Under what conditions would US surrender?

[Blademaster]

Ever since I have been reading WWII exploits and stories and articles regarding Japanese, Germany, and France's surrender and other countries that surrendered, I looked at conditions that led to the surrender of those countries. It struck my mind that under what conditions would US surrender? Or would it go down fighting to the last man, woman, and child?

Suppose if USSR somehow beat US in the race for nuclear supremacy, i.e., creating impregnable shield where no nukes cannot reach and having nukes that breaches the enemy's defenses, would US surrender or just continue to fight, damn all torpedoes?

What if tomorrow, a country launches a surprise attack and somehow takes out all the nuclear weapon missiles and subs, communication infrastructure and the oil refineries, depots, and stations and the strategic oil reserves, and pretty much leave US defenseless, would US surrender?

Discuss please.

[Officer of Engineers]

Robert E Lee and Ulysses S Grant

[zraver]

It boils down to how much pain and enemy could inflict and how fast. If the enemy can induce the shock of defeat fast enough any nation will surrender. But defeat is not the same as surrender so if the nation can get its act together then you have to physically occupy it. The USSR was beaten in the Summer and Fall of 1941 but Hitler could never quite get the final blow delivered and so the USSR recovered from the shock of defeat and went on to win the war.

The hard part of your scenario is the total inability to fight back. There is no invasion just hammers from God. You can't fight against that no matter how proud you are. I know given a means to strike back I would never surrender of my own free will.

[Blademaster]

The Confederate did surrender.

[GraniteForge]

Its interesting to look at how hard certain countries went down. Belgium fought very hard in 1914, but the Low Countries as a whole went down pretty easily in 1940. France also fought hard in 1914, but surrendered in 1940 with its army largely intact and much of it never having been engaged. Poland went down hard and, later, so did Hungary. Japan fought hard, but when they quit fighting, the whole nation quit. German resistance was uneven, they never put the economy on a complete war footing until it was too late, and the Werewolf project was just on paper.

The US surrender? Given your scenario, the government might as a strategy, but the people? Never. Once the occupation began, the invaders would learn what it means to be hunted as vermin.

[Dreadnought]

Welcome to the Wild West one of the most armed populations on the globe. Surrender, Nope you have way to many ex military (from all generations) too many common and die hard folks that own firearms and even more weapons. The U.S. is unlike alot of other countries as far as industry,farming and the like. Far too many places to machine and manufacture weapons as well as confiscate miltary goods/vehicles/weapons on bases across the entire country as well as obtain fuel. And dont leave out all U.S. armed forces stationed abroad in numerous countries that would be still quite effective at fighting off any invasion. The Navy fleets are at sea, Marines stationed abroad, Army stationed abroad and the AF abroard in far too many places to counter. And to add to it what makes you think ABM shield could not be utilized in a reverse engineering method and just think its right on their doorstep. BOOM! Over their own soil and people, Now how powerfull will they be?

Improvise,Adapt, Overcome!:P

[Blademaster]

So the question is beget: If the enemy wages total war on the entire nation, such as nuking each city and laying waste to the countryside ala Sherman style, would US surrender? Would the people lose their will to fight, knowing that the enemy would brook no toleration for armed resistance?

[Dreadnought]

To put it gently...NEVER go silently into that good night.;)

[zraver]

So the question is beget: If the enemy wages total war on the entire nation, such as nuking each city and laying waste to the countryside ala Sherman style, would US surrender? Would the people lose their will to fight, knowing that the enemy would brook no toleration for armed resistance?

That type of destructio and there is no US. Life would breakdown to the local community and quickly revert to tribalism. That is once the die off was over. Nuking the major cities would gut the Mississippi and all the major road and rail lines meaning food distribution would break down. Unless you lived next to a food storage site your screwed unless that attack occurs during the harvest when you can pick your own.

[sourkraut115]

The government might surrender; depends on a lot of factors.

Let's just say that I've (and a lot of others) learned a lot about IED's, and we're fairly well armed. It would not be a comfortable occupation.

[gunnut]

Government surrender? Maybe.

Occupying the nation with an army? You can try.

Pacify the population? Probably not.

[AXForever]

To put it gently...NEVER go silently into that good night.;)

Amen to that brother!

But seriously. Over 60 percent of the country would have to be wiped out for the thought to even be considered. At least from where I'm standing that is. Barring Alien invasion and or the sudden turn of the entire world (Russia, EU, India and China) I don't see this happening.

[King Six]

The U.S population would probably never give up. I'm guessing any occupying forces would eventually resort to extreme genocide/mass murder to sort the problem out. (Easiest way to deal with insurgency's and the like is to simply kill as many people as you can that could be a threat, imo)

[Parihaka]

I'm guessing it would be entirely dependent on who it was that invaded. This is in no way meant as a criticism of US citizens per see but a comment on human nature in general: namely the more closely linked genetically the invaded nation is to the invaders, the more likely the invaders will be 'accepted' by the majority of the members of the invaded nation.
To put it grossly; if China were to invade the US resistance would be fierce and constant. If Canada were to invade, more us citizens would simply get on with things and not resist, especially if their day to day lives didn't change much.

[S2]

Hockey and Beer

A bit more hockey on the T.V. otherwise I'm not sure we'd notice until they started raising our taxes.

I'd be cool with it. Hopefully I'd not have to buy a Canadian fishing license as a foreigner any longer.

Like our flag better. That would be worth fighting over. Doubt they'd force the issue, though. The takeover would be both seamless and insidious.

Damn Canadians.