Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 59:21-1:00:53

Why an Anglo-Japanese coalition alarmed US planners

A combined Royal Navy and Japanese threat represented the American worst case because it could challenge both coasts before US fleets concentrated.

Anglo-Japanese AllianceImperial Japanese NavyRoyal NavyUS NavyWar Planning
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Question

Did American planners fear war against the Anglo-Japanese alliance?

Short answer

Yes. The combination threatened simultaneous Atlantic and Pacific attacks before the divided US Navy could concentrate.

Notes

The Royal Navy was a peer competitor that could concentrate in the Atlantic faster than the United States could transfer its Pacific forces. Adding Japan created the prospect of simultaneous pressure from two major navies on opposite coasts. American planners could therefore imagine losing sea control before the country exploited its continental strength. This became the US Navy's two-ocean worst case.