Thread by @usacac

WHAT WERE THE GHQ MANEUVERS? (Part 2)

During the Interwar Years, the @USArmy was inadequately funded, resulting in most units being skeletonized. There was almost no improvement in Army readiness during those 20 years.

Only periodic maneuvers (exercises) were held with the Regular Army and the Army National Guard, and these maneuvers were more like “play-acting” between notional forces. They were mostly ineffective and not meeting their intended purpose. @USNationalGuard

But General Marshall, the US Army Chief of Staff, would have something that no other US Army Chief of Staff had previously had: A period of mobilization that actually preceded the US declaration of war.

Germany invaded Poland in the beginning of September 1939, and Japan would not attack the US at Pearl Harbor until December of 1941 – over 2 years later. Although we wouldn’t know it at the time, Marshall knew he had to begin mobilization as soon as possible.

Army Reservists would help grow the @USArmy eightfold and ultimately the War Department would be able to field 33 divisions. Some of those divisions would be combat-ready in December 1941 thanks, in no small part, to the GHQ Maneuvers.

Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair was in charge of Army training. He used the Maneuvers to give small units the necessary experience in teamwork and combined arms to make them an effective fighting force before they ever saw real combat. @TRADOC @TradocDCG @TRADOCCSM

Marshall referred to the Maneuvers as “combat college for troop leading.” He wanted them to make mistakes so they could be corrected during exercises, not during a battle. @NTC_UPDATE @JRTC_TF1 @HohenfelsJMRC @USARMYMCTP @ShaneMorgan_WF6 @USArmyMCCoE

The Maneuvers also served as “field laboratories” for tank, antitank, and air forces. These forces had all grown since 1918, their Doctrine was evolving, and this all needed testing. @ArmorSchool @52ndArmorCmdt @usairforce

The GHQ Maneuvers pitted field armies against each other in the Summer and Fall of 1941 and culminated the pre-war mobilization period.

During the 1941 GHQ Maneuvers, almost half of the entire @USArmy participated. They were the largest maneuvers in US Army history. Every Branch played their part in the simulated war with simulated wartime conditions.

News and media outlets covered the Maneuvers, bringing them to national attention. Many local papers covered the Maneuvers as if they were “real” war.

The 1941 GHQ Maneuvers were a significant turning point in @USArmy history. Throughout this series, we will explore how and why the Army changed during this time period and how that still has an impact on the Army today.

If you missed the first thread in our series, they will all be saved in a Twitter Moment on this account and the direct link is here: twitter.com/i/events/13642…