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United States color-coded war plans
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United States color-coded war plans
During the 1920s and 1930s, the United States Armed Forces developed a number of color-coded war plans that outlined potential US strategies for a variety of hypothetical war scenarios. The plans, developed by the Joint Planning Committee (which later became the Joint Chiefs of Staff), were officially withdrawn in 1939 at the outbreak of World War II in favor of five "Rainbow" plans developed to meet the threat of a two-ocean war against multiple enemies.
The following plans are known to have existed:[failed verification]
No war plan has been constructed toward the Soviet Union.[dubious – discuss]
The desire for the Army and Navy to utilize the same symbols for their plans gave rise to the use of colors in US war planning. By the end of 1904, the Joint Board had adopted a system of hues, symbols, and shorthand names to represent nations. Many war plans became known by the color of the country to which they were related, a convention that lasted through World War II. As the convention of using colors took root, some were eventually reused, such as Grey, which originally referred to Italy but eventually became a plan for the capture and occupation of Portugal's Azores. In all the plans, the US referred to itself as "Blue".
The plan that received the most consideration was War Plan Orange, a series of contingency plans for fighting a war with Japan alone, outlined unofficially in 1919 and officially in 1924. Orange formed some of the basis for the actual campaign against Japan in World War II and included the huge economic blockade from mainland China and the plans for interning the Japanese American population.
War Plan Red was a plan for war against the British Empire. British dominions and colonies had war plans of different shades of red: the United Kingdom was "Red", Canada "Crimson", India "Ruby", Australia "Scarlet", and New Zealand "Garnet". Ireland, at the time a free state within the British Empire, was named "Emerald".
War Plan Black was a plan for war with Germany. The best-known version of Black was conceived as a contingency plan during World War I in case France fell and the Germans attempted to seize French possessions in the Caribbean or launch an attack on the eastern seaboard.
Many of the war plans were extremely unlikely given the state of international relations in the 1920s and were entirely in keeping with the military planning of other nation-states. Often, junior military officers were given the task of updating each plan to keep them trained and busy (especially in the case of War Plan Crimson, the invasion of Canada). Some of the war plan colors were revised over time, possibly resulting in confusion. [citation needed]
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United States color-coded war plans
During the 1920s and 1930s, the United States Armed Forces developed a number of color-coded war plans that outlined potential US strategies for a variety of hypothetical war scenarios. The plans, developed by the Joint Planning Committee (which later became the Joint Chiefs of Staff), were officially withdrawn in 1939 at the outbreak of World War II in favor of five "Rainbow" plans developed to meet the threat of a two-ocean war against multiple enemies.
The following plans are known to have existed:[failed verification]
No war plan has been constructed toward the Soviet Union.[dubious – discuss]
The desire for the Army and Navy to utilize the same symbols for their plans gave rise to the use of colors in US war planning. By the end of 1904, the Joint Board had adopted a system of hues, symbols, and shorthand names to represent nations. Many war plans became known by the color of the country to which they were related, a convention that lasted through World War II. As the convention of using colors took root, some were eventually reused, such as Grey, which originally referred to Italy but eventually became a plan for the capture and occupation of Portugal's Azores. In all the plans, the US referred to itself as "Blue".
The plan that received the most consideration was War Plan Orange, a series of contingency plans for fighting a war with Japan alone, outlined unofficially in 1919 and officially in 1924. Orange formed some of the basis for the actual campaign against Japan in World War II and included the huge economic blockade from mainland China and the plans for interning the Japanese American population.
War Plan Red was a plan for war against the British Empire. British dominions and colonies had war plans of different shades of red: the United Kingdom was "Red", Canada "Crimson", India "Ruby", Australia "Scarlet", and New Zealand "Garnet". Ireland, at the time a free state within the British Empire, was named "Emerald".
War Plan Black was a plan for war with Germany. The best-known version of Black was conceived as a contingency plan during World War I in case France fell and the Germans attempted to seize French possessions in the Caribbean or launch an attack on the eastern seaboard.
Many of the war plans were extremely unlikely given the state of international relations in the 1920s and were entirely in keeping with the military planning of other nation-states. Often, junior military officers were given the task of updating each plan to keep them trained and busy (especially in the case of War Plan Crimson, the invasion of Canada). Some of the war plan colors were revised over time, possibly resulting in confusion. [citation needed]