The Sinews of War: Army Logistics 1775-1953
Washington DC: United States Army, Office of the Chief of Military History, 1970. Reprint. Hardcover. xxiii, [1], 789, [3] pages. Occasional footnotes. Charts, Table. Maps. Illustrations. Appendix: Logistics Management Information. Bibliography of Sources Consulted. Glossary. Index. Cover has minor wear and soiling. This is one of the Army Historical Series. During World War II, James A Huston served as an operations officer in the 3rd Battalion, 134th Infantry, a unit that helped to liberate or capture dozens of cities across France, Belgium, and Germany. From July 1944 through April 1945, the regiment captured 8,974 prisoners of war and covered over 1,500 combat miles, but lost 10,046 men in the process. After teaching history at Purdue University for 26 years — with interim years teaching at the National War College, Naval War College — he came to the University of Lynchburg, where he had a profound impact on the academic life of the institution. Dr. Huston served as dean of the College and professor of history and international relations from 1972 to 1984, when he retired. Military logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement, supply, and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with: Design, development, acquisition, storage, distribution, maintenance, evacuation, and disposition of materiel. Transport of personnel. Acquisition or construction, maintenance, operation and disposition of facilities. Acquisition or furnishing of services. Medical and health service support. The British were seriously handicapped in the American War of Independence by the need to ship all supplies across the Atlantic, since the Americans prevented most local purchases. The British found a solution after the war by creating the infrastructure and the experience needed to manage an empire. London reorganized the management of the supply of military food and transport that was completed in 1793–94 when the naval Victualing and Transport Boards undertook those responsibilities. It built upon experience learned from the supply of the very-long-distance Falklands garrison (1767–72) to systematize needed shipments to distant places such as Australia, Nova Scotia, and Sierra Leone. This new infrastructure allowed Britain to launch large expeditions to the Continent during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and to develop a global network of garrisons in the colonies. In the American Civil War (1861–65), both armies used railways extensively, for transport of personnel, supplies, horses and mules, and heavy field pieces. Both tried to disrupt the enemy's logistics by destroying trackage and bridges.[38] Military railways were built specifically for supporting armies in the field. The mechanization of warfare, starting at the tail end of World War I, added increasing ammo, fuel, and maintenance needs of tanks and other combat vehicles to the burden on military logistics. The growing needs of more powerful and numerous military ships and aircraft increased this burden even further. On the other hand, mechanization also brought trucks to logistics; though they generally require better roads and bridges, trucks are much faster and far more efficient than fodder-bound horse-drawn transport. Military logistics played a significant role in many World War II operations, especially ones far from industrial centers, from the Finnish Lapland to the Burma Campaign, limiting the size and movement of any military forces. In the North African Campaign, with a lack of rail, few roads, and hot-dry climate, attacks and advances were timed as much by logistics as enemy actions. Breaking the logistics supply line became a major target for airpower; a single fighter aircraft could attack dozens of supply vehicles at a time by strafing down a road, many miles behind the front line. Air superiority became critical for almost any major offensive in good weather. Allied air forces took out German-controlled bridges and rail infrastructure throughout northern France to help ensure the success of the Normandy landings, but after the breakout from Normandy, this now limited the Allies' own logistics. In response, the Red Ball Express was organized—a massive truck convoy system to supply the advance towards Germany. Logistics was a major challenge for the American war effort, since wartime material had to be supplied across either the Atlantic or the even wider Pacific Ocean. Germany undertook an aggressive U-boat campaign against American logistics on the Atlantic, but the Japanese neglected to attack shipping in the Pacific, using their submarines to fight alongside the surface Navy in large-scale battles. Condition: Very good.
Keywords: Army Logistics, Military Logistics, American Revolution, War Procurement, Saratoga Campaign, Seminole War, Mexican War, Quartermaster, Observation Balloon, Military Railroads, Services of Supply, Spanish-American War, Industrial Mobilization, Lend-Le
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