Plan Dog memo

Plan Dog memo

The Plan Dog memorandum was a 1940 American government document written by Chief of Naval Operations Harold Rainsford Stark, "one of the best known documents of World War II". [Ronald H. Spector. Eagle Against The Sun. 1985. ISBN 978-0394741017. Page 65] Confronting the problem of an expected two front war against Germany and Italy in Europe and Japan in the Pacific, the memo set out the main options and suggested fighting a defensive war in the Pacific while giving strategic priority to defeating Germany and Italy. The memo laid the basis for the later American policy of Europe first.

Background

During the Interwar period, the Joint Planning Committee (which later became the Joint Chiefs of Staff) devised a series of contingency plans for dealing with the outbreak of war with various countries. The most elaborate of these, War Plan Orange, dealt with the possibility of war with Japan.

In light of the events of the late 1930s (the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the German conquest of Poland and Western Europe) American planners realized that the United States faced the possibility of a two-front war in both Europe and the Pacific. War Plan Orange was withdrawn, and five "Rainbow" plans were put forward. Unlike the earlier colored plans which had assumed a one-on-one war, the Rainbow plans contemplated possibility of fighting multiple enemies, and the necessity of defending other western hemisphere nations and aiding Britain.

The memorandum

The memorandum built upon the conditions described in the Rainbow Five war plan. It described four possible scenarios for American participation in World War II, lettered A through D::A - Defend the western hemisphere:B - Go on the offensive in the Pacific against Japan while remaining on the defensive in the Atlantic:C - Fight equally committed in both the Atlantic and Pacific:D - Go on the offensive in the Atlantic (against Germany and Italy) while remaining on the defensive in the Pacific.

The memorandum, which was submitted to Roosevelt on November 12, 1940, recommended option D, from which it gets its name ("Dog" was D in the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet).

"I believe that the continued existence of the British Empire, combined with building up a strong protection in our home areas, will do most to ensure the status quo in the Western Hemisphere, and to promote our principal national interests. As I have previously stated, I also believe that Great Britain requires from us very great help in the Atlantic, and possibly even on the continents of Europe or Africa, if she is to be enabled to survive. In my opinion Alternatives (A), (B), and (C) will most probably not provide the necessary degree of assistance, and, therefore, if we undertake war, that Alternative (D) is likely to be the most fruitful for the United States, particularly if we enter the war at an early date. Initially, the offensive measures adopted would, necessarily, be purely naval. Even should we intervene, final victory in Europe is not certain. I believe that the chances for success are in our favor, particularly if we insist upon full equality in the political and military direction of the war."

The memo also suggested that until hostilities broke out, the US should adopt policy A:

Until such time as the United States should decide to engage its full forces in war, I recommend that we pursue a course that will most rapidly increase the military strength of both the Army and the Navy, that is to say, adopt Alternative (A) without hostilities.

"The strategy of Plan Dog gained the support of the army and implicitly of President Roosevelt, though he never formally endorsed it. Thus at the end of 1940 a powerful consensus for strategic focus on Germany developed at the highest levels of the American government. At a meeting on January 17, 1941, Roosevelt concluded that the primary objective must be maintenance of the supply lines to Britain and ordered the navy to prepare for the escort of convoys." [Waldo H. Heinrichs. Threshold of War: Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Entry into World War II. Oxford University Press, 1988. ISBN 0195061683. Page 38] A few weeks after the Attack on Pearl Harbor at Arcadia Conference, the United States adopted the recommendations of the memo in the form of the Europe first policy. Although the United States did not go entirely on the defensive in the Pacific as the memo recommended, throughout the war the European theater was given higher priority in resource allocation.

The memorandum was declassified in February, 1956. [ [http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/psf/box4/t46j05.html Letter from L. J. Darter (Head, Naval Archives Branch) to Herman Kahn (Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library)] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/psf/box4/a48b01.html Digitized Copy of the Memo]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Victory Program — Annoncé par un discours du président des États Unis Franklin Delano Roosevelt le 6 janvier 1942, le Victory Program est un programme d économie de guerre qui permet à l économie américaine de devenir l arsenal des démocraties durant la Seconde… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • United States color-coded war plans — Contents 1 Colors 2 Considerations 3 The Americas 3.1 …   Wikipedia

  • Europe first — (sometimes known as Germany first) was the key element of the grand strategy employed by the United States and the United Kingdom during World War II. According to this policy, the United States and the United Kingdom would use the preponderance… …   Wikipedia

  • Eintritt der Vereinigten Staaten in den Zweiten Weltkrieg — Der Eintritt der Vereinigten Staaten in den Zweiten Weltkrieg erfolgte am 8. Dezember 1941 mit der Kriegserklärung an das Kaiserreich Japan nach dem Angriff auf Pearl Harbor am Tag zuvor. Wenige Tage später, am 11. Dezember, erfolgte die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Harold Rainsford Stark — Infobox Military Person name=Harold Raynsford Stark lived= birth date|1880|11|12 ndash; death date and age|1972|8|21|1880|11|12 placeofbirth=Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania placeofdeath= caption=Admiral Stark, USN nickname= Betty allegiance= United… …   Wikipedia

  • Attack on Pearl Harbor — Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II …   Wikipedia

  • George W. Bush — This article is about the 43rd U.S. president. For his father, the 41st U.S. president, see George H. W. Bush. For other persons of the same name, see George Bush. George W. Bush …   Wikipedia

  • Bombing of Dresden in World War II — Dresden after the bombing raid The Bombing of Dresden was a military bombing by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) and as part of the Allied forces between 13 February and 15 Febr …   Wikipedia

  • Pearl Harbor advance-knowledge debate — The Pearl Harbor advance knowledge debate is a dispute over what, if any, advance knowledge American officials had of Japan s December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.Ever since the Japanese attack there has been debate as to how and why the… …   Wikipedia

  • Winston Churchill — For other uses, see Winston Churchill (disambiguation). Churchill redirects here. For other uses, see Churchill (disambiguation). The Right Honourable Sir Winston Churchill …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”