Foreword
Lt Gen. Edmund B. Gregory, The Quartermaster General During World War II
This volume is the first in a series which will record the experiences of the Quartermaster Corps in World War II. It should serve to impress students of military affairs, particularly those in staff and command positions, with the vastness and complexity of the activity involved in equipping and maintaining troops in the field. It tells a story of rapid expansion to meet the needs of a growing Army, of organizational readjustment in the midst of operations, of supply programs scrapped or modified in the face of unexpected demands, of improvisation and production under pressure when plans were inadequate or lacking. It clearly demonstrates the necessity in time of peace for a flexible organization, vision and care in planning, and a program of continuous military research and development to meet the sudden impact of war.
Orlando Ward
Maj. Gen., U.S.A.
Chief of Military History
Washington, D.C.
15 March 1952
Note on the History of the Quartermaster Corps
This is the first volume of a group of four narrating the operation of the Quartermaster Corps in World War II. Organization, Supply, and Services, Volume I, and its companion volume of the same title, Volume II, analyze activities in the zone of interior. Two other volumes, in preparation, describe Quartermaster operations in the war against Germany and the war against Japan.
Primarily this volume relates the story of Quartermaster supply during World War II, a phase of the broader subject of military supply which has been much neglected in the past in favor of the more colorful and dramatic combat history. As the main function of the Corps, supply operations included the development of Quartermaster items, the estimation of requirements, the procurement of clothing, equipment, subsistence, and general supplies, and their storage and distribution. These aspects of the supply process are analyzed in this volume and set against the background of organizational changes in the Office of The Quartermaster General and in the field.
The author, Dr. Erna Risch, received her Ph. D. degree from the University of Chicago. After extensive teaching experience, she joined the staff of the Historical Section, Office of The Quartermaster General, in 1943. She has prepared a number of historical studies that have been published by the Quartermaster Corps, in addition to writing the present volume.