Page:John Banks Wilson - Maneuver and Firepower (1998).djvu/95

 THE TEST—WORLD WAR I network could handle only so many men, guns, and supplies. Traffic congestion bogged down the movement of units and also prevented communication. When divisions were on the line they suffered from the lack of food, ammunition, and other supplies. Part of the logistical problems also rested with a division's lack of combat service troops to carry rations, bury the dead, and evacuate casualties.

By Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, the Army had fielded 1 cavalry division, 1 provisional infantry division, and 62 infantry divisions. Of this total, 42 infantry divisions and the provisional division deployed to Europe (see Table 6), with one, the 8th Division, not arriving until after the fighting had ended. On the Western Front in France, 29 divisions (7 Regular Army, 11 National Guard, and 11 National Army) fought in combat. Of the others, 7 served as depot divisions, 2 of which were skeletonized, and 5 were stripped of their personnel for replacements in combat units, laborers in rear areas, or expeditionary forces in North Russia or Italy. The provisional black division was broken up, but its four infantry regiments saw combat. Starting from a limited mobilization base, this buildup, lasting eighteen months, was a remarkable achievement.

Despite the difficulties, World War I brought about more coordination among the combat arms, combat support, and combat service organizations in the infantry division than ever before. Infantry could not advance without support from engineers and artillery; artillery could not continue to fire without a constant supply of ammunition. Transportation and signal units provided the vital materiel and command connections, while medical units administered to the needs of the wounded. This complex type of combined arms unit became possible because of advances in technology, weapons, communications, and transportation.

The adoption of the unwieldy square division, however, proved to be less than satisfactory. Pershing's staff believed that a division of 28,000 would conserve the limited supply of trained officers, maximize firepower, and sustain itself effectively in combat. In practice, the square division lacked mobility. Its deficiencies became apparent during the important Meuse-Argonne offensive, when American divisions bogged down and suffered excessive casualties. The successes and failures of the infantry division's organization set the stage for a debate that would surround it for the next twenty years.