War Plan Gray was a plan for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to invade the

Azores Islands ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

in 1940–41 given the possibility of Germany seizing the islands. Gray is one of the many color-coded war plans created in the early 20th century. On 22 May 1941, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

directed the U.S. Army and Navy to draft an official plan to occupy the Portuguese Azores. Approved by the Joint Board on 29 May, War Plan Gray called for a landing force of 28,000 troops, one half Marine and one half Army. While motions were made to prepare for this invasion, a shifting of focus halted War Plan Gray and the Azores were never invaded. This was mainly credited to intelligence sources producing evidence making it highly unlikely that

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

would invade pro-fascist

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

and the scrupulously neutral Portuguese Estado Novo. With Germany turning its attention to Russia, this eased American fears concerning the Azores, resulting in the suspension of War Plan Gray, letting the US focus their time and forces elsewhere.

Overview

The Portuguese Azores lie among vital shipping lanes between the US and the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

, Europe, and South America. Though the Azores were of little value to the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...

's defense, this was countered by their immense value to Germany. If Germany was to build air and naval bases from these islands, they could put a further chokehold on British shipping. This led U.S. Army and Navy planning officers in October 1940 to draft a plan for surprise invasion of the Azores. At the time, the plan was not feasible due to a lack of manpower and resources and it was incompatible with the US policy of staying out of the war. In May 1941, intelligence suggested the possibility of Germany seizing the Azores Islands. This led President Roosevelt to commission the Army and Navy to draft a new formal plan codenamed Gray. The plan was approved by the Joint Board on 29 May. It called for a force of 28,000 combat troops, half Marine and half Army. Gray's landing force would be commanded by Major General

Holland M. Smith Holland McTyeire "Howlin' Mad" Smith, KCB (April 20, 1882 – January 12, 1967) was a general in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He is sometimes called the "father" of modern U.S. amphibious warfare. His nickname, "Howl ...

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

, under Rear Admiral

Ernest J. King Ernest Joseph King (23 November 1878 – 25 June 1956) was an American naval officer who served as Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. As COMINCH-CNO, he directed the Un ...

, the Expeditionary commander. Six days before the Azores directive, US attention was turned towards Brazil, for fears of the Axis powers stepping into South America and the Western Hemisphere. This led to a change in urgency of the Azores operation. In June, intelligence sources produced credible evidence that Germany planned not to invade Spain and Portugal but the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. This put an end to the fears of the Azores islands and War Plan Gray was suspended.

References

{{United States color-coded war plans Portugal–United States relations History of the Azores United States color-coded war plans Portugal in World War II

Overview

See also

References