Hello to all, besides I think this is a very interesting article I wish to ask to the forum mates if this scheme of organization was kept throughout the war or it was changed later.
FIELD 0RGANIZATION OF THE SERVICES OF SUPPLY IN THE GERMAN ARMY
BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL E. M. BENITEZ, Coast Artillery – Military Review, sep 1939.
In the reconstrucction of the German Army, accomplished during the past two years, the Services Of Supply have been reorganized into a system capable of fulfilling the Complex requirements of a modem army.
The three fundamenltal needs of an army in the field are:
supply of everything that the troops require to live, to move and to fight; Care of sick and wounded men; and similar care for animals. With this in view, the “services in rear of the operating troops” or Ruckwartige Dienste have been organized in three principal branches—the supply, sanitary and veterinary services.
Of these branches, the first in importance is the service of supply (Nachschub), because it is the artery connecting the operating army with the source of supply in the home country, and is required to furnish the troops with everything required for use in the field.
Attached to the services of supply (Heeresversorgung) are several subsidiary services—the military police service in the rear areas (Ordnungdienst) ; the military postal service; and the great organization for the exploitation and use of establishments existing in the theater of operations.
The most advanced elements of the services are integral parts of the operating troops.
Evacuation of everything that might hamper the activity or mobility of troop units in the first line (sick and wounded men and animals, prisoners, materials in need of repar or unserviceable; surplus materials, captured materiel) is handled by each service within its own province.
In so far as the services are concerned, the territory is divided thus:
(1) Zone of the operating armies, which includes the entire theater of war ( Operationsgebid ) ;
(2) Zone of the services (Ruckwartiges Gebiet), or the rear zone within which the services carry on their varied activities.
The scheme of organization is as follows:
Services of the front-line units
Services in rear of the operating troops
Service of supply
Ammunition service
Motor supply service
Repair and replacement service
Quartermaster supply service
Sanitary service
Veterinary service
Military police service in the rear areas
Military postal service
Service for exploitation and use of establishments
existing in the zone of the operating army.
More specifically, the various branches of the service of supply are charged with the following duties:
The ammunition service with the supply of ammunition for all arms, of hand grenades, explosives and incendiary material; that is to say, the service is concerned exclusively with supply of ammunition and Similar material, and has nothing to do with arms and other heavy material.
The motor supply service, with supply of fuel, lubricants and tires.
The repair and replacement service, with supply of motor vehicles and materials pertaining to them, including spare parts; arms and materials which are damaged or unserviceable; and with means of field transportation in general. It thus includes functions which in other armies are distributed among the ordnance, engineer and lines of communication services.
Quartermaster supply service; with supply of rations, forage, clothing, equipage and finance. This service was formerly called the “Intendantur”; this term is no longer in use, although the officers of the service are still known as “Intendants.” The service is now designated as the “Verwaltungsdienste.”
“Services in rear of he operating troops” belong to armies and divisions, and to a limited extent to the army corps. The whole service is centered in the army. The division, as an operative unit (Operative Einheit), is provided with such services as assure to it, within the army an independence proportioned to its missions. During the World War, the corps was considered as the operative unit, and as such was provided with all the necessary services, and the divisions, with certain exceptions, did not have them. The corps is now provided only with the services strictly indispensable for the corps troops, except the cavalry corps, which have the same services as the cavalry divisions, Nevertheless, as a unit intermediate between the army and the division, the corps has the important function of coordinating the operation of the services with the tactical dispositions that is to say, of regulating the, supplies to he furnished to the divisions with regard to the situation.
Organization of the services in the rear of the operating troops.
Coordinating agencies.-The quartermaster general at G.H.Q. and the Army Quartermaster at Army Headquarters, are responsible for the operation of all the services.
In 1914 the organization of the services was based upon the regulations for the lines of communication (Kriegsetapenornung). All supply was placed under the direction of the lines of communication (Armeeetapeninspectionen) and the army commander had no effective control over the operation of the services!- But during the battle of the Marne, in September 1914, the commander of the German First Army was compelled by the intricate situation which arose in the rear areas, to assume control of the movement of supply agencies during the movements from the Marne to the Ourcq and from the Ourcq to the Aisne. In view’ of the difficulties involved, the logistic direction of the services was assigned to the armies, early in 1915.
Operating agencies in the rear of the operatnig troops.
Supply columns.
Motor supply columns, G.H.Q. (heavy)
Motor supply columns, army (light and heavy)
Divisional supply columns (light motor or horsed)
Corps supply columns
Pack trains (in mountain warfare only)
Divisional gas and oil columns, light and heavy,
Motor repair shops, army and division.
Army parks-infantry, artillery, pioneer, signal, motor.
Army depots, ammunition and subsistence.
Service units-battaions in the aymy, companies in the division.
Specifically, the supply columns provide for supply of ammunition, explosives, rations and forage, arms, clothing, equipment, means of transportation, horses and material of all sorts required by the operating troops. They are also charged with evacuation of arms and material of all sorts, damaged or unserviceable, sur plus material, and captured material. In special cases they may be called upon to assist in evacuation “of sick and wour ded men and animals".
G. H. Q., reserve columns ar d army columns are entirely motorized., Divisional columr s are partly motorized and partly horse drawn.
The division gas and oil columns are reserved exclusively for supply of tires, fuel an lubricants, for all military motor vehicles.
The army ammunition an subsistence depots provide for the supply of their respective stores. The subsistence depots carry, in addition, smal stocks of clothing and equipment.
The army service battalions or the divisional service companies are made up of ammunition, subsistence, salvage and technical platoons; they furnish railheads with the men necessary for handling, storage and issue of supplies.
Supply Columns
The G.H.Q. motor supply columns, heavy (useful load 60 tons) constitute a reserve o transportattion at the disposition of the quartermaster general, The army motor supply columns, light and heavy (useful load respectively 30 and 60 tons) provide a rolling reserve of ammunition, rations and forage, for the re-supply of th depots and parks.
The divisional supply columns (light motor or home drawn, useful load about 30 tons) carry a part of the “initial supply,” corresponding to our “day of fire” and “day of rations and forage.”
The corps supply columns are charged with the supply of corps troops only; except that the supply columns of the cavalry corps are in general barged with supply of ammunition, rations and forage (chiefly oats) for the cavalry division columns.
Pack transportation is fittle used in Germany; pack trains are assigned only to units operating in the mountains.
Gas and oil columns.
Like the supply columns, these are divided into light and heavy, according to carrying’ capacity. They are assigned to divisions and are charged with the supply of fuel, lubricants and tires, for motor vehicles assigned to first line units, headquarters and service unit s.
Means of transportation assigned to first line units.
Light regimental (or independent battalion ) columns
Combat trains:
Combat vehicles or battery combat trains
Rolling kitchens
Led horses
Subsistance trains
1st Echelon (horse’ drawn)\ second echelon (motor), or one echelon (motor) for motarized units.
Baggage train: motor.
The light columns (of varying composition according to arm) are largely motorized and carry ammunition, pyrotechnics, explosives, camouflage material, and small stocks of arms and implements.
Combat trains.
These carry ammunition, spare parts of arms, tools for minor repairs, medical and veterinary equipment.
The field kitchens (horsed or motorized) are fitted for cooking on the march, and also carry one day’s field and one day’s reserve rations. The led horses are intended for the use of heavy weapons and artillery.
Transportation for rations.
I.—Units not motorized.—The first echelon, horsedrawn, consists of one wagon per company and two per squadron or battery; it carries one day’s rations and forage.
The second echelon, motorized, consists of one medium truck per battalion or corresponding unit, and carries a second day’s rations and forage.
2.—Motorized units.—There is only one echelon, consisting of one truck per company or corresponding unit; it carries two days’ ordinary rations.
Baggage train.
This consists of one truck per battalion or equivalent unit, It carries ¾ of the personal equipment of the soldier (the remaining ¼ being on the men), officers’ baggage, and a small stock of clothing and equipment.
To follow The services in the division. Regards. Tigre.
GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Moderator: Tom Houlihan
GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY - 2nd
The services in the division.
As a rule, the division has no depots of ammunitionl, rations or forage; its own supplies are kept mobile in the division supply columns, especially in those which are motorized.
For issues to the troops, distributing points for ammunition, rations and forage are established by the division itself; these distributing points carry also small stocks of clothing and equipage. They are normally supplied directly by the army motorized columns, except for bread and fresh meat, which are received directly from the specialized bakery and butchery companies, which are provided with transportation for the purpose.
When the distance between the army depots and the issue stations is too great, refilling stations are established by the army or sometimes by the divisions, to which the army columns bring supplies for reloading upon division transportation.
On the march in the vicinity of the enemy, the division supply columns are united with elements of the other service units, into a “march echelon” which follows the motorized echelons of the first line division units. This march echelon is commanded by an officer assigned by the director of supply of the division; its movement and use is controlled by special orders from the director, through the division Commander.
In action, parts of the various division supply columns may be combined into a single echelon, under command of the senior column commander; and parts of the horse-drawn columns may he combined into a ‘combat echelon,” which is Pushed well to the front to supply the front-line units.
For the Supply and maintenance of motor transport, the gasoline trucks of the division will refill at the gasoline truck park of the army, which is generally established at the army railhead. The gasoline trucks of the divisiml refill the supply truckS of the mokorized units (one for each basic columns unit), and a park is established for supply of command cars and the various motor vehicles of units not motorized.
The division carries no stocks of arms, or of artillery and engineer material. For arms, motor vehicles and other materiel, unserviceable or requiring repair, the division provides for evacuation when necessary, through salvage stations.
Distribution of supplies, and mechanism of supply system.
Ammunition supply.
The initial supply of ammunition of the division (day of fire) is distributed as follows:
An individual allowance is carried on each man, and a similar allowance for each weapon is carried on the gun or mortar carriage. A unit allowance is carried in the combat trains, and in the light columns of the regiment or independent battalion. The remainder of the initial supply is carried in the division and army ammunition columns.
In exceptional cases, where there is a long distance between the army depots and the division issue points, ammunition refilling points are established, where amunition carried in the army columns is transferred to the division columns.
In case of necessity the division columns assist the light columns nf tbe troop units ill supply. In action, troop units may be supplied on the spot by detachments of the division columns consolidated into a “combat echelon. ”
Supply for motor vehicles.
Distribution of allowances:
I.—In the tanks of the vehicles of the troop units.
2.—On the motor supply trucks of the motorized units (habitually one for each company or corresponding unit).
3.—In the gasoline tank columns of the division.
Repair and replacement.
Minor repairs to motor vehicles are made in their own units, which are provided with spare parts and tools for the purpose; or in the motor repair shop of the division or army.
For more serious repair the damaged vehicles are sent to the army motor park or to the shops and manufacturing estabIishments in the interior. Replacement vehicles, including fighting machines, are sent from the army parks.
Subsistence service.
Distribution of rations and forage allowances:
(a) Men: 4 fresh rations and 2 reserve rations, distributed as follows:
1 regular ration with the field kitchens;
2 regular rations in the unit ration wagons;
1 regular ration in a section of the division supply column, as a rolling reserve;
1 reserve ration, reduced, on the man;
1 reserve ration, complete, with the field kitchens.
(b) Animals: 4 grain and day rations, and 1 reserve ration, distributed as follows;
1 on the horse or on the home-drawn wagon;
2 in the forage wagons;
1 in a section of the division supply column, as a ,rolling resmve;
1 reserve rationlon the horse or horse-drawn wagon.
In exceptional cases, where the distance between the army depots and the division issue points, ration and forage refilling points axe established, where the division columns are refilled from the army columns. On the other hand, when the railway net and the military situation permit, train loads of rations and forage may be pushed up to advanced railheads near the divisions, for the direct refilling of the division columns.
Conclusions.
From this hasty sketch, the simplicity of the organization is apparent. Especially worthy of note is the division of the system of four branches corresponding to the four fundamental and distinct requirements of the troops ammunition, gasoline and oil, arms, rations and forage.
But a second characteristic, no less important, is the almost complete motorization of the columns, and the abundance of motor transport assigned to them, to enable them to conform to tbe rapid movembnts called for by the war of movement and to maintain uninterrupted service in spite of sudden changes in the situation. All this conforms to the most modern conception of the conduct of war.
A part of the division supply columns and of the first line unit transportation remain horse-drawn, but only for the purpose of maintaining direct contact with the operating units off the roads, on groun where the motorized elements can not always go. In case of necessity, it is provided that oxen may be substituted for horses.
The greater mobility and speed given to the field supply services through their almost complete motorization give them much greater capacity of resolving the difficult problems placed before them. To this cconception of swift adaptation to changes in the situation, is due the idea of keeping a part of the allowances of ammunition and rations loaded in the supply columns.
Germany has based the reorganization of the services of supply upon the development of motorization and mechanization in the combatant units, and upon the extraordinary progress in armament. She has thus created one of the essential conditions to enable the new military equipment to fulfill the functions expected of it. The final succes resulting from victories on land of sea or in the air, is based upon the supply demanded by men and arms; just as the triumphant human strength, mental or physical, is directly dependent upon the inevitable conditions of life in the physical organism.
I hope you find this interesting too. Regards. Tigre.
As a rule, the division has no depots of ammunitionl, rations or forage; its own supplies are kept mobile in the division supply columns, especially in those which are motorized.
For issues to the troops, distributing points for ammunition, rations and forage are established by the division itself; these distributing points carry also small stocks of clothing and equipage. They are normally supplied directly by the army motorized columns, except for bread and fresh meat, which are received directly from the specialized bakery and butchery companies, which are provided with transportation for the purpose.
When the distance between the army depots and the issue stations is too great, refilling stations are established by the army or sometimes by the divisions, to which the army columns bring supplies for reloading upon division transportation.
On the march in the vicinity of the enemy, the division supply columns are united with elements of the other service units, into a “march echelon” which follows the motorized echelons of the first line division units. This march echelon is commanded by an officer assigned by the director of supply of the division; its movement and use is controlled by special orders from the director, through the division Commander.
In action, parts of the various division supply columns may be combined into a single echelon, under command of the senior column commander; and parts of the horse-drawn columns may he combined into a ‘combat echelon,” which is Pushed well to the front to supply the front-line units.
For the Supply and maintenance of motor transport, the gasoline trucks of the division will refill at the gasoline truck park of the army, which is generally established at the army railhead. The gasoline trucks of the divisiml refill the supply truckS of the mokorized units (one for each basic columns unit), and a park is established for supply of command cars and the various motor vehicles of units not motorized.
The division carries no stocks of arms, or of artillery and engineer material. For arms, motor vehicles and other materiel, unserviceable or requiring repair, the division provides for evacuation when necessary, through salvage stations.
Distribution of supplies, and mechanism of supply system.
Ammunition supply.
The initial supply of ammunition of the division (day of fire) is distributed as follows:
An individual allowance is carried on each man, and a similar allowance for each weapon is carried on the gun or mortar carriage. A unit allowance is carried in the combat trains, and in the light columns of the regiment or independent battalion. The remainder of the initial supply is carried in the division and army ammunition columns.
In exceptional cases, where there is a long distance between the army depots and the division issue points, ammunition refilling points are established, where amunition carried in the army columns is transferred to the division columns.
In case of necessity the division columns assist the light columns nf tbe troop units ill supply. In action, troop units may be supplied on the spot by detachments of the division columns consolidated into a “combat echelon. ”
Supply for motor vehicles.
Distribution of allowances:
I.—In the tanks of the vehicles of the troop units.
2.—On the motor supply trucks of the motorized units (habitually one for each company or corresponding unit).
3.—In the gasoline tank columns of the division.
Repair and replacement.
Minor repairs to motor vehicles are made in their own units, which are provided with spare parts and tools for the purpose; or in the motor repair shop of the division or army.
For more serious repair the damaged vehicles are sent to the army motor park or to the shops and manufacturing estabIishments in the interior. Replacement vehicles, including fighting machines, are sent from the army parks.
Subsistence service.
Distribution of rations and forage allowances:
(a) Men: 4 fresh rations and 2 reserve rations, distributed as follows:
1 regular ration with the field kitchens;
2 regular rations in the unit ration wagons;
1 regular ration in a section of the division supply column, as a rolling reserve;
1 reserve ration, reduced, on the man;
1 reserve ration, complete, with the field kitchens.
(b) Animals: 4 grain and day rations, and 1 reserve ration, distributed as follows;
1 on the horse or on the home-drawn wagon;
2 in the forage wagons;
1 in a section of the division supply column, as a ,rolling resmve;
1 reserve rationlon the horse or horse-drawn wagon.
In exceptional cases, where the distance between the army depots and the division issue points, ration and forage refilling points axe established, where the division columns are refilled from the army columns. On the other hand, when the railway net and the military situation permit, train loads of rations and forage may be pushed up to advanced railheads near the divisions, for the direct refilling of the division columns.
Conclusions.
From this hasty sketch, the simplicity of the organization is apparent. Especially worthy of note is the division of the system of four branches corresponding to the four fundamental and distinct requirements of the troops ammunition, gasoline and oil, arms, rations and forage.
But a second characteristic, no less important, is the almost complete motorization of the columns, and the abundance of motor transport assigned to them, to enable them to conform to tbe rapid movembnts called for by the war of movement and to maintain uninterrupted service in spite of sudden changes in the situation. All this conforms to the most modern conception of the conduct of war.
A part of the division supply columns and of the first line unit transportation remain horse-drawn, but only for the purpose of maintaining direct contact with the operating units off the roads, on groun where the motorized elements can not always go. In case of necessity, it is provided that oxen may be substituted for horses.
The greater mobility and speed given to the field supply services through their almost complete motorization give them much greater capacity of resolving the difficult problems placed before them. To this cconception of swift adaptation to changes in the situation, is due the idea of keeping a part of the allowances of ammunition and rations loaded in the supply columns.
Germany has based the reorganization of the services of supply upon the development of motorization and mechanization in the combatant units, and upon the extraordinary progress in armament. She has thus created one of the essential conditions to enable the new military equipment to fulfill the functions expected of it. The final succes resulting from victories on land of sea or in the air, is based upon the supply demanded by men and arms; just as the triumphant human strength, mental or physical, is directly dependent upon the inevitable conditions of life in the physical organism.
I hope you find this interesting too. Regards. Tigre.
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
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Tom Houlihan
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Re: GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Hello to all 
; a little complement................................
SYSTEM OF SUPPLYING FUEL FOR THE GERMAN ARMY.
The German command attached considerable importance to the preparation of speedy transportation of fuel from the deep rear to the front lines, over railroads and highways. Freight trains in many cases attained a speed of 65 miles per hour. Mechanical equipment was installed at railroad stations to speed up the loading and unloading of war supplies. The German war plan, which provided for the building of 4.295 miles of super-highways, 25 yards wide, had been largely completed.
Transportation of fuel over dirt roads was carefully considered. Culemeyer carts were used for this purpose. A specially adapted 20-ton railroad tank car is reloaded to such a cart, which is then drawn by a 100 HP motor at a speed of 9 to 12 miles per hour, for delivery directly to front line units. Six to eight such loads insure the supply for an entire division.
The day of long fuel trains is past. Transportation of fuel in 3-5 ton containers and tank trucks is now practiced. A net of well-concealed small filling stations has been established on roads.
Source: Catalog of Selected Periodical Articles. MLR. Vol. XXI. Nº 80. March 1941.
More details about the Culemeyer carts carrying railroad tanks to the front? Cheers. Raúl M
.
; a little complement................................SYSTEM OF SUPPLYING FUEL FOR THE GERMAN ARMY.
The German command attached considerable importance to the preparation of speedy transportation of fuel from the deep rear to the front lines, over railroads and highways. Freight trains in many cases attained a speed of 65 miles per hour. Mechanical equipment was installed at railroad stations to speed up the loading and unloading of war supplies. The German war plan, which provided for the building of 4.295 miles of super-highways, 25 yards wide, had been largely completed.
Transportation of fuel over dirt roads was carefully considered. Culemeyer carts were used for this purpose. A specially adapted 20-ton railroad tank car is reloaded to such a cart, which is then drawn by a 100 HP motor at a speed of 9 to 12 miles per hour, for delivery directly to front line units. Six to eight such loads insure the supply for an entire division.
The day of long fuel trains is past. Transportation of fuel in 3-5 ton containers and tank trucks is now practiced. A net of well-concealed small filling stations has been established on roads.
Source: Catalog of Selected Periodical Articles. MLR. Vol. XXI. Nº 80. March 1941.
More details about the Culemeyer carts carrying railroad tanks to the front? Cheers. Raúl M
.- Attachments
-
- Culemeyer cart R40 – 1935.........................................
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Culemeyer_1935_N%C3%BCrnberg.JPG - image072.jpg (36 KiB) Viewed 8926 times
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
Re: GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Hello to all ; a little more...................................
Hand pumps in the German Army during WWII.
The Heer units had to move regularly during operations with all their equipment. That is the reason for lighter and not so complicated equipment as the Luftwaffe used on their more static airfields. Therefore while the Luftwaffe used the size 4, the Heer had smaller size 2 hand pumps as a standard model in order to pump oil or fuel by hand.
The crew of this Bison I refueling the vehicle from a drum of 200 l with a hand pump in the winter of 1941-1942 .......................................
Sources: http://wwiijerrycan.jimdo.com/pol-suppl ... equipment/
http://www.ebay.de/itm/PB259-Sturmpanze ... 1809811963
Cheers. Raúl M.
; a little more...................................Hand pumps in the German Army during WWII.
The Heer units had to move regularly during operations with all their equipment. That is the reason for lighter and not so complicated equipment as the Luftwaffe used on their more static airfields. Therefore while the Luftwaffe used the size 4, the Heer had smaller size 2 hand pumps as a standard model in order to pump oil or fuel by hand.
The crew of this Bison I refueling the vehicle from a drum of 200 l with a hand pump in the winter of 1941-1942 .......................................
Sources: http://wwiijerrycan.jimdo.com/pol-suppl ... equipment/
http://www.ebay.de/itm/PB259-Sturmpanze ... 1809811963
Cheers. Raúl M
.Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
Re: GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Hello to all ; a little more...................................
The services in the division - Supply for motor vehicles.
For the Supply and maintenance of motor transport, the gasoline trucks of the division will refill at the gasoline truck park of the army, which is generally established at the army railhead. The gasoline trucks of the division refill the supply trucks of the motorized units (one for each basic columns unit), and a park is established for supply of command cars and the various motor vehicles of units not motorized.
Distribution of allowances:
I.—In the tanks of the vehicles of the troop units.
2.—On the motor supply trucks of the motorized units (habitually one for each company or corresponding unit).
3.—In the gasoline tank columns of the division.
But the Germans used other methods, such as in the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, as they needed a lot of fuel to win space as much as possible into the hostile territory, to this end, a trailer with fuel drums were fixed to the tanks, plus jerry-cans as it is shown in the photo in a Ukrainian route .............................................
Another resource, was extra jerry-cans of fuel atop the turret like in this Pz Kw III moving inside Ukraine ....................................
Sources: http://www.ebay.es/itm/Panzer-III-Kette ... SwAPlXhnJv
http://www.ebay.es/itm/Panzer-III-mit-a ... SwyKxXhlcF
FIELD 0RGANIZATION OF THE SERVICES OF SUPPLY IN THE GERMAN ARMY – Military Review, sep 1939
Cheers. Raúl M.
; a little more...................................The services in the division - Supply for motor vehicles.
For the Supply and maintenance of motor transport, the gasoline trucks of the division will refill at the gasoline truck park of the army, which is generally established at the army railhead. The gasoline trucks of the division refill the supply trucks of the motorized units (one for each basic columns unit), and a park is established for supply of command cars and the various motor vehicles of units not motorized.
Distribution of allowances:
I.—In the tanks of the vehicles of the troop units.
2.—On the motor supply trucks of the motorized units (habitually one for each company or corresponding unit).
3.—In the gasoline tank columns of the division.
But the Germans used other methods, such as in the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, as they needed a lot of fuel to win space as much as possible into the hostile territory, to this end, a trailer with fuel drums were fixed to the tanks, plus jerry-cans as it is shown in the photo in a Ukrainian route .............................................
Another resource, was extra jerry-cans of fuel atop the turret like in this Pz Kw III moving inside Ukraine ....................................
Sources: http://www.ebay.es/itm/Panzer-III-Kette ... SwAPlXhnJv
http://www.ebay.es/itm/Panzer-III-mit-a ... SwyKxXhlcF
FIELD 0RGANIZATION OF THE SERVICES OF SUPPLY IN THE GERMAN ARMY – Military Review, sep 1939
Cheers. Raúl M
.Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
Re: GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Hello to all ; more..................................
Combat troops, Supply units and Quartermaster service troops.
The relationship between the combat and logistic units of an infantry division in the year 1941 was approximately the following, 12,000 to 3,000. From this last number, 1,300 men were employed to supply the troops (motorized and horse-drawn columns, maintenance platoon, supply company, administration of fuel and ammunition), the other 1,700 were part of the Quartermaster service troops ( bakery company, butcher's platoon, sanitary company, veterinary section, workshops). By the end of the war, the divisional supply forces had a total force of about 1,200 men, of which the Quartermaster service troops had dropped to 550.
Schlächtereizug (butcher's platoon): slaughter and cutting per day of 15 head of cattle or 120 pigs or 240 sheep, to produce up to 3,000 kg sausage.
Sources: Die geschichtliche Entwicklung der Nachschubtruppe. Oberst a.D. Wilhelm Wehrle
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Sol ... gung-R.htm
https://www.tradera.com/item/292217/308 ... propaganda
Cheers. Raúl M.
; more..................................Combat troops, Supply units and Quartermaster service troops.
The relationship between the combat and logistic units of an infantry division in the year 1941 was approximately the following, 12,000 to 3,000. From this last number, 1,300 men were employed to supply the troops (motorized and horse-drawn columns, maintenance platoon, supply company, administration of fuel and ammunition), the other 1,700 were part of the Quartermaster service troops ( bakery company, butcher's platoon, sanitary company, veterinary section, workshops). By the end of the war, the divisional supply forces had a total force of about 1,200 men, of which the Quartermaster service troops had dropped to 550.
Schlächtereizug (butcher's platoon): slaughter and cutting per day of 15 head of cattle or 120 pigs or 240 sheep, to produce up to 3,000 kg sausage.
Sources: Die geschichtliche Entwicklung der Nachschubtruppe. Oberst a.D. Wilhelm Wehrle
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Sol ... gung-R.htm
https://www.tradera.com/item/292217/308 ... propaganda
Cheers. Raúl M
.- Attachments
-
- Schlächtereizug in action; in the background a field kitchen in full task...........
- image008.jpg (37.91 KiB) Viewed 8136 times
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
Re: GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Hello to all ; after a while.................................
General principles of supply in German troops.
Motto: “Courage and fodder determine victories.” (Frederick the Great)
Frederick the Great considered the supply of troops to be so extremely important that he expressed this concern with farsightedness and general experience in his 1761 work “The Instruction of the King of Prussia on the Art of War to his Generals” being treated eloquently and emphatically in the introductory article “On the Subsistence of an Army and the Field Commissariat”. The depots should be placed behind the front “in a fortified city” so that in case of a “failure” they would not be lost and left without “resources”. The supply staff must be given “a lot of attention,” “because if they are thieves and fraudsters, the state loses too much, so honest people must be appointed to supervise them and keep a close and constant eye on them.”
The supply of the army in the field is dealt with in detail. The regiments’ own bread wagons carry bread for 8 days; in addition, the army fleet has provisions for a full month in its supply wagons.
Iron furnaces are transported in increasing numbers, and every day of rest is used to bake a few days’ worth of bread and biscuits. In case of emergency, each company must be equipped with hand mills to grind grain found in enemy territory; “Only when it is delivered to the Field Commissariat will the bread be distributed.”
The greatest attention must also be paid to horse supplies. The article “On dry and green fodder” discusses procurement and transport. Experience has shown that replenishing fodder from depots “causes a great embarrassment, so that often an entire province cannot afford so many horses and so many wagons.” Therefore, where possible, waterways should primarily be used; in the worst case, the cavalry should order compressed feed and carry 5 days’ provisions with them on their own horses.
If such far-sighted and comprehensive ration regulations were established almost 200 years ago and regular supplies were organised, it should not be surprising that the rations, administration and organisation of the German army are modern and progressive.
War and economy are always closely related. In the World War of 1914-18, the blockade and economic warfare slowed down the fighting and the internal political situation was ultimately decisive. The war had shown that the national economy, with all its branches and its increasing technology and mechanisation, is a military power, both in terms of effective equipment and regulated supplies.
The requirement that civil servants and, above all, quartermasters should have economic training and practical experience was already in force during the Brandenburg-Prussian period, but reached its peak with the new regime in 1933, making knowledge of the connections between the economy and the Wehrmacht increasingly obligatory for Wehrmacht officials.
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M.
; after a while.................................General principles of supply in German troops.
Motto: “Courage and fodder determine victories.” (Frederick the Great)
Frederick the Great considered the supply of troops to be so extremely important that he expressed this concern with farsightedness and general experience in his 1761 work “The Instruction of the King of Prussia on the Art of War to his Generals” being treated eloquently and emphatically in the introductory article “On the Subsistence of an Army and the Field Commissariat”. The depots should be placed behind the front “in a fortified city” so that in case of a “failure” they would not be lost and left without “resources”. The supply staff must be given “a lot of attention,” “because if they are thieves and fraudsters, the state loses too much, so honest people must be appointed to supervise them and keep a close and constant eye on them.”
The supply of the army in the field is dealt with in detail. The regiments’ own bread wagons carry bread for 8 days; in addition, the army fleet has provisions for a full month in its supply wagons.
Iron furnaces are transported in increasing numbers, and every day of rest is used to bake a few days’ worth of bread and biscuits. In case of emergency, each company must be equipped with hand mills to grind grain found in enemy territory; “Only when it is delivered to the Field Commissariat will the bread be distributed.”
The greatest attention must also be paid to horse supplies. The article “On dry and green fodder” discusses procurement and transport. Experience has shown that replenishing fodder from depots “causes a great embarrassment, so that often an entire province cannot afford so many horses and so many wagons.” Therefore, where possible, waterways should primarily be used; in the worst case, the cavalry should order compressed feed and carry 5 days’ provisions with them on their own horses.
If such far-sighted and comprehensive ration regulations were established almost 200 years ago and regular supplies were organised, it should not be surprising that the rations, administration and organisation of the German army are modern and progressive.
War and economy are always closely related. In the World War of 1914-18, the blockade and economic warfare slowed down the fighting and the internal political situation was ultimately decisive. The war had shown that the national economy, with all its branches and its increasing technology and mechanisation, is a military power, both in terms of effective equipment and regulated supplies.
The requirement that civil servants and, above all, quartermasters should have economic training and practical experience was already in force during the Brandenburg-Prussian period, but reached its peak with the new regime in 1933, making knowledge of the connections between the economy and the Wehrmacht increasingly obligatory for Wehrmacht officials.
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M
.Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
Re: GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Hello to all ; more................................
General principles of supply in German troops.
«In military matters, prevention is more important than in any other branch of administration, since the fate of a state does not depend on its internal policy, but on its foreign policy and its effectiveness. The nature of total war also corresponds to the totality of army administration and, therefore, to the need for a complete scientific systematics.
The system, the seamless range of possibilities, does for the practitioner what maps do for the strategist and tactician. The knowledge of the theorist, formed by studying the past, competes with the imaginative and far-sighted planning of the pioneer practitioner for the prize of victory.» (Prof. Taeuber, Army Administration, September 1941). Enough has already been written about the importance of comprehensive military economic measures and comprehensive food supplies for the army. It is therefore sufficient to point this out and to emphasize that agricultural possibilities are being exploited to the fullest.
A German newspaper article from September 1941, entitled "The Wehrmacht as a Farmer," conveys such a gender image: The military training area "is not only a domain with large flocks of sheep and pigs with profitable agriculture, vegetable fields, and a considerable amount of wool production, but also a city with all the achievements of modern times, with gas, water, electricity, supplies, canteens, theaters, and social facilities."
Furthermore, a few points are worth noting. The army administration is committed to making food last effectively by a variety of preservation methods, solving the difficult packaging problem caused by the shortage of tin and sheet metal, and at the same time facilitating the complicated supply organization.
1. Cold storage:
a) Sterilization in special jars and pots of fruits, berries, compote, green beans, young carrots, etc. Sterilization can be done in the cooking pots of army kitchens. The universal food processor, which is available in almost all army kitchens, is suitable for chopping vegetables. These should be stored on shelves in dark rooms in a cool, airy place. Check.
b) Pickles in clay pots and barrels: cauliflower, carrots, celery, radishes, rutabagas, green beans as greens; white cabbage as sauerkraut; soup herbs, onions, etc. as spices; tomatoes as flavorings, etc.
2. Dried products:
a) In containers: fruits, soup herbs, spices, etc. Do not dry in the sun, cut or grind afterwards. Store in cool rooms at an average temperature of 2-4 degrees Celsius.
b) Storage: potatoes, white and red cabbage, root vegetables, etc.
The chemical analysis posts of the field army, organizationally attached to the army medical department, are run by military pharmacists, who are also certified food chemists. Their main tasks in relation to food are: checking the chemical composition of food in the troops, analyzing food in army kitchens, food stores, mess halls, checking the expiration date and storage capacity, analyzing water in collaboration with the hygienist; taking samples for analysis.
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire
suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M.
; more................................General principles of supply in German troops.
«In military matters, prevention is more important than in any other branch of administration, since the fate of a state does not depend on its internal policy, but on its foreign policy and its effectiveness. The nature of total war also corresponds to the totality of army administration and, therefore, to the need for a complete scientific systematics.
The system, the seamless range of possibilities, does for the practitioner what maps do for the strategist and tactician. The knowledge of the theorist, formed by studying the past, competes with the imaginative and far-sighted planning of the pioneer practitioner for the prize of victory.» (Prof. Taeuber, Army Administration, September 1941). Enough has already been written about the importance of comprehensive military economic measures and comprehensive food supplies for the army. It is therefore sufficient to point this out and to emphasize that agricultural possibilities are being exploited to the fullest.
A German newspaper article from September 1941, entitled "The Wehrmacht as a Farmer," conveys such a gender image: The military training area "is not only a domain with large flocks of sheep and pigs with profitable agriculture, vegetable fields, and a considerable amount of wool production, but also a city with all the achievements of modern times, with gas, water, electricity, supplies, canteens, theaters, and social facilities."
Furthermore, a few points are worth noting. The army administration is committed to making food last effectively by a variety of preservation methods, solving the difficult packaging problem caused by the shortage of tin and sheet metal, and at the same time facilitating the complicated supply organization.
1. Cold storage:
a) Sterilization in special jars and pots of fruits, berries, compote, green beans, young carrots, etc. Sterilization can be done in the cooking pots of army kitchens. The universal food processor, which is available in almost all army kitchens, is suitable for chopping vegetables. These should be stored on shelves in dark rooms in a cool, airy place. Check.
b) Pickles in clay pots and barrels: cauliflower, carrots, celery, radishes, rutabagas, green beans as greens; white cabbage as sauerkraut; soup herbs, onions, etc. as spices; tomatoes as flavorings, etc.
2. Dried products:
a) In containers: fruits, soup herbs, spices, etc. Do not dry in the sun, cut or grind afterwards. Store in cool rooms at an average temperature of 2-4 degrees Celsius.
b) Storage: potatoes, white and red cabbage, root vegetables, etc.
The chemical analysis posts of the field army, organizationally attached to the army medical department, are run by military pharmacists, who are also certified food chemists. Their main tasks in relation to food are: checking the chemical composition of food in the troops, analyzing food in army kitchens, food stores, mess halls, checking the expiration date and storage capacity, analyzing water in collaboration with the hygienist; taking samples for analysis.
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire
suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M
.Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
Re: GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Hello to all ; more................................
General principles of supply in German troops.
Particular attention is paid to the intake of necessary vitamins. It is well known that vitamin C, vital for humans, is found in abundance in lemons, oranges, grapefruit, blackcurrants and rose hips. However, in times of war, soldiers cannot receive these types of fruits.
If fresh vegetables are not available as a substitute, vitamin tablets are administered in the German army. This is intended to make the soldier more efficient and more resistant to certain diseases. Thanks to such thorough preparation, a good and orderly troop budget can be maintained under normal conditions.
The menu must play an important role in all cases, from the food depot to the commander and the cook, both with regard to nutritional technology and preparation. "The ration plan and the menu represent the economic plan of the food service." The food for soldiers must be sufficient, filling, healthy, varied, rich in vitamins, digestible, varied, appetizing, high in calories and worthy of a reward. "The same food must not be eaten twice in the same week."
The following corps and institutions ensure that the food is carefully prepared: "Field cooks", field kitchen teachers, army and district training kitchens; the "Institute for Culinary Sciences" was opened in Frankfurt am Main on 31 October 1941, which also helps regulate consumption. In addition to normal soldier food, tropical foods are also studied and tested in practice.
The high-ranking government advisor Dr. Ziegelmayer advocates a different meal distribution than usual, i.e. a heavier breakfast, a very light lunch and a substantial dinner as the main meal. The break between the light breakfast and lunch is too long and tempts the soldier to smoke on an empty stomach. "However, hunger cannot be combated with cigarettes.
It can be considered an accepted fact that excessive consumption of nicotine plays one of the most important roles in the observed increase in stomach complaints. The current war diet, with its reduced protein content*) and thus its reduced satiety value, makes it especially desirable to provide a sufficient first breakfast. Oatmeal soups and porridge are recommended. Breakfast should account for 35% of the nutritional value, lunch only 25% and dinner 40%. It goes without saying that such a system is not possible during combat operations and supply difficulties.
Food for the troops on long train journeys (troop movements, front-line leave, medical transport) is provided by kitchen wagons attached to the "Wehrmacht Mitropa" (Mitropa later called Mitropa AG, was a catering company known for the catering services and sleeping cars it offered with the various German railway companies that existed throughout the 20th century. "Mitropa" is actually an acronym for Mitteleuropäische Schlaf- und Speisewagen Aktiengesellschaft - Joint Stock Company for Sleeping and Dining Cars in Central Europe.
*) Protein replacement was found through soy products with the addition of sprouting grains, etc.
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M.
; more................................General principles of supply in German troops.
Particular attention is paid to the intake of necessary vitamins. It is well known that vitamin C, vital for humans, is found in abundance in lemons, oranges, grapefruit, blackcurrants and rose hips. However, in times of war, soldiers cannot receive these types of fruits.
If fresh vegetables are not available as a substitute, vitamin tablets are administered in the German army. This is intended to make the soldier more efficient and more resistant to certain diseases. Thanks to such thorough preparation, a good and orderly troop budget can be maintained under normal conditions.
The menu must play an important role in all cases, from the food depot to the commander and the cook, both with regard to nutritional technology and preparation. "The ration plan and the menu represent the economic plan of the food service." The food for soldiers must be sufficient, filling, healthy, varied, rich in vitamins, digestible, varied, appetizing, high in calories and worthy of a reward. "The same food must not be eaten twice in the same week."
The following corps and institutions ensure that the food is carefully prepared: "Field cooks", field kitchen teachers, army and district training kitchens; the "Institute for Culinary Sciences" was opened in Frankfurt am Main on 31 October 1941, which also helps regulate consumption. In addition to normal soldier food, tropical foods are also studied and tested in practice.
The high-ranking government advisor Dr. Ziegelmayer advocates a different meal distribution than usual, i.e. a heavier breakfast, a very light lunch and a substantial dinner as the main meal. The break between the light breakfast and lunch is too long and tempts the soldier to smoke on an empty stomach. "However, hunger cannot be combated with cigarettes.
It can be considered an accepted fact that excessive consumption of nicotine plays one of the most important roles in the observed increase in stomach complaints. The current war diet, with its reduced protein content*) and thus its reduced satiety value, makes it especially desirable to provide a sufficient first breakfast. Oatmeal soups and porridge are recommended. Breakfast should account for 35% of the nutritional value, lunch only 25% and dinner 40%. It goes without saying that such a system is not possible during combat operations and supply difficulties.
Food for the troops on long train journeys (troop movements, front-line leave, medical transport) is provided by kitchen wagons attached to the "Wehrmacht Mitropa" (Mitropa later called Mitropa AG, was a catering company known for the catering services and sleeping cars it offered with the various German railway companies that existed throughout the 20th century. "Mitropa" is actually an acronym for Mitteleuropäische Schlaf- und Speisewagen Aktiengesellschaft - Joint Stock Company for Sleeping and Dining Cars in Central Europe.
*) Protein replacement was found through soy products with the addition of sprouting grains, etc.
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M
.Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
Re: GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
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Food supplies in North Africa.
Deep in the night, the V-train passed the Brenner Pass, and along the main routes in Italy, the German NSV(*) posts set up at certain intervals provided "care and support" to the soldiers passing through. The Italians did take over the food supplies for the German fighters in Africa, but the German Army Administration provided a very considerable amount of additional supplies in order to meet the soldiers' particular tastes and, above all, to enable the market stalls to fulfill the soldiers' wishes."
The 1800 km supply route from the port to the troops in Africa was very difficult due to the "great remoteness". The accelerated march of General Rommel's troops made it necessary to set up a supply base in the desert. "All supplies were carried out by a divisional supply office." "The consumption of material, equipment, water, etc. for the posts lying in sand holes, protected only by tents from the scorching sun, is significantly greater than under normal conditions.
"The African theater of war has its own laws. This applies not only to the life of the individual, it applies on a much larger scale to all operational and tactical considerations in desert warfare, but also applies in full to the problem of supplies to and on the African theater of war" (Kape). Here the motor vehicle must predominate. In Cyrenaica, there is only a 200 km long railway line from Barce via Benghazi to Sollum, but this is out of order due to the effects of war. This means that all supplies in North Africa can only be transported by air, by car and the 2000 km long Via Balbia, i.e. the solid, tarred coastal road between Tripoli and the Egyptian border that passes through the most important ports.
But this too is subject to damage. The loading and transport options are crucial here. "The long railway line from Germany through Italy, the transshipment in Italian ports, the onward transport to the storage facilities in Africa and finally the delivery to the individual supply points take up valuable time. It is clear that the most difficult part of this transport route is to be managed on the African continent." Practically everything the troops need is obtained via the supply route.
"The country provides nothing, not even sufficient additional supplies, such as fresh vegetables or fruit." And then there is the water! "In addition to the supply of drinking and cooking water for the troops, the water supply for motor vehicles is just as important." Just consider the amount of water a bakery company needs just to produce 24,000 portions of bread per day! Reports mention that sea water is now also used to bake bread on site, which makes the quality of the bread more tasty and digestible.
(*) Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt, (NSV) was a social welfare organization during the Third Reich.
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M.
; more................................Food supplies in North Africa.
Deep in the night, the V-train passed the Brenner Pass, and along the main routes in Italy, the German NSV(*) posts set up at certain intervals provided "care and support" to the soldiers passing through. The Italians did take over the food supplies for the German fighters in Africa, but the German Army Administration provided a very considerable amount of additional supplies in order to meet the soldiers' particular tastes and, above all, to enable the market stalls to fulfill the soldiers' wishes."
The 1800 km supply route from the port to the troops in Africa was very difficult due to the "great remoteness". The accelerated march of General Rommel's troops made it necessary to set up a supply base in the desert. "All supplies were carried out by a divisional supply office." "The consumption of material, equipment, water, etc. for the posts lying in sand holes, protected only by tents from the scorching sun, is significantly greater than under normal conditions.
"The African theater of war has its own laws. This applies not only to the life of the individual, it applies on a much larger scale to all operational and tactical considerations in desert warfare, but also applies in full to the problem of supplies to and on the African theater of war" (Kape). Here the motor vehicle must predominate. In Cyrenaica, there is only a 200 km long railway line from Barce via Benghazi to Sollum, but this is out of order due to the effects of war. This means that all supplies in North Africa can only be transported by air, by car and the 2000 km long Via Balbia, i.e. the solid, tarred coastal road between Tripoli and the Egyptian border that passes through the most important ports.
But this too is subject to damage. The loading and transport options are crucial here. "The long railway line from Germany through Italy, the transshipment in Italian ports, the onward transport to the storage facilities in Africa and finally the delivery to the individual supply points take up valuable time. It is clear that the most difficult part of this transport route is to be managed on the African continent." Practically everything the troops need is obtained via the supply route.
"The country provides nothing, not even sufficient additional supplies, such as fresh vegetables or fruit." And then there is the water! "In addition to the supply of drinking and cooking water for the troops, the water supply for motor vehicles is just as important." Just consider the amount of water a bakery company needs just to produce 24,000 portions of bread per day! Reports mention that sea water is now also used to bake bread on site, which makes the quality of the bread more tasty and digestible.
(*) Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt, (NSV) was a social welfare organization during the Third Reich.
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M
.Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
Re: GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Hello to all ; more................................
Food supplies in North Africa.
The huge supply apparatus brings the troops "ammunition, fuel, spare parts for equipment, normal food, additional food such as fresh vegetables and fruit, clothing, water, firewood and everything necessary for life and combat." The old colonial principle, “that up to 100 men have to be active in the supply chain to enable a man to live and fight at the front,” is confirmed in North Africa. “The transport of supplies is an endless line from home to the front... Supplies no longer have anything to do with a stage. The North African suppliers have to deal with enemy influence as much as any soldier. They perform work that has a vital impact on the fighting troops. Work, work and more work is the watchword for replenishment. A gigantic achievement that is on a par with the achievements of the fighting troops and without which the front could not exist.
The Zahlmeister (paymaster) Reintanz describes the “Ghibli”, the fiery sandstorm that rises from the endless expanses of the southern Libyan desert, as a terrible obstacle to supply. “... The men crouched in the driver's cab of the truck. A cloth covered their heads and protected their eyes, nose and mouth from the sharp, biting sand that continually seeped through the small cracks and crevices and settled everywhere. It was unbearably hot in the narrow cabs.”
Not only do the soldiers have to endure the adversities of the climate, but the tropical conditions also significantly reduce the performance of the vehicles. A German general is reported to have said that the desert is a veritable paradise for the tactician, but for the officers of the quartermaster (logistics) directorate it was hell; the difficulties of these campaigns lie mainly in the supply problems. In the large, endless desert areas about 3 fuel vehicles are needed for every transport vehicle. Added to this is the heavy wear and tear and the extraordinary loss of vehicles.
Orderly management of the troop budget is no small matter in the desert. According to the description of Chief Paymaster Reintanz, a day in a field kitchen goes something like this: Somewhere in a small hollow covered by a camouflage net there is a field kitchen painted in yellow and brown camouflage paint. In a pit, protected from the light, lie valuable “water canisters” and right next to it is the “stack of provisions”. The ration team arrives at the coffee distribution with the troop canteens hanging from a bar. At the same time, they hold “a tube of processed cheese, a tin of sardines, bread and two lemons for each man”. They bring the food to their comrades in sandbags or in captured canvas sacks. At mealtime there is only “lemon water mixed with a splash of red wine”. Due to the midday heat (up to 42° in the shade), the main meal is taken in the evening. In the late afternoon, the supply vehicle “thuds and rumbles”, covered in dust; it also brings with it the field mail. Dinner at 6:00 p.m. “On the menu is Wehrmacht soup with beef. There is also cucumber and hot tea as a drink. “It was an exceptionally quiet day, without fighting.”
The unusual living conditions, the dangers with water, with the animal world, with the plant kingdom, the difficult terrain, the unbearable heat, the material-devouring dust, the vastness and the inhospitable solitude place enormous demands on the care and life of the soldier. “Only those who have desperately pushed the stalled supply vehicle, alone with a few comrades, to exhaustion, with the last bit of strength, know what it means: fighting in Africa.”
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M.
; more................................Food supplies in North Africa.
The huge supply apparatus brings the troops "ammunition, fuel, spare parts for equipment, normal food, additional food such as fresh vegetables and fruit, clothing, water, firewood and everything necessary for life and combat." The old colonial principle, “that up to 100 men have to be active in the supply chain to enable a man to live and fight at the front,” is confirmed in North Africa. “The transport of supplies is an endless line from home to the front... Supplies no longer have anything to do with a stage. The North African suppliers have to deal with enemy influence as much as any soldier. They perform work that has a vital impact on the fighting troops. Work, work and more work is the watchword for replenishment. A gigantic achievement that is on a par with the achievements of the fighting troops and without which the front could not exist.
The Zahlmeister (paymaster) Reintanz describes the “Ghibli”, the fiery sandstorm that rises from the endless expanses of the southern Libyan desert, as a terrible obstacle to supply. “... The men crouched in the driver's cab of the truck. A cloth covered their heads and protected their eyes, nose and mouth from the sharp, biting sand that continually seeped through the small cracks and crevices and settled everywhere. It was unbearably hot in the narrow cabs.”
Not only do the soldiers have to endure the adversities of the climate, but the tropical conditions also significantly reduce the performance of the vehicles. A German general is reported to have said that the desert is a veritable paradise for the tactician, but for the officers of the quartermaster (logistics) directorate it was hell; the difficulties of these campaigns lie mainly in the supply problems. In the large, endless desert areas about 3 fuel vehicles are needed for every transport vehicle. Added to this is the heavy wear and tear and the extraordinary loss of vehicles.
Orderly management of the troop budget is no small matter in the desert. According to the description of Chief Paymaster Reintanz, a day in a field kitchen goes something like this: Somewhere in a small hollow covered by a camouflage net there is a field kitchen painted in yellow and brown camouflage paint. In a pit, protected from the light, lie valuable “water canisters” and right next to it is the “stack of provisions”. The ration team arrives at the coffee distribution with the troop canteens hanging from a bar. At the same time, they hold “a tube of processed cheese, a tin of sardines, bread and two lemons for each man”. They bring the food to their comrades in sandbags or in captured canvas sacks. At mealtime there is only “lemon water mixed with a splash of red wine”. Due to the midday heat (up to 42° in the shade), the main meal is taken in the evening. In the late afternoon, the supply vehicle “thuds and rumbles”, covered in dust; it also brings with it the field mail. Dinner at 6:00 p.m. “On the menu is Wehrmacht soup with beef. There is also cucumber and hot tea as a drink. “It was an exceptionally quiet day, without fighting.”
The unusual living conditions, the dangers with water, with the animal world, with the plant kingdom, the difficult terrain, the unbearable heat, the material-devouring dust, the vastness and the inhospitable solitude place enormous demands on the care and life of the soldier. “Only those who have desperately pushed the stalled supply vehicle, alone with a few comrades, to exhaustion, with the last bit of strength, know what it means: fighting in Africa.”
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M
.Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
Re: GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Hello to all ; more................................
Supply problems on the Russian front until spring 1942.
On Sunday, June 22, 1941, at 5:30 a.m., the German head of state announced in a proclamation to the German people and in a daily order to the troops that he had declared war on Russia and that at that moment "the largest deployment in world history, from the northern Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea" was taking place. A blitzkrieg was to ensure that the resource-rich Ukraine and important industrial areas, with all their treasures, would be firmly in the hands of the victor in a short time as sources of supply.
In the new war, too, the German troops attempted to obtain food through advance detachments and food collection staffs as they advanced through Russian territory in the summer of 1941. As was the case 25 years ago, the result of their efforts was minimal. They found empty or devastated grain fields, deserted houses, evacuated villages and destruction of all kinds.
Between the Bug and the Dnieper, the troops "not only had to be fed and clothed, they also wanted tents, barracks, wells, toilet facilities, fuel, candles, mosquito nets, buckets, wash basins, wash cans and many other accommodation items for the forest camps." The only supply route had to be cleared of all other troops six days before the attack for the deployment of the Panzer Corps; it was therefore unusable for supply services. A corps supply base provided supplies. Fresh meat was still available in refrigerated trucks via a detour from the army supply depot (A. V. L. -Armeeverpflegungslager ), so that the butchers could be assigned to the bakery companies as temporary workers. 60,000 portions of bread were to be baked every day. In addition to the 6-day supply, a further 4 days' worth of food, flour and oats were brought in from the A. V. L., so that the corps' supplies were secured on the Bug until July 2. To protect against air raids, the supply train was spread out in the open field in front of the Dnieper crossing (Bialystok). The rapid advance "in these almost tropically hot days" placed increased demands on supplies on the extremely poor roads. "All plans and time calculations for the collection and arrival of the supply vehicles from the divisional camps on the Bug had to be thrown out the window and the timely arrival and appearance of the vehicles had to be left to chance," because bridge collapses, blockages, diversions, attacks and breakdowns were the result. "Some supply wagons, even some field kitchens, only reached their units after days." Company commanders bitterly regretted not having left their field kitchens on the combat trains.
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M.
; more................................Supply problems on the Russian front until spring 1942.
On Sunday, June 22, 1941, at 5:30 a.m., the German head of state announced in a proclamation to the German people and in a daily order to the troops that he had declared war on Russia and that at that moment "the largest deployment in world history, from the northern Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea" was taking place. A blitzkrieg was to ensure that the resource-rich Ukraine and important industrial areas, with all their treasures, would be firmly in the hands of the victor in a short time as sources of supply.
In the new war, too, the German troops attempted to obtain food through advance detachments and food collection staffs as they advanced through Russian territory in the summer of 1941. As was the case 25 years ago, the result of their efforts was minimal. They found empty or devastated grain fields, deserted houses, evacuated villages and destruction of all kinds.
Between the Bug and the Dnieper, the troops "not only had to be fed and clothed, they also wanted tents, barracks, wells, toilet facilities, fuel, candles, mosquito nets, buckets, wash basins, wash cans and many other accommodation items for the forest camps." The only supply route had to be cleared of all other troops six days before the attack for the deployment of the Panzer Corps; it was therefore unusable for supply services. A corps supply base provided supplies. Fresh meat was still available in refrigerated trucks via a detour from the army supply depot (A. V. L. -Armeeverpflegungslager ), so that the butchers could be assigned to the bakery companies as temporary workers. 60,000 portions of bread were to be baked every day. In addition to the 6-day supply, a further 4 days' worth of food, flour and oats were brought in from the A. V. L., so that the corps' supplies were secured on the Bug until July 2. To protect against air raids, the supply train was spread out in the open field in front of the Dnieper crossing (Bialystok). The rapid advance "in these almost tropically hot days" placed increased demands on supplies on the extremely poor roads. "All plans and time calculations for the collection and arrival of the supply vehicles from the divisional camps on the Bug had to be thrown out the window and the timely arrival and appearance of the vehicles had to be left to chance," because bridge collapses, blockages, diversions, attacks and breakdowns were the result. "Some supply wagons, even some field kitchens, only reached their units after days." Company commanders bitterly regretted not having left their field kitchens on the combat trains.
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M
.Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
Re: GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Hello to all ; more................................
Supply problems on the Russian front until spring 1942.
On the muddy roads of the Ukraine, the wagons loaded with ammunition, fuel, medical supplies and food sank. "For perhaps the hundredth time that day, the driver and passenger climb out of their seats and jump into the mud, which immediately reaches half their calves, and often even up to their knees and beyond. Then they shovel, push, tug and pull, summoning up all the strength their exhausted bodies have left. This one or that one loses their footing, falls to the ground for a long time and then gets up again as a walking mud puppet, no longer human. The drivers spent nine tenths of their "driving time" outside the wagon, battling the treacherous mud. The icy rain has soaked everything. And then the horse-drawn carts and their crews. Here are the legs of a dead horse staring up at the sky. The animal's head and neck are already sunk deep in the mud. The front needs supplies..." It takes place "without sleep, without regular meals, in heat, dust and thirst and with the dangers of the road. All columns drive with safety equipment.
Reconnaissance aircraft monitor the "runway". There is uncertainty everywhere. To the right and left of the road are signs of battle, shot-up tanks, vehicles and guns. ..." And in this impassable theater of war, on this poor transport network, "everything that the troops need to fight and live has to be brought in from home," writes the staff paymaster of the XIIIth Army Corps. Just as difficult as in Africa.
A film illustrates the supply in the autumn of 1941 on the Murmansk front, where German troops had to work their way through muddy roads. "The ration crews bring the food to the front line in 20-litre containers strapped to their backs, and have to march 20 km across the tundra..."
The greatest difficulties for supply in summer and autumn were the lack of paths due to heavy rain and mud; river crossings, constant enemy action. Specialist bodies estimated the number of trucks that were constantly circulating behind the at least 2000 km long front in shuttle traffic at 500,000, just for supply. For this gigantic, continuous truck traffic of supplies and troop vehicles, the Russian road network had to be rebuilt and expanded by special troops and the Todt Organization, mostly under enemy fire, so that the fighting troops were not hindered in their operational measures due to supply-related reasons. The tracks of the Russian railways in the supply area also had to be nailed on the wooden sleepers from 1.524 m to the European gauge of 1.435 m. In addition, new bridges, train stations, etc. had to be constructed.
Dr. Kayser, Ministerial Counselor, wrote in the autumn of 1941 in the happy but deceptive anticipation of the end of the Eastern campaign:
«For the German war effort in the immense expanse of the Russian area, the mastery of the supply tasks was of crucial importance. More than any other campaign in the current war, the Eastern campaign was a supply war. The aspect of transport space had become no less important for the troop command than the aspect of the effectiveness of weapons.»
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M.
; more................................Supply problems on the Russian front until spring 1942.
On the muddy roads of the Ukraine, the wagons loaded with ammunition, fuel, medical supplies and food sank. "For perhaps the hundredth time that day, the driver and passenger climb out of their seats and jump into the mud, which immediately reaches half their calves, and often even up to their knees and beyond. Then they shovel, push, tug and pull, summoning up all the strength their exhausted bodies have left. This one or that one loses their footing, falls to the ground for a long time and then gets up again as a walking mud puppet, no longer human. The drivers spent nine tenths of their "driving time" outside the wagon, battling the treacherous mud. The icy rain has soaked everything. And then the horse-drawn carts and their crews. Here are the legs of a dead horse staring up at the sky. The animal's head and neck are already sunk deep in the mud. The front needs supplies..." It takes place "without sleep, without regular meals, in heat, dust and thirst and with the dangers of the road. All columns drive with safety equipment.
Reconnaissance aircraft monitor the "runway". There is uncertainty everywhere. To the right and left of the road are signs of battle, shot-up tanks, vehicles and guns. ..." And in this impassable theater of war, on this poor transport network, "everything that the troops need to fight and live has to be brought in from home," writes the staff paymaster of the XIIIth Army Corps. Just as difficult as in Africa.
A film illustrates the supply in the autumn of 1941 on the Murmansk front, where German troops had to work their way through muddy roads. "The ration crews bring the food to the front line in 20-litre containers strapped to their backs, and have to march 20 km across the tundra..."
The greatest difficulties for supply in summer and autumn were the lack of paths due to heavy rain and mud; river crossings, constant enemy action. Specialist bodies estimated the number of trucks that were constantly circulating behind the at least 2000 km long front in shuttle traffic at 500,000, just for supply. For this gigantic, continuous truck traffic of supplies and troop vehicles, the Russian road network had to be rebuilt and expanded by special troops and the Todt Organization, mostly under enemy fire, so that the fighting troops were not hindered in their operational measures due to supply-related reasons. The tracks of the Russian railways in the supply area also had to be nailed on the wooden sleepers from 1.524 m to the European gauge of 1.435 m. In addition, new bridges, train stations, etc. had to be constructed.
Dr. Kayser, Ministerial Counselor, wrote in the autumn of 1941 in the happy but deceptive anticipation of the end of the Eastern campaign:
«For the German war effort in the immense expanse of the Russian area, the mastery of the supply tasks was of crucial importance. More than any other campaign in the current war, the Eastern campaign was a supply war. The aspect of transport space had become no less important for the troop command than the aspect of the effectiveness of weapons.»
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M
.Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
Re: GERMAN ARMY SERVICES OF SUPPLY
Hello to all ; more................................
Supply problems on the Russian front until spring 1942.
When autumn gave way to the harsh Russian winter, turning the streets into ice and covering them with deep snow, and cleared paths were repeatedly blown away by snow flurries, when motorized means of transport became less suitable due to the bitter cold, but the army still had to be supplied with more supplies such as wool blankets, winter clothing, straw sacks, carbide lamps, stoves, etc., the supply chain presented other tasks and increased initiative to the rear services and transport organizations. Horses, ox carts and transport aircraft had to be used to an increased extent.
For example, an advanced tank detachment, cut off from the connection to the rear, was forced to request provisions by air. After the distress call had passed through all the army command posts to the responsible office, the amount of food and the drop containers had been determined, the order had been given to the air fleet, boxes of bread, canned goods, chocolate, drops and cigarettes had been driven to the packaging warehouse on a truck, packed into steel cylinders and loaded onto the airfield, the "jam bombs" were dropped at their destination - somewhere on the edge of the forest, where camouflaged tanks bore clearly visible "drop" signs.
On March 18, 1942, the German intelligence bureau reported from the Eastern Front: Heavy snowstorms have set in in the central and northern sections of the front, every meter of the path has to be fought for, the very last thing is being squeezed out of people, horses and engines, and the soldiers in the forward section of the front are waiting day and night (at minus 35 °C) in nerve-wracking wait to face the advances of an extremely tough enemy that can always be expected at any time.
"Many days in which the food that is brought to the front in the mess tin is covered in a thick crust of ice that the spoon has to pierce through.... Many days without a warming drink, often without the possibility of moistening the tongue because the contents of the canteen freeze. Temperatures that cover the inside of the tank with a finger-thick layer of ice, and accommodation conditions whose primitiveness defies description."
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M.
; more................................Supply problems on the Russian front until spring 1942.
When autumn gave way to the harsh Russian winter, turning the streets into ice and covering them with deep snow, and cleared paths were repeatedly blown away by snow flurries, when motorized means of transport became less suitable due to the bitter cold, but the army still had to be supplied with more supplies such as wool blankets, winter clothing, straw sacks, carbide lamps, stoves, etc., the supply chain presented other tasks and increased initiative to the rear services and transport organizations. Horses, ox carts and transport aircraft had to be used to an increased extent.
For example, an advanced tank detachment, cut off from the connection to the rear, was forced to request provisions by air. After the distress call had passed through all the army command posts to the responsible office, the amount of food and the drop containers had been determined, the order had been given to the air fleet, boxes of bread, canned goods, chocolate, drops and cigarettes had been driven to the packaging warehouse on a truck, packed into steel cylinders and loaded onto the airfield, the "jam bombs" were dropped at their destination - somewhere on the edge of the forest, where camouflaged tanks bore clearly visible "drop" signs.
On March 18, 1942, the German intelligence bureau reported from the Eastern Front: Heavy snowstorms have set in in the central and northern sections of the front, every meter of the path has to be fought for, the very last thing is being squeezed out of people, horses and engines, and the soldiers in the forward section of the front are waiting day and night (at minus 35 °C) in nerve-wracking wait to face the advances of an extremely tough enemy that can always be expected at any time.
"Many days in which the food that is brought to the front in the mess tin is covered in a thick crust of ice that the spoon has to pierce through.... Many days without a warming drink, often without the possibility of moistening the tongue because the contents of the canteen freeze. Temperatures that cover the inside of the tank with a finger-thick layer of ice, and accommodation conditions whose primitiveness defies description."
Source: Verpflegungsgrundsätze und Versorgung der deutschen Truppen. Bühlmann, G. Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitung = Journal militaire suisse = Gazetta militare svizzera. Band (Jahr): 88=108 (1942). Heft 7
Cheers. Raúl M
.Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.