Louisiana Maneuvers The Louisiana Maneuvers were a series of U . S . Army exercises held around Northern and Western - Central Louisiana , including Fort Polk , Camp Claiborne and Camp Livingston , in 1940 and 1941 . The exercises , which involved some 400 , 000 troops , was designed to evaluate U . S . training , logistics , doctrine , and commanders . Many Army officers present at the maneuvers later rose to very senior roles in World War II , including Omar Bradley , Mark Clark , Dwight D . Eisenhower , Lesley J . McNair and George Patton . Background . When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939 , starting World War II , the U . S . Army was largely an infantry force with supporting artillery , engineers , and cavalry , as well as combat support and combat service supporting arms . It was far smaller than most European armies , and few units were motorized or mechanized . As war approached , there was a need to both modernize the force and to conduct large - scale maneuvers to test all aspects of a fast - growing , inexperienced force . General Leslie McNair and Colonel Mark Wayne Clark picked thousands of acres of unused land in Louisiana as a good place for large - scale training . Exercises . Around 400 , 000 troops were divided into equal armies of two fictitious countries : " Kotmk " ( Kansas , Oklahoma , Texas , Missouri , Kentucky ) , also called the Red Army ; and " Almat " ( Arkansas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama , Tennessee ) , or the Blue Army . The troops were organized into a total of 19 divisions . From August to September 1941 , the armies fought over 3 , 400 square miles ( 8 , 800 km² ) of Louisiana . The area spanned from the Sabine River east to the Calcasieu River and north to the Red River . They fought over navigation rights and strategic points along the Mississippi River . Omar Bradley , who participated in the exercises , later said that Louisianans welcomed the soldiers with open arms . Some soldiers even slept in some of the residents ' houses . Bradley said it was so crowded in those houses sometimes when the soldiers were sleeping , there would hardly be any walking room . Bradley also said a few of the troops were disrespectful towards the residents ' land and crops , and would tear down crops for extra food . However , for the most part , residents and soldiers established good relations . During the exercises , 26 men died , most from drowning in the Sabine River or in vehicle accidents . One died when struck by lightning , and one had a heart attack at age 24 . This exercise also led to the creation of Fort Polk , named for the Confederate General Leonidas Polk . Lessons . The U . S . Army fighting doctrine was based around the ideas of mass and mobility . The constabulary - type Army of the antebellum frontier days was based on a high level of mobility , while the Union Army that won the U . S . Civil War massed combat power in a series of campaigns aimed at the heart of Confederate strength . These two legacies shaped U . S . doctrine leading up to World War II . Built around a nucleus from Chaffee ' s 7th Mechanized Cavalry , the 1st U . S . Armored Division tested the ability of a very large combined - arms mechanized unit to move long distances , maintain troops and vehicles in combat conditions , and affect the outcome of tactical and operational - level problems . The armored division concept was considered sound and led to the formation of 16 U . S . armored divisions during World War II . U . S . defensive doctrine was based on the perceived need to defeat German blitzkrieg tactics ; U . S . units expected to be faced with large numbers of German tanks attacking on relatively narrow fronts . The maneuvers tested the concept of the tank destroyer . This concept , originating with artillery officers , consisted of large numbers of highly mobile guns to be held in reserve . Upon an enemy tank attack , the towed or self - propelled tank destroyers would be rapidly deployed to the flanks of the penetration with the intent of taking a heavy toll of attacking tanks . Tank destroyers were supposed to employ aggressive , high - speed hit - and - run tactics against tanks . The use of these guns was distinct from the forward placement of towed antitank guns assigned as a normal part of the Infantry Regiment . The Louisiana Maneuvers ' data showed that the Infantry ' s AT guns took a much higher toll on " enemy " tanks than did the tank destroyer battalions ' guns . However , the conclusion drawn was that a tank destroyer force of independent tank destroyer battalions should be raised . In actual practice during World War II , such massed enemy tank attacks rarely happened ; indeed , throughout the war only one TD battalion ever fought in an engagement quite like that which had originally been envisaged . The Tank destroyer command eventually numbered over 100 , 000 men and 80 battalions equipped with 36 tank destroyers or towed anti - tank guns each . Immediately after the war , the force was disbanded and the anti - tank role was formally taken over by the Infantry , Engineer and Armor branches . The exercise was also notable for the first wide - scale testing of the new C ration . Valuable data was obtained regarding weight of meals , composition and shape of can used . The resulting amendements produced the standard " C " field ration used by U . S ground forces for the bulk of World War Two .