American logistics in the Normandy campaign
American logistics played a key role in the success of
The Overlord plan called for the early capture of
The
Background
During the 1920s and 1930s, the United States had developed and periodically updated
In the wake of the American entry into
Chaney's proposed SOS organizational structure did not meet with the approval of the War Department. On 9 March 1942, Marshall had conducted a sweeping reorganization that consolidated logistical functions in the US under the United States Army Services of Supply (USASOS), headed by Major General Brehon B. Somervell. Chaos had resulted during World War I because the organization of the SOS in France was different from that of the War Department, and an important lesson of that war was the need for the theater SOS organization to parallel that in the United States.[7] Marshall and Somervell wanted it led by someone familiar with the new organization, and selected Major General John C. H. Lee, who had previously commanded the Pacific Ports of Embarkation in the United States. Each branch head in Somervell's headquarters was asked to nominate his best two men, one of whom was selected by Somervell and Lee for SOS headquarters, while the other remained in Washington. Lee held the first meeting of his new staff on 16 May, before departing for the UK on 23 May, and Chaney formally activated SOS the following day.[8]
On 8 June 1942, the War Department upgraded USAFBI to the status of a
Lee announced a regional organization of SOS on 20 July. It was divided into four base commands corresponding to the British Army's territorial commands. The Northern Ireland Base Section, under Brigadier General Leroy P. Collins, with its headquarters at Belfast, included all of Northern Ireland; the Western Base Section, under Davison, had its headquarters at Chester; the Eastern Base Section, under Colonel Cecil R. Moore, had its headquarters at Watford; and the Southern Base Section, under Colonel Charles O. Thrasher, had its headquarters at Wilton, Wiltshire.[11] The London Base Command, created within ETOUSA in 1942 under the command of Brigadier General Pleas B. Rogers, was transferred to SOS on 21 March 1943 and renamed "Central Base Section" on 29 April.[12] Over time each of the base sections acquired its own character, with the Western Base Section principally concerned with the reception of troops and supplies, the Eastern with supporting the Air Force, and the Southern with hosting marshalling and training areas.[13] The doctrinal concept behind the base section concept was of "centralized control and decentralized operation", but reconciling the two proved difficult in practice.[14]
Planning and preparations
Bolero
Bolero was derailed by the decision taken in July 1942 to abandon
Roundup was not carried out, but Bolero survived, strengthened by the decision at the 1943 Washington Conference (codenamed "Trident") to mount the cross-channel attack with a target date of 1 May 1944. The planners at Trident envisioned shipping 1.3 million US troops to the UK by that date. Effecting this required the ports in the UK to handle up to 150 ships per month.[19] Progress was disappointing, but record shipments of men in the last quarter of the year boosted the strength of ETOUSA to 773,753 by the end of 1943, of whom 220,200 were in the SOS.[20]
To take advantage of the longer daylight hours of summer, a system of preshipment was instituted, whereby unit equipment was shipped to the UK in advance of the units. Rather than lose training time packing all its equipment, personnel could sail to the UK, and draw a new set of equipment there. The major obstacle to the idea was that not all commodities were available in surplus in the US. Indeed the
The main points of entry for US cargo were the ports on the Clyde and the Mersey, and those of the Bristol Channel; ports on the south and east coasts of the UK were subject to attack by German aircraft and submarines, and were avoided until late 1943, when shipments began to exceed the capacity of the other ports. The Clyde ports were remote from the main supply depots, but were used as the main debarkation points for US troops, accounting for 873,163 (52 percent) of the 1,671,010 US personnel arrivals, but only 1,138,000 measurement tons (1,289,000 m3) (8 percent) of cargo.[23]
The majority of troops travelled across the Atlantic on ocean liners like the RMS Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary. Making three round-trip voyages per month carrying up to 15,000 passengers each time, these two liners alone carried 24 percent of troop arrivals. They were supplemented by other liners, including the RMS Aquitania and Mauretania, and the SS Île de France, Nieuw Amsterdam and Bergensfjord, which accounted for another 36 percent.[24] The troops debarked into ship's tenders, and boarded quayside trains to their destinations.[23]
The Bristol Channel ports and the Mersey ports handled 9,750,000 measurement tons (11,040,000 m3) (70 percent) of the cargo brought to the UK, including most of the heavy items like tanks, artillery pieces and ammunition. This was not accomplished without difficulty; most of the cargo handling equipment was old and outdated, and it was not possible to follow the standard US practice of moving goods from the quayside on pallets with forklifts. Trade unions opposed the use of military labor except when civilian labor was unavailable, but this ban was lifted when the volume of cargo became too great, and by May 1944 fifteen US port battalions were working the UK ports.[23]
SOS found the textbook concept of shipping cargo from the port to distribution centers, sorting it there, and despatching it to branch depots too extravagant in its use of scarce depot space and the overburdened British railway system. Moreover shipping manifests were often found to be incomplete, inaccurate or illegible, and despite being sent by air mail still frequently failed to arrive in advance of the cargo. SOS ultimately persuaded a reluctant ASF to accept a system whereby every item shipped was individually labelled with a requisition number that provided a complete UK destination address.[25]
SOS prevailed upon ASF to implement a system called "prestowage", under which ships were loaded in the United States with blocks of supplies that included rations, equipment and ammunition. These 54 ships acted as floating depots, and were retained in UK waters until called forward. By having only their deck cargo unloaded in the UK, they did not burden the UK ports, but the practice was frowned upon by ASF because it indefinitely tied up valuable shipping. Also, nearly 150 ships were despatched in May, June and July "commodity loaded"—loaded entirely with a single class of supply. Most were held in the UK without unloading until called forward,[26] although some sailed directly to Normandy from the United States.[27]
The railways were used to move cargo wherever possible, as the narrow rural roads and village streets of rural England were not conducive to use by large trucks, but as cargo volumes increased, road transport had to be resorted to, and in the eight months from October 1943 to May 1944, trucks carried 1,000,000 long tons (1,000,000 t), or about a third of the cargo from the ports. The railways had challenges of their own, with limited head room and tunnel clearances that impeded the carriage of bulky items like tanks. Locomotives were in short supply and in 1942 the British railways arranged for 400 locomotives to be shipped from the US under Lend-Lease. The order was later increased to 900, and in 1943 they were arriving at a rate of fifty per month.[28]
The US buildup in the UK was largely accomplished in the first five months of 1944. In this period, another 752,663 troops arrived, bringing the total theater strength to 1,526,965. Of these, 459,511 were in the SOS.
The pressure on the UK transportation system became acute in May when the troops began moving to their staging areas. By 18 May SOS was forced to inform the
Organization
NATOUSA was created under Eisenhower on 6 February 1943, and Lieutenant General
An outcome of the Casablanca Conference was that in April 1943 the British Chiefs of Staff designated British
As a consequence, ETOUSA had lost most of its functionality, and was consolidated with SOS in January 1944. From then until June it had an organization and procedures closely resembling those described in the US Army manuals.[39] This combined headquarters was increasingly referred to as the Communications Zone (COMZ),[40] although this did not become official until 7 June.[41] Eisenhower announced that until several armies were active on the continent, all ground forces on there would be come under the British 21st Army Group, now commanded by General Bernard Montgomery.[42] On 9 February SHAEF ordered FUSAG and COMZ to supply American liaison elements to the 21st Army Group. ETOUSA had already activated its element two days before as the Forward Echelon, Communications Zone (FECOMZ), with Brigadier General Harry B. Vaughan, the Western Base Section commander, in command, and Colonel Frank M. Albrecht as his chief of staff.[43][44]
Another organization was activated on 7 February: the Advance Section (ADSEC), under the command of Colonel Ewart G. Plank. Experience in the Italian campaign had demonstrated the value of a logistical agency that worked closely with the army it was supporting. ADSEC would take over the operation of base areas, supply dumps and communications from the First Army as it moved forward. In the initial stages of Overlord, ADSEC would be attached to the First Army.[45] COMZ also began organizing base sections for service in France. In March the five districts of the Eastern Base Section were consolidated into one, which became the VIII District of the Western Base Section in April. On 1 May, Base Section No. 1 was activated under the command of Colonel Roy W. Growler, and held in readiness for service in Brittany. On 1 June Base Section No. 2 was activated under the command of Collins.[46]
Planning
The logistical planners saw the campaign unfolding in three stages. In the first, an automatic supply system would be used, with materiel dispatched on a predetermined schedule. In the second stage, which would occur after a lodgment was secured and supply depots began functioning, the system would become semi-automatic, with items like ammunition shipped on the basis of status reports. In the third stage, which would occur when the major ports were opened and the supply system was functioning smoothly, all items would be sent on requisition. In the event, the war ended before the third stage was achieved.[47]
Since the first three months of supply shipments were determined in advance, and the first two weeks already loaded on ships, three expedients were prepared to cover unanticipated shortfalls. The first was codenamed the "Red Ball Express". Starting on D plus 3 (three days after D-Day), 100 measurement tons (110 m3) per day were set aside for emergency requests. Such shipments would be expedited. The second, codenamed "Greenlight", provided for 600 measurement tons (680 m3) of ammunition and engineer equipment to be substituted for scheduled shipments of engineer supplies. This would become available from D plus 14 onwards, and Greenlight supplies would take up to six days for delivery. Finally, supplies were packed with parachutes for aerial delivery to isolated units, and plans were made for the delivery of 6,000 pounds (2,700 kg) of supplies per day by air once airfields had been secured, with 48 hours warning.[48]
The Overlord plan called for the early capture of Cherbourg, and a rapid American advance to secure the Brittany ports and
Assault
The Southern Base Section consisted of four districts, numbered XVI, XVII, XVIII and XIX. The XVIII District was responsible for mounting the assault force for Omaha Beach, while the XIX district handled the one for Utah Beach. Together they contained 95 marshalling camps with a capacity for 187,000 troops and 28,000 vehicles. The other two districts, the XVI and XVII, were responsible for mounting the glider-borne elements of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.[52]
In the opening phase of Overlord, supplies would arrive over the beaches. Operation of the beachheads was assigned to the
Utah Beach would be operated by the 1st Engineer Special Brigade, under the command of Brigadier General James E. Wharton; Omaha by the Provisional Special Brigade Group, consisting of the 5th and 6th Engineer Special Brigades and the 11th Port, commanded by Brigadier General William M. Hoge.[54] The 11th Port had a strength of over 7,600 men; it included four port battalions, five amphibious truck companies, three quartermaster service companies, and three quartermaster truck companies.[55]
The engineers landing on Omaha Beach on
The first waves came ashore on Utah Beach about 2,000 yards (1,800 m) south of the intended landing beaches. The beach fortifications were much weaker than the intended beaches, but the distance between the low and high watermarks was much greater. Because the beach obstacles were fewer than expected, the engineers were able to clear the entire beach of obstacles rather than just 50-yard (46 m) gaps. Beach dumps could not be established as planned because the areas had not been captured.[58]
Individual riflemen arriving on the beaches were overburdened, carrying at least 68 pounds (31 kg) of equipment. This overburdening had been noted during landing exercises, but instead of reducing the load, another 15 pounds (6.8 kg) had been added. The inability of the troops to move quickly had lethal consequences, especially on the deadly Omaha beach.[59] Unneeded equipment was often discarded. The demonstration of the Army's prodigality inculcated a culture of wastefulness that had undesirable consequences.[60]
The US military was racially segregated during World War II, with most African American soldiers belonging to service units. Of the 29,714 troops that landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, only about 500 were African Americans; of the 31,912 who landed on Utah Beach, approximately 1,200 were African Americans. Their numbers increased over the following weeks as more service units arrived.[61]
Build-up
Shipping
Build-up priority lists had been drawn up months in advance that specified in what order units were to embark for Normandy during the first ninety days. To regulate the movement of ships and landing craft with maximum economy, a special organization was established called Build Up Control (BUCO). This operated under the tactical commanders, the First Army in the US case, on the British committee system, with representatives of the Allied Naval Commander, Ministry of War Transport and War Shipping Administration. BUCO was chaired by British Brigadier G. C. Blacker, with Lieutenant Colonel Eli Stevens as the head of the US Zone Staff.[62] It had three subordinate agencies: Movement Control (MOVCO), which issued orders for unit movements; Turnaround Control (TURCO), which liaised with the Navy and engineer special brigades; and Embarkation Control (EMBARCO), which handled the location of units and the availability of space in the marshaling areas.[63]
The detailed shipping plan soon fell apart. Very little cargo was landed on the first day, putting Overlord behind schedule from the start. By midnight on 8 June, only 6,614 measurement tons (7,492 m3) of the planned 24,850 long tons (25,250 t) had been discharged, just 26.6 percent of the planned total. This rose to 28,100 long tons (28,600 t) of the planned 60,250 long tons (61,220 t), or 46 percent of the planned total by midnight on 10 June.[64] Emergency beach dumps were established by the engineer special brigades on 7 and 8 June, and the planned inland dumps were opened over the next few days. The dumps were under sniper fire, and on 10 June artillery ammunition was taken from its boxes and carried by hand to the batteries. A consolidated ammunition dump was established at Formigny on 12 June, and the First Army immediately took charge of it. The following day it assumed control of all dumps from the engineer special brigades.[65]
The standard cargo vessel, the Liberty ship, carried up to 11,000 long tons (11,000 t) of cargo.[66] It had five hatches; two had 50-long-ton (51 t) booms, and three with smaller 6-to-9-long-ton (6.1 to 9.1 t) booms. In their haste to unload the ships, the crews overloaded the booms, occasionally resulting in breakages. Cargo was not containerized, but transported in bulk in bags, boxes, crates and barrels. Cargo nets were spread out on the deck, and cargo piled on them. They were then lifted over the side on the ship's boom, and deposited in a waiting craft.[64]
One of the most useful unloading craft was the rhino ferry, a powered barge constructed from pontoons.[64] The other mainstay of the unloading effort was the 2.5-measurement-ton (2.8 m3) amphibious truck known as the DUKW (and pronounced "duck").[67] DUKWs were supposed to land on D-Day, but most were held offshore and arrived the following day.[68] The Omaha and Utah beaches remained under artillery and sniper fire for several days, and as a result the naval officer in charge would not permit ships to anchor close to shore on the first two days.[64] Some were as far as 12 to 15 miles (19 to 24 km) offshore. This increased turnaround time for the unloading craft, especially the DUKWs, which were slow in the water. In some cases, DUKWs ran out of fuel. When this happened, their pumps failed, and they sank.[68]
The unloading craft were frequently overloaded, increasing wear and tear, and occasionally causing them to capsize. Ideally, a DUKW reaching the shore would be met by a mobile crane that could transfer the load to a waiting truck that could take it to the dump, but there were shortages of both trucks and cranes in the early weeks. DUKWs therefore often had to take cargo to the dumps themselves. Insufficient personnel at the dumps for unloading further slowed turnaround, as did the practice of crews, whose priority was getting the ship unloaded, of unloading more than one category of supply at once, resulting in a trip to more than one dump. This was resolved only when the commodity loaded ships started to arrive on 15 June. Cargo was sometimes deposited on the beach at low tide, and if not swiftly cleared was likely to be swamped by the rising tide.[27][64]
The movement of troops into the marshaling areas had been pre-scheduled, and was already under way when D-Day was postponed for 24 hours. Troops continued to pour into the marshaling areas even though embarkation had halted, and they became overcrowded. This was exacerbated by the slow turnaround of shipping. The stowage and loading plans could not be adhered to when the designated ships failed to arrive as scheduled, and troops and cargo in the marshaling areas could not be sorted into ship loads. The situation became so bad that the flow of troops to the ports became insufficient to load the available ships, and on 12 June Stevens diverted idle shipping to the British so it was not wasted. Thereafter, troops and cargo moved to the ports and were loaded on the next available ship or landing craft. Loading plans were worked out on the spot. If the Germans had sunk a ship it would have been highly embarrassing to the War Department, as no proper embarkation records were kept for a time, and it would not have been possible to notify the next of kin. Some units became lost in the confusion. Major General Leonard T. Gerow, the commander of V Corps, personally returned to the UK to locate a missing unit that the Southern Base Section had claimed had been shipped, but which was found still in its assembly area.[69]
A major problem was ships arriving without manifests. These were supposed to have been shipped in advance by air or naval courier, but aircraft could not always get through, and the courier launches were often delayed. Navy and
On 10 June, the First Army ordered the selective discharging of LSTs and
The first deep water port captured by the Allies was Cherbourg, which belatedly fell on 26 June. An advance party surveyed the port the following day. The Cherbourg Maritime station, the main railway station, was badly damaged, as were the two main quays.[72][73]
Mulberry harbor
The decision to land in Normandy meant that ports would not be captured quickly; the Brittany ports were not expected to be in operation until D plus 60. Until then, the Allied armies would have to rely on the beaches, but the weather forecast was not promising. Meteorological records showed that 25 days of good weather could be expected in June, but normally there were only two spells of good weather for four days running per month between May and September. The tidal range in Normandy was about 12 feet (3.7 m); low tide uncovered about one-quarter of a mile (0.4 km) of beach, and water deep enough for coasters, which drew 12 to 18 feet (3.7 to 5.5 m) of water, was another one-half a mile (0.8 km) further out.[74]
The solution the COSSAC planners adopted was to build a prefabricated harbor. While ports like
The Mulberry harbor had three breakwaters. The outermost was made up of bombardons, 200-foot (61 m) long
Clark arrived off Omaha beach with his staff on 7 June, and the first three corncobs were scuttled under fire that day. The gooseberry was completed by 10 June, and by 17 June all 24 of the bombardons and 32 of the 51 phoenixes were in place, and the central LST pier was in use. On its first day of operation, a vehicle was unloaded over the pier every 1.16 minutes. Seabees (naval construction personnel) completed the first of the 2,450-foot (750 m) ponton causeways on 10 June, and the second five days later. The planned harbor installation at Utah Beach was much smaller, consisting of just two ponton causeways and a gooseberry with ten corncobs. The corncobs began arriving on 8 June, and came under fire from German artillery. Two were hit, and sank, but in approximately the intended position, albeit spaced too far apart. A third also sank slightly out of position when the tug towing it cut it loose to avoid the shelling. The remainder were scuttled in the correct locations, and the gooseberry was completed on 13 June. The first ponton causeway was opened that day, followed by the second three days later.[79]
By 18 June, 116,065 long tons (117,927 t) of supplies had been landed, 72.9 percent of the planned 159,530 long tons (162,090 t), although only 40,541 (66 percent) of the planned 61,367 vehicles had arrived. The First Army estimated that it had accumulated nine days' reserves of rations, and five days' of POL. On the other hand, 314,504 (88 percent) of the planned 358,139 American troops had reached the beaches, representing eleven of the intended twelve divisions. In addition, 14,500 casualties had been evacuated by sea and 1,300 by air, and 10,000 prisoners had been shipped back to the UK.[80]
On 19 June, the Normandy beaches were hit by a storm that lasted for four days. Although the worst June storm in forty years, it was not a severe one; waves reached 8+1⁄2 feet (2.6 m), with wind gusts up to 25 to 32 knots (46 to 59 km/h), and therefore never reached gale force.[81][82][83] Nonetheless, the damage was considerable. Nearly a hundred landing craft were lost, and only one of the twenty rhino ferries remained operational. Damaged craft were strewn over the beach, partially blocking every exit. The storm interrupted unloading for four days, resulting in the discharge of only 12,253 long tons (12,450 t) of stores instead of the planned 64,100 long tons (65,100 t), and 23,460 troops instead of the 77,081 scheduled.[84]
The American Western Naval Task Force commander,
This left the American forces dependent on some small ports and unloading over the beaches. By 30 June, 70,910 of the planned 109,921 vehicles (64.5 percent) had been landed, and 452,460 (78 percent) of the planned 578,971 troops. The deficit in personnel consisted mainly of service and support troops; only eleven divisions had arrived instead of twelve, but the two airborne divisions which were to have been withdrawn to the UK had been retained in France.[87]
Air supply
Air supply was handled by the Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF). The Combined Air Transport Operations Room (CATOR) was established as a special staff section of AEAF Headquarters in Stanmore, and it took bids for air transport on a priority basis. The first major use of air supply was in support of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions on 7 June, when 208 aircraft were despatched. Of these, 64 had to return to the UK without dropping their loads owing to bad weather. Of the 250 short tons (230 t) of supplies despatched 155 short tons (141 t) were dropped, of which 90 percent was recovered. In the following week, supplies were airdropped to the 101st Airborne Division on request. A misreading of ground panels by reconnaissance aircraft led to the delivery of 118 planeloads of cargo that were not required. Some supplies and equipment such as 105 mm howitzers were delivered by glider. Emergency airdrops were made to a field hospital on 8 June, and to an anti-aircraft unit isolated by the 19 June storm.[88]
Only one administrative airfield was available by the end of July, at Colleville-sur-Mer near Omaha Beach.[89] Nonetheless, cross-Channel air flights commenced on 10 June.[90] Air supply was heavily used during the week after the storm, with 1,400 long tons (1,400 t) of supplies, mostly ammunition, landed. By the end of July, 7,000 long tons (7,100 t) had been delivered by air.[88] In addition, 25,959 casualties were evacuated by air in June and July, compared to 39,118 by sea.[90]
Ordnance
The nature of the fighting in the Normandy bocage country created shortages of certain items. A heavy reliance on M1 mortars not only led to a shortage of ammunition, but a shortage of the mortars themselves as the Germans targeted them. On 3 July, the First Army ordered tank, armored field artillery, and tank destroyer battalions to turn in their mortars for reallocation to infantry units.[91] A shortage of bazookas was similarly addressed by taking them from service units and redistributing them to the infantry. The Germans made a special effort to eliminate men carrying the Browning automatic rifle (BAR), and 835 BARs were lost in June.[92] Since each infantry regiment had 81 BARS, that was enough to equip ten.[93] Another item with a higher than expected loss rate was the M7 grenade launcher. When this device was attached to the M1 Garand rifle, it disabled the rifle's semi-automatic function, so the rifle could not be fired normally when it was in place. Accordingly, they were quickly discarded after use in combat, resulting in a high loss rate. By mid-July, the First Army reported a shortage of 2,300 M7 grenade launchers.[92]
Although ammunition expenditure did not exceed expected usage, it did not arrive at the planned rate either, resulting in shortages. The First Army gave high priority to the unloading of ammunition. The hedgerow fighting soon generated shortages of small arms ammunition and hand grenades. These were alleviated in the short term by emergency shipments by air, and in the medium term by allotting ammunition the highest priority for shipment instead of POL. On 15 June the First Army imposed restrictions on artillery ammunition, limiting the number of rounds per gun per day that could be fired. In part this was because deliveries consistently fell short of targets, but the main problem that the First Army sought to address was excessive and unreported stocks held by artillery units, which reduced the reserves held at Army level. The 19 June storm prompted emergency action. The First Army limited expenditure to a third of a unit of fire per day, arranged for 500 long tons (510 t) per day to be delivered by air for three days, ordered coasters carrying ammunition to be beached, and called forward five Liberty ships in UK waters that had been prestowed with ammunition.[94]
A unit of fire was a somewhat arbitrary measurement for accounting purposes, and was different for each type of ammunition.[95] It was 133 rounds for the 105 mm howitzer, 75 rounds for the 155 mm howitzer, 50 rounds for the 155 mm gun, and 50 rounds for the 8 inch howitzer.[96] The divisions responded to the restrictions on the use of field artillery by employing tank destroyers and anti-aircraft guns as field artillery, as their ammunition was not rationed. On 2 July, the First Army imposed a new set of restrictions: expenditure was not to exceed one unit of fire of the first day of an attack, half a unit of fire on the second and subsequent days of an attack, and a third of a unit of fire on other days. Consumption in excess of the limits had to be reported to the First Army, with an appropriate justification. In practice, ammunition usage continued to be heavy, exacerbated by wasteful practices like unobserved firing and firing for morale effect by inexperienced units. By 16 July, the First Army stocks of 105 mm ammunition were down to 3.5 units of fire, and 81 mm mortar ammunition was at a critically low 0.3 units of fire. Ammunition was being unloaded at a rate of 500 long tons (510 t) per day, which was insufficient, resulting in the First Army stocks being depleted at a rate of 0.2 units of fire per day. The First Army once again imposed strict rationing on 16 July, but expenditure was well below the limits owing to most of the tubes going silent as they moved into new gun positions for Operation Cobra, the attempt to break out from Normandy.[94]
The limitations of the
Subsistence
American soldiers were also skeptical of the claim that they were the best-fed soldiers of all time. The US Army's standard garrison ration was called the A-ration. The B-ration was the A-ration without its perishable components. The C-ration consisted of six 12-US-fluid-ounce (350 ml) cans – three of which contained meat combinations (meat and vegetable hash, meat and beans, or meat and vegetable stew), and the other three biscuits – hard candy, cigarettes, and a beverage in the form of instant coffee, lemon powder or cocoa.[99]
The better-packaged
The troops landing on D-Day each carried one D-ration and one K-ration; another three rations per man in the form of C- and K-rations were carried with their units. For the first few days all rations landed were C- or K-rations. During the four weeks of Overlord, 60,000,000 rations were delivered to Normandy in vessels pre-stowed in three to eight 500-long-ton (510 t) blocks at the New York Port of Embarkation. This facilitated the shift to 10-in-1 packs over the less popular C- and K-rations; 77 percent of rations in the first four weeks were in the form of 10-in-1s. By 1 July, a static bakery was in operation at Cherbourg, and there were also seven mobile bakeries, permitting the issue of freshly baked white bread to commence. By mid-July, 70 percent of the troops were eating B-rations.[99]
Petrol, oil and lubricants
Initially fuel arrived packaged in 5-US-gallon (20 L)
The standard operating procedure (SOP) with respect to fuel containers was that empties should be returned and swapped for full ones, but the engineer special brigades had no refilling facilities, and did not wish to have the beach supply dumps cluttered with empties, so the First Army issued an order that empties not be returned. Instead, they went to divisional or corps collection points. The relaxation of the full-for-empty SOP was to have undesirable effects later on in the campaign. Bulk POL started to arrive at Isigny on 22 June, and at
The POL supply situation was satisfactory throughout June and July, mainly because the rate of advance was much slower than anticipated, resulting in shorter supply lines and lower fuel consumption. The First Army's daily MT80 consumption in July was around 9,500 US barrels (1,130,000 L). Steady progress was made on construction of the Minor System pipeline, which ran from Port-en-Bessin and Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes to Saint Lo, and the tank farm at Mont Cauvin received its first bulk MT80 on 25 June. The delay in the capture of Cherbourg led to the extension of the Minor System beyond what had originally been planned, and eventually 70 miles (110 km) of pipeline were laid instead of the planned 27 miles (43 km). The pipeline carried both MT80 and avgas (100 octane aviation gasoline) to Saint-Lô, and later to Carentan. Intended to deliver 6,000 US barrels (720,000 L) per day, it was delivering twice that by the end of July. Storage was similarly greater than planned, 142,000 US barrels (16,900,000 L) instead of the planned 54,000 US barrels (6,400,000 L).[106] Decanting of bulk fuel into jerricans began on 26 June, and by July 600,000 US gallons (2,300,000 L; 500,000 imp gal) were being decanted each day.[107]
By the time Operation Cobra was launched on 25 July, Overlord was running nearly forty days behind schedule, and no part of the planned Major System pipeline was in operation. As it was expected to have received 85,000 long tons (86,000 t) of POL by then, receipts lagged considerably. Nonetheless, stocks were roughly what had been intended, because consumption had been much lower. In June, the First Army consumed around 3,700,000 US gallons (14,000,000 L), an average of about 148,000 US gallons (560,000 L) per day, or 55 long tons (56 t) per division slice (this being the number of soldiers divided by the number of divisions – about 35,000 in the ETO). This rose to 11,500,000 US gallons (44,000,000 L), an average of about 372,000 US gallons (1,410,000 L) per day, or 75 long tons (76 t) per division slice in July, but still remained far below the expected figure of 121 long tons (123 t) per division slice.[108]
Outcome
The biggest defect in the Overlord logistical plan was the failure to anticipate the nature of the fighting in the bocage country. This resulted in larger than anticipated expenditure and shortages of certain items, particularly artillery and mortar ammunition, and calls for the introduction of new model tanks and the upgrading of existing ones. The plan called not just for the maintenance of the divisions ashore, which required about 800 long tons (810 t) per division slice daily, but also for building up 21 days' reserves of most classes of supplies by D plus 41, which required the landing of half as much again. When supplies for the air forces, civil affairs and overheads such as materials for the repair of roads, rehabilitation of ports and construction of pipelines were taken into account, some 26,500 long tons (26,900 t) had to be landed each day.[109]
When the Normandy campaign officially ended on 24 July,[110] the lodgment area covered about 1,570 square miles (4,100 km2), about a tenth of what was anticipated, but troops continued to arrive at a rate only slightly less than scheduled.[111] The delay in the capture of Cherbourg meant that the build up of stockpiles had proceeded slower than expected, only about 62 percent of the intended volume of supplies being landed. This was offset by the congestion of the lodgment area.[112] Every field seemed to be taken over by a dump or depot or service or combat unit. Covered storage was unavailable except at Cherbourg and Montebourg, so supplies were stacked in open fields, where they were exposed to the elements. The congestion was of particular concern for the storage of ammunition, which had to be dispersed; an explosion and fire at the large ammunition depot in Formigny destroyed 2,000 long tons (2,000 t) of the 50,000 long tons (51,000 t) of ammunition stored there. Plans to move supplies by rail were disrupted by the late capture of Cherbourg, and the first train did not depart from there until 11 July. In the meantime, supplies were moved by road, and some intersections saw a thousand vehicles passing through each hour. This heavy vehicle traffic soon took its toll of the road network.[111]
Although the supply system was functioning satisfactorily on the eve of the launch of Operation Cobra on 25 July, the outlook was uncertain. It was apparent that the Brittany ports would not be taken on schedule.
See also
Notes
- ^ Waddell 1994, p. 1.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 13–16.
- ^ Pogue 1954, p. 99.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 32–33.
- ^ Osmanski 1949a, p. 32.
- ^ a b Waddell 1994, p. 4.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 33–37.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 42–43.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 81–83.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 83–86.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 7, 162, 169.
- ^ Waddell 1994, p. 6.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 86–87.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 155–156.
- ^ a b Ruppenthal 1953, p. 89.
- ^ a b Ruppenthal 1953, p. 104.
- ^ Albrecht 1950, p. 119.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 120–121.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 132.
- ^ Millett 1954, p. 1.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 132–137.
- ^ a b c Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 146–149.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 235.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 139–141.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 237–238.
- ^ a b Ruppenthal 1953, p. 309.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 149–152.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 231–233.
- ^ a b Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 235–238.
- ^ Osmanski 1949b, p. 43.
- ^ Osmanski 1950, pp. 58–59.
- ^ Waddell 1994, pp. 7–9.
- ^ Harrison 1951, p. 115.
- ^ Hogan 2000, p. 26.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 191.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 175–177.
- ^ Waddell 1994, p. 13.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 195–202.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 206.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 457.
- ^ Pogue 1954, pp. 180–181.
- ^ Waddell 1994, p. 15.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 207–208.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 211–213.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 216–218.
- ^ Waddell 1994, p. 29.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 309–310.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 189.
- ^ Waddell 1994, pp. 25, 47–48.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 326–327.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 359–360.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 284–285.
- ^ Waddell 1994, p. 53.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 344.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 379–380.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 383.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 384–389.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 380–381.
- ^ a b Goodfriend 1946, p. 33.
- ^ Lee 1966, pp. 637–638.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 363–364.
- ^ Osmanski 1949b, p. 41.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Waddell 1994, pp. 53–58.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 396.
- ^ Dick 2016, p. 280.
- ^ Horton, Alex (22 July 2018). "Branson: How the World War II 'Duck' evolved into a tourist staple". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ a b Ruppenthal 1953, p. 394.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 422–424.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 392–393.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 392.
- ^ Crist 1945, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Beck et al. 1985, pp. 352–353.
- ^ a b Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 269–275.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 277–278.
- ^ a b Osmanski 1949b, p. 46.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 281.
- ^ Hartcup 2011, p. 76.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 402–404.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 404–406.
- ^ Morison 1957, pp. 176–177.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 413.
- ^ Hartcup 2011, p. 151.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 406–410.
- ^ Morison 1957, pp. 178–179.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 413–415.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 418–422.
- ^ a b Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 572–573.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, p. 575.
- ^ a b Cosmas & Cowdrey 1992, pp. 256–257.
- ^ Waddell 1994, pp. 73–75.
- ^ a b c d Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 442–443.
- ^ , Thomson & Mayo 1960, p. 53.
- ^ a b Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 445–448.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 306–307.
- ^ Balmer et al. 1945, p. 13.
- ^ a b Mayo 1968, p. 331.
- ^ a b Bradley 1951, pp. 322–323.
- ^ a b c Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 439–441.
- ^ Risch 1953, pp. 184–188.
- ^ Coates & Hoff 1955, p. 133.
- ^ Ross & Romanus 1965, pp. 162–163.
- ^ Ross & Romanus 1965, p. 342.
- ^ Ross & Romanus 1965, p. 648.
- ^ Waddell 1994, pp. 61–62.
- ^ a b Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 443–445.
- ^ Waddell 1994, pp. 62–63.
- ^ Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 501–502.
- ^ Dick 2016, pp. 273–275.
- ^ "World War II – European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Campaigns". U.S. Army Center of Military History. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ a b Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 430–433.
- ^ Dick 2016, p. 279.
- ^ a b Ruppenthal 1953, pp. 468–470.
- ^ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 194.
- ^ Ancell & Miller 1996, pp. 196–197.
References
- Albrecht, Frank M. (March–April 1950). "Engineer Aspects of Operation Bolero". The Military Engineer. 42 (286): 116–120. JSTOR 44561081.
- Ancell, R. Manning; Miller, Christine (1996). The Biographical Dictionary of World War II Generals and Flag Officers: The US Armed Forces. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. OCLC 231681728.
- Balmer, J. D.; Compton, L. J.; Daley, J. P.; Williams, U. P. (1945). Study of Ammunition Supply for Field Artillery (PDF) (Report). Bad Neuenahr, Germany: United States Army. OCLC 22609829. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- Beck, Alfred M.; Bortz, Abe; Lynch, Charles W.; Mayo, Lida; Weld, Ralph F. (1985). The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany (PDF). United States Army in World War II – The Technical Services. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. OCLC 40485571. Archived from the original(PDF) on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
- OCLC 981308947.
- Coates, John Boyd; OCLC 905609204.
- Cosmas, Graham A.; Cowdrey, Albert E. (1992). The Medical Department: Medical Service in the European Theater of Operations (PDF). United States Army In World War II – The Technical Services. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. OCLC 489724482.
- Crist, Joseph A (1945). Cherbourg Port Reconstruction (PDF). Headquarters, Communications Zone, Office of the Chief Engineer. APO 887. OCLC 44157105. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- Dick, C. J. (2016). From Victory to Stalemate – Decisive and Indecisive Military Operations, Volume 1. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. OCLC 1023039366.
- Goodfriend, Arthur (May 1946). "Battle in the Snow". Infantry Journal. 58 (5): 28–34. ISSN 0019-9540. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- Harrison, Gordon A. (1951). Cross Channel Attack (PDF). United States Army in World War II – The European Theater of Operations. Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army. OCLC 78600975.
- Hartcup, Guy (2011) [1977]. Code Name Mulberry: The Planning, Building and Operation of the Normandy Harbours. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen and Sword. OCLC 972828078.
- Hogan, David W. Jr. (2000). A Command Post at War: First Army Headquarters in Europe 1943–1945 (PDF). Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. OCLC 43662157.
- Lee, Ulysses (1966). The Employment of Negro Troops (PDF). Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army.
- Mayo, Lida (1968). The Ordnance Department: On Beachhead and Battlefront (PDF). United States Army in World War II – The Technical Services. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. OCLC 89709. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- Millett, J. D. (1954). The Organisation and Role of the Army Service Forces (PDF). United States Army in World War II – The Army Service Forces. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. OCLC 563032050.
- OCLC 671874345.
- Osmanski, F. A. (November 1949). "Logistical Planning of Operation Overlord" (PDF). Military Review. 29 (8): 31–40. ISSN 0026-4148. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- Osmanski, F. A. (December 1949). "Logistical Planning of Operation Overlord" (PDF). Military Review. 29 (9): 40–48. ISSN 0026-4148. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- Osmanski, F. A. (January 1950). "Logistical Planning of Operation Overlord" (PDF). Military Review. 29 (10): 50–62. ISSN 0026-4148. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- OCLC 1247005.
- Risch (1953). The Quartermaster Corps: Organization, Supply, and Services, Volume I (PDF). United States Army in World War II – The Technical Services. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. OCLC 965381857.
- Ross, William F.; Romanus, Charles F. (1965). The Quartermaster Corps: Operations in the War Against Germany (PDF). United States Army in World War II – The Technical Services. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. OCLC 56044302.
- Ruppenthal, Roland G. (1953). Logistical Support of the Armies (PDF). United States Army in World War II – The European Theater of Operations. Vol. I, May 1941 – September 1944. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. OCLC 640653201.
- Thomson, Harry C.; Mayo, Lida (1960). The Ordnance Department: Procurement and Supply (PDF). United States Army in World War II – The Technical Services. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. OCLC 89462.
- Waddell, Steve R. (1994). United States Army Logistics: The Normandy Campaign. Contributions in Military Studies, No. 155. Westport, Connecticut; London: Greenwood Press. OCLC 467960939.