Military logistics

“ To be a good chief of staff, it became in this way necessary that a man should be acquainted with all the various branches of the art of war. If the term logistics includes all this, the two works of the Archduke Charles, the voluminous treatises of Guibert, Laroche-Aymon, Bousmard, and Ternay, all taken together, would hardly give even an incomplete sketch of what logistics is; for it would be nothing more nor less than the science of applying all possible military knowledge. ”

“ While the factor may also have some bearing on a tactical estimate, logistics support will rarely change sufficiently, during a naval battle, to affect the outcome. This support exercises a dominant influence upon the fighting power of armed forces. ”

“ Contents of Study- The study carried out under subsection (a) shall-- (1) be a quantitative analysis of the post-reset Department of Defense depot capability required to provide life cycle sustainment of military legacy systems and new systems and military equipment; (2) take into consideration direct input from the Secretary of Defense and the logistics and acquisition leadership of the military departments, including materiel support and depot commanders ”

“ The PLA is strengthening logistics reforms. It improves the mechanism of the joint logistics system first adopted by the Jinan Military Area Command mainly by readjusting functions, rationalizing internal relations, optimizing structures, and raising cost-effectiveness. It continues the process of outsourcing daily maintenance services, and takes steps to outsource other services, such as general-purpose materials storage and integrated civilian-military equipment maintenance. ”

“ The work of preparing all that part of the naval machine which in time of peace is separate from the active fleet is purely one of logistics; it is that part of the preparation which calculates what ways and means are needed, and then supplies those ways and means. Logistics, having been told by strategy what strategy plans to do, calculates how many and what kinds of vessels, men, guns, torpedoes, fuel, food, hospital service, ammunition, etc., are needed to make possible the fulfilling of those plans ”

“ In general, the air forces logistics system functions effectively in peacetime. Logistics methods and procedures are carefully devised and relatively efficient. Maintenance personnel are technically qualified, well trained, and highly motivated. A potential weakness of the otherwise excellent logistics capability is the dependence on the Soviets for replacements parts for aircraft and associated equipment. Such dependence could impede the operational effectiveness of the East German Air Force during sustained conflict. ”

“ Sufficient transport cadres cannot be kept up in peace, and consequently recourse must be had to hired transport, which cannot be treated as a military body. Again, food cannot be requisitioned, and local purchase at the time cannot be trusted to; so dépôts of supplies must be formed beforehand in the manœuvres area, which more or less tie the hands of the supply service. ”

“ In time of war the whole of the supplies must be delivered in bulk to a very limited number of points, and from that time onwards the military authorities must be responsible for what may be described as their wholesale as well as their retail distribution. ”

“ The Force Logistics Command at Da Nang augmented by U. S. Army sources at Cam Ranh Bay was responsible for the mountain of supplies and material which sustained the 26th Marines. An excerpt from the works of Winston Churchill which was selected as the motto of the Force Logistics Command best describes the vital role these logistics agencies played: "Victory is the beautiful colored flower. ”

“ If these sources of supply and refitment are abundant, that is, if the tracts of territory are wide and rich, if the stores are collected in great depôts to be more speedily brought into use, if these depôts are covered in a military sense in one way or another, if they are in close proximity to the army and accessible by good roads, if they extend along a considerable width in the rear of the army or surround it in part as well—then follows a greater vitality for the army, as well as a greater freedom in its movements. ”

“ Grand Tactics is the art of posting troops upon the battle-field according to the accidents of the ground, of bringing them into action, and the art of fighting upon the ground, in contradistinction to planning upon a map. Its operations may extend over a field of ten or twelve miles in extent. Logistics comprises the means and arrangements which work out the plans of strategy and tactics. ”

“ For the successful prosecution of this war it is indispensable that the means of transporting troops and military supplies be furnished, as far as possible, in such manner as not to interrupt the commercial intercourse between our people nor place a check on their productive energies. To this end the means of transportation from one section of our country to the other must be carefully guarded and improved. ”

“ Now, as in the present instance, it is possible after a war has begun to provide for a steady and considerable supply of transport motors to be handed over to the military authorities week by week, provided always that the process of manufacturing is not seriously interfered with either by the propinquity of military operations, or by the need of drafting men in excessive numbers from the works to the active forces. ”

“ Another example pertained to the dependence on other nations for the provision of contemporary military equipment of all types—and the associated length of time needed to build an effective war economy to produce such equipment. (The U.S. Army never had a qualitative edge over its German opponents during World War II despite the superior productive capabilities of American industry.) ”

“ What is the best organization to be given an army just setting out upon a campaign will for a long time to come be a problem in logistics; because it is extremely difficult to maintain the original organization in the midst of the operations of war, and detachments must be sent out continually. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Aircraft carriers are modern, mobile United States military bases complete with airfield, hospital, and communications systems from which the United States can strike at its enemies. (13) Over 90 percent of world trade is moved by sea, including much of the world's gas and oil supply, and aircraft carriers patrol vital regions of the world to keep shipping lanes open and protect the interests of the United States and its allies. ”

“ A great deal is said in connection with military movements, of 'bases of operation.' These are the points in the rear of an army from which it receives supplies and reënforcements, and with which its communications must at all hazards be kept open, except it has means of transportation sufficient to render it independent of its depots for a considerable period, or unless the country traversed is able to afford subsistence for men and animals. When an army marches along a navigable river, its secondary base becomes movable, and it is less confined to the necessity of protecting its rear. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Few people realize what a vast number of merchant vessels are required to attend on the fleet to supply it with coal, oil, provisions, clothing, ammunition, new guns, repairs, etc., and to bring away from the fleet wounded and ill men, and the guns and machinery which need repairs. It is a fact that today more than half of the available merchant tonnage of the world is employed in supplying the fighting fleets. To support the armies which we ought to send to the front will require at least six million more tons of shipping than we have available. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The efficiency of any arrangement used in war will depend largely on the experience of its working gained in time of peace. Why do we not work the direct system of supply whilst we are at peace so as to familiarise ourselves with the operations it entails before the stress of serious emergency is upon us? There are two reasons. One is, because we have used the permanent base method so long that, as usually happens in such cases, we find it difficult to form a conception of any other. The other reason is that the direct supply method is thought to be too costly. ”

“ An army in the field drags behind it a long chain of transport, mechanical and animal, advanced supply depots, hospitals, rest camps, etc., and communications by which it is securely fastened to fixed bases at its rear. There are in France to-day thousands of men from the railheads nearest the firing-line, right through the long lines of communication to the base supply depots, leading a more or less uneventful life of regular routine, freed to a certain extent from the dangers of shot and shell, but who are, nevertheless, "doing their bit somewhere in France." ”

“ 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. ”

“ In addition to their vital role in commerce and trade, America's shipping and shipbuilding industries have distinguished themselves in providing logistic and combat support to our armed forces in times of war. ”

“ The so-called 'secondary base' is a place at which it is intended to keep in store coal and other articles in the hope that when war is in progress the supply of our ships may be facilitated. It is a supply, and not a repairing base.
A comparison of the 'direct' system and 'secondary base' system may be interesting. A navy being maintained for use in war, it follows, as a matter of course, that the value of any part of its equipment or organisation depends on its efficiency for war purposes. The question to be answered is—Which of the two systems promises to help us most during hostilities? ”

“ It is obvious that without a carefully worked out system of organization for its Transport, an army in the field will be helpless from want of ammunition and food, and slow and uncertain in its movements; the sick and wounded will lack attention; and the troops cannot fail to undergo hardships and privations, which will have a bad effect on their morale and fighting power.
Owing to the enormous amount of food required for an army, the main function of the Transport is to carry supplies, so that the connection between98 Transport and Supply is a very intimate one. ”

“ Once the docks are cleared of the valuable freight for which our men and associates in the war now wait in vain, then again our energies and power may be turned to manufacturing, more efficient than ever; so that a steady and uninterrupted stream of vital supplies may be this nation's answer to the Allies' cry for help.... ”

“ It is sometimes contended that supply-carriers ought to be vessels of great speed, apparently in order that they may always keep up with the fighting ships when at sea. This, perhaps, is due to a mistaken application of the conditions of a land force on the march to those of a fleet or squadron making a voyage. In practice a land army cannot separate itself—except for a very short time—from its supplies. Its movements depend on those of its supply-train. The corresponding 'supply-train' of a fleet or squadron is in the holds and bunkers of its ships. ”