Logistics Matters and the U.S. Army in Occupied Germany, 1945-1949

Lee Kruger

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9783319388359
• eBook ISBN:
  9783319388366
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: European History
• Index: History

This book examines the U. S. Army's presence in Germany after the Nazi regime's capitulation in May 1945. This presence required the pursuit of two stated missions: to secure German borders, and to establish an occupation government within the assigned U.S. zone and sector of Berlin.  Both missions required logistics support, a critical aspect often understated in existing scholarship.  The security mission, covered by the combat troops, declined between 1945 and 1948, but grew again with the Berlin Blockade/Airlift in 1948, and then again with the Korean crisis in 1950.  The logistics mission grew exponentially to support this security mission, as the U.S. Army was the only U.S. Government agency possessing the ability and resources to initially support the occupation mission in Germany. The build-up of 'Little Americas' during the occupation years stood forward-deployed U.S. military forces in Europe in good stead over the ensuing decades.

Table of contents

• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Appendix: Glossary
• List of Maps
• List of Tables
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Roots of the Post-Second World War Logistics Challenges in Occupied Germany
• Chapter 2: US Strategic Planning for the Occupation of Germany
• Chapter 3: US Army Organizations and Missions in Occupied Germany
• Chapter 4: Support the Military Forces, Their Families and the Local Populations
• Chapter 5: Logistics, the Bridge to Cultural Exchange: Bratwurst vs Burger
• Chapter 6: Conclusions: We Are in Country for the Long Haul
• Bibliography
• Index