Foreword
This is the third and final volume of the Chemical Warfare Service subseries of The Technical Services in the series UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II. Concluding the chemical warfare story that was begun in Organizing for War and was continued in From Laboratory to Field, Chemicals in Combat records in meaningful detail the ultimate and most rigorous test of all things military: performance in battle.
Entry of the United States into World War II found the nation’s Armed Forces, like those of its principal allies and enemies, mindful of the possibility of gas warfare. The gas attacks of World War I did not recur, but the Chemical Warfare Service was in the position of being ready for a type of war that did not happen. Thus the CWS, the only technical service having combat troops armed with weapons it had specifically provided for itself, was forced to show its flexibility. The Service sought to fulfill its supporting role with smoke, flame, and incendiaries; with 4.2-inch mortars and flame throwers; and, having no gas to contend with, its decontamination companies provided front-line troops with the means for simple physical cleanliness. Chemicals in Combat recounts the administrative, logistical, and tactical problems arising from the Service’s dual responsibility, and highlights the flexibility and ingenuity demanded of chemical troops in World War II. These are, of course, qualities that military men have and will always find essential.
Hal C. Pattison
Brigadier General, USA
Chief of Military History
Washington, D.C.
15 March 1965
The Authors
Dr. Brooks E. Kleber received a Ph.B. degree from Dickinson College and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history from the University of Pennsylvania. From 1950 to 1963 he served as historian with the U.S. Army Chemical Corps Historical Office. In January 1963 Dr. Kleber was appointed Chief Historian, United States Continental Army Command.
Dr. Dale Birdsell holds an A.B. degree from Reed College, an M.A. from Brown University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He served as historian with the U.S. Army Chemical Corps Historical Office from 1952 to 1963 and is now Chief, Historical Division, U.S. Army Munitions Command.