Services of Supply, American Expeditionary Forces

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For the World War II organizations, see United States Army Services of Supply.

Services of Supply
American Expeditionary Forces
S. O. S. Distinctive Cloth Insignia
Active1917 – 1919
DisbandedAugust 31, 1919
Country United States
BranchArmy
RoleCombat service support
HeadquartersTours, France
Nickname(s)S. O. S.
Engagements
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Major General Francis J. Kernan
Major General James G. Harbord

The Services of Supply (S. O. S.) was the support chain of the American Expeditionary Forces in France, England, Italy and the Netherlands during World War I. It was disbanded on August 31, 1919, in France.

Organization

Major General James Harbord (fourth from the right), commander of the SOS, and members of his staff, with a delegation led by Secretary of War Newton D. Baker (center) at the SOS headquarters at Tours, France, October 1918.

The Services of Supply (SOS) of the

American Forces in Germany[1]
: 57 

On September 7, 1917, General John J. Pershing, the AEF's commander, directed that a ninety-day reserve of all classes of supplies be maintained by monthly shipments to reduce the impact of possible German submarine attacks. The goal was to have reserves stockpiled as follows in the established sections (see below):[1]: 39 

  • Forty-five days near ports in the base sections.
  • Thirty days in the Intermediate Section.
  • Fifteen days in the Advance Section.

Commanders

Commanders of the S. O. S. were:[1]: 27 

  • Colonel David S. Stanley (interim), July 5–24, 1917
  • Brigadier General (later Major General) Richard M. Blatchford, July 25 – November 1, 1917
  • Brigadier General
    Mason M. Patrick
    (interim), November 2–27, 1917
  • Major General Francis J. Kernan, November 28, 1917 – July 28, 1918
  • Major General James G. Harbord, July 29, 1918 – May 26, 1919
  • Brigadier General William D. Connor, May 27 – August 31, 1919

Sections

Sections of the S. O. S. in France

Sections were area commands primarily located in France, but also in Italy, England, and Belgium.

Advance Section

Initially commanded by

Cote d'Or, Vosges, Haute-Saône, and Doubs and the Territoire de Belfort
.

Intermediate Section

The Intermediate Section, headquartered at Nevers, France; its territory covered all of France not included in the Advance Section or in any of the base sections.[1]: 39  This section stored and classified supplies.[3] Among the commanders were Colonel (later Brigadier General) Arthur Johnson, Brigadier General Charles Gerhardt, and Major General William H. Hay.[1]: 52 

Base Section Number 1

Base Section Number 1 was established on August 13, 1917, with headquarters in

American Forces in France. Troops and cargo moved through the ports in this section. Base Section Number 1 used St-Nazaire, Nantes, and Les Sables-d'Olonne as its ports, which handled troops and cargo. Approximately 200,000 soldiers entered France through the two ports and cargo handling reached 350,000 tons a month in October 1918. Its activities included training for engineer officers, artillery, and aerial observation. It had hospitals able to handle 35,000 sick and wounded. Among the commanders were Colonel (later Major General) Louis H. Bash, Brigadier General Charles A. Doyen (U.S. Marine Corps), Brigadier General Robert D. Walsh, Colonel (later Major General) Ulysses G. McAlexander, Brigadier General Samuel D. Rockenbach, and Colonel (later Brigadier General) Casper H. Conrad Jr.[1]
: 38, 41, 55, 56, 392 

Base Section Number 2

Night shift ready for work, Bassens Docks, Bordeaux, April 1918.

Base Section Number 2 was established on August 13, 1917. This base section, headquartered at

Charente-Inferieure, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne, and Charente. Section 2 processed more than 50,000 incoming personnel and 25% of all cargo that entered France for the American Expeditionary Forces. Base Section Number 2 was discontinued on September 30, 1919; its personnel and units were assigned to American Forces in France. Its base port was at Bordeaux. Commanders included Brigadier General Charles H. Cole, Brigadier General William S. Scott, Brigadier General William D. Connor, Brigadier General Robert D. Walsh, and Major General Charles D. Rhodes.[1]
: 38, 41, 58, 59, 392 

Base Section Number 3

Base Section Number 3 was established on November 27, 1917, with headquarters in

John Biddle (three times), and Brigadier General Charles B. Wheeler[1]
: 48, 61–63 

Base Section Number 4

Base Section Number 4 was established as Base Section Number 3 on August 13, 1917, in

Seine-Inferieure with a subordinate element in England.[1]: 41  It was re-designated as Base Section Number 4 on November 27, 1917, when the element in England was detached and designated as Base Section Number 3. The section's port was Le Havre; that port was the first to receive U.S. troops. Between establishment and the Armistice, 700,000 tons of materiel were received and shipped onward. Commanders included Brigadier General William Lassiter, Brigadier General Richard Coulter Jr., and Brigadier General John B. Bennett[1]: 38, 40, 64–65  Base Section Number 4 was discontinued on April 20, 1919; its personnel and units were assigned to the Intermediate Section.[1]
: 48 

Base Section Number 5

Base Section Number 5 was established on November 27, 1917, with headquarters in

Eli A. Helmick, and Colonel (later Brigadier General) Asa L. Singleton.[1]
: 40–41, 67–68, 393 

Base Section Number 6

Base Section Number 6 was established on June 28, 1918, with headquarters in

Herault, and Gard. The section's two ports were at Marseille and Toulon. The ports primarily processed freight and could handle 3000 tons daily. Base Section Number 6 was discontinued on June 15, 1919; its personnel and units were assigned to the Intermediate Section.The section's only two commanders were Colonels Melvin W. Rowell and George McDougall Weeks.[1]
: 44, 48, 70 

Base Section Number 7

Base Section Number 7 was established on June 28, 1918, with headquarters in

Rochefort-sur-Mer, and Marans. It received and forwarded almost 1,500,000 tons of cargo during 1917 and 1918.[1]: 44, 73  Base Section Number 7 was discontinued on April 25, 1919; its personnel and units were assigned to Base Section Number 2. Commanders included Brigadier General Charles Gerhardt[1]
: 48, 72 

Base Section Number 8

Base Section Number 8 was established on November 4, 1918, with headquarters and only port in

Charles G. Treat was its only commander.[1]
: 48, 75 

Base Section Number 9

Base Section Number 9 was established on April 8, 1919, with headquarters and sole port in

American Forces in Germany. Its two commanders were Colonels John B. Sewell and William Kelly.[1]
: 48, 76–77 

Independent districts

The District of

Tours, although lying within the Intermediate Section, were exempted from the control of that section and directly administered by Headquarters, Services of Supply.[1]
: 31 

Subordinate elements

Army Service Corps

On August 22, 1918, the Army Service Corps was established to operate units in the Services of Supply. Eventually, more than 400 organizations would fall under the control of the Army Service Corps, including:[1]: 44–45 

  • Headquarters Battalion, S. O. S.
  • Headquarters Detachment, Renting, Requisition, and Claims (RR&C) Service, and RR&C companies
  • Cement mills companies
  • Headquarters Detachment, Central Prisoners of War Enclosure and prisoners of war escort companies
    • 236th Prisoner of War Escort Company
  • Administrative labor companies
  • The Labor Bureau
  • The War Risk Section
  • Graves registration units
  • Fire trucks and hose companies

Transportation Corps

Units

No one source document seems to list all the units of the Services of Supply.[5] This list is incomplete.

  • 332nd Butchery Company
  • 363rd Butchery Company
  • 301st Stevedore Regiment
  • 302nd Stevedore Regiment
  • 303rd Stevedore Regiment
  • 701st Stevedore Battalion
  • 702nd Stevedore Battalion
  • Engineer Service Battalions, numbered from 505th to 550th, inclusive.
  • Labor Battalions, numbered from 304th to 348th, inclusive (excluding the 316th, 327th and 328th) and the 357th.
  • Labor Companies, numbered from 301st to 324th, inclusive.
  • Pioneer Infantry Battalions numbered 80lth to 809th, as well as the 811th and 813th to 816th, inclusive.

Also there were 207 US Army labor battalions in France during the war, but nothing is known of their designations.

Deployment of stevedore units

  • Intermediate Section: One company
  • Base Section Number 1: Six battalions
  • Base Section Number 2: Five battalions
  • Base Section Number 3: One detachment
  • Base Section Number 4: One company
  • Base Section Number 5: Two battalions
  • Base Section Number 6: One battalion (less two companies)
  • Base Section Number 7: Elements of two battalions

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War, American Expeditionary Forces: General Headquarters Armies, Army Corps Services of Supply Separate Forces, Volume I (PDF). Center of Military History, United States Army. 1937. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  2. ISBN 978-1580801065
    . Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c MacDonald, Charles B. (1969). "World War I: The U. S. Army Overseas". American Military History. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army. p. 383. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  4. ^ Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. 1988. p. 49 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Scott, Emmett (1919). The American Negro in the Great War. Chapter XXII. Retrieved February 11, 2019.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Further reading

  • Fischer, James C. “Not Fallen, But Flooded: The War Department Supply Bureaus in 1917.” Ph.D. diss., Columbus: The Ohio State University, 2003.
  • Goedeken, Edward A. "A Banker at War: The World War I Experiences of Charles Gates Dawes." Illinois Historical Journal 78.3 (1985): 195–206.
  • Millett, John D. "The Direction of Supply Activities in the War Department; An Administrative Survey, I." American Political Science Review 38.2 (1944): 249–265. online
  • Triplet, William S. (2000).
    OCLC 43707198
    .

External links

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