Carrying capacity

“ Just as food, fuel, trade, industry, labor were each and all mobilized for war effort and all brought into harmonious and effective teamwork, so the transportation agencies were all bent, first of all, to the same purpose. Roads, motive power, freight and passenger equipment were devoted first to the necessities of carrying men from homes to cantonments and camps and thence to ports of embarkation and of moving food, munitions, supplies and raw materials to camps, to shipment points and to places of manufacture for war purposes. ”

“ There should be provision made for a reserve corps, not only of railroad men, but of all that class of civilians whose services could be used advantageously in the army in a directing capacity—railroad men of every description, whether belonging to the operating branch or the accounting branch, the passenger or freight department, or the construction branch. Automobile experts of every class would be in very great demand. ”

“ But in many towns, and especially in America, the supply is considerably greater, but also in many cases a good deal of the supply is lost by leakage of the mains. The supply through the branch mains of a distributing system is calculated from the population supplied. But in determining the capacity of the mains the fluctuation of the demand must be allowed for. ”

“ The question is often asked by prospective soldiers as to what is the irreducible minimum that a man should take to war, in the way of equipment. I say irreducible, for it is to the interest of the infantryman who has to carry practically all his belongings on his back, to reduce his load as much as possible consistent with efficiency and comfort. ”

“ The objects to be attained are, precision and force at long ranges, facility of loading and firing, and such simplicity and strength in the general construction as to allow the least possible chance of derangement or mistake in the management, at the moment when such error might cost the owner his life. And in addition to these points it is required that the weight shall not exceed the amount which a man of the average strength needed for a soldier can manipulate and carry on the march without over-fatigue. ”

“ It follows accordingly that, in spite of the distance travelled per car, the companies have only profited to the extent of 39 per cent, of the capacity of their rolling-stock; but we must not forget that there is always a difference between theoretical capacity and effective capacity, which varies according to the nature of the load. ”

“ Another fundamental essential is that all provisions must be in packages not to exceed a certain maximum weight, which can be readily handled by one man in loading or unloading a ship or boats or sledges, particularly in an emergency, where rapid work is essential. ”

“ Certainly its logistics grow to a serious problem with a force beyond two hundred thousand men, and it seems probable that when armies much exceed this figure, the question of feeding, transportation, and command, even with railroads and telegraph, make concentric operations more available. ”

“ As the means of communication improved, the mobility of armies called for a better organization of supply. It became imperative to import foodstuffs from a distance, as, owing to the growth of armies, the theatre of war was no longer able to maintain them from its local resources. To bring food from a distance requires transport, and consequently the Treasury or civil side were gradually obliged to organize a transport as well as a supply system. ”

“ SUPPLY AND TRANSPORT, MILITARY. In all ages the operations of armies have been influenced, and in many cases absolutely controlled, by the necessity of providing and distributing food, forage and stores for men and horses. In modern history these supplies have become more and more varied as weapons developed in complexity, power and accuracy of workmanship. In proportion, the branches of an army which are charged with the duties of "supply and transport" have become specialized as regards recruiting, training and organization. ”

“ As a general rule local resources should be used before the line of communication is called upon, and last of all the call is made on the mobile supplies in the hands of the fighting units. During a strategical concentration or a long halt “the resources of the immediate neighbourhood cannot be expected to support the troops. At such times they may be supplied from field dépôts established at convenient centres, and filled with supplies that are obtained by purchase or requisition and collected by requisitioned or hired (civilian) transport.” ”

“ There is wanted, therefore, for home production—
1st. A force of workmen adequate to the production of a minimum supply of ordnance and ordnance stores for the army. This force is shown in paper No. 3.
2d. That this force should be permanently attached to the Bureau, and in no way liable to be interfered with by any one.
3d. That a minimum supply of food and clothing should be furnished by the Subsistence and Quartermaster Departments.
The "impediments" to the importation of such supplies as must still come from abroad, must be overcome, as they arise, by individual energy and resource. ”

“ Post and strength of supports and reserves. Supports and reserves are kept at short distances. Their strength is less if the object is merely to hold the enemy fast than if the object is, in addition, to compel him to use up reserves. ”

“ So the equipment and personnel must be organized into a facile and orderly working force, held under the directive control of the captain of erudition at every point, and so articulated and standardized that its rate of speed and the volume of its current output can be exhibited to full statistical effect as it runs. ”

“ Therefore, the army which possesses an efficient supply department, following ever upon its heels, will be far more capable of success than an ill-fed force of men, who, after a long day in the field, must perforce wander away to find food. ”

“ Unless you have a sufficient number of men for your task you cannot accomplish that task at all. But the second, which is less often considered by general opinion, is a necessity no less absolute than the necessity for adequate numbers.
The general term “supply” covers all those objects without which an army cannot exist or fight—clothing, shelter, food, weapons, auxiliary instruments, ammunition. ”

“ A commander will be hampered in maintaining his fighting strength at its maximum unless he has arranged for, and has at his disposal, adequate logistics support. Because of its intimate relationship to mobility and endurance, such support is an essential to freedom of action. Logistics support requires provision for procurement and replenishment of supplies, for evacuation, proper disposition, and replacement of ineffective personnel, and for material maintenance. Freedom of action is restricted beyond those limits to which logistics support can be extended. ”

“ On the other hand, the provision of the large armies of modern warfare requires the maintenance of a reserve, and no reserve is possible if the whole period for which men will enlist is spent with the colours. The demand for long service in the individual, and for trained men in the aggregate, thus produces a compromise. ”

“ The reserves of an army are of two kinds,—those on the battle-field, and those which are intended to recruit and support the army: the latter, while organizing, may occupy important points of the theater of war, and serve even as strategic reserves; their positions will depend not only on their magnitude, but also on the nature of the frontiers and the distance from the base to the front of operations. ”

“ In the field of purely military undertakings, various alternatives for the development of effective internal security forces will be continually examined with the view of modernizing our command and control system and realigning cost ratios of personnel services to logistics. ”

“ A perfect system of transport and supply had long before been arranged, and officers and men trained to carry it out. Those who have seen will give unstinted praise, for supplies, remounts, clothing, every conceivable thing, were obtainable, often brought to the front at the cost of no small amount of labour and forethought by those responsible for the work. ”

“ Such an appreciation of the scale and the pace of supply is sufficient to illuminate one’s third point, the delicacy of the whole business, and the peril of its embarrassment. You are feeding, munitioning, clothing, evacuating the wounded from, sheltering, and equipping millions of men; those millions subject to sudden abnormal periods of wastage, any one of which may come at any unexpected moment, and further subject to sudden unforeseen movements upon any scale. You must so co-ordinate all your movements of supply that no part of the vast line is pinched even for twenty-four hours. ”

“ Charge not to be made without sufficient troops; reserves give impetus; avoiding too dense a mass. Before ordering the charge the commander should see that enough troops are on hand to make it a success. Local reserves joining the firing line in time to participate in the charge give it a strong impetus. Too dense a mass should be avoided. ”

“ Commissary stores and forage will be transported by the trains. Where these are not convenient of access, and where troops act in detachments, the Quartermaster’s Department will assign wagons or pack animals for that purpose; but the baggage of officers, or of troops, or camp equipage, will not be permitted to be carried in the wagons or on the pack animals so assigned. The assignment for transportation for ammunition, hospital stores, subsistence, and forage will be made in proportion to the amount ordered to be carried. ”

“ Those who are responsible for providing food should also be responsible for moving it. The administrative units of the combined services of Transport and Supply are provided by the Army Service Corps, as shown in detail in the next section of this chapter. The Officers of this Corps are trained both for Transport and Supply duties. Their identical training and their organization together in one unit tends to produce co-operation in both services of Transport and Supply, and should minimize any chance of failure in war. ”

“ Thanks to the patriotic spirit of our people at home, there came from civil life men trained for every sort of work involved in building and managing the organization necessary to handle and transport such an army and keep it supplied. With such assistance the construction and general development of our plans have kept pace with the growth of the forces, and the Service of Supply is now able to discharge from ships and move 45,000 tons daily, besides transporting troops and material in the conduct of active operations. ”

“ In thinly-settled and unproductive regions the army will lack its most necessary supplies: it will be prudent, in this case, not to advance too far from its depots, and to carry with it sufficient provisions to enable it, if compelled to do so, to fall back upon its lines of depots. ”

“ In the original deployment the strength of the reserve held out by each commander comprises from one-sixth to two-thirds of his unit, depending upon the nature of the service expected of the reserve.
A small force in a covering or delaying action requires very little strength in rear, while a large force fighting a decisive battle requires much. ”

“ Then as regards mobilization arrangements, supply and transport services, ammunition columns, trains, horses, vehicles, harness, even boots for the men—in none of these essentials are the Territorials, as a Force, complete. I therefore repeat that failure in equipment is not an unfair statement. ”

“ I labored day and night to remedy these and other defects, and with the help of Captain Michael P. Small, of the Subsistence Department, who was an invaluable assistant, soon brought things into shape, putting the transportation in good working order, giving each regiment its proper quota of wagons, and turning the surplus into the general supply trains of the army. ”

“ Control of Industry and Transportation.—The establishment of huge war industries for making guns, munitions, clothing, and the varied supplies for a vast army put a great strain on the industry and transportation of the United States. The country was called upon to feed its own people, the army that was preparing to go abroad and, in considerable part, the Allied armies. ”

“ It is convenient to add to these Establishments a statement of the Transport of each Unit or Formation, showing the guns, wagons, and carts, of all descriptions, with the drivers and animals required.
The Strength given in Establishments represents63 the total numbers of men and animals drawing rations daily in the field, and may be termed the Ration Strength. It is often summed up as so many “officers” and “other ranks” (or so many of “all ranks”) and horses. ”

“ Every article of supply furnished or brought to market, will be paid for at a fair and settled price; but as immediate and constant supplies, especially of provision, forage, fuel and transports, are necessary to all armies, it is well known, that requisitions are unavoidable, and must be enforced. ”

“ Twentieth-century transport could carry food, fuel and clothing sufficient to maintain in continuous array of battle, armies that were now reckoned by the million, it could carry as much ammunition as the factories could produce to feed their modernised weapons. ”

“ The mobilization of industry is as important as the mobilization of men. The enlisted men must be taken from offices and shops and we must still maintain our output in products, get it to the places it is needed, when it is needed, and in prime condition. Soldiers without supplies and arms are useless; as are civilians behind the line.
The business of industry is to meet the demands and opportunities of foreign markets and to supply the needs of America; to transport men and supplies upon short notice on a large scale. ”