruction could have caused significant damage to US logistics and industrial capabilities.

If they did nothing, the United States was deeply concerned that the Soviet Union would quickly seize the aforementioned territories, introduce loyal, communist regimes, consolidate its power, and then deploy the industrial and military capabilities of the countries concerned at its service. With the combined strength of all Eurasia, the United States would not have known much about what to do.

The makers of Operation Dropshot outlined in some detail both the possible federal systems of World War III and the mechanisms forcing Soviet surrender. It is interesting to note that Yugoslavia, then ruled by Joseph Pros Tito, was neutral and sought to exclude much of the Middle East from the conflict, including Spain, Sweden and Ireland and Latin America in Europe. It is astonishing that Finland and Korea are classified by the Americans as a Soviet sphere of interest: at that time Finland was neutral, even with the greatest mercy, and Korea was at the gates of the Korean War, which had been divided for a year. To this day.

Operation Dropshot basically consists of four phases:

1. America by all means Trying to capture the invasion of Western EuropeThere will also be a separate landing operation to deploy US troops to Europe, Japan and the Suez region.
2. Airstrikes would disable the industrial and military capabilities of the communist camp, Nuclear weapons will also be used in these operations (there were only conventional atomic bombs in this era),
3. Land occupation will begin Against the countries of the Communist Alliance,
4. The Soviet Union surrenders And begin negotiations on the terms of the peace and the establishment of occupation zones.

The plans of World War III detail security measures in terms of strategic importance, offensive operations, strengths and weaknesses of the opposition, capabilities of various forces and political goals of the leaders.

Interestingly, the United States expected The Soviet Union with its current capabilities could capture Europe in 2-3 months (Excluding Spain and the United Kingdom), however, it was found that the attack could be captured in France, Greece, Italy and the Middle East. Germany and Austria renounced a little exaggeration: The makers of Operation Dropshot thought that there was no real chance of retaining these countries and that they could only recover after a prolonged occupation in the counterattack. Interestingly, this coincided with the post-war plans of the Soviets, who calculated that they could capture the FRG and Austria and mitigate expansion after a quick victory. The Soviets carried out a successful offensive for 8 days and the Western Allies for 10 days.

In the Far East, according to the United States, with the help of Communist China, the Soviet Union would be blamed (the Chinese Civil War was still going on, but the dropshot makers still treated Communist and nationalist China separately). According to them, the force could relatively occupy Korea and the island of Hokkaido in Japan., And the “real prospects” of the remaining islands could not be created into a loyal, effective defense force for the United States (which was still highly questionable in 1949) if the Japanese army was disarmed during World War II.

The United States also expected the Soviet Union to launch air strikes, mainly from Siberia and the occupied Europe and submarines.

The United States also noted the possibility of Soviet troops occupying Alaska, but they saw no chance against the mainland of the United States.

The United States was firm, too The Soviets would attack them with nuclear bombs, And the possibility of using chemical weapons and biological weapons are also mentioned.

The United States will launch a land invasion of the Soviet Union after defensive operations and airstrikes, which the United States calls a “significant challenge” because of its size.. They may have thought so five to six years after the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler’s sword exploded during the Soviet invasion during World War II. They hope they will succeed because they will not launch an invasion until Soviet ports, military bases, airports, industrial centers and logistics capabilities are destroyed.

The United States hopes to defeat the Soviet Union only by launching simultaneous offensive operations from Great Britain into the Arctic and Baltic Seas, from Western Europe into Poland and the Baltic States, and from the Middle East via the Black Sea Caucasus. In the Balkans.

The authors of Operation Dropshot spent a long time discussing the reliability and feasibility of these operations, and finallyThe most viable approach comes from the Black Sea region, Greece and Turkey.

By attacking the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons, the United States hoped that Moscow would soon surrender, but in the absence of this, a protracted war was expected, apart from physical conflicts and psychological and economic ones. .

Finally, when Washington negotiates the terms of surrender with Moscow, they outline exactly how many cities of strategic importance should be used to keep the Soviet sphere permanently occupied.

Notable Hungary About its role in American programs: As it is known, our country came under Soviet occupation after World War II, so the United States treats us as hostile countries.

The makers of Operation Dropshot refer to our country relatively infrequently; By 1957 we were one of four Soviet satellite countries, according to the United States, which had sufficient industrial capacity in Soviet-interested countries by 1957 to provide substantial economic support to Moscow. On the other hand, our military capabilities are lagging behind those of other satellite states, and according to the United States, by 1957 Hungary had only 5 mobilizable units, roughly in line with Albania’s strength. The United States has blamed the Paris Peace Accords for ending World War II.

Operation Dropshot may be the most comprehensive footage of World War III known to the public on the Internet, and those interested should read on for some more logistics, strategic and operational action.

Cover Image: PhotoQuest / Getty Images