The United States is seen as the strongest military power in the world. It has millions of troops and some of the most advanced military technology, as well as bases all over the world. But is America as strong as we think? Many assume that the US is unbeatable in a war, but is there a country, or a group of countries, that could take America on in a full-scale war, and win?
There is unlikely to be a country that can defeat the US in open warfare. America’s army is among the largest and most advanced in the world. However, America could be defeated by a group of nations allying together, or by insurgency and guerrilla warfare as was seen in Vietnam and Afghanistan.
So, now we’ve had an overview, let’s look deeper as to whether America can be defeated, and which countries possibly have the strength to take America on.
Is There A Country That Could Defeat America?
America is the words strongest military power. Although it does not have the largest armed forces in the world, the size of its military, combined with its advanced training and technology, makes the US military probably the hardest army there is to defeat.
When asking if there is a single country that could defeat America, you need to look at countries with the largest militaries. Any country with a small military would simply be crushed by America’s military might.
The five largest armies in the world are China, Russia, Vietnam, North Korea and India. All are major military powers, but could any of them single-handily win a war against America? Let’s take a look…
| Country | Number of Active-Duty Soldiers | Number of Reservists | Number of Main Battle Tanks | Number of Combat Aircraft | Number of Warships |
| United States | 1,388,100 | 844,050 | 6,209 | 2,628 | 490 |
| China | 2,185,000 | 1,170,000 | 5,650 | 1,747+ | 355 |
| Russia | 1,015.000 | 2,000,000 | 1,200 | 950 | 352 |
| Vietnam | 482,000 | 5,000,000 | 1,379 | 80 | 65 |
| North Korea | 1,280,000 | 600,000 | 3,500 | 537 | 630 |
| India | 1,455,550 | 1,155,000 | 4,732 | 687 | 150 |
All data from Wikipedia
China has the largest active army in the world. If you include reservists, China has over 3.3 million soldiers. However, they have significantly less tanks and aircraft than the US. The American military is also more technologically advanced.
In a full-scale war with China, it would not be an easy victory for America. However, it is unlikely if China and America committed their entire armies to battle, that China could defeat the US.
Russia has an enormous military. Including reservists it is over 3 million soldiers in total. This means Russia has almost one million troops at its deposal more than America does.
With that said, Russia has less than half the combat aircraft and less than a third of the tanks that America has. Although the Russian army has a huge number of tanks in reserve – up to 13,000, these are old and outdated models with limited effectiveness on a modern battlefield. In all-out war, it is not likely America would be defeated by Russia.
The regular army of Vietnam is comparatively small compared to other major military powers. However, they have up to 5 million reservists. Combined, this means Vietnam can call upon the largest army in the world.
Vietnam has in fact already defeated America, with America withdrawing troops from the country after almost twenty years of the Vietnam War. They could definitely do this again, but then the Vietnam War was not open combat – with the North Vietnamese relying heavily on guerrilla tactics.
In open battle, the US was no match for the Vietnamese. If America and Vietnam fought a war today, it is unlikely Vietnam would defeat the US without resorting back to guerrilla tactics.
North Korea is seen as one of the biggest strategic threats to the US. With over a million active solders and over half a million reservists, the North Korean army is a formidable force.
It is unlikely North Korea would win a war against America if the US fully committed its forces. However, with over 100 more warship than America, a war with North Korea would be a serious undertaking for the US military
India is fast becoming a key American ally, with Washington seeing it as an important counterbalance to China in Asia. Therefore, a war between India and the US is highly unlikely.
With that said, if the two countries did go to war, no one would really expect India to defeat the US. With around a quarter of the combat aircraft and warships, the US would dominate a conflict with India.
Although it looks like none of these major military powers could defeat the US single-handily, it’s important to stress that simply the number of troops, tanks, aircraft and warship is not enough to determine how a potential war might play out. As we have seen from US incursions into Iraq and Afghanistan, a small guerrilla army of highly motivated fighters can inflict major defeats on the US…
Is There A Group Of Countries That Would Win In A War Against The US?
By just looking at the size of their military forces, no single country could defeat America in all-out war. However, what if several nations, or a political block, grouped together to fight the US? How would this change the outcome and could America actually be defeated?
Russia and China would likely defeat America if they fought a war against the US together. Combined, they have almost two million more soldiers than America. However, the US still has significantly more combat aircraft, which would give America a major advantage.
Let’s take a look at a few possible groups of countries, and compare their combined military forces with that of the United States…
| Country | Number of Active-Duty Soldiers | Number of Reservists | Number of Battle Tanks | Number of Combat Aircraft | Number of Warships |
| United States | 1,388,100 | 844,050 | 6,209 | 2,628 | 490 |
| Russian and China | 3,200,000 | 3,170,000 | 6,850 | 950 | 707 |
| Latin America | 1,414,540 | 2,110,070 | 1,108 | 676 | 71 |
| European Union | 1,483,710 | 1,178,580 | 4,677 | 2,066 | 210 |
All data from Wikipedia
The most likely nations to fight a war with America are Russia and China. Although neither are allies, and they have had significant political differences in the past, both are currently challenging America global dominance.
Looking at Russia and China’s armies combined, they could actually defeat America. With regular and reserve troops, a combined Russian Chinese army would have over six million soldiers. This would be three times of size of America’s armed forces.
Russia and China have enough main battle tanks to match America’s total. The main issue for a combined Russian Chinese force would be America’s superior air power. Even combined, America has over double the combat aircraft. Controlling the air is vital in a modern war, so it is possible America could still win. However, in a ground war, a combined Russian and Chinese army could well defeat the US.
A second group of countries that could challenge the US would be Latin America. Although the posibility of every country in South and Central America uniting to fight the US is very very small, what would happen if America’s relationship with the countries to its south became so bad, that a total war broke out?
The combined force made up of the armies of every country in South and Centra America could not defeat the US. Although, including reservists, they would have over a million more soldiers; the tiny numbers of tanks, aircraft and warships compared to the US would make any war an easy American victory.
Finally, what would happen if the European Union, including Great Britain, raised a single army and fought a war with America. Who would win a transatlantic war between the two sides of NATO?
A conflict between the EU and the US would be relatively evenly matched. Both could field over two millions soldiers if they called up their reservists. Their air forces would also be able to deploy almost the same number of combat jets. America would have superiority at sea and its terms of armour. Obviously, a war between Europe and America is almost inconceivable, but if it did happen, it is not clear if America would come out on top.
Why Would America Be Hard To Defeat In A War
There is no one country in the world that would likely defeat America in a full-scale war. In fact, even if many countries grouped together, a war against America would be extremely difficult to win. But why is this? Why is the US so hard to defeat militarily? Some of the main reasons include:
- Size of the US military
- US military’s advanced technology
- America’s global military presence
Let’s go over each of these…
Size of the US Military
The first reason few nations could defeat the US in open battle is because of the size of America’s military. Although other countries have more troops, the number of tanks, warships and combat aircrafts the US can deploy makes it almost impossible to overcome. This is why countries that have defeated America, such as the Taliban in Afghanistan or the North Vietnamese, have used guerrilla tactics and fought in terrains where America’s military equipment is less useful.
US Military’s Advanced Technology
A second reason why the American military is hard to defeat in all-out war is because of its level of technology. The US has most advancement military equipment in the world. They are at the cutting-edge of developing new military equipment. They also invest heavily in training and developing the skills and structures needed to be effective in combat.
America’s Global Military Presence
A third reason why the US army is difficult to overcome is that America has military bases all over the world. With facilities in over 80 countries, the US is able to rapidly deploy forces to almost any region of the world. This means any war with America is likely fought closer to enemy soil, and away from the mainland US. This would make America incredibly hard to defeat.
America is definitely not impossible to defeat, as we have seen in Vietnam and Afghanistan. Many consider the Iraq war a defeat for America as well. With that said, the US has by far the strongest military in the world and would likely win any full-scale war it fully committed too.