Quartermaster Supply Operations - US Army Combined Arms Center ...

off loudcd and awaiting shipwnt iniond. 'iith no knowlocigc
of tho compoaition of thcse oPf lo,ded stocks, tho lixited
tr-.naportation ?acSlitics woru often used to transport inlala
fron ports itor.rs thnt wcrc not ncoded at thc tine by the
ficld forem, while other itom for which n critical nocd
cxiotod wro left unideiitifiod ot tho port. In addition,
bulk shipriata of uninvontoriod tons of oup~lic~ from ports
to ialund depots ortcii i-esul:ed in undesirable dic tribution
of otoc1:a. 'Ihcn tr~nsport~tion is sliort, inter-ciopot ahipmilts
cannot be mide for tha purpose of rrdintributing stocks.
37. Ths %pot System in Dogth. As thc lino of comunications
longthenod, cnd it beccmc ncccvsury to suyply tho
ficld forcoo by formrd depots, thL sdootivo stocking of
forvard ciiid iriterrlediatc dcpots w3s begun. Fact noving
itons wrc sclLcted out of the msa of toncagc at thc baoa
dcpoG md worc .tockod in forirard clnd ir.tcrmc2isto depots.
Tho slow-moviny. bulk item romining; fit tho Lase depot aore
moved forvrard only as reguircd. Generally, interniedintu
dopots rsplonishod tho oclvanoc dopots and stockod certain
itcls thot tldvalicc depots did not stock. Howcvcr, it llrils not
until about Novcmher 191& that depot opcretions coescd to be
tlod. down to tho boachcn and thc intcrmodiato dqot systm
UBS set up.
38.
fl. In the European Theator of Oportitions tho gcncrftl
adxiinistrntion of depots waa govowed by the P,uortcr-
milter Depot Opcrationa Manuril. dated 1 Dcccnbcr 1943, and
by othcr storage puaphlc tz tlnrl uppopriato texts. €lowovo~,
oncli dcgot had 3 spocific and detailad I@iSSloi1 thnt oould
not bo set forth in publicfitions in gonerel tcrms. Coriscquontly,
a letter mission wuu propcrred for each dopot
explaining in sufriciciit dctoil crectly tho specific miskion
in each cuco. Thcsc lsttcr lnissions worc proparod by the
Chiuf Qm9ii;r:instor, so thdt the opcrflt!.oii of tha depot
could bo intcpetcd in ,tho antiro dopot ogntcni. Thosu lottcrs
YKWC simplc md briof and. provideti for Plcxibility in
tho opcrrtion of -the dopot, diid furnishcd esocntiel inTomtion
to thc depot corumndcr. (Appendix tlwibcr 6)
b. Exporicncc in thcr Curogenn Thcotcr of Oporationn
h:ie brought out ccrtain Essentials ro,rardinp dcpot misslons.
X'hc ndssion must bo pr3percd und pub,lished o:i tho thoatar
headquartcru LcvoI. It must bo Tloxiblc, siiqh, and. brief.
T ~ Qdorot eormmdcr must iae!! thc folloviii& Tawts:
TonnogcB to bo rccoivcA d,:ily by SOCLTCO.
Tomages by Class thot munt bc stored.
Troops to bu sc~cdon D rotuil basis and
those to bc 8orwB hy wholcsalo bulk
shipmmonts.
"hetiler tile dopot will. storo tho entire
2hoater stocks of n cc,rtain item.
He must be given the mans (basic nodcl
stock) by rvhich ha cdn oalnulutc, by item
the quantity of stock vhich is to bo
atorad.
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