Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Plan Dog Memorandum (Encore)

Starting point is 00:00:00 The following is an encore presentation of Everything Everywhere Daily. In 1940, much of the world was at war, but the United States wasn't. A strong isolationist sentiment kept the U.S. on the sidelines while Germany and Japan ran rush out over their neighbors. While the U.S. wasn't in the war, many people in the U.S. military knew that it was only a matter of time before we got sucked in. Over a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor, a plan was developed for just that eventuality. Learn more about the planned dog memorandum on this episode of

Starting point is 00:00:33 everything everywhere daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. Prior to the Second World War, one of the major principles of the United States,

Starting point is 00:01:18 which was seldom violated and never seriously questioned, was the principle of neutrality. It actually dated back to George Washington's farewell address when he warned the country to steer clear of making alliances with European powers. The European continent had, for centuries, been one of almost non-stop warfare. Washington knew that no matter who we allied with, it would wind up with the U.S. getting caught up in a war in Europe. So for 150 years, that was the underlying foreign policy of the United States. We did fight a war with Spain, which was a European power, but it wasn't a war in Europe per se. The principle was violated for the first time in the First World War, but soon after the war ended, the U.S. treated it as a temporary aberration and went back to their policy of neutrality.

Starting point is 00:02:01 Throughout the 1930s, as Japan conquered Manchuria and Germany absorbed Austria and the Sudetenland, the U.S. didn't get involved. When Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and France in 1940, the U.S. stood by the sidelines not wanting to get involved. in another major war overseas. However, even if politically the United States was staying out of the conflict, planners and the U.S. military weren't doing nothing. Right after the First World War ended, the U.S. Navy began developing plans for a possible war with Japan. The plan, first adopted in 1924, was known as Joint Basic War Plan Orange. The plan was updated many times over the years as circumstances and technology changed, but it served as a basic blueprint for what would

Starting point is 00:02:43 happen in the event of a war. The general assumptions of the plan were that it would involve some sort of Japanese blockade of the Philippines and other U.S. islands in the Pacific. The plan was that local forces would try to hold out, while the Pacific Fleet got organized in California and Hawaii, and the Atlantic Fleet would later arrive coming through the Panama Canal. The war would be fought like all other wars with some grand battle of surface ships, most probably battleships. While Orange was the best-known plan, there were other plans as well, including a black plan for dealing with Germany, and various shades of red for actually going to war with the British. The problem with all these plans is that events constantly changed, which required constantly

Starting point is 00:03:22 updating the plan. In the 1930s, it wasn't just that the political situation was changing rapidly, it was also the technology. Many of the assumptions of naval warfare were being thrown at the window with the rapid improvements in aircraft and aircraft carriers. When war broke out in Europe, planners began to realize that the one-on-one wars that they had been planning previously might not be the most probable scenario. They began seriously considering the possibility of a two-front war, one in Asia and one in Europe. So in 1939, all of the color plans were thrown out, and five new plans were developed to cover all of the contingencies that were developing at that moment. They became known as the Rainbow Plan 1. Rainbow Plan 1 was basically a plan to fight a defensive

Starting point is 00:04:04 war in the Western Hemisphere as far as 10 degrees latitude south. This plan assumed that the United States had no allies. Rainbow Plan 2 was the same scenario as Rainbow Plan 1, but with allies such as the French and British. Rainbow Plan 3 was a modification of the original Orange Plan, but securing Rainbow Plan 1 first and then engaging the Japanese of the Pacific. Rainbow Plan 4 was an extension of Rainbow Plan 1, but covered the entire Western Hemisphere. And Rainbow Plan 5 assumed the protection of Rainbow Plan 1, but then working with the French and British in North Africa and Europe. The Rainbow Plan 4 was approved in March of 19. However, there was a whole lot that happened after March 1939. As war broke out, possible outcomes

Starting point is 00:04:48 became much clearer. In May of 1940, France was taken off the table as a potential ally when they were overrun by Germany. It was in this light that a modification of the rainbow plans was drawn up in a memorandum written by the chief of the U.S. naval operations, Admiral Harold Stark. In it, Stark outlined four possible scenarios in which the United States might join the war which was now raging in both Europe and Asia. Scenario A was war with Japan where the United States had no allies. Scenario B was War with Japan, where the United States would be allied with either the British or the Dutch East Indies. Scenario C was War with Japan, where Japan is aided by Germany and Italy, and the U.S. may or may not have allies.

Starting point is 00:05:30 Scenario D was war with Germany and Italy, where Japan wasn't involved right away, and the U.S. is allied with the British. And finally, there was scenario E, and this was just the war. the isolationist option where the U.S. would just keep defending the Western Hemisphere and continue to supply Britain. The recommendation which was given in the memorandum was for option D, which was war with Germany and Italy. Admiral Stark stated in the memorandum, quote, I believe that the continued existence of the British Empire, combined with the building up of 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

Starting point is 00:06:09 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 most likely to be the most fruitful for the United States, particularly if we enter the war at an early date. End quote. Because of the Army-Navy phonetic alphabet at that time, the word for D was dog, and because Plan D or Plan Dog was advocated, this became known as the Dog Plan Memorandum. In common parlance, this became known as the Europe First Strategy, which is basically what the actual grand strategy was when the war arrived. It was never formally adopted,

Starting point is 00:06:58 but informally it had the support of the top military leaders and President Roosevelt. I'll be honest, I've often wondered why America adopted a Europe First strategy when it was Japan that got them into the war. And the more research I've done, the more the strategy seems to make sense. First, in 1940, the Soviet Union still wasn't in the war. They were not quite allies with Germany, but not quite enemies either. It wasn't until Germany turned on the Soviets that they became allies of necessity, but that couldn't have been planned for in 1940. The second was just the political reality of dealing with Churchill. The UK was on the ropes and really, really wanted the U.S. to join the war effort. After Pearl Harbor, Churchill flew to Washington just too

Starting point is 00:07:37 weeks later to ensure the Americans were on board with the Europe first strategy. Last and most importantly, it just made strategic sense. If the British had gone down and defeat, then everything would have become much more difficult. If the U.S. focused on Japan first, there was a very real risk at the time that the U.K. might not be around to be an ally once the U.S. turned its attention to Europe. However, if the U.S. could protect the U.K. and partner with them to win the war in Europe, then they would have the British military to help them win the war against the Japanese later on. The assumption in 1941 was still that it wouldn't be possible to simultaneously fight a two-front war, with both fronts at full strength. But as it turned out, that is pretty much what happened.

Starting point is 00:08:20 A two-front war was fought at full strength, and both theaters ended within a few months of each other. When Pearl Harbor was attacked in December of 1941, the U.S. was taken by surprise, but they weren't totally caught off guard. While they didn't know how they were, enter the war, they were certainly prepared for the eventuality. Once they were in the war, they were able to have a head start, thanks to the strategies outlined, in the planned dog memorandum. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Benji Long and Cameron Kiever. I want to give a big shout out to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon, including the show's producers. Your support helps me put out a show every

Starting point is 00:09:03 single day. And also, Patreon is currently the only place where Everything Everywhere daily merchandise is available to the top tier of supporters. If you'd like to talk to other listeners of the show and members of the Completionist Club, you can join the Everything Everywhere Daily Facebook group or Discord server. Links to everything are in the show notes.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Plan Dog Memorandum (Encore)

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