LOL all of that argument and it all turned out to be okay!!
As already pointed out by LB, it did not turn out OK. The plant has little time left to prepare itself for winter and not only may this mean a lost season, as the tree will have to recover before it can properly grow again, while there is hope, there still is a chance it will not survive.
Even if the tree survives and stays OK, the arguments are still valid. You do not defoliate a tree like this - and if you do, you do not understand why you defoliate. Defoliation is done on an established tree, with a good trunk, roots and branches - and one that is very healthy. You do not defoliate young trees - they need their leaves to grow.
You may think that fertilizer is food for trees, but actually that is wrong. It's the leaves that make the food through photosynthesis. Without leaves, the tree cannot produce food, no food will be transported and stored, so the plant will have no extra reserves. That's one of the reasons why you only defoliate healthy, established trees.