Page 392

Appendix F: Shipment of Divisions, 1942

There is a vast amount of detailed information on the shipment of divisions overseas in World War II, but a simple table with precise dates and brief explanatory notes for the main phases in the movement of divisions overseas in 1942 has not been found in Department of the Army files. The sources of information on which this table and the accompanying notes were based are scattered in diverse Army files and publications. A compilation of the assembled detailed data from which the table and notes were drawn is contained in Strategic Plans Unit Study 4. Further detailed information can be secured by consulting official division records now located at the Field Records Division, Kansas City Records Center, Kansas City, Missouri.

The most useful sources consulted were: (1) division headquarters history data cards of the Organization and Directory Section, Operations Branch, Adjutant General’s Office; (2) “Combat Chronicle, An Outline History of U.S. Army Divisions,” prepared by the Order of Battle Section, OCMH; (3) report, title: Summary of Historical Events and Statistics New York Port of Embarkation, 1942, OCT HB NYPE; (4) Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation Historical Report 1, title: Description of the Port and its Operation through October 31, 1942, OCT HB HRPE; (5) combat operations reports of the divisions on file in Historical Records Section, Departmental Records Branch, Adjutant General’s Office; and (6) division histories published by division associations. It was necessary to rely heavily on the history data cards maintained by the Organization and Directory Section, Operations Branch, Adjutant General’s Office. These history data cards were compiled during the war from whatever sources were available—water transportation reports, strength reports, station lists, postal reports, and AG letters—and are therefore not entirely accurate. Discrepancies were also found in the combat operations reports for departure and arrival dates of divisions.

There are a number of explanations for these discrepancies. Scheduled departures might be changed or delayed; availability of shipping might send units of the division in different convoys; time of arrival of a ship might be reported as a different day from that of debarkation of troops; and ships arriving at one harbor might be diverted to another harbor for unloading. The time factor might also account for differences of one day, depending on the use of the Washington date or the local overseas date, or the hour—before or after midnight.

The dates given in this table represent the closest possible adjustment of the conflicting data found in the records and are reliable within a very small margin of error.

In the study of the phases of movement of those divisions shipped overseas during 1942, it appeared that, unless the movement was made on a ship of the size of the Queen Mary or Queen Elizabeth, a division’s movement would usually be divided into shipments of an advance detachment, followed

Page 393

at a later date by the division headquarters and the main body of troops, and frequently by a rear echelon movement of units held in port-of-embarkation backlog, depending on the availability of shipping. If the destination was in a combat area, a regimental combat team would often comprise the first echelon of a divisional movement. In the light of piecemeal movements of the elements of a division, it was found most useful in establishing dates to chart the movement of the division headquarters. Unless otherwise indicated, the dates used in the table for sailing, arrival, and reshipment refer to the division headquarters. These dates do not necessarily coincide with those for the movement of the advance echelon or the rest of the division.

Page 394

Shipment of Divisions—1942

Division1	Date of Overseas Orders2	Port of Embarkation3	Date of Sailing	Date of Arrival Overseas	Destination	Date Divisional Movement Completed4	Date of Reshipment5	Destination
Philippine6	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---
24th7	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---
25th8	---	---	---	---	---	---	10 Dec 429	Guadalcanal
January:
34th	31 Dec 4	New York	15 Jan 4210	26 Jan 42	Northern Ireland	15 May 42	10 Dec 4211	North Africa
Americal [Task Force 6814]12	14 Jan 42	New York	22 Jan 42	12 Mar 42	New Caledonia	23 Apr 42	4 Dec 4213	Guadalcanal
March:
27th	27 Dec 41	San Francisco	10 Mar 42	15 Mar 4214	Hawaii	17 Apr 42	---
41st	16 Feb 42	San Francisco	19 Mar 42	7 Apr 42	Australia	15 May 42	23 Dec 4215	New Guinea
April:
32nd	28 Mar 4216	San Francisco	22 Apr 42	14 May 42	Australia	14 May 42	27 Sep 4217	New Guinea
5th	5 Mar 4218	New York	30 Apr 42	11 May 42	Iceland	11 May 42	---	---
May:
1st Armored	25 Mar 42	New York	11 May 42	16 May 42	Northern Ireland	13 Jun 42	9 Dec 4219	North Africa
37th	15 Mar 4220	San Francisco	26 May 42	10 Jun 42	Fiji Islands	20 Sep 42	---	---
August:
1st	28 May 42	New York	2 Aug 42	7 Aug 42	England	7 Aug 42	26 Oct 42	North Africa
40th	25 Jul 42	San Francisco	23 Aug 42	1 Sep 42	Hawaii	6 Oct 42	---	---
October:
43rd	29 Aug 42	San Francisco	1 Oct 42	23 Oct 42	New Zealand	30 Oct 4221	18 Nov 42	New Caledonia
29th	10 Sep 42	New York	5 Oct 42	11 Oct 42	England	11 Oct 42	---	---
3rd	5 Sep 4222	Hampton Roads	24 Oct 42	8 Nov 42	North Africa	27 Jan 43	---	---
December:
2nd Armored	27 Oct 4223	New York	12 Dec 42	25 Dec 42	North Africa	25 Dec 42	---	---
9th	6 Nov 4224	New York	12 Dec 42	25 Dec 42	North Africa	27 Jan 43	---	---

Page 395