Thread by @usacac

THE DESERT TRAINING CENTER

In early August 1940, President Roosevelt signed legislation that established the Mojave Anti-Aircraft Range – an area of land in the Mojave Desert covering about 1000 acres.

“The area was chosen because the remote location allowed the US Army to train on the anti-aircraft weapons and artillery that would become the first line of defense during the coming war.”

“In 1942 that reservation received its official name, Camp Irwin, in memory of Major General George LeRoy Irwin, World War I battle commander of the 57th Field Artillery Brigade.”

Soldiers would live six to a tent at the Mojave Anti-Aircraft Range (MAAR). The only permanent facilities at the time were a fire station, latrines, dining facility, and a PX.

Throughout 1941, it had grown increasingly clearer that the US would not be able to avoid the war forever. But it was not yet clear when, how, and where the Americans would have to fight. This was a running theme in our previous series.

That year (1941), General Patton gave a speech to his soldiers in which he noted the following:

“The war in Europe is over for us. England will probably fall this year. Our first chance to get at the enemy will be in North Africa.”

“We cannot train troops to fight in the desert of North Africa by training in the swamps of Georgia. I sent a report to Washington requesting a desert training center in California. The California desert can kill quicker than the enemy.”

“We will lose a lot of men from the heat, but the training will save hundreds of lives when we get into combat. I want every officer and every section to start planning on moving all our troops by rail to California.”

In order to train the US Army to fight Hitler’s Afrika Korps in North Africa, an 18,000 sq.mi. area covering the southeastern California / western Arizona desert was chosen for a training camp that would prepare soldiers for “the hazards and difficulty in fighting a desert war.”

This area was known as the Desert Training Center or DTC – and it is not too far from where the modern-day National Training Center (NTC) exists. @NTCLead6 @NTC_UPDATE

The DTC training area “stretched from Indio eastward 150 miles to an area 60 miles west of Phoenix, and from Yuma northward 300 miles to Searchlight, Nevada.”

This area was chosen for several significant reasons. For starters, over 98% of the land was state or federally owned (only 1.5% was held privately).

Last year we talked about purchasing land for the 1941 Maneuvers and having to rent land from private owners who wouldn't sell.

“The land was remote and rugged, and largely uninhabited which made for an excellent large scale training area. An existing aqueduct system (running from the Colorado River to Los Angeles) could easily supply troops with water.”

“The terrain and weather resembled that found in North Africa.”

“The massive area was already supplied by three railroads that could be utilized by the Army to deliver daily rations – Union Pacific in the north, Santa Fe in the center portion, and Southern Pacific in the south.”

The training area itself was divided into three sections to form the maneuver areas: Maneuver Area “A”, Maneuver Area “B”, and Maneuver Area “C”.

(Keeping it simple 😂)

Maneuver Area “A” covered 10,200 miles in southeastern CA and the southern tip of NV; Maneuver Area “B” covered 6,300 miles in western AZ; and Maneuver Area “C” covered 1,500 square miles in northwestern AZ.

Camp Young was set up about 30 miles east of Indio to serve as the Desert Training Center’s Headquarters facility. Camp Young served as the administrator for all of the DTC divisional camps and oversaw all operations at DTC.

On 12 May 1942, Camp Young was officially named for LTG Samuel Baldwin Marks Young, an Army veteran “who operated in the region and was the first US Army Chief of Staff.” By 26 May 1942, power lines were in place, supplying the training area from the Parker Dam.

Maneuver Area “A” included: Camp Coxcomb, Camp Iron Mountain, Camp Granite, Camp Rice, Camp Ibis, Camp Pilot Knob, Camp Essex, and Camp Clipper.

Maneuver Area “B” included: Camp Hyder, Camp Horn, Camp Bouse, and Camp Laguna.

“There were also a number of Quartermaster Supply Depots and Railroad Sidings at Freda, Goffs, Cadiz, Danby, Fenner, and Glamis in California, and at Araby, Dateland, Bouse, Wickenburg, and Yuma in Arizona.”

DTC had 4 airfields set up to provide air support to the training units: Rice Army Airfield, Blythe Army Airfield, Desert Center Army Airfield, and Thermal Army Airfield. “These airfields flew reconnaissance and dive-bombing missions in coordination with Army divisions at DTC.”

“Most of the men who trained with their units prior to arriving at the Desert Training Center had enjoyed running water, showers, and swamp-cooled barracks.”

“However, the purpose at Desert Training Center was to introduce the men to the harsh desert conditions found in real combat.”

“There was dust and dirt that made its way into every article of clothing, weapons, and equipment. Aside from the snakes, scorpions, and cactus, men had to endure the below-freezing winter temperatures as well as the sweltering 115-degree summer days.”

The Desert Training Center was set up with one primary purpose in mind and that was to effectively “train the men in combat conditions.”

Describing the training area in the Mojave Desert, author Robert Gallagher wrote:

“The temperature was over 120 degrees Fahrenheit. It had been hot riding in the truck, but when we jumped out into the glaring sunlight, it felt like we were entering a blast furnace.”

“We all stood there a few minutes with nobody talking. It was as if we had landed on another planet, and nobody could find words to describe it or even to damn it.”

Much as how the 1941 GHQ Maneuvers were designed to simulate combat conditions and really test the units at all echelons, the DTC was designed to do just that but in a unique and highly anticipated environment.

“The majority of their time was spent in the field on maneuvers for days and weeks on end.”

“Maneuvers typically consisted of divisions (roughly 15,000 men each in size) fighting each other in mock battles.”

“Instead of utilizing paved public roads, few of which ran through the DTC area anyway, the infantry and armored divisions traveled overland, making their own roads and paths through the barren desert.”

“The large size of the training area made it possible for the infantry and armor divisions at each camp to make 1-3 week long excursions into the desert using live ordnance (from small arms to heavy artillery and tank rounds) without the risk of running into each other.”

“These long excursions were to simulate life at the front line, and the men were given a daily amount of water to drink. Ate rations, slept in sleeping backs on the rocky desert floor, and were lucky to have enough water left over to wash their face.”

A typical training schedule for a division was:

Week 1 – individual and squad training

Week 2 – company or battery training

Week 3 – battalion training

Week 4 – regimental training

Weeks 5-7 – divisional field exercises

Weeks 8-13 – corps maneuvers

“At any given time there were approximately 180,000 soldiers training at the various camps during their 3-4 month training period. There were over 38,000 vehicles (jeeps, trucks, half-tracks, and tanks).”

“Each division’s mechanics were responsible for the maintenance of their vehicles and when that division left, the vehicles were then passed off to the new division arriving at camp. By the time the DTC drew to a close (in 1944), most vehicles were in deplorable condition.”

“The world’s largest Army post and the greatest training maneuver area in US military history. Eighteen thousand square miles of nothing in a desert designed for Hell.”

One of the first units to transfer to the DTC was the 773d Tank Destroyer Battalion, commanded by COL F.G. Spiess. The 773d Tank Destroyer Battalion had already participated in the 1941 GHQ Maneuvers in Louisiana and the Carolinas.

The 773d Tank Destroyer Battalion was said to “have traveled some 9500 miles through 7 states over a period of 4 months, but the men were to find a new experience at Camp Young where they arrived shortly after 5 April 1942.”

“One soldier who had endured it reported that clothes, equipment such as water bags, radios, vehicles, armored vehicles of all types, and weapons were to be severely tested in this desert area.”

“Water in the Lister bags sometimes reached 90 degrees. After you have been inside the tanks for a while, water even at 90 degrees seemed cool. The tank destroyers were even hotter because they had open-top turrets. Sometimes the heat registered at 152 degrees.”

(Lister bags)

“Inspection of tools and equipment was made early in the mornings or late in the evenings as any equipment or tools laid out on tarps by the individual vehicles, in the desert sun, could not be picked up as they would burn the hands.”

Another 773d Tank Destroyer Battalion member said of his time at the DTC that his “greatest experience for the desert was observing the beauties of nature, both in the desert and also the nearby mountains…”

(cont’d) “… my worst experience being stranded for two days in Palen Dry Lake in a disabled half-track with four crewmen during which time we had one can of sardines, one can of corn, and one and one-half canteens of water.”

(This photo of half-tracks was taken at Fort Knox.)

“All accounts related that, as the first commanding general, Patton certainly stamped his brand on the training center.”

“The hill from which he could observe a wide area was called The King’s Throne. It was a lone elevation between the Crocopia and the Chuckwalla Mountains and separated them both.”

“The General used to sit or stand up there scrutinizing critically the line of tanks and motorized units below him. Detecting a mistake or way to improve, he would shout instructions into his radio.”

“Porter B. Williamson in Patton’s Principles gives a detailed and delightful account of Patton’s communication system.”

The following is how he described the I Armored Corps Headquarters:

“Our headquarters was approximately 60 miles east of Indio. Radio reception in our tents was poor due to the long distance between our portable radios and the broadcasting stations in Palm Springs and Los Angeles.”

“General Patton’s first concern was always the welfare of the troops, so he purchased radio broadcasting equipment. The initial investment was his own money!”

“Our Signal Corps troops installed the radio broadcasting equipment. The station broadcast only news and music. It was a quick method of communication with the troops. GEN Patton wanted to talk to the troops as often as possible.”

(This picture is from later in the year.)

“At a staff meeting he said, this new station could save several weeks of training.”

“We can reach the troops, every one of them, as often as we need. In an emergency, we could reach every man in seconds... our desert radio broadcasting station had one unusual feature.”

“There was a microphone in Patton’s office and a second mic by his bed in his tent. Day and night, he would cut off all broadcasting and announce a special message or order from his personal mic. When the music would click off we knew we would hear ‘this is General Patton’."

Patton “would use it to commend the special efforts by the troops.”

“He would announce: found a damn good solider today! He would continue giving the name of the man and the organization. He encouraged every man and officer to give his best effort at all times.”

“Often his harsh words for an officer would provoke laughter from others. For example, one time GEN Patton ordered: COL 'Blank', you are removed from command! If you know what is good for you, you will stay away from me for a week.”

The initial plan was to have troops conducting maneuvers at the Desert Training Center by 15 July 1942, but there were logistics delays, including late arrivals of some troops, so the maneuvers were postponed until 18 October.

General Patton commanded the DTC from March 1942 until August of that year, so he would put in the work to get the DTC established but he would not be present for its actual use.

“It seems almost incredible that within a period of 6 to 8 months, in spite of the fact that it was never fully operable under Patton, he left a lasting impression. His technique of training continued until the maneuver area was closed.”

More than a million men experienced the Desert Training Center’s version of ‘hell’ before the post was closed in 1944. Of the 87 divisions the US Army formed during WWII, 20 trained at the Desert Training Center (13 Infantry and 7 Armor).

It seems like an incredible amount of constant training, but there were 'morale days' too.

“The Desert Battalion… bussed in young women to serve as dance partners and conversationalists for the soldiers stationed at the DTC.”

“An influx of soldiers drastically impacted local communities; while business increased, price gouging affected troops and locals alike.”

Pictures from Camp Irwin, Mojave Anti-Aircraft Range in 1942 i-kirk.info/14thInfantry/8…

Robert F. Gallagher’s World War II Story: Scratch One Messerschmitt
gallagherstory.com/ww2/index.html

The quote earlier in this thread is from Chapter 6 gallagherstory.com/ww2/chapter6.h…

A bit about COL Spiess geauxguardmuseums.com/~geauxguard/vi…

And as always, if you’re just tuning in or you’ve missed previous threads in this series, you can find them all saved on this account under ⚡️Moments or with this direct link twitter.com/i/events/14830…