American war planning anticipated a fleet encounter near Sable Island off Canada. The British plans described here used that expectation to propose a feint toward Canada, drawing the shorter-ranged American fleet north before approaching from another direction. American long-range maritime patrol makes the practical success of that maneuver uncertain. Both navies explored fighting each other in theoretical war games, while their fleet exercises concentrated on Japan.
Notable Point · 7:12-8:36
The Sable Island feint in Anglo-American war planning
The proposed British feint near Canada shows how a theoretical war plan could exploit an opponent's expectations without making that opponent the focus of fleet exercises.