Defence Scheme No. 1
Encyclopedia
Defence Scheme No. 1 was a plan created by Canadian Director of Military Operations and Intelligence Lieutenant Colonel James "Buster" Sutherland Brown
, for a Canadian
pre-emptive invasion of the United States
.
and Ottawa
, then Hamilton
, Toronto
, the prairie provinces, and Vancouver
and southwest British Columbia
. Defence Scheme No. 1's American counterpart was War Plan Red
, a plan to invade Canada as part of a war with Britain, created in 1930.
The purpose of invading America was to allow time for Canada to prepare its war effort and to receive aid from Britain
. According to the plan, Canadian flying column
s stationed in Pacific Command in western Canada would immediately be sent to seize Seattle, Spokane
, and Portland
. Troops stationed in Prairie Command would be sent to attack Fargo
and Great Falls
, then move to Minneapolis. Troops from Quebec would be sent to seize Albany
in a surprise counterattack while Maritime troops would attack Maine
. When resistance to the Canadians grew they would retreat to their own borders, destroying bridge
s and railways to hinder American pursuit.
for the plan, along with other lieutenant-colonels, all in plainclothes. These missions took place from 1921 and 1926. As historian Pierre Berton
noted in his book Marching as to War, these investigations had "a zany flavour about it, reminiscent of the silent comedies of the day." To illustrate this, Berton quoted from Brown's reports, in which Brown recorded, among other things, that in Burlington, Vermont
the people were "affable" and thus unusual for Americans; that Americans drink significantly less alcohol
than Canadians (this was during Prohibition
), and that upon pointing out that to Americans, one responded "My God! I'd go for a glass of beer. I'm going to 'Canady' to get some more"; that the people of Vermont
would be serious soldiers only "if aroused"; and that many Americans might be sympathetic with the British cause.
", Berton notes the plan had its supporters. These included General George Pearkes
, who remarked that Defence Scheme No. 1 was a "fantastic desperate plan [which] just might have worked."
Christopher M. Bell, however, criticizes the plan as "suicidal". Brown did not coordinate with the British, so did not know that the Royal Navy thought that defending Canada was impossible and did not plan to send a large army there. His plan would thus have sacrificed the best Canadian troops for no reason. Brown also did not understand the importance of keeping Halifax, Nova Scotia—one of the main targets of an American invasion—and other Atlantic ports open. Bell states that Canada's best strategy would have been to—as the Americans expected—engage in a defensive war.
In 1928 Defence Scheme No. 1 was terminated by Chief of the General Staff
Andrew McNaughton
, who sought peaceful US-British relations. Many of the documents relating to the scheme were accordingly destroyed. While never fully justified, when declassified information about the United States' War Plan Red
was released Defence Scheme No. 1 demonstrated the foresight of such an operation, especially in that it was prepared before War Plan Red was researched.
James Sutherland Brown
James "Buster" Sutherland Brown was a Canadian military officer best known for drafting a contingency war plan in 1921 to invade and occupy several American border cities. The style of the plan was Defence Scheme No. 1...
, for a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
pre-emptive invasion of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Targets
Defence Scheme No. 1 was created on April 12, 1921 and details a surprise invasion of the northern United States as soon as possible after evidence was received of an American invasion of Canada. It assumed that the Americans would first attempt to capture MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, then Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, the prairie provinces, and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and southwest British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Defence Scheme No. 1's American counterpart was War Plan Red
War Plan Red
Joint Army and Navy Basic War Plan Red, also known as the Atlantic Strategic War Plan, was a plan for the United States to make war with the British Empire . It was developed by the United States Army following the 1927 Geneva Naval Conference; and approved in May 1930 by the Secretary of War and...
, a plan to invade Canada as part of a war with Britain, created in 1930.
The purpose of invading America was to allow time for Canada to prepare its war effort and to receive aid from Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. According to the plan, Canadian flying column
Flying column
A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ad hoc unit, formed during the course of operations....
s stationed in Pacific Command in western Canada would immediately be sent to seize Seattle, Spokane
Spokane
Spokane is a city in the U.S. state of Washington.Spokane may also refer to:*Spokane *Spokane River*Spokane, Missouri*Spokane Valley, Washington*Spokane County, Washington*Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War*Spokane * USS Spokane...
, and Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. Troops stationed in Prairie Command would be sent to attack Fargo
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
and Great Falls
Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
, then move to Minneapolis. Troops from Quebec would be sent to seize Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
in a surprise counterattack while Maritime troops would attack Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. When resistance to the Canadians grew they would retreat to their own borders, destroying bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s and railways to hinder American pursuit.
Reconnaissance
Lt. Colonel Brown himself did reconnaissanceReconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
for the plan, along with other lieutenant-colonels, all in plainclothes. These missions took place from 1921 and 1926. As historian Pierre Berton
Pierre Berton
Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a well-known television personality and journalist....
noted in his book Marching as to War, these investigations had "a zany flavour about it, reminiscent of the silent comedies of the day." To illustrate this, Berton quoted from Brown's reports, in which Brown recorded, among other things, that in Burlington, Vermont
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
the people were "affable" and thus unusual for Americans; that Americans drink significantly less alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
than Canadians (this was during Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
), and that upon pointing out that to Americans, one responded "My God! I'd go for a glass of beer. I'm going to 'Canady' to get some more"; that the people of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
would be serious soldiers only "if aroused"; and that many Americans might be sympathetic with the British cause.
Reaction
Despite Berton's description of the plan and its creator as "quixoticQuixotism
Quixotism is impracticality in pursuit of ideals, especially those ideals manifested by rash, lofty and romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action. It also serves to describe an idealism without regard to practicality...
", Berton notes the plan had its supporters. These included General George Pearkes
George Pearkes
Major General George Randolph Pearkes, VC, PC, CC, CB, DSO, MC, CD was a Canadian politician; soldier; recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Imperial forces; and the 20th Lieutenant Governor of British...
, who remarked that Defence Scheme No. 1 was a "fantastic desperate plan [which] just might have worked."
Christopher M. Bell, however, criticizes the plan as "suicidal". Brown did not coordinate with the British, so did not know that the Royal Navy thought that defending Canada was impossible and did not plan to send a large army there. His plan would thus have sacrificed the best Canadian troops for no reason. Brown also did not understand the importance of keeping Halifax, Nova Scotia—one of the main targets of an American invasion—and other Atlantic ports open. Bell states that Canada's best strategy would have been to—as the Americans expected—engage in a defensive war.
In 1928 Defence Scheme No. 1 was terminated by Chief of the General Staff
Chief of the General Staff (Canada)
The Chief of the General Staff was the most senior member of the Canadian Army from 1904 until 1964 when the appointment became Commander, Mobile Command with the unification of Canada's military forces. The position was renamed Chief of the Land Staff in 1993....
Andrew McNaughton
Andrew McNaughton
General Andrew George Latta McNaughton, CH, CB, CMG, DSO, CD, PC was a Canadian army officer, politician and diplomat.- Early life :...
, who sought peaceful US-British relations. Many of the documents relating to the scheme were accordingly destroyed. While never fully justified, when declassified information about the United States' War Plan Red
War Plan Red
Joint Army and Navy Basic War Plan Red, also known as the Atlantic Strategic War Plan, was a plan for the United States to make war with the British Empire . It was developed by the United States Army following the 1927 Geneva Naval Conference; and approved in May 1930 by the Secretary of War and...
was released Defence Scheme No. 1 demonstrated the foresight of such an operation, especially in that it was prepared before War Plan Red was researched.
Books
- Berton, Pierre. Marching as to War: Canada's Turbulent Years 1899-1953. Anchor Canada: 2002.
- Harris, Steven, Canadian Brass: The Making of a Professional Army, 1860-1939. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988. Includes a section on the interwar defence planning.
External links
- Excerpt from Canadian Defence Scheme No. 1 (See End of Article)
- "Raiding the Icebox" The Washington Post. December 30, 2005