How many were there?

[Walt's Daughter]

Received this letter from Captain John Fallon, the other day. Sent his question to our historian, Michael Brodhead for illucidation.

 

Subject: answer to a vet's question

 

Good morning Mike:

 

Hey, would you know off the top of your head, how many engineers served

during WWII? One of my vets wrote to me over the weekend and was curious to

know the numbers of those who served in each branch of the army. He believes

there were more engineers than any other, but I would have to believe there

were a lot more infantrymen.

 

Anyway, this is certainly not a pressing issue, but if you come across this

in the future, please pass it along to me.

 

Have a wonderful day,

Marion

 

 

Hi Marion,

 

A volume in the Army's official histories of World War II series, The Corps

of Engineers: Troops and Equipment, by Blanch Coll, et al., gives the figure

of 596,567 Engineer soldiers as of 30 June 1945 (page 239). The preface

states (p. ix) that this accounts for "about 8 percent of the Army."

 

I hope this is the information wanted. You are probably right in thinking

that there were more infantrymen.

 

All the best, Mike

[Peanuts]

The 79th Congressional Record speech of Hinshaw, dated May 1945, states: "Now there are 700,000 of these Army Engineers, a group larger than any other branch of the Army except the Infantry and Air Corps. Seven hundred thousand and there still are not enough. It is an engineers war."

 

In World War II the average "tooth-to-tail" ratio was 10 to 1; that is, for every combat soldier an average of ten men supported him logistically and administratively.---borrowed from Carlo D'Este, Fatal Decision.

[CaptO]

Speaking of engineers in WWII, I saw a show on Attu on the History Channel this morning. (The have commercial free programs in the 0600 hour [EST] for "History in the Classroom") I didn't realize the major part the engineers played in the battle. They worked several solutions for getting gear and supplies up and down the steep (and snowy) slopes of the island. They also were instrumental in finishing off in hand-to-hand fighting the bonsai charge that had overrun several units.

 

I keep saying to myself as I read things about WWII, "How stupid was our high command (and just about every other for that matter.)" They sent our guys to Attu (of all of the "minor" theaters of the war, this is perhaps the minorist [to coin a term]) with warm weather boots, minimal cold weather gear, and OD green outer uniforms. What the hell?! May is still cold in most of the states, let alone Alaska where it was still winter for the most part. It was, of course, warm enough to melt ice and snow into a sludge, but cold enough to freeze everything (including wet GI boots) over night. Also keep in mind that this was also a battle to regain a crappy little island of no importance to wrest it back from a cut-off Japanese garrison. I understand needing to get the hated "Japs" off US soil, but if it can't wait until summer give the guys some decent personal gear. If "people are your most valuable resource" (not sure if the US saw it that way at that time) then having to amputate frostbitten feet because of some guy's poor planning means that some guy was destroying valuable government property.

[Walt's Daughter]

We have seen that Attu show several times and it's always hard to swallow. Yes, too many asinine decisions from higher-ups. What were they thinking?

 

However I am delighted that so many more people are getting turned onto shows such as Attu, so they may learn more about our beloved engineers and all they did and endured. No easy feat (feet too)!