America's Planned War on Britain: Revealed

In the 200 years since the American Revolution, the United States and Great Britain have moved from enemies to firm allies. This documentary follows military experts and historians as they work through the top secret 'War Plan Red' to see how a hypothetical battle between America and Great Britain might have unfolded.

Hidden deep inside the American National Archives there's a highly classified document once considered as the most sensitive on Earth. In 1930 America crafted an elaborate plan for war with the "Red Empire" - the most deadly enemy. But America's enemy in this conflict was not the Soviet Union, or Japan... it was not even Nazi Germany. Plan "Red" was a code word for a massive war with Britain and all her colonies.

The plan came up during the great depression, amid expansion of evil regimes around the world, and at turbulent times when even some in America have been deluded by dark forces. This documentary will reveal how such an astonishing document came to be written and who would have won if it had been put into practice. It will show how America's greatest ally almost became their deadliest enemy.

Ward didn't a break out between Britain and America in the 1930's, but there were times when they came closer than you might imagine, as American journalist Peter Carlson was to discover. He was on a visit to the American National Archives in Washington DC when he found himself entering a strange and unsettling world.

Lying untouched for years the plan "Red" contains detailed preparations for a massive war between America and the British Empire. It shows where they would fight, what troops would be needed and how the battles would unfold. Throughout the plan the Americans refer to themselves as "blue" while the British are "reds."

The British Empire at the beginning of the 20th century was the greatest the world had ever seen, but this did cause some resentment. We now think of Britain and America as having a special relationship. After all they did fight side by side in two world wars. But at the start of the 20th century the two countries have been at each others' throats for well over a hundred years, and much of the fighting had taken place in the British dominion of Canada.

War on the 'Red Empire': How America planned for an attack on BRITAIN in 1930 with bombing raids and chemical weapons

• Emerging world power feared British reaction to its ambitions
• Plan Red was code for massive war with British Empire
• Top-secret document once regarded as 'most sensitive on Earth'
• $57m allocated for building secret airfields on Canadian border - to launch attack on British land forces based there

Details of an amazing American military plan for an attack to wipe out a major part of the British Army  are today revealed for the first time.

In 1930, a mere nine years before the outbreak of World War Two, America drew up proposals specifically aimed at eliminating all British land forces in Canada and the North Atlantic, thus destroying Britain's trading ability and bringing the country to its knees. 

Previously unparalleled troop movements were launched as an overture to an invasion of Canada, which was to include massive bombing raids on key industrial targets and the use of chemical weapons, the latter signed off at the highest level by none other than the legendary General Douglas MacArthur. 

The plans, revealed in a Channel 5 documentary, were one of a number of military contingency plans drawn up against a number of potential enemies, including the Caribbean islands and China. There was even one to combat an internal uprising within the United States.

In the end there was no question of President Franklin D. Roosevelt subscribing to what was known as War Plan Red. Instead the two countries became the firmest of allies during WW2, an occasionally strained alliance that continues to this day.

Still, it is fascinating that there were enough people inside the American political and military establishment who thought that such a war was feasible. 

While outside of America, both Churchill and Hitler also thought it a possibility during the 30s - a time of deep economic and political uncertainty. 

In 1930, a mere nine years before the outbreak of World War Two, America drew up a terrifying plan specifically aimed at eliminating all British land forces in Canada and the North Atlantic, thus destroying Britain's trading ability and bringing our country to its knees

The top-secret papers seen here - once regarded as the most sensitive on Earth - were found buried deep within the American National Archives in Washington, D.C.

The highly classified files reveal that huge pushes were to be made into the Caribbean and West Coast to block any British retaliation from either Europe, India or Australia.

In 1931, the U.S. government even authorised record-breaking transatlantic flying hero and known Nazi sympathiser Charles A. Lindbergh to be sent covertly as a spy to the west shore of Hudson Bay to investigate the possibility of using sea-planes for warfare and seek out points of low resistance as potential bridgeheads.

In 1931, the U.S. authorised flying hero and known Nazi sympathiser Charles Lindbergh to be sent as a spy to Hudson Bay to look into using sea-planes for warfare and seek out points of low resistance as potential bridgeheads

Four years later, the U.S. Congress authorised $57million to be allocated for the building of three secret airfields on the U.S. side of the Canadian border, with grassed-over landing strips to hide their real purpose. 

All governments make 'worst case scenario' contingency plans which are kept under wraps from the public. These documents were unearthed buried deep within the American National Archives in Washington, D.C. - a top-secret document once regarded as the most sensitive on earth.

It was in 1930, that America first wrote a plan for war with 'The Red Empire' - its most dangerous empire.

But America's foe in this war was not Russia or Japan or even the burgeoning Nazi Germany.  

Plan Red was code for an apocalyptic war with Britain and all her dominions. 

After the 1918 Armistice and throughout the 1920s, America's historic anti-British feelings handed down from the 19th century were running dangerously high due to our owing the U.S. £9billion for their intervention in The Great War.

British feeling against America was known to be reciprocal. 

By the 1930s, America saw the disturbing sight of homegrown Nazi sympathisers marching down New York's Park Avenue to converge on a pro-Hitler rally in Madison Square Garden. 

Across the Atlantic, Britain had the largest empire in the world, not to mention the most powerful navy. 

Against this backdrop, some Americans saw their nation emerging as a potential world leader and knew only too well how Britain had dealt with such upstarts in the past - it went to war and quashed them. 

Now, America saw itself as the underdog in a similar scenario. 

In 1935, America staged its largest-ever military manoeuvres, moving troops to and installing munitions dumps at Fort Drum, half an hour away from the eastern Canadian border.

It was from here the initial attack on British citizens would be launched, with Halifax, Nova Scotia, its first target.

'This would have meant six million troops fighting on America's eastern seaboard,' says Peter Carlson, editor of American History magazine.

WAR PLAN RED, GREEN, PURPLE...

During the 1920s and 30s, the U.S. devised several colour-coded war plans to deal with potential adversaries.

Many of these war games were submitted to the Military Information Division by officers working in their own time.

Among the contingency plans developed were:

Orange: War against Japan

Green: Against Mexico

Purple: South America

White: Domestic uprising

Black: Germany

Grey: Caribbean republics

Yellow: China

Brown: Philippines

Not surprisingly, many of these were hypothetical exercises - and provided only broad strategic outlines.

However, the planning was considered by the military to be good practice for its personnel.

'It would have been like Verdun,' alluding to the brutal conflict between German and French troops in 1916 which resulted in a death toll of 306,000.

Even Winston Churchill said while people regarded a war with the U.S. as inconceivable, it was not.

'America felt Britain had thrown it under the bus in order to stay top dog,' says Professor Mike Vlahos, of the U.S. Naval War College.

'The U.S. was forced to contemplate any measure to keep Britain at bay.'

Even Hitler thought such a war was inevitable, but astonishingly wanted Britain to win, believing that to be the best outcome for Germany, since the UK could then join his forces to attack the U.S.

'You have to remember the U.S. was born out of a revolutionary struggle against Britain in 1776,' says Dr. John H. Maurer, of the U.S. Naval War College.

Using available blueprints for this war, modern-day military and naval experts now believe the most likely outcome of such a conflict would have been a massive naval battle in the North Atlantic with very few actual deaths, but ending with Britain handing Canada over to the U.S. in order to preserve our vital trade routes.

However, on June 15, 1939, the same year as the German invasion of Poland, an internal U.S. memo states these plans for an invasion were 'wholly inapplicable', but nevertheless 'should be retained' for the future.

This is now seen as the dawn of and prime reason behind the 'special relationship' between our two countries. 

Huge troop movements were launched as an overture to an invasion of Canada, which was to include bombing raids on industrial targets and the use of chemical weapons - the latter signed off by the legendary General Douglas MacArthur, left (file picture)

Isolationism, prosperity and decline: America after WWI

As close allies in numerous conflicts, Britain and America have long enjoyed a 'special relationship'.

Stemming from Churchill and Roosevelt, it has since flourished - from Thatcher and Reagan, and Clinton and Blair, to the Queen and Obama. 

We know now that FDR ultimately rejected an invasion of Britain as 'wholly inapplicable'.

But just how special was that relationship in the decade leading up to WWII?

By the start of the 1920s, the American economy was booming.

The 'Roaring Twenties' was an age of increased consumer spending and mass production.

But after the First World War, U.S. public opinion was becoming increasingly isolationist.

This was reflected in its refusal to join the League of Nations, whose principal mission was to maintain world peace.

U.S. foreign policy continued to cut itself off from the rest of the world during that period by imposing tariffs on imports to protect domestic manufacturers.

These children were part of a squatter community, known bitterly as 'Hoovervilles' because of the President's inability to even admit to the existence of a national crisis after the stock market crash in 1929

And its liberal approach to immigration was also changing. 

Millions of people, mainly from Europe, had previously been welcomed to America in search of a better life.

But by 1921, quotas were introduced and, by 1929, only 150,000 immigrants per year were allowed in.

After a decade of prosperity and optimism, America was thrown into despair when the stock market crashed in October 1929 - marking the start of the Great Depression.

The ensuing economic hardship and mass unemployment sealed the fate of President Herbert Hoover's re-election - and Franklin D Roosevelt stormed to victory in March 1933.

He was faced with an economy on the brink of collapse: banks had been shut in 32 states, and some 17million people had been thrown out of work — almost a third of the adult workforce.

And the reality of a worldwide economic depression and the need for increased attention to domestic problems only served to bolster the idea that the U.S. should isolate itself from troubling events in Europe.

When Franklin D Roosevelt was elected as President in 1933, he was faced with an economy on the brink of collapse. Banks had been shut in 32 states, and some 17million people had been thrown out of work

However, this view was at odds with FDR's vision.

He realised the necessity for the U.S. to participate more actively in international affairs - but isolationist sentiment remained high in Congress.

In 1933, President Roosevelt proposed a Congressional measure that would have granted him the right to consult with other nations to place pressure on aggressors in international conflicts. 

The bill faced strong opposition from leading isolationists in Congress.

As tensions rose in Europe over the rise of the Nazis, Congress brought in a set of Neutrality Acts to stop  America becoming entangled in external conflicts. 

Although Roosevelt was not in favour of the policy, he acquiesced as he still needed Congressional support for his New Deal programmes, which were designed to bring the country out of the Depression.

By 1937, the situation in Europe was growing worse and the second Sino-Japanese War began in Asia.

In a speech, he compared international aggression to a disease that other nations must work to 'quarantine'.

But still, Americans were not willing to risk their lives for peace abroad - even when war broke out in Europe in 1939.

A slow shift in public opinion saw limited U.S. aid to the Allies.

And then the Japanese attack on Pear Harbor in December 1941 changed everything.

War Plan Red

Joint Army and Navy Basic War Plan Red was one of the color-coded war plans created by the United States Army and Navy in the late 1920s and early 1930s to estimate the requirements for a hypothetical war with the United Kingdom (the "Red" forces). War Plan Red discussed the potential for fighting a war with Britain and its Empire and outlined those steps necessary to defend the Atlantic coast against any attempted mainland invasion of the United States. It further discussed fighting a two-front war with both Japan and Britain simultaneously (as envisioned in War Plan Red-Orange).

War Plan Red was developed by the United States Army following the 1927 Geneva Naval Conference and approved in May 1930 by the Secretary of War and the Secretary of Navy and updated in 1934–35; it was not presented for presidential or Congressional approval. Only the United States Congress has the power to declare war.

In 1939, on the outbreak of World War II and Britain's war against Nazi Germany, a decision was taken that no further planning was required but that the plan be retained. War Plan Red was not declassified until 1974.

The war plan outlined those actions that would be necessary to initiate war between Britain and the United States. The plan suggested that the British would initially have the upper hand by virtue of the strength of the Royal Navy. The plan further assumed that Britain would probably use its Dominion in Canada as a springboard from which to initiate a retaliatory invasion of the United States. The assumption was taken that at first Britain would fight a defensive battle against invading American forces, but that the U.S. would eventually defeat the British by blockading Britain and cutting off its food supplies.

History

War Plan Red was one of a number of U.S. color-coded war plans developed by the U.S. after the First World War.

When War Plan Red was declassified in 1974, it caused a stir in American–Canadian relations because Canada, codenamed "Crimson" in the plan, was to have been the principal target of American forces.

Outline

The Maritimes in eastern Canada were the primary areas of strategic importance for the plan

War Plan Red first set out a description of Canada's geography, military resources, and transportation, and went on to evaluate a series of possible pre-emptive American campaigns to invade Canada in several areas and occupy key ports and railways before British troops could provide reinforcement to the Canadians—the assumption being that Britain would use Canada as a staging point. The idea was that the American attacks on Canada would prevent Britain from using Canadian resources, ports, or airbases.

A key move was a joint U.S. army-navy attack to capture the port city of Halifax, cutting off the Canadians from their British allies. Their next objective was to "seize Canadian Power Plants near Niagara Falls" This was to be followed by a full-scale invasion on three fronts: From Vermont to take Montreal and Quebec, from North Dakota to take over the railhead at Winnipeg, and from the Midwest to capture the strategic nickel mines of Ontario. In parallel, the U.S. Navy was to seize the Great Lakes and blockade Canada’s Atlantic and Pacific ports.

Zones of operation

The main zones of operation discussed in the plan are:

• Nova Scotia and New Brunswick:
  • Occupying Halifax, following a poison gas first strike, would deny the British a major naval base and cut links between Britain and Canada.
  • The plan considers several land and sea options for the attack and concludes that a landing at St. Margarets Bay, a then undeveloped bay near Halifax, would be superior to a direct assault via the longer overland route.
  • Failing to take Halifax, the U.S. could occupy New Brunswick by land to cut Nova Scotia off from the rest of Canada at the key railway junction in Moncton.
• Quebec and the valley of the Saint Lawrence River:
  • Occupying Montreal and Quebec City would cut the remainder of Canada off from the Eastern seaboard, preventing the movement of soldiers and resources in both directions.
  • The routes from northern New York to Montreal and from Vermont to Quebec are both found satisfactory for an offensive, with Quebec being the more critical target.
• Ontario and the Great Lakes area:
  • Occupying this region gains control of Toronto and most of Canada's industry, while also preventing Britain and Canada from using it for air or land attacks against the U.S. industrial heartland in the Midwest.
  • The plan proposes simultaneous offensives from Buffalo across the Niagara River, from Detroit into Windsor, and from Sault Ste. Marie into Sudbury. Controlling the Great Lakes for U.S. transport is considered logistically necessary for a continued invasion.
• Winnipeg
  • Winnipeg is a central nexus of the Canadian rail system for connecting the country.
  • The plan sees no major obstacles to an offensive from Grand Forks, North Dakota, to Winnipeg.
• Vancouver and Victoria:
  • Although Vancouver's distance from Europe reduces its importance, occupying it would deny Britain a naval base and cut Canada off from the Pacific Ocean.
  • Vancouver could be easily attacked overland from Bellingham, Washington, and Vancouver Island could be attacked by sea from Port Angeles, Washington.
  • The British Columbia port Prince Rupert has a rail connection to the rest of Canada, but a naval blockade is viewed as easy if Vancouver were taken.

No attacks outside Western Hemisphere

Unlike the Rainbow Five plan, War Plan Red did not envision striking outside the Western Hemisphere. Its authors saw conquering Canada as the best way to attack the British Empire and believed that doing so would cause Britain to negotiate for peace. A problem with the plan was that it did not discuss how to attack the Empire if Canada declared its neutrality, which the authors believed was likely. (The plan advised against accepting such a declaration without permission to occupy Canadian ports and some land until the war ended.)

Based on extensive war games conducted at the Naval War College, the plan rejected attacking British shipping or attempting to destroy the British fleet. The main American fleet would instead stay in the western North Atlantic to block British–Canadian traffic. The navy would wait for a good opportunity to engage the British fleet, and if successful would then attack British trade and colonies in the Western Hemisphere.

In 1935, War Plan Red was updated and specified which roads to use in the invasion. "The best practicable route to Vancouver is via Route 99" (Carlson, 2005). Further, in 1935, Americans planned to build three military airfields near the Canada–US border and disguise them as civilian airports. "In February 1935, the War Department arranged a Congressional appropriation of $57 million to build three border air bases for the purposes of pre-emptive surprise attacks on Canadian air fields" (Berlin Glasnost, 1992–2007). The airfields were to be kept secret, but their existence was accidentally published by the Government Printing Office and reported on the front page of the New York Times on May 1, 1935.

American war planners had no thoughts of returning captured British territory. "The policy will be to prepare the provinces and territories of CRIMSON and RED to become states and territories of the BLUE union upon the declaration of peace." 

British strategy for war against the United States

The Royal Navy never prepared a formal plan for war with the United States during the first half of the 20th century. The government of David Lloyd George in 1919 restricted the navy from doing so to prevent it from using American naval growth to justify building more ships. Like their American counterparts, most Royal Navy officers viewed cooperation with the other nation as the best way to maintain world peace due to the shared culture, language, and goals, although the British feared that attempts to regulate trade during a war with another nation might force a war with the United States.^[6]

Royal Navy officers generally believed that if war did occur, they could transport an army to Canada if asked, but nonetheless saw it as impossible to defend against the much larger United States, so did not plan to do so, as Canada's loss would not be fatal to Britain. An invasion of the United States was unrealistic and a naval blockade was too slow. The navy could not use a defensive strategy of waiting for the American fleet to cross the Atlantic because Imperial trade was too vulnerable. The Royal Navy officers believed that Britain was so vulnerable to a blockade that, if a superior American fleet appeared near the British Isles, Britain would quickly surrender. The officers planned to, instead, attack the American fleet from a Western Hemisphere base, likely Bermuda, while other ships based in Canada and the West Indies would attack American shipping and protect Imperial trade. The navy would also bombard coastal bases and make small amphibious assaults. India and Australia would help capture Manila to prevent American attacks on British trade in Asia and perhaps a conquest of Hong Kong. The officers hoped that such acts would result in a stalemate making continued war unpopular in the United States, followed by a negotiated peace.

Canadian counterpart

Canadian military officer Lieutenant Colonel James "Buster" Sutherland Brown developed an earlier counterpart to War Plan Red called Defence Scheme No. 1 on April 12, 1921. Maintaining that the best defense was a good offense, "Buster" Brown planned for rapid deployment of flying columns to occupy Seattle, Great Falls, Minneapolis, and Albany. With no hope of holding these objectives, the idea was to divert American troops to the flanks and away from Canada, hopefully long enough for Imperial allies to arrive with reinforcements. Defence Scheme No. 1 was terminated by Chief of the General Staff Andrew McNaughton in 1928, two years prior to the approval of War Plan Red.