The Transportation Corps : operations overseas

708 Pages·1957·58.081 MB·English

by  Joseph Bykofsky, Harold Larson

Foreword
The transportation of troops and supplies to build up and maintain the
force of more than five million soldiers deployed overseas by the United States
Army in World War II involved operations of unprecedented magnitude and
complexity, both across the oceans and within the military theaters of the war.
The movement of supplies for allied forces greatly increased the Army's trans-
portation task. The two preceding volumes of this group have told the story of
Army transportation in the continental United States. This volume deals with
land and water movements in theaters of operations around the world. It
surveys port, railway, highway, and water operations that constituted a major,
and in some instances a controlling, factor in the prosecution of the war. Time
and again the Army's experience during the war underlined the need for
clearly recognizing the importance of transportation in planning and executing
tactical as well as logistical operations.
After the creation of the Transportation Corps in July 1942, transportation
activities overseas became increasingly its concern and were carried out in
ever-widening measure by staff officers and units provided by the Corps to
oversea theaters. The focus of this volume is nevertheless on Army transporta-
tion problems and activities as a whole, since other services also had a very
large hand in moving troops and supplies within the theaters. The authors
have told their story from the records and the points of view both of the oversea
commands and of the Transportation Corps in Washington. If it is at times a
story of inadequate performance, primarily because of shortages of trained men
and suitable equipment, it is also a story of over-all success in delivering the
men and the goods when and where they were needed to defeat the enemy.
ALBERT C. SMITH
Washington, D.C. Maj. Gen., U.S.A.
15 December 1954 Chief of Military History
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Introductory Note
As is indicated in the Preface, the preparation of this volume was carried out
under the general supervision of my predecessor, Mr. Chester Wardlow. Its
appearance marks the completion of a comprehensive account, in three
volumes, of the history of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps during World
War IL
Dr. Harold Larson served as Senior Historian of the Army Transportation
Corps during World War IL He was Chief Historian of the XXIV Corps in
Korea, 1946-47, and thereafter, to March 1952, Historian, Transportation
Section, Office of the Chief of Military History. He has a Ph.D. in History from
Columbia University, and is now on the staff of the Air University Historical
Liaison Office in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Joseph Bykofsky received his Master of Arts degree from Columbia
University, and is currently a candidate for a Ph.D. degree in History at Amer-
ican University. During World War II he served as an officer in India and
Burma, where he was engaged in transportation activities. He has been asso-
ciated with the Transportation Corps historical program since July 1949. Before
that time he had participated for three years in the writing of the World War II
history of the American National Red Cross.
HARRY B. YOSHPE
Washington, D.C. Historical Research Officer
15 December 1954 Office of the Chief of Transportation
viii
Preface
This volume, which deals with the U.S. Army transportation activities in
the oversea commands, is the last of the trilogy devoted to the history of the
Transportation Corps in World War II. In the first volume attention was given
to the nature of the transportation task, the functions and organization of the
Transportation Corps, and the operating problems and relationships of the
Corps. The second volume covered troop and supply movements within and
from the zone of interior and Transportation Corps problems of procurement
and training.
In this, the third volume, the oversea commands are discussed separately.
This method of treatment was suggested by the nature of the material, by the
fact that officers who directed Army transportation operations were responsible
to the respective oversea commanders, and by the wide differences in transpor-
tation activities and problems in the several areas.
The Chief of Transportation in the zone of interior had no direct authority
over transportation within the oversea commands. Transportation was but one
phase of logistical operations utilized by theater commanders in the attainment
of their tactical objectives. While the discussion in this volume will attempt to
make clear the role of the Chief of Transportation in planning for and support-
ing oversea operations, such matters are presented more fully in the other
volumes of Transportation Corps history. The present work deals primarily
with the Army transportation organizations in the several oversea commands,
the operations for which they were responsible, their relation to transportation
matters that were not directly their responsibility, and their position in the
theater structure.
In the main, the volume presents a topical treatment of the organization
and major types of transportation within each oversea command, although
efforts have been made in the introduction and elsewhere to orient the reader
to underlying strategic and logistic developments and problems. This compart-
mentalization appeared to be the method best adapted to an orderly presenta-
tion of the various transportation operations. An exception is the chapter on the
South and Central Pacific, where the absence of significant rail, inland water-
ways, and long-haul truck operations made possible a roughly chronological
approach.
The volume does not deal exclusively with Transportation Corps activities.
Created in July 1942 with a relatively limited scope, the Corps assumed
responsibility for operations performed until then by other technical services.
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In the interest of completeness early water, port, rail, and inland waterways
transportation operations conducted by the Quartermaster Corps and the Corps
of Engineers are considered within the scope of this discussion. Oversea motor
transport operations, performed by Quartermaster trucking units but usually
directed by Army transportation organizations, are also treated. Animal and
other means of transport are included where they were performed under the
direction of Army transportation organizations. Allied, joint Army-Navy,
Navy, and civilian transportation are discussed insofar as they affected Army
transportation.
The foregoing should not suggest that this volume is a complete account of
military or even of Army transportation overseas. The support of the Army
commands depended heavily on shipping provided or controlled by the War
Shipping Administration and the Navy. Within the Army, air transportation
was basically a responsibility of the Air Forces, while pipelines were the
responsibility of the Corps of Engineers, and consequently these means of
transportation received only incidental treatment here. Tactical transportation,
that is, transportation in the combat area as distinguished from the communi-
cations zone, was not a Transportation Corps responsibility and lies within the
realm of the combat historian. Amphibious assaults and other combat opera-
tions are dealt with only to the extent that Transportation Corps troops and
equipment participated.
While the preparation of this work has involved extensive consultation
between the two authors, there has been a basic division of responsibility. Dr.
Harold Larson prepared the chapters on the transatlantic theaters and bases
and the Southwest Pacific (Chapters I, III-VIII inclusive, and X). The remain-
ing portions of the book are the work of Mr. Joseph Bykofsky, who also handled
the final revision of the volume as a whole. The index of the completed work
was compiled by Dr. Rose C. Engelman.
Although the authors have relied in large measure on War Department and
oversea records collections in Washington and Kansas City, there has been
some departure from this procedure. In the case of the Persian Corridor, where
the command was concerned predominantly with transportation, the chapter
draws heavily on Dr. T. H. Vail Motter's published volume, The Persian Corridor
and Aid to Russia, and on records collected by him. Monographs on Army trans-
portation in certain oversea commands prepared by Dr. Harold H. Dunham
and Dr. James R. Masterson were invaluable. Other published and manuscript
histories produced in the Office of the Chief of Military History and in the
theaters also have proved of great assistance. Interviews with Army officers and
others who participated in wartime operations have been employed to supple-
ment, verify, and interpret the record. For details on the scope of research, the
reader is invited to examine the Bibliographical Note which is appended.
The authors are grateful to the many people, both military and civilians,
whose co-operation and assistance made possible the production of this volume.
Only a few can be mentioned here by name. The writers have profited from the
direction and supervision of Mr. Chester Wardlow, former Historical Research
Officer, Office of the Chief of Transportation. His critical judgment and sage
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