American war plans against Japan included an invasion of New Zealand

Stuff.co.nz have un-earthed secret American plans to invade New Zealand:

The United States planned to invade Auckland almost a century ago if the emerging superpower had gone to war with Japan, then a British ally, a US intelligence document reveals.

The document includes intelligence reports on North Head, Fort Takapuna and Mt Victoria. It recommends the Manukau Harbour as the best invasion point.

The plan involved landing heavy guns on Rangitoto Island to shell forts on the North Shore.

Although the document was declassified by US authorities in 1972, little has been reported up to now. Military historian Peter Corbett has published an article in the February 2002 edition of Forts and Works, a specialist military historian journal.

“To the best of my knowledge it hasn’t been reported by the media, probably because they don’t know about it,” says Mr Corbett, who is convinced of the document’s authenticity.

The document – titled: Naval War Plan for the Attack of Auckland, New Zealand – includes information on the water supply, public transport network and climate.

Mr Corbett says the intelligence report was compiled by the US at a time when Great Britain and Japan were allied by a treaty.

The US and Japan had potentially conflictig interests in the Pacific, he says.

“They realised that if it had come to war then they would have had to fight in these regions,” he says.

And if the US had gone to war with Japan, Great Britain could have been dragged in on the side of Japan. The ports of New Zealand and Australia would then be important strategic bases, Mr Corbett says.

In a few English classes where I taught Japanese elementary schoolers country names, I would show the kids outline maps of the countries when introducing the vocabulary. Quite a few of the 6th graders shouted out “JAPAN” when I showed the outline of New Zealand. Simple stupidity, or evidence of a secret Japanese plot to invade New Zealand?