Top 10 Cancelled MILITARY Operations That Would’ve CHANGED EVERYTHING
10.
Operation Tannenbaum
The Plot: Despite its neutrality, Switzerland was expecting to be invaded at any time, and
had actually raised the draft age to 60 to add more soldiers to defend the country.
Hitler promised to respect their neutrality, but the Swiss knew better, especially after
he started to invade other non-enemy countries like the Soviet Union.
Hitler even told Italian diplomats “Switzerland possessed the most disgusting and miserable
people and political system.
The Swiss were the mortal enemies of the new Germany.”
Why It Didn’t Happen: This is still a mystery.
Hitler was expected to go in at any time, with Germans and Italian forces massed on
the border and Switzerland ready to start fighting house to house warfare, but he never
pushed the button.
This may have been due to the Allies landing in North Africa, or the Soviet Union proving
to be a handful.
But this was also due to the fact that almost every household in Switzerland had at least
one gun, due to national service for all males.
They would slow advances with potshots, possibly stalling the troops.
If It Did Happen: If it was successful, Germany would have a slight issue.
Most Germans did not want to see a neutral country being taken over, so this would have
led to massive internal criticism and disobedience.
So much so that, according to many contemporary German reports, it would have overwhelmed
many cities police and armed forces, and would have weakened Germany.
9.
Plan Rubber
The Plot: After the Vichy government was installed in France, German aircraft were now in range
of South America through bases in Africa, with Brazil being a trove of natural resources
waiting to be taken.
The US government thought that after losing to Moscow, the Germans might take their anger
out West, and into Brazil.
After Pearl Harbor, the U.S. thought this plan credible enough to draw up plans to invade
Brazil.
While planning showed that most coastal cities could not be taken quickly with beach assaults,
the U.S. decided to make formal plans anyway.
Especially after they found some evidence that Brazil’s dictators could side with
the Nazis.
Called Plan Rubber, battleships were assigned to the coastal positions and divisions were
assigned beaches and cities, eerily similar to the D-day plans.
Queries about Brazilian forces showed how weak they were.
Why It Didn’t Happen: However, the plans never came to fruition, mostly because Brazil,
then on the fence on who to side with, finally chose the Allies and actually allowed American
troops access to air bases and even signed a defense pact with them.
If It Did Happen: The U.S. had a right to be afraid of Brazil’s Nazi sympathies, especially
since neighbor Argentina particularly liked them.
An American attack, demonstrated by exercises in the States, would have most likely been
defeated.
And, since the ruler of Brazil didn’t know who to choose for the longest time, a nation
closely associated with Germany’s enemies attacking Brazil, could have pushed them to
go running to Germany for help, especially with all the Pro-Nazi Brazilians.
So if Plan Rubber was initiated, there would most likely be a third front in World War
II, this time in South America.
8.
Operation Vulture
The Plot: In 1954, the French were busy trying to defend French Indochina from Communist
guerrillas With the country about to fall, the French asked the Americans to come and
rescue the French forces in the region.
The head of the French army even flew into Washington to personally ask President Eisenhower
for help.
A plan was quickly formulated, in which parts of Vietnam would become the next Hiroshima.
As in, they were going to allow the Americans to drop three nuclear weapons on Vietnam simultaneously.
Why It Didn’t Happen: Hmm, did you miss the part about the nukes?
President Eisenhower was unsure about them, and called on the Brits for backing on this.
When they said no, Eisenhower balked at going in with only French assistance.
If It Did Happen: Nukes would have been dropped on the major Communist cities, most notably
Hanoi.
The French and the Americans believed Vietnam would surrender, and immediately stop the
siege of Dien Bien Phu.
With a now partially-radiated Vietnam now back under French control (and France owing
the U.S. a huge favor,) U.S. intervention in Vietnam a decade later would have probably
not have happened, sparing the generation thousands of deaths, and quite possibly not
fighting anywhere.
Provided the nukes didn’t kill us all anyway.
7.
Operation Northwoods
The Plot: After the Cuban Missile Crisis, The American government began to suspect that
this Castro fellow in Cuba might be up to no good.
So the U.S. military with help from the CIA, slapped a plan together, where they would
get some loyal Communists from Miami, give them some cash, weapons and proposed targets,
and say “go nuts”.
Basically, this would show Americans that Castro actually wanted to attack the United
States, and give them enough credibility for them to attack Cuba, perhaps with some allied
help.
Why It Didn’t Happen: When Kennedy read it, he took one look and pretty much said
“Whose insane plan is this!??!?!?”
When Joint Chiefs of Staff tried to persuade him otherwise, the enraged Kennedy, still
pretty mad at the CIA and military for using civilians in missions, simply fired the guy,
and the whole Northwoods plan died with him leaving.
If It Did Happen: According to the plans, an unprovoked attack by Cuba would make international
powers side with the Americans.
With international support, the US would be free to attack the recently Communist nation.
And, with Cuba at blame, the Soviet Union couldn’t exactly defend their ally.
So if Northwoods did happen, we would be looking at a Cuban-American war in the early 1960’s.
And with a small Army, it is quite likely Cuba would have been defeated.
And since this was to be done before the Cuban Missile Crisis, that whole debacle would have
been averted.
6.
Army of the Ocean Coasts
The Plot: Napoleon was having fun taking out Egypt and Austria, until the Peace of Amiens
in 1803.
Looking for a new target, he eyed his old enemy, England.
Napoleon began a new three-year planning binge, putting together 200,000 troops, and had his
shipyards in France and the Netherlands start building fleets of ships.
Why It Didn’t Happen: France lost the Admiral who was to take charge of the invasion, due
to tuberculosis.
And when Napoleon oversaw tests of the huge battleships to cross the channel, the ships
soon sank, leading to many lost ships and men.
While Paris was actually beginning to build a victory column in preparation for the successful
conquest of England, Napoleon began to consider things that weren’t ships, mostly hot air
balloons, and actually prepared the first air invasion in history.
England soon got wind of an attack, and prepared the coasts for an attack.
And then, before an attack could mount, England struck first, attacking vital French harbors.
After Trafalgar, Napoleon had to divert resources to Spain.
If It Did Happen: It would have been the first airborne invasion ever, even with poorly-made
air balloons leading the charge.
Assuming that didn’t kill everyone, there was the rest of England.
Leading Napoleonic scholars believe that 2,000 ships full of soldiers would be launched,
wiping out any British ships in their path to London.
Considering that there were not many soldiers at home because of overseas fighting, they
would be outnumbered, even with a lot of troops being recalled.
So either Napoleon gets into London or, if somehow defeated, he turns efforts to other
British territory.
Either way, today’s maps would probably not look the same, with a fairly good chance
of London being an occupied city for many years.
5.
Huele a Quemado
The Plot: In 1977, Panamanian General Omar Torrijos, and American President Jimmy Carter,
were planning how to deal with the Panama Canal Zone, which was then under American
control.
After tense negotiations, Carter agreed to give the Canal back to Panama in 1999, which
the US ultimately did.
However, if that had failed, Torrijos had an ace up his sleeve: if Panama couldn’t
have it, no one could.
Cleverly code-named “Huele a Quemado” (Spanish for “It smells like something is
burning”), the plan stated that, if Panama didn’t get the Canal Zone back, then it
would pretty much attack and destroy the thing.
Why It Didn’t Happen: It was signed and approved in the U.S. Congress by one vote,
thus ensuring Panama the canal in 1999 and none of the “let’s destroy the most valuable
trade route in the world at our own expense” business.
If It Did Happen: On average, a few hundred million tons of shipping per year pass through
the Canal, serving every continent, and tolls from the canal circulate back into the economy.
If the canal was blown up, world cargo trade would be cut at its knees, meaning most probably
a bigger recession, Carter losing even more to Reagan in the 1980 elections, and the VERY
strong possibility of the United States invading Panama in retaliation.
4.
Operation Vegetarian
The Plot: During World War II, Britain decided maybe it was time for some out-of-the-box
thinking.
Thus began the ironically-titled “Operation Vegetarian.”
Started in 1942, Britain devised linseed cakes filled with anthrax, and dropped them onto
German fields.
Cattle would then eat them, with the population then eating the meat and passing the anthrax
onto the humans, killing millions and creating a food shortage.
Why It Didn’t Happen: Because the U.K. actually poisoned themselves in the process.
Britain’s initial testing didn’t go so well, actually contaminating an area of Scotland
until 1990.
The cakes made were eventually incinerated.
Even then, they still had backing from many military leaders to give it a shot, but it
wasn’t worth making more of the UK uninhabitable with more testing.
If It Did Happen: Seeing what it did to Scotland unintentionally, a part of Germany could have
seen major food shortages, with all the cows suddenly dying from anthrax attacks.
With Bavaria, the main target and cattle area, out of it, troops and civilians would have
had even less food to go on, and possibly surrendered earlier than expected.
3.
Operation Downfall
The Plot: In case Truman didn’t opt to fire the atomic bombs, the Allies needed a backup
plan to get Japan.
Namely, an invasion.
Creatively called Operation Downfall, Forces would go for the bottom Japanese island of
Kyushu, and work up.
Estimates of American troops lost range from 250,000 to 4 million, if civilians were brought
in to defend.
500,000 Purple Hearts were made in preparation, a number so large that they have supplied
every single war since, with about 100,000 still left over.
Why It Didn’t Happen: After Truman saw the numbers of estimated casualties, he decided
that nuking would be much easier, and Japan surrendered in early September, much sooner
than the Downfall estimate of fighting until 1947 or so.
If It Did Happen: The War Department made 500,000 purple hearts, so they had a good
idea how many soldiers would be hurt or killed in taking over the islands.
Also, if an invasion did occur, with the Soviets coming from the North, Japan would have been
taken over by the US, Soviet Union, and China.
After the real surrender, the Soviet Union wanted a part of occupation like Germany,
but they were denied this by Douglas MacArthur.
If there was an invasion, it would have been hard to say no, so that meant dividing up
Japan like Germany was.
Meaning another part of the Cold War, in Asia, and even more power struggles in the decades
ahead.
2.
Vietnam POW Rescue
The Plot: In the early 1980’s, the United States got wind that some POW’s and MIA’s
from the Vietnam War might still be alive in Laos and Vietnam.
An elite force of the Army, the Delta Force, was charged with planning and getting the
soldiers out.
Why It Didn’t Happen: The strike was set up twice and canceled at the last minute twice,
all because a former Vietnam vet hired American and Laotian mercenaries, who went into Laos
to get the missing soldiers themselves.
The vet, a man named Bo Gritz, didn’t help much with his secret missions.
And when they actually went in, they were immediately caught and ambushed by Vietnamese
forces.
Eager not to have another Vietnam, the Delta missions had to be scrubbed, all because Gritz
was drawing attention into the region about POW’s being held behind the lines.
Gritz was even called out on his behavior, being told he was doing more harm than help.
But Gritz did inspire Rambo and the second Delta Force movie, so he wasn’t totally
wrong here.
If It Did Happen: Delta Force, like the SEALs, have a pretty high success rate, as seen recently
with the Somali shipping hostages and the Bin Laden takedown.
If Gritz wasn’t there trying to do it himself, many POW’s would have been brought back
into the United States safe and sound.
1.
The Warsaw Question
The Plot: When Germany took over Warsaw during the beginning of WWII, Warsaw residents threw
a fit.
For several years.
Despite German numbers, Warsaw residents, especially the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto,
were not giving up easily, with much of the city in shambles because of the fighting.
So Hitler and friends decided to just get rid of Warsaw and build a new, more German
city in its place.
Why It Didn’t Happen: By the time the Germans had just about quelled the population, they
had to retreat from Russian troops marching on to Berlin.
In the only instance this sentence has ever been uttered, Stalin did wonders for Warsaw.
If It Did Happen: With no more Warsaw, Poland would basically have to build a new capital
from scratch, or reuse the old one in Krakow for awhile.
Basically, all of Poland’s growth after WWII would be reduced with no central capital.
In the best case scenario, they would’ve had a shiny new city with Nazi icons everywhere.