Attack by Paralyzation 1919: after J.F.C Fuller

Otherwise known as Plan 1919, this was a military strategy created by British Major General John Frederick Charles Fuller. It was his belief that new weapons, such as tanks and aircraft, should be used to psychologically stun (or paralyze) the enemy. Although Plan 1919 was never implemented, Fuller believed that the most effective means of inhibiting the enemy’s advance was to render it inoperative by attacking enemy command and supply lines, using a combination of aircraft and medium tank attack. The enemy lines would then be broken by an armoured thrust using heavy tanks in tandem with artillery and infantry fire. This would be followed by cavalry, further tanks and truck mounted infantry. The idea was to create chaos and render the enemy powerless. Fuller described it as ‘a shot through the brain’ rather than the slow bleeding of more orthodox attacks.