Chapter 10: Living in Britain
The first sizable contingent of U.S. troops (4,058 men of the 34th Division) reached Northern Ireland on 26 January 1942, and by D-day there were more than one and one-half million Americans in the United Kingdom. The earliest units arrived ready for combat in a theater where a German invasion was still a lively possibility, but their own mounting numbers and favorable events in other theaters during 1942 made such an event less and less likely. The realization that major combat in the theater would come only on Allied initiative brought some slackening of tension, and after the TORCH operation —one of the best-kept secrets of the war —had been unveiled, even amateur strategists could foresee that an assault on the Continent would have to be postponed. Thus during 1942–43 ground and service troops in the British Isles found themselves in a very quiet theater, almost like an extension of the zone of interior. But the blackout, occasional enemy air raids, and the operations and combat losses of the Army Air Forces were reminders that the enemy was within striking distance.
Training—much of it basic training for incompletely trained troops—was a major activity in the United Kingdom, especially among service units. As early as May 1942 General Lee had reluctantly accepted partially trained units because of the world-wide shortage of service troops. The shortage continued through 1943, and very few of the service units arriving in the ETO were adequately trained. Time had to be found for close-order drill and weapons familiarization, although the men were working long hours on the docks or in the depots. Ground combat troops likewise came into the theater incompletely trained and went through field training exercises of mounting complexity. Life in Britain was neither soft nor idle, but activities were considerably different from those in the rear areas of an active theater of war.1
Foreign uniforms and accents were no novelties in the United Kingdom. Troops from most of the dominions and colonies of the Empire had been present almost since the war began. Each successive disaster on the Continent had brought in a wave of what were, in reality, refugees in uniform, so that Poles, Free French, Norwegians, and Netherlanders were seen everywhere. Americans were something else again, emphatically not refugees or colonials, but guests who felt very much at home, persistent in the delusion that they spoke the language of the country, and with money in their pockets. The high
pay scale and spendthrift habits of U.S. personnel were sources of irritation to their British hosts. By giving large tips and paying exorbitant prices, U.S. servicemen received considerably more than their share of personal services and of the few articles that were not rationed. On the other hand, their spending was a valuable source of dollars to the hard-pressed British Treasury. Troubled by the very clear relationship between reckless spending and troop disciplinary problems, SOS headquarters launched an intensive campaign to encourage increased family and other allotments and purchases of war bonds. By September 1943 SOS troops had been persuaded to save more than half their pay, and during the following spring a similar campaign among First Army troops was even more successful. By May 1944 American troops were sending home 73 percent of their pay, and spending much of the balance in U.S. post exchanges, so that the inflationary impact upon the British economy was reduced.2
Inevitably several hundred thousand American troops fresh from training camps in the zone of interior, where they had been sheltered from the modest beginnings of U.S. civilian rationing, made a severe impact on the war economy of Great Britain in its fourth year of conflict. The “Yanks”—including many southerners who never became reconciled to that nickname—were coming into an English-speaking area where they expected to find many of the comforts and conveniences of their accustomed civilian environment. Instead they found no ice cream, no Coca Cola, and very little beer; candy, razor blades, soap, writing paper, and even toilet paper were rationed. The widespread drafting of women was both a shocking fact and an inconvenience—in many towns it was hard to find anyone to press trousers, iron shirts, tend a bar, or even sell postcards. Trains were unheated and taxis almost nonexistent. The newcomers were admitted to the NAAFI store, the British soldier’s PX, but found its contents unfamiliar, meager, and unsatisfying. Naturally, the troops and their commanders demanded that the Quartermaster Service supply all their wants. Some of these demands could be met by imports from the United States, but others could not be met at all in wartime. Ultimately, rationed local resources produced far more than the OCQM had originally expected, partly because U.S. requirements were different and not entirely in competition with the demands of British troops.
Subsistence
The first American troops to land in Northern Ireland found that the ninety-day supply of rations which should have accompanied them had not arrived. No American rations were available in the theater, and it took several months to build up a depot system to the point where reliable distribution of rations was possible. Meanwhile the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) supplied American troops with the regular British Army ration, which quickly became unpopular. Reflecting British tastes and the available resources of the United Kingdom, its basic ingredients were dark
whole-wheat bread, potatoes, tea, mutton, and smoked fish. Moreover it was skimpy, weighing three and one-fourth pounds in contrast to the five and one-half pounds of the standard American ration. Actually, the British “regular” (Home Forces) ration was similar in concept and purpose to the prewar garrison ration of the U.S. Army, which had also been augmented by a monetary allowance. A British unit received two and a half pence (four cents) per man per day while in garrison, and its unit mess funds also benefited by receipts from unit gardens, and from moneymaking schemes such as sale of surplus fats and garbage. Most of these benefits were contrary to current U.S. Army regulations, and initially none of them were available to U.S. units in Great Britain.3
Reverse lend-lease enabled American units to become customers of the Navy Army Air Force Institute where British units spent a good deal of their available cash in purchases of fruits, vegetables, and other foods, supplied practically at cost. NAAFI has been compared to the U.S. Army Exchange Service (AES), but was actually a larger, more versatile, and more autonomous organization—a military version of the powerful cooperative chains familiar in British civilian life. NAAFI was equipped to supply many foods preferred by Americans; in cooperation with the RASC and the OCQM, the British modified their basic ration, reducing the quantities of bread, potatoes, mutton, and tea, and increasing the amount of beef, vegetables, fruit, and coffee.4 With these changes, the so-called British-American ration was evolved, weighing four and a half pounds and containing 4,100 calories. Even this augmentation did not provide a fully adequate diet for all troops, and the Chief Quartermaster persuaded the British to increase the allowance another 15 percent for men engaged in hard labor.5
As the inventories mounted American troops gradually changed over from the British-American to a straight American ration. This switch occurred in Northern Ireland as early as March 1942, only about two months after the first U.S. troops arrived there. In England the transition took place as the subsistence depots began to function in the late autumn of 1942.6 An important part of the change involved replacing British mess and subsistence depot personnel. The process was hastened by criticism from the War Department, which was dissatisfied with a policy of calling on the British without employing U.S.
service troops to full advantage. Lee had reported on 6 October that, because of the continued shortage of suitably trained U.S. personnel, the British Army was still feeding about 50,000 American troops. The base sections were directed to correct this situation with all possible speed and report progress monthly. By the end of the year the number of U.S. troops still subsisting permanently on the British-American ration was less than 1,000, and consisted mainly of very small technical detachments working in British installations and too isolated to draw on American depots. But this ration continued to be supplied to U.S. units and individuals temporarily located in predominantly British areas, and in many cases to newly arrived units.7
With the aim of combining subsistence imported from the United States and items procured locally into a series of menus that would offer the American soldier the most suitable diet, the OCQM undertook the revision of the current American Type A ration in cooperation with the theater Chief Surgeon. The initial flow of subsistence from the zone of interior was based on OQMG Expeditionary Force Menu 1, a Type B field ration that used only canned, dehydrated, and other nonperishable items.8 Even the British-American ration was superior to the Type B, but Littlejohn was convinced that for reasons of morale as well as nutrition, American troops should receive a diet as similar as possible to the Type A ration served in the United States, despite the added difficulties in storage and distribution. The OCQM studied the problem carefully and found that the required items fell into two main categories: fresh meats and fats, which were in short supply in the British Isles, and fruits and vegetables, which might be procured locally.
Since a large proportion of Britain’s meats and fats were imported, additional imports would be needed to provide for the American troops. The British suggested that a common store be set up, pointing out that this would economize on transportation, labor, and storage space. The OCQM rejected this solution for several reasons. First, it would deplete British reserves and temporarily reduce the meager meat ration of British civilians. In the current situation, even a temporary decrease in civilian rations was undesirable. Second, the staple British meat was mutton; Americans preferred beef. And finally the ETO quartermasters were eager to set up an independent supply line and practice the procedures that would become necessary if an American force ever secured a lodgment on the Continent. But the two supply systems could not be completely independent; construction of separate refrigerated storage to be used for only a few months was clearly unjustified, and the QMC agreed to share British cold storage facilities. Frozen meats, fats, and cheeses moved in British freight cars from the ports to British refrigerated warehouses near the principal U.S. troop centers, where they were
British women war workers unloading American supplies at Thatcham Depot, October 1942.
held until distributed to the consuming units.9
Inevitably, shortages of refrigerated transportation caused some difficulties. During 1942 and 1943, for lack of such equipment, perishables were often shipped in freight cars and trucks which were insulated but not refrigerated. If these trips were short, taking no more than two to three days, such transportation was generally satisfactory. Eventually, improved handling procedures and the importation of refrigerated rail cars made for a better system of moving perishables. A by-product of this shortage was the British ban on all production of ice cream. A ready ice cream mix, requiring only water, was available in the zone of interior, and considerable quantities were actually shipped to the United Kingdom. This could have been manufactured locally without adding to the transport burden. Nevertheless, out of deference for British feelings, General Lee personally forbade the making and serving of ice cream in Great Britain.
The ban was lifted shortly after Lee departed for Normandy in August 1944.10
Since fresh produce was available locally, arrangements were made for U.S. troops to get a proportionate share of the fruits and vegetables commonly grown in the United Kingdom. Thus cabbage, brussels sprouts, potatoes, lettuce, beans, root vegetables, and small quantities of apples and pears were obtained on reverse lend-lease from local commercial sources and from NAAFI. Beginning in the summer of 1942, U.S. troops also participated actively in British gardening activities. On 11 August 1942, Littlejohn became ETOUSA agricultural officer, and shortly thereafter established an Agricultural Branch in the Service Installations Division of OCQM. The branch maintained liaison with a corresponding agency in the British Army and with the Ministry of Agriculture to obtain seeds, tools, and expert advice for the agricultural officers of American units, maintained statistical records, and prepared informational literature for the troops. Produce might be used locally or sold to NAAFI. In either case a profit was credited to the post, camp, and station fund for the benefit of the troops. Exact accounting was very difficult because of frequent shifts of troop units, so that U.S. troops harvested crops planted by British soldiers, and vice versa. Americans cultivated nearly 8,000 acres in 1942 and over 15,000 in 1943. The Eighth Air Force was particularly active in this work and continued it during 1944, after the bulk of the ground forces had departed for the Continent. In that year the product of combined British and American military agriculture was estimated at 50,000 ship tons.11
The main problem in handling fresh fruits and vegetables stemmed from the irregularity of supply and variations in quality. Kinds and quantities varied with the season, weather, and crop conditions. Complaints were frequent that the lettuce was tough, the apples and pears woody, and the cabbage rank and stringy. Irrespective of quality, Americans disliked parsnips and brussels sprouts. Depot subsistence officers did not always know the amounts forthcoming, and since their stocks often had to be issued quickly to avoid spoilage, receiving units frequently refused the vegetables rather than go to the trouble of revising the menu to include them.12
A relatively small but occasionally troublesome problem was the controlled distribution of shell eggs, oranges, and milk. These highly nourishing foods were required for treating hospital patients and were supplied, for reasons of health as well as morale, to U.S. Navy submarine crews and to air crews on combat duty or in training. Surplus
ships’ stores were occasional but irregular and unreliable sources of these items. NAAFI provided 1 egg per day for hospitalized stomach cases, 2 eggs per week for other hospital patients, and 3 eggs and 3 pieces of fruit per week for all submarine, air force combat, and flight training crews.13 A special in-flight ration for aircraft crews, in large part locally procured hard candies, was supplied by the OCQM until mid-1943, when it became a standard Air Forces item, supplied by AAF technical depots.14 The use of fresh milk, although it was available in small quantities from British production, was prohibited by the ETO Chief Surgeon because the British did not test their cattle for tuberculosis in accordance with U.S. standards. Milk requirements therefore had to be met by importing canned, evaporated, and dried milk.15
The ETO A ration, which became effective in March 1943, established a pattern that remained constant until V-E Day despite minor changes in detail.16 Quantitatively, it was devised to be adequate but not excessive and totaled 4,050 calories per man per day as against the earlier ration’s 4,500 calories, which in practice had proved wasteful. The inevitability of substitutions at various points in the supply chain was recognized, and foods were listed in nutritional groups within which one item could be substituted for another with the least damage to nutritional balance. A special ration scale was set up for hospital patients, which provided a lower caloric intake by reducing starches and fats but which increased those items useful in special diets, such as boned chicken, strained fruits and vegetables, fruit juices, and milk.17
U.S. Navy personnel in the British Isles had evolved their own British-American ration, using components supplied by the British Admiralty in a, manner closely parallel to Army experience. As soon as a purely American ration became available, it was supplied to naval shore installations from the nearest QM Class I depot exactly as it was to Army units. Ships, especially those operating at sea for extended periods, demanded a slightly different menu, but the OCQM was able to meet their requirements too. Experience showed that smaller ships, like small Army messes, inevitably utilized food less efficiently than larger units, and a 10 percent allowance was made for this. But the OCQM had not foreseen that tactical movements of naval combat units might result in sudden and very heavy demands for rations at a single depot. On one occasion in the spring of 1943 a large part of the fleet pulled into southern England and asked to be provisioned immediately for a cruise of several weeks. The OCQM had received no advance information, and the local depot was stocked to supply only a
limited number of troops. Littlejohn recalled later that:
A squawk went to the “top salt” and I got sent for. The “top salt’s” Chief of Staff and I had a very firm but pleasant conversation. Out of it came the appointment of Captain Polatti, USN, as aide to the Chief Quartermaster. His job was to advise the Quartermaster Service what the Navy wanted, when they wanted it, and where they wanted it. From then on the Navy got what they wanted.
The original difficulty, of course, stemmed from the fact that the Navy could not conceive of a major port which was not the site of a major depot. Littlejohn, also, would have liked to locate depots at major ports, but this had been impossible for reasons already described.18
During the build-up period, a number of minor problems interfered with the most efficient operation of the subsistence program. In the summer and fall of 1942, large stocks of subsistence had been accumulated in the United Kingdom to provide for the troops later sent to North Africa. The most perishable and most desirable items were issued first, while very large stocks of other items accumulated. Some of these overstockages, such as canned hash, stew, Spam, and chili con carne, were offered to the forces in North Africa in May 1943, but these were B ration items practically identical with the current C ration.19 No one was surprised when they were not accepted. Overstocks of flour, dry skimmed milk, and pork luncheon meat in danger of spoilage were transferred to the Ministry of Food for rapid disposal to civilians. Eventually these excesses were used up.
In the fall of 1943 SOS ETOUSA hoped to return to a single menu as the basis for both requisition and distribution. A new ration, reflecting minor changes in availability of various foods and increased knowledge of troop preferences, went into effect in November.20 Like the previous A ration, this one contained a large proportion of locally procured items. The amount of pork and prepared pork products was increased, with a corresponding decrease in consumption of beef. The caloric value of the ration was not changed. But certain shortages (notably tin for cans) were now developing in the United States, and NYPE was forced to make frequent and large-scale substitutions of ration items, with the result that depots could not follow the menu in making issues. Substitutions were passed down the supply chain until meals bore little resemblance to the prescribed menu. The theater was forced to recognize that the difference between a basic requisitioning menu and a short-term distributing menu is a permanent one, not to be eliminated by closer liaison with the zone of interior or by improved staff methods. The requisitioning menu represents what is desired, while the distribution menu must reflect what is available. Requisitions are superior to automatic supply, but neither can be completely satisfactory, especially in an overseas theater partially dependent upon local procurement. The November 1943 ration represented a permanent long-range A ration for theater planning purposes and for requisitions on the zone of interior, varied enough to enable
quartermasters to take into account, on a monthly basis, actual stocks on hand.21
Distribution and food-processing menus required constant revision, but this was only a small part of OCQM’s supervisory responsibility at the unit mess level. Cooks and bakers, like other service troops, came to the ETO only partially trained. Basic training courses for mess personnel were started at Shrivenham and Tidworth in September 1942. An advanced mess management course, stressing the use of British food and equipment, and a subsistence laboratory, which was instrumental in developing the successive ETO rations, were both established in the American School Center at Shrivenham in December. The OCQM also initiated a Mess Advisory Service to aid unit mess officers and mess sergeants in solving their problems on the spot. The mess advisers combined demonstration with informal instruction, and their visits were followed up by instructional literature, much of it prepared by the subsistence laboratory, and by regional conferences of mess officers. Contests were carried on in each base section, and model messes were selected to illustrate what could be accomplished with the standard facilities and food ingredients available in the theater. All these activities resulted in improvements in nutrition and palatability of the ration, reduction of waste, and a perceptible improvement in troop morale.22
One famous landmark of American life in Great Britain was the consolidated officers’ mess at Grosvenor House in London. Operated as a cafeteria beginning in December 1943, it could seat nearly 1,000 officers at a time, and during most of 1944 it served over 6,000 meals a day. Capt. Walter A. Stansbury ran the restaurant, which was given the nickname of “Willow Run,” with a staff of more than 400 British civilians. He was so successful in overcoming the technical and personnel problems involved that Littlejohn recommended him for the Legion of Merit. “Willow Run” contributed greatly to the prestige of the Central Base Section, and when General Rogers was appointed to the new headquarters command in Paris, one of his earliest requests was that Stansbury, by this time a major, be assigned to his command.23
Clothing
By War Department directive, troops arriving in the ETO brought with them the full set of clothing provided by the current Table of Basic Allowances. This included all elements of the normal uniform issued in the zone of interior except the cotton outer uniform, which even in summer was not worn in the United Kingdom. The quartermaster was therefore charged primarily with the replacement of lost or worn clothing and with repairing clothing turned in for salvage.
Prior to D-day, the clothing maintenance problem centered on the source of clothing stocks. At the outset the zone of interior was prepared to supply the
theater with all its requirements, but transatlantic shipping was desperately short and deliveries were uncertain. The quartermaster of SPOBS opened negotiations with the British for the local production of needed clothing. Since facilities and cloth were available, the OCQM placed trial orders as early as July 1942, but fundamental differences of opinion quickly developed. Unless American orders were sufficiently large and definite to justify changes in their manufacturing processes, the British preferred to maintain their existing production facilities. This meant that American clothing would be produced according to British specifications as to color, cloth, and design. On the other hand, American officials were not prepared to commit themselves to sizable orders (involving tens of thousands of items) until they were satisfied that British samples conformed to their needs. Moreover, improvements in the shipping situation and in U.S. production might lead to cancellation of many orders. As a result the only clothing produced locally in significant quantities consisted of such items as underwear, socks, mufflers, mackinaws, and officers’ battle-dress jackets and trousers, which did not require rigid conformity to War Department specifications.24
Although large amounts of special clothing were procured from the British, the bulk of regular clothing for U.S. enlisted personnel in the United Kingdom came from the United States. The quantities shipped were based on two factors: the Tables of Equipment issued by the War Department, specifying the items and quantities to be issued to each soldier, and the replacement factor based on the calculated rate of replacement for items worn out, lost, or destroyed. Before D-day, theater replacement factors were based on a modified combat scale, and thus were ample to maintain authorized allowances of clothing. But although conditions in the United Kingdom were more like those in the zone of interior than in an active theater of operations, they were still different enough to require a more generous initial issue than was authorized. An allowance of a single overcoat, one service coat, two shirts, two pairs of trousers, and two sets of underwear presupposed a speedy and efficient laundry and dry cleaning service not available in Great Britain in time of war. Soldiers working outdoors, particularly in the winter, at the end of the day found their clothing soaked through to such an extent that it would not dry overnight without artificial drying facilities, which ordinarily were not available. With laundry slow and dry cleaning slower, even the soldier who worked indoors had only one set available at any given time. Unable to buy clothing in a country where such items were strictly rationed, troops were entirely dependent on issued allowances. As a result the Quartermaster Service received a never-ending stream of requests from commanders to increase the soldier’s clothing allowances. Units working outside asked for three pairs each of herringbone twill fatigues, woolen underwear, and shoes, for wool socks instead of cotton socks, for eight
handkerchiefs instead of four, and similar increases.25 Units assigned to higher headquarters, where they wore class A uniforms at all times, were particularly hard pressed by the inadequacy of laundry and dry cleaning services. They asked for higher allowances of coats, shirts, and trousers.
The Office of the Chief Quartermaster was well aware of the conditions which led to such requests, but was unable to remedy the situation on its own. It had to work within allowances set by the War Department, and only the theater commander could authorize variations or recommend changes to Washington. The problem was further complicated by theater policy, which authorized only such increases as would benefit all troops equally. While stocks of a particular item might suffice for extra issues to a small group, they were usually not large enough to permit additional issues to all troops. Even when the theater commander authorized such increases and the OCQM submitted requisitions based on them, NYPE could not make shipments without War Department approval. Some relief from this dilemma came by local procurement, but not enough to make a significant difference.26
Continued pressure from the troops and their commanders gradually brought about the practice, if not the policy, of permitting excess clothing issues whenever an available margin of stocks existed. Thus the allowance of herringbone twill coveralls was raised slowly until almost all troops were benefited. British production made it possible to provide each man with a third set of wool underwear. In the course of 1943, most men working under exposed conditions acquired both an overcoat and a mackinaw, and troops at higher headquarters received extra coats, shirts, and trousers.27 This practice was continued until the first months of 1944, when the number of troops in the United Kingdom passed the million mark. At this point, authorization for excess issues would have involved such major quantities of each item as to threaten the theater’s ability to make ordinary issues. Accordingly the OCQM returned to a rigid interpretation of those allowances recognized by NYPE as the basis for requisition.28
The War Department policy of supplying overseas troops with antigas protective clothing by chemically impregnating their flannel shirts and wool trousers proved irksome and futile. Impregnated clothing was clammy and malodorous and soiled rapidly because it was sticky. Moreover, there were not enough facilities for rapid cleaning and reimpregnation in the theater. It is an understatement to say that these items were universally detested by the troops,
who had no other such clothing. They either had to wear one set for overly long periods of time or switch to non-impregnated items drawn from theater stocks. The latter alternative was by far more popular and was adopted with the consent of the OCQM and the theater chemical officer. On 5 May 1943 ETOUSA directed that fatigue clothing, rather than wool clothing, was to be impregnated. At first glance this directive did not seem to improve matters, since herringbone twills were in as short supply as woolens. But the factor of appearance was of minor importance in work clothing, and in Britain’s raw climate fatigues were worn over woolens, so that there was no direct contact with the skin. In actual practice, this clothing combination was very satisfactory. The impregnating chemical made the twill windproof and fairly water-repellent, and increased its resistance to abrasion and tearing. By the spring of 1944 the Chemical Warfare Service had facilities capable of impregnating 20,000 uniforms a day, and before D-day more than 75 percent of the troops were thus equipped. But troops continued to arrive overseas in impregnated woolens until May, when the Supreme Commander requested that this policy be changed.29
Supply of officers’ clothing also gave rise to major problems. In theory, all officers arrived in the ETO completely outfitted and required only replacements for those items which wore out or were lost. But the ETO quartermaster was required to furnish initial as well as replacement items to several categories of personnel. Officers commissioned in the theater had to outfit themselves there, as did the many civilians serving the U.S. forces who often needed all or part of an officer’s wardrobe. Moreover, the many officers who traveled to the ETO by air, especially Air Forces personnel and casuals, were permitted to carry only limited amounts of baggage. Many officers therefore had to obtain additional clothing as soon as they arrived. In addition, the official replacement factor for officers’ Class A uniforms in the United Kingdom was identical with the zone of interior rate —one-half uniform per year. Littlejohn found this quite unrealistic, but could never get it changed. He later wrote: “It seemed to me during the two years in Britain that every officer, nurse, and Wac came over completely naked. They all came to London and lined up for blocks at the Quartermaster sales store. It was impossible to keep any stock on hand.”30
Since the British rationing system severely limited commercial purchases it was up to the OCQM to see that, somehow or other, these officers and civilians were supplied well enough to make a favorable appearance. The normal source was the United States, but officers’ clothing was available there
only in small quantities until after the middle of 1943. When the OCQM turned to the British as an alternate supply source, it ran up against the same difficulties encountered with enlisted men’s clothing. But even though British design and materials differed from U.S. Army standards, British output had to be used. During the first two years of the ETO, therefore, officers’ uniforms showed notable variations in cut and color.
An officer could obtain coupons to buy from British stores if he certified that his purchase did not provide him with more clothing than permissible under published allowances. But experience proved that the honor system would not work here. While on garrison-type duty in a friendly foreign country, all U.S. troops were ordered to look their best, and naturally found it easier to do so in new clothing. Within SOS headquarters, a smartly-tailored appearance was regarded as a prerequisite for promotion. One visitor from the OQMG observed “Without doubt, this is a Beau Brummel theater. An officer must be dressed up.”31
By the end of 1943 stocks of regulation items in Quartermaster sales stores had been built up to the point where most officers could be fitted, and reliance on rationed British clothing was no longer essential. Thereafter, British clothing coupons were issued only when sales stores experienced temporary shortages of certain items, and to officers who could not be fitted from the normal tariff of sizes. Ultimately, the mounting number of American officers in the ETO led to rigid rationing in the sales stores.32
Clothing the women in the United States forces was seemingly a simple matter because of the small numbers involved. Actually, a small group was harder to clothe than a large one, and the problem was also complicated by the adoption of new uniforms. This difficulty is illustrated by the nurses’ uniform introduced in mid-1943. The blue outfit worn earlier had been criticized as inadequate for field use. While making alterations to overcome these drawbacks, the OQMG also changed the color to olive drab. Except for buttons and insignia, most items were made identical with the WAAC officers’ uniform, thereby simplifying manufacture and distribution. Since this was a completely new uniform, nurses were to receive a free initial issue, and the first distribution was to be made about 1 July 1943.
There were two obstacles to an easy change-over. Though new uniforms for the 1,500 ETO nurses were requisitioned in March, they did not begin to arrive until September, and then only piecemeal in small mixed lots, poorly marked, and often in broken containers. In addition, the OQMG size tariff did not fit the ETO nurses, providing too many large garments and too few in small sizes. The difficulty was not with the tariff itself, but the small number of
persons to whom it was applied. Like most statistical concepts, a tariff is only valid when applied to large quantities. Recognizing this, Littlejohn had requested a 100 percent distribution factor, but because of shortages the OQMG was able to allow only 25 percent. To speed the distribution of the new uniforms, an emergency mobile sales unit carried them to each medical installation and attempted to fit the nurses on the spot. Despite this unusual effort, many nurses were still not adequately outfitted at the end of the year. Consequently it was necessary to concentrate all stocks in London, bring the nurses there for fitting, and manufacture special sizes. By the end of March 1944 the problem had been solved, at least for the moment.33
WAAC officers had problems somewhat similar to those of nurses, although less serious and on a smaller scale. WAAC officer casuals began to appear in the ETO in April 1943, and the first WAAC unit arrived in July. Since enlisted Waacs brought their TUBA clothing allowance with them, the problem of initial issues did not arise for them. But the slowness of British laundry and dry cleaning service made extra clothing extremely desirable, especially since Wacs were expected to present a smart military appearance. During the winter, Wacs working in unheated offices suffered almost as much as those whose duties kept them in the open. The WAC winter uniform was inadequate in both cases.34
British Laundry and Salvage Services
Except in combat, the individual U.S. soldier has always been responsible for cleaning and minor repair of his clothing. Since before World War I, the QMC has aided the soldier by providing laundry and dry cleaning service approximately at cost.35 In the United Kingdom such assistance was a necessity. Quartermaster laundry units had a very low priority; those in the theater were not even able to supply all the needs of Army hospitals, so that no help was available from that source. Soldiers tried, with limited success, to solve their problems on an individual local basis, but British wartime conscription of both men and women, and rationing of necessary supplies, brought about so drastic a decrease in ordinary commercial facilities that satisfactory service could be arranged only on official levels. That the QMC, which had experience in negotiating laundry contracts as well as in operating laundries in the United States, should undertake the arrangements, was but natural. In this field the British cooperated to the limit of their ability in an effort to supply regular laundry service to as many as 600,000 troops on the same scale of nine pieces per man per week authorized to the British
Army. Use of British laundries raised a thorny issue regarding payment. Since arrangements were made for the provision of this service under reverse lend-lease—ostensibly without cost to the United States—the Chief Quartermaster and troop commanders felt that no charge should be made against the troops. On this premise soldiers received free laundry service until War Department directives required payment. Accordingly, after mid-1943 a small flat fee was charged for the weekly nine-piece bundle.36
Free or paid for, laundry service in the United Kingdom was poor and dry cleaning poorer. The troops were located mainly in rural areas and transportation problems hampered access to the superior laundry facilities in the large cities. Commercial facilities suffered continuing labor shortages and the British were therefore unable to meet all of their original commitments. To aid soldiers in maintaining a presentable appearance notwithstanding these obstacles, the OCQM offered several self-help expedients. The QM depots issued carbon tetrachloride and brushes for cleaning, several thousand electric hand irons for pressing uniforms were requisitioned from the United States and distributed, and locally procured sewing kits were issued for minor repairs. But these improvisations did not solve the problem. If the laundry situation did not become truly critical, it was because anticipated demands for laundry service did not materialize in the spring of 1944. Expectations had been that between January and May, requirements would rise rapidly from seven and a half million pounds weekly to eleven million pounds. For a variety of reasons, requirements fell below 50 percent of these estimates. A substantial proportion of American troops were often on training exercises in remote areas, and could not make use of official services. Many did their own laundry. Fortunately, by one expedient or another, the troops in Britain managed to stay clean enough to preserve their health, although in some instances their soldierly appearance suffered.37
Most of the necessary cleaning, repair, and redistribution was handled on a unit basis with no attempt to return items to their original owners. Clothing and equipment not in condition for immediate use flowed into a theater-wide salvage organization. In contrast to World War I, when the salvage organization developed late, the ETO Quartermaster Service from the outset promoted conservation of materials. Owing partly to the concentration on building up combat strength and partly to the shortage of trained U.S. salvage units, early salvage operations used British military and civilian facilities almost exclusively. The British cooperated fully, making all arrangements with civilian firms and meeting all payments to these firms.38
Experience in the British Isles during the two years before D-day illustrated the tremendous possibilities of a salvage program. Here some 60,000,000 pieces of American salvage had been processed, largely by British commercial firms under contract to the Ministry of Supply. Wages were high in the United Kingdom, and the “profits” of this undertaking had been only $45,000,000, or 75 cents per item, compared to about $2.60 per item realized in similar Italian operations.39 (See Table 5.) But in both cases ability to make available scarce clothing and equipment, much of it made from rationed raw materials, outweighed financial considerations. An additional benefit from salvage operations in Britain was a saving of 2,000,000 ship tons of precious transatlantic cargo space.40
A prime example of successful Anglo-American cooperation in the salvage field was the shoe repair program. On coming to the United Kingdom the OCQM found that availability of shoe repair facilities made possible the immediate, though temporary, reduction of shoe repair companies scheduled for arrival and the cancellation of shoe machinery on requisition.41 For bulk repair and rebuilding of shoes the British provided a factory near Bristol and the necessary labor to turn out 5,000 pairs of shoes a week. This plant, it was estimated, could handle shoe rebuilding for a force of one million men.42 Minor repair of shoes for return to the individual wearer was handled through local contracts arranged by the British with civilian shoemakers. But sole leather and rubber heels had to be imported from the United States for all repairs. As the U.S. forces rapidly increased during the second half of 1943, British facilities could no longer handle the workload, but by that time American units were available.43
Post Exchange Supplies
The post exchange, or PX, which sold luxury and comfort articles to the troops, usually at less than current retail prices, was an old Army institution operated by the Army Exchange Service. As in all overseas theaters, the PX took on an importance which it did not enjoy in the zone of interior because many items were either strictly rationed or unavailable from ordinary commercial sources. Realizing the value of well-run PX’s in maintaining troop morale, the OCQM from the outset gave close attention to this problem, helping the AES with its distribution functions and in its dealings with the general purchasing agent.
The initial unit PX’s were established soon after the first American troops
arrived in Northern Ireland. At that time, they drew their supplies from and functioned under the general supervision of the AES, which operated as an independent supply service, procuring comfort items in the United States or locally and shipping and distributing them through the general depots and distribution points. With insurance costs of 15 percent and other AES overhead expenses added in, PX retail prices were high. Moreover, since the PX’s were unit activities, there were wide variations in procedure and efficiency of management. AES, a tiny organization without the prestige or authority of a technical service, was hampered in exercising supervision over unit exchanges. It could not enforce uniform procedures or even supervise the warehousing of its own supplies. General Chaney, the SPOBS commander, had noted the scarcity of items desired by U.S. troops (especially soft drinks, razor blades, and chewing gum), and had requisitioned a large allowance of PX supplies. Authorities in the United States had minimized the importance of such items, and given them a very low shipping priority.
During the summer of 1942 all these factors led to widespread dissatisfaction with PX service. At the same time, the world-wide shortage of service troops had become evident. Clearly, it was impossible for AES to obtain a large personnel allotment to run PX’s throughout the United Kingdom. For these reasons AES functions were transferred in October 1942 to the Quartermaster Corps. Colonel Barnum, former theater AES officer, became head of the Exchange Service Division, OCQM. Thereafter PX supplies were handled by the regular Quartermaster storage and distribution system and turned over to unit exchanges and sales stores at cost plus a small mark-up, without any addition to cover the heavy insurance and overhead charges. Low as the prices were, enough revenue came in within five months to liquidate the $5,000,000 debt to the AES for merchandise and premiums and still show a profit of more than $1,000,000.44
Since under OCQM management all profits accrued to the U.S. Government and could not be used, as when under AES, to pay for help and overhead in individual exchanges, the unit stores were often shorthanded and housed in unsuitable quarters. Because Quartermaster personnel could not be spared for this activity and because The Quartermaster General was anxious to avoid becoming involved in overseas retailing operations, a new world-wide policy was established in the spring of 1943, under which the Quartermaster Corps retained the role of wholesaler but restored to the AES some of its former retailing functions. In the ETO, the QMC procured, shipped, and distributed PX supplies, issuing them to units but charging the AES. That agency collected from the units which sold PX supplies in the stores that they themselves maintained. At the end of March 1943, U.S. Navy exchanges became part of this system, and agreed to abide by the U.S. Army rationing regulations.45
Ordinary PX supplies—candy, soft drinks, cigarettes, toilet articles, and gifts—were drawn from depots and distribution points by units using their own transportation. Financial details, prices, and transfers of cash and credit were calculated by a central office. The AES acted as coordinator, providing a revolving fund, supervising the unit exchanges, and advising the Chief Quartermaster on types and quantities of items to keep in stock. Only the large central PX’s at major headquarters such as Cheltenham and London were operated directly by the AES.
PX supplies, like most other Quartermaster supplies in the United Kingdom, came from both U.S. and British sources. For items derived from local sources, the OCQM dealt directly with the British. Most of these articles were covered by a general agreement with NAAFI providing that PX’s must sell British items at the same price as NAAFI canteens and that the British manufacturer could deviate from the specifications when war conditions made this necessary. The latter provision meant that many PX supplies did not meet the standards of quality and packaging that Americans were accustomed to. British items became increasingly unpopular and the troops exerted constant pressure for increased importation from the United States.46
Nevertheless, the United Kingdom was a source of post exchange supplies on a scale that certainly could not have been duplicated through imports, especially during the period of shipping shortages. From September 1942, when the OCQM took over the function of procuring PX supplies from the Army Exchange Service, to the end of December 1944, the major procurements from the British in this field were:47
| Beer, gallons | * 54,000,000 |
| Brushes, tooth | 2,258,310 |
| Candy, chocolate bars | 94,945,728 |
| Cookies, 4-oz. packets | 79,828,400 |
| Handkerchiefs | 2,350,836 |
| Kits, sewing | 393,175 |
| Matches, box | 55,322,488 |
| Prophylactics | 15,112,400 |
| Soap, toilet | 57,752,014 |
| Soft drinks | 35,819,875 |
* Estimated figure for entire period of hostilities.
American magazines were among the articles most frequently demanded by the troops. A plan to print various magazines overseas from plates flown over from the United States was opposed by the Ministry of Supply, which controlled Britain’s meager wartime imports of wood pulp. Littlejohn proposed the use of a low-grade paper made of wheat straw, but the British paper industry had lost most of its labor force to more essential activities, and nothing came of this suggestion. The program finally succeeded through the personal intercession of Ambassador Averell W. Harriman, who undertook to provide pulp or finished paper as required. Thereafter, His Majesty’s Stationery Office, the agency in charge of paper rationing, provided paper for printing Stars and Stripes and allowed The Reader’s Digest to print 5,000 extra copies of its British
edition for sale to U.S. troops. Yank was printed on paper especially imported from the United States. Time and Newsweek printed special lightweight editions and sent them to the ETO by fast ships. American soldiers overseas seemed to have an avidity for writing letters, and demanded enormous quantities of writing paper. By special agreement, the Stationery Office allowed them to have slightly more than the British allowance of this rationed item.48
Inevitably, some PX supplies found their way into the British black market. The British Government was determined to prevent this illegal activity and insisted, for example, that all soap made in Britain for Americans bear a special United States marking and that every package of cigarettes sold in a PX be marked to indicate that it had entered the country duty-free. In an effort to cooperate with the British, American exchanges set up a strict rationing system intended to give the U.S. soldier enough supplies for his weekly needs but little if any surplus that might find its way into civilian hands.49
The cigarette supply provided a noteworthy example of the trouble experienced in disposing of unpopular brands. Early in 1943, ETO had on hand a very large accumulation of cigarettes which NYPE had shipped to the theater despite protests of General Littlejohn, and which American troops would not consume. Fortunately, the Canadians and Australians, for whom only a limited supply of cigarettes had been provided, agreed to take 10,000,000 packages of the unpopular brands.50
Just before D-day, in an unusual development in marshaling areas of Southern Base Section, the section through which the bulk of United States ground troops were staged, mobile canteens began to sell PX supplies to the departing troops. This activity was similar to that of the mobile sales stores, but was under AES rather than Quartermaster control. At the retail end of the supply system, the Quartermaster Corps retained direct control of the sales stores which sold clothing, and occasionally incidental items like luggage, to officers and other authorized purchasers. These stores, located at three or four troop centers in each base section, were supplemented by mobile sales units that circulated among the troops who did not have ready access to static stores. At the peak of activity in the United Kingdom just before D-day there were sixteen static and eight mobile sales units. Both types were gradually reduced in number after D-day as American troops left for the Continent and sales activities came to center more and more in London.51 Though American troops were not
completely satisfied with PX services, theirs were typical soldiers’ “gripes” rather than serious expressions of discontent. Considering all the circumstances the Americans were reasonably well provided with both comforts and luxuries.
Liquor
Unlike beer, liquor was sold only to officers in the ETO. Shortly after SOS was organized, General Lee directed Littlejohn not to bring any liquor into the United Kingdom from the United States or Canada. Accordingly the Chief Quartermaster appointed Mr. Charles J. Lytle, an American residing in London, as his representative to deal with the British liquor industry. By early August 1942, an arrangement had been made with the Scotch Whiskey Association whereby the liquor requirements of U.S. officers’ messes in the theater were to be reported monthly to SOS headquarters in London. After mess officers had deposited the correct amount in Lloyd’s Bank, Mr. Lytle would inform the association of the total amount required and the distilling firms would make bulk deliveries to QM depots. A condition of this arrangement was that sales were to be made to messes for consumption within the mess; no bottles were to be sold to individuals, and the ration basis was the same as in British messes—one-half bottle per officer per month.52
Some messes found this allowance inadequate, and proceeded to import American liquor on their own initiative. Since General Lee’s policy directive to Littlejohn had never been formally published, this procedure was not actually illegal. On visiting the zone of interior in November 1942, Littlejohn discovered that 500 cases of tax-free liquor were in storage at NYPE, awaiting transportation to the United Kingdom as filler cargo. But General Goodman, commander of the New York port, did not wish to forward this liquor, and its presence in New York had received critical notice in the press. On being informed of the situation, General Hartle, Eisenhower’s deputy in the United Kingdom, ruled that any liquor actually en route might be delivered to the messes which had ordered it, but all future shipments would be confiscated and sold, the proceeds going to the U.S. Treasury.53
While the publicity aspects of this incident vindicated General Lee’s stand on bringing U.S. liquor into the theater, it was also clear that American officers wanted a larger liquor ration and had the money to get it by one means or another. In August 1943, after repeated conferences with higher authorities both American and British, Littlejohn was finally able to arrange for a direct ration of liquor to American officers from the Ministry of Food. Distribution was handled on an equitable basis by NAAFI, the same organization which issued liquor to British officers. This arrangement had at least two major advantages. It provided officers, as individuals, with an increased liquor
ration, and it removed the U.S. Army from the liquor business.54
Practical experience made Littlejohn a convinced partisan of NAAFI. This cooperative interservice organization performed roughly the same functions as the AES but had an entirely different organization and far greater autonomy and influence. NAAFI’s foremost merit was an established and efficient distributing system which made no demands on the Quartermaster’s meager pool of manpower. Also, in transactions regarding liquor there were obvious advantages in dealing with an organization dedicated to service rather than profits, and directed by eminent retired officers of unassailable reputation. The agreement between the OCQM and NAAFI was extended to the Continent with very satisfactory results. In October 1944 Littlejohn directed that captured German wines and spirits, turned over to COMZ by the armies, be sold to senior officers for official entertainment, and to officers’ messes in accordance with established allowances. Whatever was left after twenty days was to be sold to NAAFI, at prices established by the French Government, for subsequent resale to U.S., British, and French messes. By January 1945 Littlejohn had entered an agreement with the French Government to buy 500,000 bottles of brandy per month, plus unspecified amounts of wines and liqueurs. This was for the entire Allied force on the Continent, and again the distributing agent was NAAFI. In the meantime, SOLOC messes had been supplied with one bottle of American whiskey per officer each month through Mediterranean theater channels, an arrangement which was continued after the two lines of communication were consolidated. At first NAAFI objected to this additional source of supply. Liquor was scarce in Europe, and it seemed probable that under this arrangement many American officers would enjoy two rations, a form of discrimination which a British organization could not be expected to condone. Since the alternative was for the Chief Quartermaster to organize an extensive system of guarded warehouses and elaborate distribution facilities, Littlejohn managed to placate NAAFI by maintaining a strict territorial separation between the two distribution systems. On 11 May, three days after the German surrender, he declined to help General Rogers, the commander of the Seine Base Section, to obtain cognac and champagne for Army-sponsored night clubs in Paris. Neither the OCQM nor NAAFI was equipped to undertake an operation of the size proposed by Rogers. Three days later Littlejohn wrote to General Lee that “The two systems must eventually be combined,” but apparently this very desirable development never materialized.55
After the end of hostilities every transaction and policy decision regarding liquor was subjected to criticism. Officers in SOLOC were convinced that their ration was too small, while officers in northern France were equally convinced that Littlejohn’s decision to utilize NAAFI was base subservience to British economic imperialism. Few enlisted men agreed that Eisenhower’s directive of 1 July 1945, authorizing a liquor ration for NCO messes, was equitable. It meant that only noncommissioned officers of the first three grades would receive a liquor allowance. Lt. Col. Floyd W. Oliphant, who was in charge of procuring liquor for the troops in southern France, wrote in May 1945: “I would prefer to go to the Pacific rather than handle this ‘red hot’ theater program which requires such exactitude, and is subject to condemnation by all ranks with the minimum amount of credit for efforts expended.” To Littlejohn the real crux of the liquor problem, as of so many other problems, was competent and reliable personnel to supervise distribution. Liquor was undoubtedly one of many considerations he had in mind in August when he wrote: “What troops have we loaned to the Post Exchange or what troops have been transferred to the Post Exchange without my authority? The day of reckoning is here in this case. ... Colonel Marshburn [Chief, AES] ... must immediately ask for the creation and assignment to him of proper T/O units. ...56
But the plan to transfer responsibility for liquor to the AES was never consummated. Procurement of Class VI supplies, a designation which apparently originated in the OCQM in April 1945, remained a Quartermaster function, and distribution was still being performed by NAAFI at the end of the year.
Arrangements for Local Procurement
The beginnings of U.S. local procurement in the United Kingdom have already been noted. At the end of August 1942 Colonel Allen, formerly Chief of the Procurement Division, OCQM, and Quartermaster representative on the SOS General Purchasing Board became general purchasing agent.57 The OCQM now had an influential friend at the head of this important agency, and found that its purchasing operations proceeded more smoothly. It should be noted that Colonel Allen himself had made the initial investigation into the possibilities of local QMC procurement in the ETO, so that he was well acquainted with the OCQM’s requirements. The general purchasing agent coordinated local procurement by U.S. supply services, made over-all arrangements with the British, recorded agreements, and passed to the appropriate agency on either side complaints regarding the execution of agreements. Operating under the general policies worked out by the agent, the individual supply service dealt with the details of actual procurement. The British
arranged with the agent for each service to procure its special supplies but items common to two or more services would be assigned to one service acting for all.
Despite the difficulties of initial organization, by the end of 1942 the ETO supply services had confidence in the dependability of local procurement. Lists of items available in the United Kingdom were drawn up and used as the basis for canceling items requisitioned from the United States. While at first such cancellations were effected only after the approved supply level was actually on hand, by mid-December it was decided that items on requisition could be canceled if the British had made a commitment to supply on demand.58 By mid-1943, confidence in British commitments reached such a point that special justification had to be made before an item listed as available in the United Kingdom could be requisitioned from the United States.59
The basic arrangement for American procurement of goods in Britain was that all purchasing would be done through central agencies of the British Government. The U.S. Army, Air Forces, and Navy would deal with the British War Office, Air Ministry, and Admiralty, respectively, and would call in representatives of other agencies, British and American, only when the procurement under discussion involved such matters as raw materials or labor which were beyond the control of the military agencies.60
Planners agreed that U.S. requirements for British goods would be consolidated and presented to the British in large enough quantities to cover needs for six months at least in order to help production agencies fit U.S. needs into their long-range plans. If accepted by the British, these became “programed requirements” against which the U.S. supply services could draw.61 Until the routine was well established, requirements were sometimes presented at irregular intervals and for small quantities covering shorter periods. Such irregular requests drew protests from the British, who urged more careful planning.62 With increased experience on both sides, programing for local procurement improved so much that after mid-1943 few complaints were made on that score.
Occasionally the British were also provoked by a tendency of American procurement officers, particularly those in the field, to bypass official channels and deal directly with the private manufacturer or supplier.63 The manufacturer almost always needed raw materials to fill the order, and such officers sometimes gave unauthorized assurances that raw materials imported from the United States would be furnished outside the British rationing system. A long
exchange of correspondence on the subject and gradual realization of the effectiveness of official British cooperation brought the Americans closer to the British position. By February 1943 agreement was reached whereby American agents could contact British concerns for information only, with the knowledge and consent of the War Office. Thereafter both sides cooperated to force U.S. procurement into the prescribed channels, while the British were always willing to make exceptions for occasional small emergency purchases.64
In a number of cases the British persuaded the Americans to accept as a guide the ration allowances of the wartime British Army. Usually the items involved were minor issues, like matches and toilet paper, and compromises were easily reached. Food presented more difficulties, bread being one of the troublesome items.
In the absence of American baking facilities, the British had agreed to supply the U.S. troops with bread. For their own use, both civil and military, they produced one type of bread only: the national wheatmeal loaf. This was a graham type of bread of very high nutritional value. It was made from flour that utilized about 85 percent of the whole-wheat kernel, plus small amounts of barley and oats. It had been developed to permit the fullest use of local grains and thus to decrease grain imports.65 To avoid local discontent and save additional shipping space, the British proposed that the United States Army give up white bread and accept the national wheatmeal loaf.66
Because it prevented an unnecessary duplication of storage space and avoided the problem of controlling the use of white flour by civilian bakeries, the Chief Quartermaster favored the British proposal. Accordingly, orders were issued for the use of national wheatmeal in all bread baked for U.S. personnel, and all white flour was turned over, on an exchange basis, to the British, who mixed it with the common stock.67 The only reservation was that the Ministry of Food should agree to supply on demand any white flour the ETO might require for forces outside the United Kingdom.68
For all of its apparent advantages, this arrangement did not work well. American troops disliked the British bread and ate so little of it that the nutritional balance of their diet was upset, and supplies mounted. To overcome this, the
OCQM tried numerous ways of improving the texture and flavor of the bread. The Ministry of Food agreed to eliminate oats from flour supplied to the U.S. Army and also considered the elimination of barley. At the same time the ETO Quartermaster subsistence laboratory developed a formula which, by adding shortening and sugar to the dough, produced a loaf more acceptable to American tastes. Meanwhile the number of American bakery companies in the United Kingdom increased rapidly during the late fall of 1943. Only the personnel were brought across the Atlantic, and the units were provided with locally procured baking equipment. The new bakeries provided both on-the-job training for their own men and bakery support in many troop areas, so that the proportion of U.S. troops receiving the improved bread rose until by the end of the year it included a majority of those in the United Kingdom.69
Candy sold by post exchanges brought other problems. “Sweets” were severely rationed in the United Kingdom but to save the shipping space taken up by manufactured articles and to avoid transshipment of raw materials through the United States, the British offered to supply candy if the American allowance did not significantly exceed the British. This agreement provided the Americans with two bars of chocolate and one package of chewing gum or roll candy per week. Special arrangements for temporary increases in this ration were occasionally made, but if a PX made unauthorized sales, as sometimes happened, official British protests soon reached the Chief Quartermaster.70
American soldiers found this candy allowance very skimpy, and their commanders pressed for an increase to seven bars a week, or three more than authorized even by the War Department. The OCQM therefore entered into negotiations with both the British and the zone of interior aimed at maintaining the supply from the British and importing the difference. But the matter was still unresolved when the bulk of U.S. troops moved to the Continent and the agreement with the British ceased to operate.71
Another type of local procurement problem stemmed from the range of sizes provided for the various parts of the American uniform. The British used suspenders with loose-fitting trousers and thus reduced the tariff of sizes. In shirts, the British provided two sleeve lengths for each collar size and did not wish to use scarce manpower to give the Americans their accustomed four sleeve lengths. The Chief Quartermaster agreed to this limitation, but in the case of shoes no agreement could be reached. The British equipped their troops with 18 sizes, the Americans required 105 sizes.72 The U.S.
requirement, based on civilian procedures in the zone of interior, was reinforced by Army regulations on the correct fitting of service shoes, and could not be readily modified. Therefore large-scale manufacture of shoes for enlisted men could never be satisfactorily arranged in the United Kingdom. But the British supplied over 152,000 pairs of officers’ shoes in 1942–43, and about 75 percent of all shoes for officers, nurses, and Wacs in the ETO during hostilities.73
With respect to the magnitude of American requirements for items of clothing and individual equipment, the British also raised the question of “scale.” They did not favor the diversion of their facilities to production for the Americans unless requirements approximated British rates of issue, which were generally lower for corresponding items. Replacement factors posed another problem. The British applied to their home forces garrison allowances for wear similar to those used in the United States, while the ETO Quartermaster used overseas combat replacement factors. The Chief Quartermaster refused to cut maintenance requirements to the British scale and, in general, the British yielded on specific requirements, but the question was a persistent one.74
Most of these difficulties were resolved during the spring of 1943, and May to November of that year was the most fruitful period for local procurement of clothing and individual equipment, especially of wool knit goods. The fact that the International Division, ASF, had decided to adopt the exchange basis rejected a year before, and to ship woolen goods to British troops in the Pacific, greatly eased these arrangements. Although the British at first believed that their own military contribution to OVERLORD would curtail their industrial capacity severely in 1944, they were prevailed upon to continue large deliveries to the U.S. forces during that year. The following items are representative of deliveries from reverse lend-lease by the middle of 1944:75
Clothing
| Coats, mackinaw | 328,802 |
| Drawers, wool | 2,286,190 |
| Gloves, wool | 871,690 |
| Mufflers, wool | 1,200,000 |
| Socks, wool, light and heavy | 8,604,180 |
| Trousers, battle-dress | 417,785 |
| Undershirts, winter | 2,242,151 |
Equipment
| Bag, canvas, field | 378,204 |
| Belt, cartridge, cal. 30 | 186,294 |
| Belt, pistol | 381,646 |
| Blanket, wool, OD | 640,000 |
| Carrier, pack | 369,024 |
| Cover, canteen | 823,209 |
| Pouch, first-aid | 1,554,875 |
The British supplied a considerable amount of heavy mobile and semimobile equipment used in the field by U.S. Quartermaster units. This is described in connection with the continental
operations in which these items were used but also deserves mention here.76 Equipment for a total of 69 mobile bakery companies was procured locally. Similar items procured were laundries (3 fixed, 21 mobile), shoe repair (3 semi-mobile, 19 mobile), and dry cleaning units (3 fixed). A much larger mobile laundry program (100 units) finally had to be canceled because of increased requirements for British troops in North Africa and the Middle East. Jerricans were another very large item: the British supplied 10,500,000 by D-day, and over 18,000,000 by May 1945.77
Liquid fuels presented an unusual procurement problem, since in many cases the original source was the United States. Within the United Kingdom, POL was provided directly to the U.S. forces by the British Army. Bulk POL reaching the United Kingdom from whatever source went into a common Anglo-American pool, which served civilians as well as the armed forces, and was in fact controlled by the British Petroleum Board in close liaison with the U.S. Area Petroleum Board. The Quartermaster Corps was theoretically entitled to draw up to half of this common pool, but during 1942–43 did not actually maintain an independent reserve except for a relatively small quantity held in Quartermaster POL depots for emergency shipment to North Africa, for troop training, and for training its own units in Class III supply procedures. American units requiring POL drew it from British military sources on a simple requisition form—either in containers or in bulk from roadside pumps.78
Such a smooth relationship between two military systems was not achieved without mutual concession and careful coordination. Because of the heavy consumption by the Americans, both countries followed United States Army and Navy specifications with few exceptions. POL storage and distribution problems were further simplified by agreement to use MT80 gasoline (80-octane motor vehicle type) for all military and civilian engines in the United Kingdom except those of aircraft. Use of MT80 with its relatively high lead content created a serious maintenance problem for the British, most of whose motors were not designed to use highly leaded gasoline. The British accepted this burden to avoid the reduction in military reserves that would have resulted from a division of storage and distribution facilities between two varieties of gasoline. When, in 1944, a temporary shortage of tetraethyl lead forced consideration of a return to 72-octane gasoline for civilian users in the United Kingdom, the single-variety system was so well established that it was found uneconomical to attempt to differentiate between civilian and military users.79
The U.S. Army, too, was confronted by maintenance problems arising from the universal use of highly leaded gasoline. Field ranges and gasoline lanterns operated very poorly on leaded gasoline and caused serious maintenance and repair problems. The Quartermaster Corps nevertheless insisted on the advantages of simplified supply and refused to provide any other fuel. But unleaded gasoline always remained superior to MT80 for certain types of specialized engines, notably those of liaison aircraft and the small gasoline-powered electric generators used by signal and medical units. The pressure on the Chief Quartermaster to provide such gasoline was so persistent that when small quantities occasionally became available their issue was carefully controlled.80
The OCQM looked to Eire, Spain, and Portugal as possible sources of such supplies as vegetables, towels, blankets, gloves, and sweaters, but none of these countries ever provided more than an insignificant fraction of what was needed. The British, with their tightly knit economic relations with the Irish, were cool to the suggestion that Americans enter the Irish market for this move would cause prices to rise. At first the Irish were equally cool to a proposal that might compromise their position as neutrals. But Littlejohn visited President Eamon de Valera and obtained a personal commitment that the U.S. orders could and would be filled. Only by the persistence of the Chief Quartermaster, after the OQMG was unable to provide sufficient cotton yarn for towels and handkerchiefs, were the British persuaded to supply 125 tons of surplus long-staple cotton for such production in Ireland. This figure barely amounted to 25 percent of U.S. Army requirements. In this transaction, as in many others, Sir Cecil Weir, the British Minister of Supply, was very sympathetic and helpful.81
Meanwhile a survey of Spanish production facilities by the U.S. military attaché disclosed that clothing prices were high and quality low. This discouraging report caused the ETO Quartermaster to lose interest in Spanish goods except for oranges, winter vegetables, and miscellaneous emergency purchases. At the same time purchases of wool and leather items suitable for military use were made in Spain and Portugal by the United States Commercial Corporation (USCC), a federally owned U.S. agency engaged in preclusive buying—that is, in purchasing supplies to prevent the Axis Powers from acquiring them. Naturally, such activities involved competitive bidding, and prices were high. At first, most of these supplies were stored in the country of origin, but in the latter half of 1944 it
became evident that there would be serious shortages, particularly of blankets, in the ETO during the approaching winter. The OCQM arranged to acquire these supplies, many of which were used in rest camps and leave centers where first-class equipment was not vitally necessary. In November 1944, Colonel Brumbaugh visited Spain and Portugal to negotiate for additional supplies through military attaché and USCC channels. In Spain he acquired 300,000 blankets that had been manufactured specifically for the German Army, and in Portugal the USCC obtained for him 500,000 blankets, 3,000,000 unbleached cotton towels, 1,500,000 terry towels, 300,000,000 handkerchiefs, and 3,000,000 meters of sheeting. Delivery was to be completed by May 1945.82
Local procurement was a complicated process, involving an exasperating amount of attention to minor detail and requiring a large and highly qualified staff. But arrangements finally perfected after a period of adjustment resulted in significant savings in transatlantic shipping. During 1942 the Quartermaster Service procured in the United Kingdom supplies of all types amounting to 259,000 ship tons. These figures increased in 1943 to a total of 1,389,000 ship tons. During the first eleven months of 1944, total deliveries amounted to 2,319,000 ship tons. This total, broken down by category, included: Class I, 307,000 ship tons; Class II, 32,000 ship tons; Class III, 146,000 tons of POL plus 1,309,000 tons of solid fuels; and Class IV, 525,000 ship tons.83
In assessing the importance of the local procurement program, the limited port capacity of the British Isles should be considered as well as the direct saving in shipping. The average capacity of an Atlantic Ocean freighter was roughly 10,000 ship tons. By mid-1943 the crisis in shipping was largely overcome, but the unloading rate at British docks remained a limiting factor. The absolute maximum available to all U.S. forces in the United Kingdom was 150 ships, or 1,500,000 ship tons of imports per month, of which the Quartermaster Service received about one-third. Littlejohn’s estimate of July 1943 that he could procure 40 percent of his vital needs in the United Kingdom was actually far short of reality. It was estimated that for the period June 1942—June 1944, 63 percent of QMC requirements were locally procured.84 Such procurement provided welcome relief to the OCQM in the last hectic months before D-day, when the other technical services were badly hampered in their operations, and ships waiting to be unloaded threatened to clog every British port. Thus local procurement alleviated the ill effects of an almost disastrous bottleneck.85
Maintaining a military base within a sovereign foreign nation involved certain unavoidable complications and inconveniences, but the British Government and people made unprecedented efforts and concessions to reduce these disadvantages to a minimum. Such official actions as Parliament’s granting extraterritorial privileges to the U.S. forces in the British Isles, and relaxation of wartime rationing restrictions by the various Ministries, became significant through general public acceptance of these measures. It might be said that the Americans came to appreciate Great Britain fully only after they had left it. Minor problems caused by differences in speech and by the unfamiliar technical vocabulary of the British Army assumed their true proportions once the Americans had experienced real language difficulties on the Continent. After making laborious efforts to achieve satisfactory contacts with people whose basic attitudes and fundamental institutions were widely different, they reached a better understanding of the value of a common English heritage, of which language was only one aspect. That heritage made possible a degree of mutual understanding which could never be duplicated in any of the continental countries, despite unlimited good will on both sides. For that reason, both official and personal relationships between the British people and the U.S. Army remained close, even after most U.S. troops had crossed the Channel. Great Britain remained the chief source of local procurement for the European theater until V-E day, not only in textiles and hardware, but even in many foodstuffs. This fact is only partially explained by economic chaos and devastation on the Continent; the ease of doing business in English with men whose methods and working habits were familiar was a powerful incentive. Individual Americans were apparently swayed by similar considerations. Despite the rival attractions of Paris and the Riviera, London remained the favorite leave center for U.S. troops in the ETO.86