Japan and Germany invade US through a "neutral" Mexico.

More likely, especially if Germany followed up in attacking the US is that more people south of the current border would be speaking English.

 

I believe that Arkansas was America’s main internal source of aluminum during WW2.

The World War II era was the most important in the history of Bauxite (AK). The U.S. government needed aluminum to build airplanes and various other supplies, so the chairman of the War Production Board, Donald Nelson, wrote to Alcoa requesting that it mine bauxite ore three shifts a day. After initial hesitation, the chairman of Alcoa, Arthur P. Davis, brought in thousands of miners from across the nation to run the mines nonstop. Prior to the war, the average annual bauxite production was 371,000 long tons; by 1943, the average annual bauxite production was over 6,000,000 long tons. (emphasis mine)

Goto:

Bauxite (Saline County) - Encyclopedia of Arkansas

Active development began in 1895 with the purchase of land and mineral
rights on large areas, and in 1896 the first 20 tons of ore were shipped. In 1898
about 633 long tons of bauxite were mined to make aluminum. Pittsburgh
Reduction Company, a subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of America,
entered the Arkansas bauxite field in 1899 and produced 1,720 tons of ore that
year. In the same year the General Bauxite Company also shipped some ore.
During the next three years the production remained low, but in 1903 it rose to
more than 25,000 tons. Production increased rapidly and reached nearly
200,000 tons in 1914. World War I resulted in a remarkable increase, and more
than 560,000 tons were produced in 1918.

After the war, production dropped and oscillated from year to year. By 1923
the total was back to nearly 500,000 tons. This tonnage represented about one
half of the world production for that year. After 1923, increased production of
foreign ore, particularly the high-grade ores from northern South America,
caused a decline in Arkansas production so that in 1929 it composed only about
one-fifth of the world’s production. Depressed economic conditions during the
early 1930’s reduced the output further, and in 1932 it was down to about 90,000
tons. However, in subsequent years production figures began to rise again. The
all-time peak was reached during World War II when, in 1943, more than
6,000,000 long tons were produced. Until 1942 the only company mining bauxite
in Arkansas primarily for use in the manufacture of aluminum was a subsidiary of
the aluminum Company of America [renamed the ALCOA Mining Company in
1945]. Other companies, including the American Cyanamid & Chemical Corp.,
the Norton Company, General Abrasive Company, Dulin Bauxite Company, and
Dixie Bauxite Company were mining bauxite for uses other than aluminum metal.

In 1942, the Federal Government, through Metals Reserve Company,
undertook to build a large stockpile of Arkansas bauxite as insurance against the
menace of German submarines. Caribbean bauxite and South American
sources were unavailable due to U-boat activity. The first contract was executed
January 30 with the Reynolds Mining Corporation, a subsidiary of Reynolds
Metals Company. An "open" schedule established by Metals Reserve in March,
1942 brought numerous other mining firms into production in the district. The
first stockpile delivery was made May 15, 1942 by Dulin Bauxite Company.
Early in October of 1943, the War Production Board, in view of the improved
shipping situation, recommended reduction of stockpile deliveries to 250,000
tons monthly, and a month later recommended that arrangements be made to
further curtail deliveries so that by July 1, 1944 the stockpile would contain not
more than 2,000,000 tons. As a result, the small "independent" producers who
had been drawn into the field by the Government program ceased operation.
Consequently, by the end of 1945 only ALCOA, Reynolds, and the group of
nonmetal producers active prior to 1942 remained as producers. War Production
Board orders in the latter part of 1943 likewise drastically curtailed operations of
all the larger producers. Since the end of World War II, Two major companies
continued major mining operations in the bauxite area until 1991. ALCOA Mining
Company and Reynolds Metals Company had refineries located near Bryant, in
Saline County. However, early in 1982 the Reynolds Company ceased operation
of their mine. Reynolds closed and disassembled their Hurricane Creek Plant
near Bryant. ALCOA’s chemical facility remains in production. Several other
companies have been active in Arkansas bauxite: American Cyanamid
Company, Norton Company, Porocel Corporation, Stauffer Chemical Company,
and A.P. Green Company. Between the end of the war and 1981, the last year
of available production, annual production has averaged nearly 1,700,000 long
tons of bauxite.

Goto:

HISTORY OF BAUXITE IN ARKANSAS


America had other deposits of bauxite, just not as high a grade as those from Guyana and Arkansas:

The first aluminum made in the U. S. was mined in Bartow and Floyd counties by the present Aluminum Company of America. A local man, Mr. Gibbons, operated these mines and also deposits in Arkansas, where the town near the deposits was named for him. He became a top official of Alcoa. The American Cyanamid Company mined bauxite to make alum. Large foreign deposits caused local mining to cease.

[ According to Geological Survey of Georgia Bulletin No. 11, A Preliminary Report on the Bauxite Deposits of Georgia, by Thomas L. Watson (1904), "... Bauxite was first discovered in 1821, by the famous chemist, Berthier, at the Village of Baux, Bouches du Rhone, in Southern France, from which locality the mineral takes its name. ... The first discovery of bauxite in America was in 1887, at a point a few miles northeast of Rome, in Floyd county, Georgia. A few fragments of the unknown mineral were picked up on the Holland lot, two miles north of the Ridge Valley Iron Company's furnace at Hermitage. ... The bauxite fragments were highly ferruginous and deep-red in color, and were taken by their discoverer, James Holland, to Edward Nichols, President and Acting Chemist of the Ridge Valley Iron Company, thinking they represented an ore of iron. Mr. Nichols attached no special importance to the find at that time; but, shortly afterwards, he made a chemical analysis of the fragments. ... Mr. Nichols identified the material as the mineral, bauxite. He briefly described the discovery and occurrence of the mineral in the Transacations of the American Institute of Mining Engineers for 1887. [vol. XVI p. 105] Bauxite mining in the United States had its beginning in Georgia, when, in April, 1888, the deposits of the mineral on the Holland property, lot 61, 23rd district of Floyd county, were first opened and worked. The first shipments of the ore were made in May, 18889, to the Pennsylvania Salt Company at Natrona, Penn., and to Greenwich Point, near Philadephia. This lot of ore is said to have been used for the manufacture of both alum and metallic aluminum. In 1889, 728 tons of the ore from Georgia included the total output of bauxite from the United States. ... [The 728 tons were long tons of 2,240 pounds per ton, and the total value of the 728 tons mined in 1889 ws $2,366.] ... In number of deposits [of bauxite], the Hermitage district is the largest in the State [of Georgia]. It includes an area of more than 50 square miles, lying between Rome, Kingston and Adairsville, east of the Oostanaula rive, and north of the Etowah river. It further occupies the contiguous northeastern and northwestern portions, respectively, of Floyd and Bartow counties. ..."]

See:

Frank Smith Bartow County Mineral History

There were other deposits of bauxite known of, they had been found in the Rockies during the gold, silver, and copper rushes. The ore was of a lower grade than the Arkansas or Guyana ores, much like the Jamacian ores which were a known commodity as well. They were about 1/4 as concentrated in alumina, so four times as much ore had to be processed to produce the same ammount of useable metal.

At least that is what I've been able to find so far.

 

It might just surprise one on what the US could find in it's own borders per natural resources.Just go to the USGS website and see what the US did in producing things like potash,chromite,tin, asbestos and many other articles when cutoff from overseas supplies in WW1 & WW2,yes they were cutoff at times because of lack of shipping. Further alot of minerals and such can be found right around the Carribean does anybody really think even an Axis dominated Europe & Asia is going to be strong enough to displace the US as the dominant power in the Carribean? Look at the post war history the British,French and Netherlands lost their empires mainly because,in some circumstances,the Axis displaced the previous owners/occupiers like in Indonesia.India basically became free because of WW2. What makes one think that Germany & Japan moving in might not just do the same thing,ie.e create strong nationalist feelings?

Also if the US is just defending itself and other local countries why does it have to waste assets in power projection? Would it of had to build all those Essex class CV's or Ocean escorts to get convoys to the UK? How much resources did the US have to put into LL? Further if Germany overran Europe and there's no daylight bombing campaign would all those German "wonder weapons" come to the fore?

To get a guage on what it would take to beat the US just look at what Germany & Japan had against them in terms of resources and it still took several years to beat them!!!!! You certainly can't blockade the US into starvation. Even just blocakading the US from importing from say the Carribean & South America requires bases in the Western hemisphere which I dare say the US will take care to prevent.

 

Dude, seriously there is no way the US can defeat on its own TWO CONTINENTS!. Thats US with a very different outcome on the way, its not even the superpower it is now, not even actual US could defeat 2 entire continents.

 

Really? Why not??? When you say two continents do you mean two united continents or two continents that have been overruned by Germany & Japan? Two very different scenarios. The US even in 1937 still in deep depression while the rest of the world was farther along in recovering was producing something in the area of 35-40% of the world's manufactured goods. The US was producing a little over 28,000,000 tons of steel still quite a bit more then either USSR,Germany or Japan BUT the US steel industry was at about 1/3 capacity while those countries were at full capacity.

All those conquered countries/territories are going to have to be garrisoned to keep the captive populations under control. . Germany historically had most of it's army in the East but had like 25-30 divisions in the Balkans,20 in Norway and 60 in France . Furthermore I hate to see just how those captive economies will function with Germany & Japan trying to run them . I also don't think you realize the bureauocratic nightmare Germany & Japan will have managing all of those two continents .

 

I can see US turning into fort invincible and rejecting all attaks of Germany and Japan thus unable to be conquered, if that counts as a victory then the US has high chances to suceed, however if victory means rejecting all invasions AND invading German territory and Japan, taking the fight to them, thus reaching and taking over all of Europe until getting to Berlin, also taking over all of Asia until getting to Tokyo, then is a no no, there is no way US alone can do that.

Joke Comment:
Unless you take Chuck Norris in

 

I see your point, but one must remember that the atomics would still be developed in America. First, because we had both the expatriot Germans who were forced out (and their worries about the Germans), and the British "Tube Alloys/MAUD" scientists, all coupled with an abiding fear that the Axis would get there (explosive atomic device) first.

The atomic device (gun type or implossion type) is the great leveler in the argument and it would still come into being in 1945.

Game over, possibly no invasions of Germany or Japan needed. The B-36 wouldn't have been put on the "back burner" for as long as it was, and it could fly to Berlin and back without refueling. The design had been held up since the B-17, B-24, and B-29 were all doing all that was needed at the time. If the need for the B-36 had come to the fore, it certainly wouldn't have been so long in the development/prototype stage.

There were also areas in the Pacific from which it could fly to Japan and back without refueling. The thing flew at such an altitude that on the seventh anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack a single B-36 took off from an air base in Texas, flew to Oahu and dropped a 10,000 pound dummy bomb, and returned to Texas without refueling or being detected by the newest RADAR America had in service.

 

What you seem to be forgetting is that after the invasion of the US is reppeled (which it surely would be), and the US launches the 'invasion' phase of the war into Europe, it would be liberating villages, towns, cities and nations with every step forward. They only have to kick out the garisson, not actually fight these nations in the traditional nation vs. nation sense.

For example, in the 'real' timline, when the US liberated France they effectively allowed France to come back into the fight against the Axis. This meant friendly & hospitable locals (vs. a hostile population), bases for supply lines, unhampered access to facilities like airfields and ports, access to the resources of the liberated nation, the inclusion of whatever is left of the local armed forces (in exile or otherwise) and local militia/partisans who can be trained to become part of conventional armed forces.

In the European theatre, every step forward would make things a little easier (at least until Germany proper was reached), vs. attacking deep into a hostile nation and all the problems that go along with it.

Attacking Japan (as we well know) would be another matter but once you get at least part of Europe back in the fight, you start heading closer toward the 'real' timeline, where resources can be diverted to fight in another theatre.

 

Even much later than that, in the '50's (Korean War), it flew high enough (and fast enough) that MiG-15's couldn't get to it without an adequate head-start; that was why it was used as the RB-36 until late in the '50's.

 

That sums up the 'worst case' portion of the plans the US Army War Plans division drew up 1940-42. That estimated the resources required were the US to field 300+ army divisions a appropriate proportion of air wings, and a navy to carry it all overseas. The man power was not to come entirely from the US, but the majority of the ground forces would be drawn from the remnants in unconquored areas like Canada, Siberia, ect.. & then liberated areas as they became available. The worst case plan was based on the assumption that both Britian & the USSR were knocked out by Germany/Japan. A intermediate plan or estimate assumed that one of the two was knocked out. It estimated the resources required to support over 200 ground divisions. The low estimate aimed at approx 150 division & it served as the planning basis for expanding the US Army from its moblized strength in mid 1941 of 37-40 divisions to the final projected strength of late 1943.

Final ground combat strength the US supported by the spring of 1945 was approx.

89 US Army

6 USMC

3 Chinese

8 French

2 Brazilian

1 Italian

Miscl independant US Army combat regiments ammounted to two more Div. There may have been more Chinese divisions completely equipped and supported by the US, but I dont have relaible numbers. the three I'm counting were those comprising the foundation of Stillwells corps in Burma. There may be others I've overlooked

On top of these officially supported divisions enough combat equipment & other supply was distributed to the various allies to be the equivalent of approx 10-15 more divisions. ie: the three Soviet tank corps outfitted with M4 tanks and US made trucks. So, in April 1945 the US was providing the wherewithall for some 120 infantry and armored divisions globally.

There were several reasons why Marshall decided not to go for the 140 div mark. One was the larger number of air wings activated vs the number in the original estimates. Second was the probable termination of the war in 1946. It was seen the USSR had recovered, Italy was on the floor, and both Germany & Japan were losing battles regularly. Between that and the economic sense in not drawing down the US economy any more than necessary Marshall decided in mid 1943 to cap off the US Army mobilization at a peak by early to mid 1944.

 

It seems to me the more probable thing to do for the axis or more likely course that they would have taken is just a full on assault on Mexico. The US is too ambitious a target even if the axis manged to polish off the allies in Europe but Mexico with a combined Japanese/German assault? That migh be doable. From there if a foot hold is managed in Mexico an assault on the US is more manageable to me without having to worry about being diplomatic with Mexico.

 

It's just that supplying and giving what those invading forces need to sustain an invasion so far away without complete access to whatever resources available in Mexico it seems like those forces could do little more than just prolong a retaliatory attack and defeat at the hands of the US. I know I'm probably assuming a lot in that the axis could just run over Mexico but I'm not sure how well the Mexican army could fight off invasion at that time. There'd have to be some kind of direct support in Mexico for the Axis to even get that far. Also if Mexico was being put under pressure from the axis of any kind I'm sure the US would recognize the end game at that point and do everything they could to keep Mexico friendly to the US.