Kremlin Game Plan: How Russia might strategize in a conflict with the USA

International tensions are at an all-time high, leading our thoughts to unsettling scenarios. While it’s uncomfortable to contemplate, have you ever wondered what would happen if Russia decided to attack the USA?

The United States is a huge country and because of this and it other geographical features, the country has not seen very many attempt at invasion over the course of history. Could the Kremlin actually attack the US? How would Russia go about it?

In his film 'The Red Dawn,' director and screenwriter John Milius explored the terrifying idea of what might happen if Russia ever decided to attack the United States.

The 1984 film, which became a cult-classic, chronicles what would happen if the Soviets invaded part of the United States. The film had such a following, a remake was released in 2012.

In 'The Red Dawn,' the world looks like this fictional map created for Wikipedia: Mexico is ruled by communists allied with the Soviet Union, and large parts of the United States are under Russian control. Soviet troops invaded the country through Alaska.

Alaska makes sense as a place for an attack. It is probably the area in whole of the USA most vulnerable to to attack from an enemy. In fact, during World War II, the Japanese attacked and occupied part of Alaska.

It wouldn't be a bad idea for the Kremlin to copy the Japanese operations from 1942 when Japan captured two of the Aleutian Islands in the Alaskan territory. However, the United States managed to liberate them from Japanese rule in 1943.

Did you know that the Germans managed to infiltrate the United States in 1942? In June of 1942, two German U-boats landed sabotage squads on Long Island and in Florida. Fortunately for Americans, the Germans didn't last long in American territory; the nine agents involved were caught, tried, and mostly executed.

The Germans were not the only country to try to raid the United States. Years before the Germans, Mexican revolutionaries led by Villa and Zapata had a very ambitious plan to take over part of the United States.

According to the 1915 San Diego Plan's goal was to annex the territories of Arizona, New Mexico, California and Texas to Revolutionary Mexico. The rebels briefly raided and captured cities such as Columbus, New Mexico.

But let's return to the idea of a Russian invasion of the United States. An interesting Wikipedia entry entitled 'Invasion of the United States' explains that, apart from the possibility of invading through Alaska (the closest territory to Russia), such an operation would present numerous difficulties.

The fact is that the United States is not a country that can be easily invaded. It is not only massive but also geographically complex. According to the aforementioned Wikipedia entry, "...the deserts of the Southwest and the Great Lakes of the Midwest isolate the country's major population centers from threats of invasion".

An aggressor would have a terrible time managing supply chains to troops as they advanced in such a giant country.

The Wikipedia entry on a possible US invasion also states: "Military expert Dylan Lehrke noted that an amphibious assault on either the West Coast or the East Coast is simply too insignificant to acquire a beachhead on both coasts."

Russia has never showed any serious interest in attacking or attempting to overtake American territory, not even during the Cold War. The Kremlin is realistic and knows  it would be an impossible mission.

War experts agree that during the Cold War and even today,  the only scenario of a US-Russian war is mutual nuclear annihilation.

Another factor that discourages enemies from attacking the United States is its strong military. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Global Firepower and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the United States has more than 2.8 million troops.

The US military also has about 13,200 aircraft, 6,600 tanks and 484 warships, including 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and dozens of destroyers and submarines.

In addition to the military aspect, some analysts and scientists focus on the geographical elements. Robert Kaplan's book, 'The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate,' is a good reference on the subject.

Photo: Morgan Lane/Unsplash

Of course, there are also dystopias about a possible occupation, such as 'The Man in the High Castle', a novel by Philip K. D., adapted into a series by Amazon. The book envisions a world where Germany and Japan won World War II, and the United States was brought under their control.

Hollywood also made fun of a Russian invasion: in 1966, the comedy "The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!" took the great paranoia of the Cold War and treated it with humor.

Be that as it may, the United States remains ever vigilant. September 11th showed that a large-scale attack on American territory is possible. The threat of invasion is almost nil, but there are many others.

Photo: Lucas Sankey/Unsplash