Supplying the British Army in the Second World War

by Janet Macdonald

Overview

During the Second World War, how were the multitude of items required by the soldiers in the front line selected, ordered and delivered, and how were they produced? In this the second volume in her detailed, scholarly study of the army’s logistical system, Janet Macdonald describes the necessity for central advanced planning for each expeditionary force as well as those engaged in home defense, and the complex organization of personnel who performed these tasks, from the government and military command in London to those who distributed the equipment on the battlefield.

Armies have always required large amounts of material, but by the Second World War the numbers of men involved had grown exponentially, their equipment had become mechanized and their deployment was world wide. Elaborate planning and administration at every level had to ensure that items of all kinds were collected, transported and handed out in every theater of the war. The scale of the operation was enormous and it had to be performed to critical timetables and was sometimes threatened by enemy action, and it was vital to the army’s success.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526725349
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	04/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Janet Macdonald has published books on numerous subjects. Her first book on naval history was Feeding Nelson’s Navy: The True Story of Food at Sea in the Georgian Era; her second, the British Navy’s Victualling Board, 1793-1815: Management Competence and Incompetence. She took her MA in Maritime History at the Greenwich Maritime Institute, London, and her PhD at King’s College London, where she was awarded a Laughton Scholarship. Her thesis was on the administration of naval victualling. Her most recent books are From Boiled Beef to Chicken Tikka: 500 Years of Feeding the British Army, Sir John Moore: The Making of a Controversial Hero, Horses in the British Army 1750-1850 and Supplying the British Army in the First World War.

Table of Contents

List of Plates viii

Acknowledgements ix

Glossary x

Introduction 1

1 Planning 3

2 Movements and Transportation 11

3 Transport and the Royal Army Service Corps 29

4 The Work of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps 51

5 Armaments 70

6 Petrol, Oil and Lubricants 78

7 Works Services and Engineer Stores 90

8 Signals and Other Communications 109

9 Maps and Surveying 119

10 Accommodation 131

11 Clothing and Personal Equipment 142

12 Food 156

13 Medical Matters 174

14 The Invasion of North-West Europe -Operation Overlord 192

Appendices:

1 Weights and Measures 214

2 Medical Terms and Diseases 215

3 Vitamin Deficiencies 216

4 Abbreviations, Acronyms and Operation Codewords 217

Bibliography 219

Index 221

Editorial Reviews

"A valuable read for anyone interested in logistics or World War II."

The NYMAS Review