Here's another long read but hope you find it informative.
Note:- Gen. J.C.H.Lee was known to us Combat GIs as J***S C****T Himself!! Not affectionately!!
Gen. J.C.H.Lee was in charge of the supplies for all of the ETO and he had a tremendous staff. He was ordered by Gen. Eisenhower NOT to move to Paris but to a location in the suburbs around Paris. However,he ignored Gen. Eisenhower and moved all of his people(the total 10,000 sticks in my mind-wrong see correct number below) into Paris and immediately set up shop. The first order of business was to requisition ALL of the hotels and in some cases apartment buildings for his people which was exactly what the Krauts had done and this made the Parisians more than a little PO'd. Again a NO NO to Ike!!!!!
This type of requisitioning meant that his people had the choice quarters-heated and safe from the elements. Their quarters in many cases had running HOT water and even Maid service. Since they had the control of the supplies coming in they had many items before the Front Line Troops even knew they were available such as combat boots,sleeping bags etc. They also had access to their pick of the cigarettes,candy,soaps,rations etc. which many of them used to please their "girl friends" and believe it or not they had access to the Jerry cans of gasoline which was sold to the civilian population for big bucks.
There was one unit (and even the Col. who was the CO was involved) the 716th RR BN. that went so far as to sell railroad cars of supplies to the blackmarketeers. Ultimately they were caught and went to prison but that is another story. The CID Div of the MPs requested help from an Intel Group due to the magnitude of the operation-that's how I know. It was a huge operation believe me!!
The thing that frosted us was that before the rules were changed if a man got to Paris on leave he in many cases would be assigned a COT in a school gym for quarters,using a community shower if there was one and eat in a mess hall type of place. Remember the Rear Echelon Commandos could be eating in a dining room with all the fancies that went with it.
You have no idea of how the REC's lived while we were freezing our butts off, had only rations to eat and many were not hot food. We had no hot water to wash or shave but that should give you the big picture of the difference. These guys were better off than many of the men that were Stateside.
Paris was taken in August but we didn't get any extra blankets and never saw a sleeping bag until long after they had them and they also had the shoepacs to keep their feet dry before we got them even though they weren't much better than our boots. Sorry to run on but even today this gets me POd big time
Question Posed to me "Err- Top!!:-
I kinda remember reading on this story a long time, but I am not sure. Was that general, JCH Lee, relieved for defying Gen. Ike?"
My Answer:-
Both General Omar Bradley and J. C. H. Lee, Communications Zone (ComZ) Europe, ordered the release of prisoners within a week of the war's end. This SHAEF order was countermanded by Eisenhower on May 15, 1945.
This I know to be true but whether or not Gen Lee still had Supply I can't say positively but he was still on the SHAEF Staff. I had no access directly to SHAEF
NOTE:-
I have to correct my figure of 10,000 as above to what follows:- "They stated the obvious at the height of the supply crisis, Lee had spent his precious time organizing the move, then used up precious gasoline, all so that he and his entourage could enjoy the hotels of Paris". It got worse. With 29,000 SOS troops in Paris.
It was a good thing that the men "on the line" didn't know that these many men were in the rear while men from the front were RTU(return to unit)ASAP after being wounded or that units that were not up to full complement had to draw troops from the Repple Depples(Replacement Depots) fresh from the States in some instances and in the ETO only weeks!!!
By March 1945, there were 160,000 SOS troops in the Department of the Seine. Many had never heard a shot fired or were ever in the Field!! The irony was that because they had been in the ETO longer than some of the COMBAT TROOPS they had amassed more of the required Points for discharge and were able to go home before some of us did.
We had another name for them but I'll not use it here.
Sgtleo