The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-11-28

This is the 14th of 42 install ments of material selected from
 General Marshalrs report on the
 winning of World War II.
 XIV
 AIR WAR
 At the time of the Quadrant Con ference at Quebec in August l943 there had been but single United States division in the United King dom and our transatlantic shipping effort was concentrated on filling the heavy requirements of the Mediter- ranean campaign. By late August 1943, shipping was partially released from this heavy southern commit ment and troops again began to pour into the British Isles. On D. Day, 6 June 1914, the strength of the United States Army in that the ater was 1,533 O00; in the interim an average of 150,000 men had been transported each month.
 The build-up of this force, togetn- CT with a corresponding accumula- tion of supplies of all kinds, in- volved tremendous job of trans portation, and special credit must be given to the Navy for it's vital part in the undertaking. An enor- nous administrative task was also involved, since facilities for quarter ings and training such large forces had to be provided within the linn tied area of the United Kingdom The efficiency of the preinvasion buildup is exemplified by the speed with which units landing in Brit ain were provided with their essen- tial arms and equipment. Through a system of preshipping and storing the Army Service Forces were able tc have equipment distributed and waiting for each unit on it's arrival Within a maximum of 30 days after the debarking divisions were fully equipped and ready for action.
 The units arriving in the United Kingdom from America were well trained, especially in fast-moving corps and army operations over large areas; those coming from the Med. iterranean were battle-tested. None- theless, everything possible was done during their staging period in the United Kingdom to increase their combat efficiency despite the Him. tied terrain available in a densely populated and cultivated country. side. The troops which were to make the assault landings unanswered realistically on beaches and ground which approximated the target areas Tn the early spring of 1914, joint ex- ercises of the ground, sea, and air forces which were to make the at- tack were held along the southern coast of England. It was full dress rehearsal.
 Troops Ready
 Three weeks before the invasion General Eisenhower wrote:
 There Is no question at all as to the readiness of the troops. They are well trained, fit, and impatient to get the job started and completed In forecasting future possibilities, it is, Of course, necessary that we seek ways and means to bring to bear those factors in which we enjoy a great superiority over the enemy. These are control of the sea, com mand of the air, including resources in airborne troops and ar1nor. I am trying to visualize an operation in which we would bring in behind the initial beachhead a great strength in armor and seek an opportunity to launch big armored attack in con- junction with deep and very heavy penetration by air'borne troops"
 By July 1S43 the Allied strategic air assault of Air Chief Marshal A T. Harris Royal Air Force Bomber Command by night and General Bakers Eighth Air Force by day on the fortress of Europe was in full swing and was producing important results. Single raids in which the air force delivered bomb loads of more than 500 tons had been carried out Serious inroads had been made 0n khA eaf4ahak rsAsyAR nf fhM (amrfWns,