On September 28, 1941 at 1530 hours (3:30 p.m.) the guns of the Red 2nd and the Blue 3rd Armies fell silent throughout the Sabine Maneuver Area. In just 2 short maneuver phases that totaled 10 days, the United States Army had completed the largest peacetime maneuvers ever held. These 10 days in September would provide the Army with much needed training that would actually prepare the United States somewhat for World War II. In 10 days new tactics were tested, new equipment had been tested, both officers and enlisted men had been tested, supply techniques had been tested, aircraft had been tested, and General Headquarters in Washington, D.C. now could address any shortages of equipment, leadership, personnel, and they now could begin building the mighty army that would win World War II.
It is hard to believe but it has been 81 years ago when the biggest military event in the history of the U.S Army took place in Louisiana and East Texas. In September 1941 with over 470,000 men swarming throughout the maneuver area, and 34,000 of these troops being mounted cavalry the army was about to be tested in these mock battles. Time has not stood still but this great event is still remembered by many who lived through these maneuvers so many years ago. I think so many still remember it because of the impact it made in the lives of the people living throughout the area. And the ultimate impact that the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941 made on the United States was that it actually prepared our military for the upcoming war lurking on the horizon.
General George C. Marshall began getting more men and equipment after the fledgling 1940 Maneuvers brought out the issues of lack of manpower, equipment, vehicles, aircraft, and armored vehicles. With the inception of the draft and the federalization of National Guard units, overnight there were nearly a million men in uniform. General Marshall knew that the only way for these troops to get actual field training was through large scale military maneuvers. He was able to obtain the whole army maneuver budget for 1941 to fund the Louisiana Maneuvers. Once he had the funding, where was he to find an area large enough to train military units of every type, size, and description in the art of war?
The Army had been looking for an area to conduct maneuvers and the so called “Sabine Area” had been found to fit all the requirements. In Louisiana this comprised 31 parishes of the state and several counties in East Texas along the Sabine River. This area had a wide variety of different types of terrain, and troops would encounter rivers, bogs, hills, sand, clay, Louisiana’s famous “gumbo” mud, cleared highlands, timberlands, and open lands. They would experience heavy rainfall and hot dry dusty weather. General George C. Marshall declared the terrain in the battle area, located in the lands lying between the Red and Sabine Rivers, was the “finest he had ever seen” for this type of training. With no supply depots available unless additional camps were built, it would indeed be a monumental task. To provide supplies for the first maneuvers in 1940 and 1941 it would take at least 14,000 men just to transport and deliver the needed supplies for such a vast undertaking. In 1941 alone it would take 16 million meals for the soldiers in the field for just 14 days.
The units that would participate in the maneuvers began their journey to Louisiana by rail, truck, and even for the cavalry, on the back of their mounts. When they arrived they were divided into 2 armies, the Red and Blue Army and were divided into 2 phases which were September 15th to 19th and September 24th to 28th, 1941.
During the 2 phases of mock maneuver battles, the major objective each army was trying to capture was Peason Ridge. If captured, Peason Ridge was an avenue that allowed the armored and cavalry units a direct route to capture Leesville and Camp Polk. Battles and skirmishes were fought everywhere, from the open watermelon fields to every bridge and ford on the many creeks and every road junction. Two of the major battles of the maneuvers were in Sabine Parish. The Battle of Mount Carmel was a large battle in which the Blue Army attacked General George Patton’s Red 2nd Armored Division at the Mount Carmel Church and Cemetery. Patton had to pull back towards Many after this battle. The second major battle occurred at Zwolle when the 1st Cavalry Division, a mounted cavalry unit, swam the Sabine River at midnight and attacked General Patton’s supply lines and supply dumps at the depot area of Zwolle. An almost unheard of accomplishment by the cavalry with no soldiers or horses lost in the movement.
General George Patton in Phase 2 was able to use his 2nd Armored Division in the Blue Army. He was attacking north toward Peason Ridge and saw that the Red Army was using delaying tactics to protect the town of Shreveport. He turned his armored units west and crossed the Sabine River in several places and turned north once inside East Texas. He advanced and came in behind Shreveport and was about to capture Barksdale Field and Shreveport when the maneuvers ended. Using cavalry tactics he had learned as a cavalry officer, he used these tactics with his armored units to accomplish every mission given him in the maneuvers.
Sadly we have lost nearly all the young men who came to Louisiana in 1941. The Louisiana Maneuvers prepared our nation for World War II and gave thousands of American soldiers much needed combat training that they used in winning World War II. Through the sacrifice of the Greatest Generation we were successful on all battle fronts. And as you sit on the porch and enjoy a cup of coffee stop and listen…. is that tanks coming ?..Is that Patton leading the way!