In today’s economy, Logistics Managers are looking for more efficient ways of conducting business on a global scale; sometimes it is necessary to look back at history in order to gain insight for the future. As to how far back in history, the period is 1939 to 1945, the event, World War II. The question, how logistics and available resources influenced the Combatant Commanders strategies during World War Two (WWII)?
Research Objective
By looking at the events of WWII, present day managers have an opportunity to see exactly what challenges were faced, and the strategies that were developed to overcome them. How to move personnel and equipment on a scale not seen before? With the advent of WWII, the scope of warfare had changed forever; conflicts would no longer be limited to a single country or continent. Armies would face each other on varying types of terrain, from islands in the Pacific, to desert wastelands, and the world’s oceans and skies.
Literature Review In “To What Extent Were Logistics Shortages Responsible for Patton’s Culmination on the Meuse in 1944?” Air Commodore Peter Dye takes the reader through the paces that the allies faced beginning with the Allied landings at Normandy on 6 June, 1944 (D-Day). For the months leading up to this date allied planners had been preparing the orders for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Northwest Europe; including the Logistics support plans for the whole Operation. As things unfolded, it became apparent that the Logistics planners had not used realistic timetables, nor built sufficient flexibility into the plan. The landings commenced on June 6th, it would take until the end of July, 1944 for one hundred percent of the necessary supplies to reach the beaches. They had underestimated the difficulties in landing on the beaches, and the speed with which the forward elements would be able to advance. These factors and others led to General Patton altering his strategy and halting Operations at the Meuse. In “The Big L: American logistics in World War II”, the reader gets a glimpse into the process of a Nation preparing for World War II. We see the necessity of the bureaucracy in establishing the industrial machine that will take the raw materials and create the tanks, airplanes, and ships necessary to fight and win the war. Without the lessons learned from World War I, the United States could have been facing a totally different prospect. Factories would not have been ready, mines would not have been prepared for the amounts of raw materials necessary, and none of the Nation’s infrastructure would have been ready for the increased demand (roads, railroads, utilities) that these efforts would present. Without looking at the past and making those necessary changes to doctrine and strategy the outcome of World War II could have been very different. In another important battle, the Battle of Britain, we see the importance of the support and maintenance personnel (logistics) that led to the victory of the allies over the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) in summer of 1940. Hitler realizes that the British are not going to capitulate and surrender as he had expected, so he issues “Fundamental Directive 17”, launching an air war intended to destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF) totally and allow Germany control of Britain’s airspace, to that end approximately 3000 German aircraft crossed the channel during those summer months. If it had not been for the logistics and maintenance support established within the RAF at the outbreak of WWII, Britain would have lost. The maintenance teams were imbedded; working at the airfields the planes were stationed. This allowed for direct maintenance and support, returning many damaged aircraft to combat within hours or days, providing the allied Commanders the forces to react to the Luftwaffe incursions. This is not to say that losses were not high, to the contrary, however the RAF was able to repair far more aircraft, reducing the strain on the assembly and production facilities; providing them the time to fabricate new aircraft and parts.
Another example of how logistics affected strategy during World War II can be found in “Big Week, Eighth Air Force Bombing 20-25 February 1944.” On one February night, 1,004 allied bombers, and 835 fighter escorts, launch in three separate missions to bomb targets in Germany. Almost two thousand aircraft being utilized on one day which means over 2,628,131 gallons of fuel, not to mention the payload for each bomber (8000lbs of bombs each), or the ammunition for the fighter escorts and the bombers internal defensive weapons. All of these aircraft have to be maintained, housed at an airfield within 1400 miles (to allow for return) of the target. This is a significant event in World War II, and it opened what would later be known as “Big Week” one of the largest allied bombing campaigns of the war. So far we have looked at how logistics affected Strategy in the ground war (General Patton), and the air war (Big Week), in “Conflict over Convoys…” we are shown how dire things were at the onset of World War II due to lack of preparation and improper logistical planning and the consequences that ensued and the struggle to overcome those deficiencies. Due to the great distances and the volume of supplies required to sustain the war, everything had to travel by sea; this is still true today. With limited capability, and the mounting requirements, how do you move the troops and equipment, which Operations receive support first; all the allies are competing for the same resources? Without a solid logistical foundation and the ability to adjust strategies, such as building more ships and/or leasing more commercial vessels, the allies would have found themselves up against the proverbial wall. Neither Britain, nor her other allies, would have lasted without the aid of the United States, especially the logistical support brought to bear.
References
Bird, K. W. (1997). Conflict over convoys: Anglo-American logistics diplomacy in the second world war. The Journal of Military History, 61(2), 403-404. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195645145?accountid=38769

Dye, P. J. (2000). Logistics and the battle of Britain. Air Force Journal of Logistics, 24(4), 1-1,31+. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/196461027?accountid=38769

Dye, P. (1999). To what extent were logistics shortages responsible for Patton's culmination on the meuse in 1944? Air Force Journal of Logistics, 23(2), 30-32. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/196456723?accountid=38769

Muczyk, J. P. (1999). The big l: American logistics in World War II. Airpower Journal, 13(1), 119-120. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/217775698?accountid=38769

Sutterfield, J. M. (2000). Big week: eighth air force bombing 20-25 february 1944. Air Force Journal of Logistics, 24(2), 3-14. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/196473400?accountid=38769