Table Of ContentUNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II
The European Theater of Operations
LOGISTICAL SUPPORT
OF THE ARMIES
In Two Volumes
Volume I: May 1941–September 1944
by
Roland G. Ruppenthal
CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY
UNITED STATES ARMY
WASHINGTON, D.C., 1995
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 53–60080
First Printed 1953—CMH Pub 7–2–1
For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, D.C. 20402
. . . t o Those Who Served
Foreword
A tank without gasoline or a vital part might better be a pillbox. A rifle-
man without ammunition must use his bayonet or club his rifle. A modern
army without food will not long survive. This book tells, among other things,
how in the European Theater of Operations the tank got its gas (when it
did), how the ammunition went forward, and how the food reached the
troops.
The necessity of anticipating events so that the needs of men in current-
day battle can be promptly and continuously met is evident even to a casual
reader. The question whether the modern soldier demands too much on the
battlefield is one for all to ponder.
Man tends to regard the problems with which he is faced as unique. To
guide those faced with the logistic problems of the future, a number of supply
principles have been laid down in regulations. This record of World War II
experience tells how the principles were actually applied. Those who take
the time and trouble to study it will find their efforts well rewarded.
ORLANDO WARD
Maj. Gen., U. S. A.
Chief of Military History
Washington, D. C
15J une 1952
V
Introductory Note
In all the extensive literature of military history there are but few
volumes devoted to the study of logistics. Although the rationalization of
army supply is fairly old in the history of warfare the written record normally
has been confined to the exposition, in field service regulations and manuals,
of how supply, evacuation, and troop movement should be organized,
rather than the narrative account of what actually happened in the course of
wars and campaigns. The term “logistics” is itself of recent coinage. During
World War I, it was confined chiefly to French lexicons, and it remained for
World War II and for the American armed forces to give the term meaning
and wide usage. Even so the definition of “logistics” is subject to wide varia-
tions. As used in the present volume the term covers the supply of armies in
the field and the movement of troops to the combat zone. Little attention is
given the evacuation of the wounded since other Army historians will tell
this story.
When plans were made for writing a series of volumes dealing with U.S.
Army operations in the European theater during World War II, the impor-
tance of the logistical support given the armies in the field literally forced
this subject upon those planning the series. It was decided that the story of
logistics could not be treated as an appendage within the various volumes
dealing with combat operations but would have to be told in the form of a
sustained and independent narrative moving from ports and beaches for-
ward to the combat zone. Months of research led to the conclusion that the
complexity and scope of logistical history demanded more than a single
volume. This volume is the first of two entitled Logistical Support of the Armies.
It is intended that the history herein recounted stand by itself as the com-
plete story of supply operations in Europe. But the thoughtful reader will find
his understanding and appreciation of the role of logistics enhanced by
referring also to those volumes in the European series which deal with the
high command and combat operations.
The author of Logistical Support oft he Armies, Dr. Roland G. Ruppenthal,
is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and holds the Ph. D. degree
from that institution. During the war he served with the VII Corps and the
Third Army as historical officer in four campaigns. Subsequently he was
appointed Assistant Theater Historian for the European Theater of Opera-
tions and charged with the direction of historical coverage for supply and
administration within the theater. Dr. Ruppenthal is the author of a combat
history, Utah Beach to Cherbourg, in the AMERICAN FORCES IN ACTION
series, and is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve.
HUGH M. COLE
Chief, European Section
Washington, D. C.
29 May 1952
vi
Preface
World War II provided a convincing demonstration of the decisive role
which materiel supremacy can have in modern warfare. But while the im-
portance of logistics is repeatedly asserted, little has been written to indicate
the complexity of the administrative machinery needed to bring the required
logistic support to bear at the proper place and time, or to show the difficulty
of anticipating the requirements of distant battles. This work recounts how
U.S. forces were built up in the United Kingdom for the great invasion of
1944, and how they were supplied during operations on the European Con-
tinent. The present volume begins with the arrival of the first small group
of U.S. Army “Special Observers” in the United Kingdom in the spring of
1941 and carries the story of logistic support on the Continent to the end of
the pursuit in northern France in mid-September 1944. A second volume
will carry the story forward to the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945.
The aim throughout has been to relate the problems of logistic support
to tactical plans and operations. While the story of procurement, movement,
and distribution of supplies and manpower is told largely from the point of
view of the theater or SOS-Communications Zone, the agency responsible
for the support of U.S. forces, the focus throughout is on the influence which
logistic support or lack of it had on the planning and conduct of combat
operations by the field armies. The substantial apportionment of space to the
discussion of theater command and organization is explained by the direct
bearing which that problem had on the administrative structure of the
European theater and consequently on the logistic support of U.S. forces.
Except for the period of the U.K. build-up, little attention is given the
logistic support of the Army Air Forces, since the story of that support is told
elsewhere. Limitations of space have made it necessary to exclude from treat-
ment in this volume certain activities normally falling within the definition
of logistics, such as evacuation, hospitalization, and salvage. The importance
of transportation, of port and railway construction, and of shortages of major
items such as ammunition and combat vehicles, to the story of logistic diffi-
culties has resulted in an unavoidable encroachment on the histories of the
technical services. The technical aspects of their operations are left to the
histories of those services.
While an attempt has been made to maintain a chronological organiza-
tion, constantly relating supply to tactical developments, the nature of the
subject has made it necessary to combine the chronological with the topical
treatment. Some trespassing on strict chronology has therefore resulted, as,
for example, in recounting the story of Cherbourg’s reconstruction and per-
vii
formance. That story is postponed to the second volume where the port
problem as a whole is treated at length. Command and organizational devel-
opments of the pursuit period, including the circumstances surrounding the
move of the Communications Zone headquarters to Paris, and an analysis of
the command decisions of early September 1944 in the light of the logistic
situation at that time are likewise postponed to Volume II.
It is a pleasure to acknowledge both the direct assistance and encourage-
ment provided by many persons in the preparation of this volume. It was
mainly through Col. S. L. A. Marshall, theater historian in 1945, that the
author was first initiated into the study of logistics and transferred from the
field to theater headquarters at the end of hostilities in Europe to organize
the research and writing of preliminary monographs on the administrative
and logistical history of the theater. Since then Colonel Marshall has con-
tinued to provide friendly and expert counsel and to give generously of his
time in constructive criticism of the manuscript.
The author’s labors have been substantially lightened by the use of
several preliminary studies prepared by members of the Historical Section,
ETO, at the conclusion of the war in Europe. Three of them had particularly
valuable application to this volume and merit special mention: George H.
Elliott’s history of the ETOUSA predecessor commands, SPOBS and
USAFBI, covering the activities of the U.S. Army in the United Kingdom
in the year before the formal activation of the theater; Clifford L. Jones’s
two-volume manuscript on the training of U.S. forces in the logistics of am-
phibious operations and on the activities of the engineer special brigades at
the beaches; and Robert W. Coakley’s two-volume study of theater com-
mand and organization. These three outstanding products of research
carried out under difficult circumstances were an invaluable and irreplace-
able source in the preparation of this volume.
It is a pleasure to acknowledge the research assistance of Dr. Mae Link,
who aided in the preparation of three chapters on the U.K. build-up, and of
Mr. Royce L. Thompson, whose effective sleuthing for elusive records both
at St. Louis and Washington and researching on a variety of questions saved
the author much time-consuming labor.
Special thanks are due those individuals who co-operated so generously
and cordially in the final production of the volume: Mr.J oseph R. Friedman,
Chief of the Editorial Branch, made an immeasurable contribution, saving
the author many writing faults through his unfailing tact and expert editorial
judgment. Mr. Wsevolod Aglaimoff, Chief of the Cartographic Branch, and
his assistants have solved a knotty mapping problem with their customary
imagination and skill. Capt. Kenneth E. Hunter, Chief of the Photographic
Branch, selected and edited the photographs which have added substantially
to the appearance and value of the volume. Miss Gay Morenus ably carried
out the laborious task of copy editing, and the index is the product of many hours
of work by Mrs. Pauline Dodd.
The author must acknowledge, in addition, the consistently cheerful
assistance given by Mr. Israel Wice and his staff of the General Reference
viii
Branch of the Office, Chief of Military History; by the records personnel of
the Departmental Records Branch in Washington and of the Records
Administration Center in St. Louis, both of the Office of the Adjutant
General; and by the historians of the technical services. Footnotes attest in
part to the contributions of key staff officers and commanders who generously
provided personal knowledge of the events of the period. GeneralsJ ohn C. H.
Lee, Raymond G. Moses, Robert W. Crawford, and Ewart G. Plank read
the entire manuscript in draft form.
This volume was prepared under the general direction of Dr. Hugh M.
Cole, Chief of the ETO Section, Office of the Chief of Military History, with
whom the author was privileged to serve in the European theater, and who
has been his constant mentor and most unfailing source of encouragement
in a new field of study.
ROLAND G. RUPPENTHAL
Washington, D. C.
4 June 1952
ix
