Guns, Grub, and Gasoline: How the American Supply System Helped Win World War II

Over generations of warfare, logistics have remained the lifeblood of great military campaigns. In spite of the U.S.A. having a relatively little experience in mechanized warfare, the United States military forces used overwhelming logistical strength to help defeat the Axis powers in World War II. This study will trace the logistical development of the United States Army from the Revolutionary War to its World War II deployment. The vital issues of investigation include military, quantitative, political, economic, and social interaction of personnel through a nationalist theoretical approach in order to interpret the impact of the U.S. Logistical Services between 1941-1945.;The primary and secondary source materials includes specific military reports and letters. One component from the Quartermaster Corps Museum in Fort Lee, Virginia, that will be critical to this study will be the use of eyewitness testimony from officers of the United States Quartermaster Corps. It will also include the views of policy makers who worked closely with the Quartermaster Corps, found at the U.S. Army War College, and the special collections of libraries such as West Point. The interviews conducted by the Library of Congress Veterans History Project will also make up a significant portion of the primary source material for this study. Other primary sources for this study will be period newspapers and periodicals focusing on logistics, such as Stars and Stripes which can be found at several academic libraries.;It is the contention of this study that the Quartermaster Corps was the most vital branch of the United States Armed Services during World War II. The coordinated efforts of mechanized units paved the way for an Allied victory. It was only through the efforts of mechanized units that the Quartermaster Corps was able to conquer the unique geographic challenges of the North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany landscapes. As a result of highly effective training and strategic planning coupled with the aid of superior equipment the U.S. Quartermaster Corps was able to provide the soldiers of the frontline with all of the materials and conveniences they could have anticipated. Without their heroic efforts the soldiers on the frontlines could not have effectively carried out their missions.