The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Japan

776 Pages·1987·25.124 MB·English

by  Karl C. Dod

UNITED STATES ARMr IN WORLD WAR II
The T echnical Services
THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS:
THE WAR AGAINST JAPAN
by
Karl C. Dod
CENTER OF MILITARY IfISTORY
UNITED STATES ARM!'
WASHINGTON, D.C, 1987

Foreword
Contributions of the Corps of Engineers to victory in war, and to our
country's peacetime history, are well known and appreciated. The skill
and versatility of this talented body of soldiers met a supreme test in opera-
tions against the Japanese, many of which were conducted in the most primi-
tive and undeveloped regions of the world. Engineers built the Alaska
Highway, Canol, and the Ledo Road in Burma. They cleared the jungles
to build airfields for heavy bombers and supervised the work of Filipinos,
Chinese, and Melanesians as they built runways by hand. They built
ports, roads, and docks where none had existed. Indeed, one of the most
familiar recollections of the U.S. veteran of the war against Japan is the
ubiquitous engineer operating a bulldozer.
Dr. Dod's subject is vast and varied, and he has worked hard and capably
to fit it into the confines of a single volume. He has made an original
contribution to knowledge in the highly technical areas of Engineer prob-
lems, organization, equipment, supply, administration, and operations.
Washington, D.C. HAL C. PATTISON
18 June 1965 Brigadier General, USA
Chief of Military History
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The Author
Karl C. Dod received a Ph.D. in history from the University of Illinois
and has taught history at Morningside College and at Montana State College.
During World War II he worked with the U.S. Civil Service Commission
and as historian with the Historical Division in the Office of the Chief of
Engineers, and subsequently served in the U.S. Army with the Field Artil-
lery. After the war he joined the Office of the Chief Engineer, Army Forces,
Pacific, as a civilian historian. In 1950 he rejoined the Engineer Historical
Division and has been a staff member ever since. He is coauthor of Volume
I, Engineers in Theater Operations, and author of Volume II, Organiza-
tions, Troops, and Training, in the series "Engineers of the Southwest
Pacific, 1941-1945."
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Preface
This volume covers Engineer operations in support of the U.S. Army
in the war against Japan. The story begins with the defense build-up in
1939 and ends with the Japanese surrender aboard the battleship Missouri
on 2 September 1945. Geographically, Engineer operations extended from
the Panama Canal to India and from Alaska to Australia, in actual or poten-
tial areas of conflict. The author has attempted not only to depict various
types of Engineer operations but also to indicate how Engineer work helped
implement Allied strategy. Included are discussions of the Engineer posi-
tion in the command structure and a general account of both Engineer
combat and service missions within a given theater.
Above all, the author has attempted to indicate the many problems that
had to be resolved—problems stemming from terrain and climate, from the
inadequacy of long-range planning, from insufficient preparations, and from
organizational shortcomings, as well as from the Japanese foe—before the
Engineer mission could be successfully accomplished.
I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to present and former colleagues
in the Historical Division who helped in the preparation of this book. Dr.
Jesse A. Remington, Director of the Historical Division, gave valuable advice
and encouragement. Miss Lenore Fine offered many helpful suggestions.
Miss Louise Marr did research and drafted sections on the defense tri-
angle and on the 1945 Southern Philippines Campaign. Dr. Leslie Anders
prepared the initial drafts for the chapters on the China-Burma-India
theater. Dr. Kenneth J. Deacon wrote the first draft on the Alcan High-
way, and Mr. David Latt did the initial research on the engineers in Panama
and Alaska. I am indebted to a large number of Engineer officers who were
participants in the war against Japan and who reviewed portions of the
manuscript and provided additional information and also pointed out
errors of fact; the names of nearly all of them are recorded in the volume.
In this connection special mention should be made of Col. Desloge Brown,
C.E., Maj. Gen. Hugh J. Casey (Ret.), Maj. Gen. Edmond H. Leavey (Ret.),
Col. Willard P. McCrone, C.E., Maj. Gen. George J. Nold (Ret.), Col. Earl
North (Ret), Maj. Gen. Bernard L. Robinson (Ret.), Col. Harry A. Skerry
(Ret.), Lt. Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis, Jr. (Ret.), Maj. Gen. Leif J. Sverdrup
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