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Plan Dog

With President Franklin Roosevelt’s increasing support of Churchill and England, Hitler was forced to come up with a strategy to blunt American involvement on the side of Britain. In September 1940, Germany announced the Tripartite Pact treaty had been signed. In a nutshell, the treaty and military alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan required all the participants to act against an aggressor of a treaty member.

Signing ceremony for the Axis Powers Tripartite Pact. Seated from left to right: Japan Ambassador Saburō Kurusu, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Galeazzo Ciano, and Adolf Hitler. Joachim von Ribbontrop is speaking at the podium. Photo by Heinrich Hoffmann (27 September 1940). U.S. National Archives. PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
Signing ceremony for the Axis Powers Tripartite Pact. Seated from left to right: Japan Ambassador Saburō Kurusu, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Galeazzo Ciano, and Adolf Hitler. Joachim von Ribbontrop is speaking at the podium. Photo by Heinrich Hoffmann (27 September 1940). U.S. National Archives. PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.

FDR knew this was a game changer and while it didn’t mention the United States, the president fully recognized it was directed at America eventually coming into direct conflict with the Axis powers. This situation required FDR and his senior administration and military staffs to reassess the global situation and devise an initial strategy for an event of war with one or all the treaty members.

This assessment (and recommendation) was written in late October 1940 and presented to the president on 12 November. The twenty-six page document became known as “The Plan Dog” memorandum.

Japanese embassy in Berlin exhibiting the flags of the Tripartite Pact members. Photo by anonymous (c. September 1940). Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-L09218/CC-BY-SA 3.0. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0 Germany. Wikimedia Commons.
Japanese embassy in Berlin exhibiting the flags of the Tripartite Pact members. Photo by anonymous (c. September 1940). Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-L09218/CC-BY-SA 3.0. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0 Germany. Wikimedia Commons.

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Killed in the Service of Her Country

I decided to reprint a prior blog post as we look back and reflect on the events this week that took place in Pearl Harbor during the early morning of 7 December 1941. We read about the heroic acts of the men that morning and the tremendous loss of life. As you will read in my next book Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters? A Walking Tour of Nazi Occupied Paris, women played an extremely important role in World War II. This post is about one of those women – Stew.

Debutante to Wartime Pilot

Cornelia Fort (with a PT-19A). Photo by anonymous (c. 1942). PD-USGOV. Wikimedia Commons.
Cornelia Fort (with a PT-19A). Photo by anonymous (c. 1942). PD-USGOV. Wikimedia Commons.

Cornelia Fort (1919–1943) was the daughter of Rufus Fort, the founder of National Life and Accident Insurance Company. She grew up in a privileged Nashville home with a future of cotillions, marriage to a prominent Nashville man, and the quiet country club life. Only one problem: Cornelia didn’t want to become a debutante—she wanted to fly. Read More Killed in the Service of Her Country