In one corner, the Lone Star state, and in
the other, the full might of the United States of America. Thought it was once an independent fledgling
nation, Texas quickly joined with the United States when facing extinction, yet in recent
years polls have shown a desire to secede from the US as high as 19% amongst Texans. What would happen if Texas declared war on
the US in a bid to secede though? Hello and welcome to another episode of The
Infographics Show's You Versus series, today we're putting the Lone Star state against
the combined might of the United States. Most of what's today known as Texas once belonged
to Mexico, whom after winning its independence from Spain in 1821, opened Mexican Texas up
to settlement by white Americans who were looking for new lands to settle. Yet when the Mexican government started leaning
towards more hard-right politics, the white and Mexican Texans united to wage a war of
secession from Mexico, winning it and declaring the formation of the Republic of Texas in
1836. Just years later Mexican troops would reinvade
Texas, and as the conflict escalated Texas found itself in a difficult position. Secret appeals to the United States saw the
American Congress approve the annexation of Texas as a state in 1845, thus giving Texas
the protection of the United States military, though sparking a war between the US and Mexico. So how would a modern day Texas stack up against
the US, and what would happen in case of a war? Texas as an independent country would be the
world's 11th largest economy, putting it ahead of South Korea and just behind Canada. Its GDP in 2017 was $1.7 trillion, making
it the second wealthiest state after California who's GDP is $2.75 trillion. Economically speaking, things are already
looking bad for Texas as just California alone would be more than capable of outspending
Texas in a prolonged military conflict. Up against the rest of the US's $17.69 trillion,
Texas would have no hope of standing up economically against the US. Texans make up 164,234 of all active duty
military troops in the US military, once more putting it behind California with 184,549. Without Texas, the US would still be able
to field about 1.1 million troops though, nearly outnumbering Texas by 12 to 1. Texas could call up on a national guard and
reservist force of 55,000, putting it just 1,000 behind California's 56,000, but would
be hopelessly outmatched versus the rest of the US's 750,000 reserve forces. Texas is home to 15 active-duty military bases,
but most of these bases are either logistical or support bases- primarily training bases
for US Air Force, Army, and Navy personnel, to include Air Force and Navy pilots. The state is home to only one bomber wing
and one fighter strike wing base, though these bases are equipped with the B-1 lancer bomber
and the F-16 Block C, with F-16s making up the bulk of Texas’ reserve air forces. Texas also lacks major ground equipment for
offensive operations, though some of its reserve forces are equipped with mostly modern M-1
Abrams. Texas also lacks any major naval bases or
naval assets aside from some coast guard vessels. So what would happen in the case of war, and
would Texas have any chance of winning a conflict? For this scenario we'll go ahead and rule
out nukes, and consider that the conflict has been brewing for a while, so Texans serving
in the US military have returned home to fight and no US assets are still remaining in the
state. First, the US would immediately attempt to
target the Texan government, hoping to eliminate Texan leadership as quickly as possible in
hopes of enforcing a new peace and eventual re-admission into the United States. Texan forces would be extremely hard pressed
to defend against American air strikes. With just a single fighter wing and about
three dozen F-16s, Texan air forces would be hopelessly outmatched against the over
2,000 strike aircraft that make up the rest of the US military's might. While realistically most of these aircraft
would be forward-deployed to American bases overseas in preparation for any possible conflict,
the reserve fighter wings of nearby states would be more than a match for Texan air forces
until a naval battle group could be assembled in the Gulf of Mexico. US reserve air forces would be funneled to
air fields in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, from where they could quickly establish air
superiority and start running strike missions against key Texan communications and military
installations. Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana would
be especially problematic for Texas, as it houses the US Air Force's 2nd Operations Group,
featuring three squadrons of B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers, with two additional B-52 squadrons
attached. Barksdale is also home to components of the
US Air Force Global Strike Command, which features nuclear capable B-2 stealth bombers
which could be quickly and easily repurposed for deep-penetration conventional bombing
missions against Texas. Just this one base alone would bring more
firepower to the fight against Texas than the air forces of most other nations in the
world. Texas would indubitably choose to concentrate
its air forces near the seat of its government- which would likely remain Austin. Such a concentration of air power in a small
geographic area may prove problematic for conventional US aircraft, but would do little
to protect the capital from raids by B-2 stealth bombers. As Texas lacks any major military radar installations
or airborne early warning assets, it would have to rely on unsophisticated civilian weather
radar which would prove ineffective in detecting and targeting incoming stealth aircraft. Within hours of the conflict starting, American
F-22s and F-35s from California, Utah, New Mexico, and Florida would quickly arrive on-scene,
supported by airborne refueling aircraft to immediately establish air superiority over
all Texan airspace, to include the capital. Concentrating its air power around the capital,
Texas could expect a favorable kill ratio even against 5th generation aircraft if the
US forces attacked piecemeal- this would not be the case however and the US would instead
commit its air forces enmasse, forcing Texas to either take to the skies in force or risk
having its aircraft destroyed on the ground. F-16s facing off against a coordinated attack
by several flights of F-22s and F-35s would not last long, and it's likely Texas simply
wouldn't try as it would be a suicidal mission for its pilots. The US would thus use its overwhelming air
power advantage to pound Texas into submission. Its oil infrastructure, a huge source of its
wealth, would be devastated, and with few ground-based air defense assets there would
be little Texas could do to stop the attacks. Texas could always choose to retaliate with
its wing of B-1 lancers, yet even as capable as these bombers are, they would fare very
poorly against the massive net of air and ground-based power that the US would quickly
cast around the state. Texas’ only victory in the air war would
be a surprise attack against Barksdale Air Force base before the war formally started
by its B-1 Lancers, which could devastate the various B-52 and B-2 bomber squadrons
located there. To make matters worse for Texas, its complete
lack of a navy would quickly see it lose all control of the Gulf of Mexico to the US Navy. Its coast guard vessels are mostly geared
around search and rescue and drug interdiction, and would pose little to no threat against
US navy vessels. With the Gulf firmly in US control, the various
oil platforms belonging to Texas would be quickly neutralized, and a complete embargo
placed on Texas by sea. Mexico, which would not want to anger the
US, would quickly shut the border between itself and Texas down, enacting a complete
blockade of all trade for Texas and financially starving the state. Texan ground forces would be largely meaningless
in any war. Lacking any serious armor or infantry forces,
Texas would be forced to rely on its reservists, who would have to operate with zero air cover. The US could simply afford to ignore Texan
ground forces, and any attempts by Texas to retaliate against US forces over ground would
be completely suicidal, as any ground attacks would be immediately obliterated by overwhelming
US air power. If a ground invasion was initiated, Texas
would be best served by opting to fight an Iraq/Afghanistan insurgency war, and could
prove problematic for US forces given the high rates of gun ownership in Texas. Unlike insurgent forces in Iraq and Afghanistan
though, Texan forces would not be supplied by any outside agents such as Iran or Russia,
and even a Texan insurgency would be squashed within a year or two for a lack of supplies
and military-grade hardware. In all likelihood though the US would simply
opt to starve Texas into submission. With naval blockades in the Gulf of Mexico
and Mexico closing its borders, the Texan economy would not last long. Air strikes against key economic targets would
hasten Texas' economic collapse, and in the end any war for independence would likely
end within just months with not a single shot fired on the ground by either side. Simply put, Texas may pride itself on being
the Lone Star state, yet militarily it very much relies on the rest of the US military
for protection, and would be completely unable to secure its own territory or trade routes
in case of war. Disagree? How do you think this war would play out? Also, make sure you check our other video,
North Korea vs United States - Who Would Win! Thanks for watching and don’t forget to
like, share and subscribe! See you next time!
