replacement depots

conservativecave.com ^ | June 4, 2009 | franksolich

[franksolich]

Okay, the professional civilian here, again.

While reading more about D-Day and its aftermath, I'm finding that it was policy to constantly infuse already-existing Army units with new people, the units having been worn down by "attrition."

I had always assumed that it was policy, once a unit was all torn up, battered up, decimated, that it was pulled back, and an entirely new unit was sent in.

And while being pulled out of action, two purposes were served; that of giving the survivors a chance to catch their breath, and giving commanders time to build them back up to full strength, to re-stock them.

I have no idea where I got that impression, but surely it's decades old, and apparently erroneous.

I am not questioning any determination to keep battle-weary men in action and sending new men to be with them; obviously what's done works.

But I'm left wondering; I suspect those guys who made it into Normandy on June 6, 1944.....well, there probably couldn't have been many of them left by May 6, 1945 still on their feet, still moving forward.

Is this still, generally, policy?

Have there been alternatives that have been tried?

[Tallguy]

WW2 units were organized on a “tiangular” basis. A division was made up of 3 regiments, and a regimental combat team typically had 3 battalions, and so on. The prefered deployment scheme was “2 up, 1 back”. In extreme cases all RCT’s might be on-line, but then a sister division was probably contributing to the theater reserve.

[investigateworld]

Several books I’ve read mentioned, plus an LTC in the Army gave a speech where he described his career. Left a cushy job as a Colonel’s driver in a AAA unit - (transferred to the infantry) when his unit was disbanded, received a battlefield commission ect. ect. Survived lots of RIF’s post Korea, finally his 20 plus years.

[Mr. Lucky]

Those vets I talked with said it was a lousy system.

That sentiment appears to have been universal.

[Mr. Lucky]

The 1st Infantry Division was seriously engaged in North Africa, Sicily and Europe. Most of the veterans of one campaign were not involved with the others. Once the Division was engaged, however, no one was rotated out.

[PzLdr]

My Pop was a combat engineer with the 4th ID. Landed at Utah Beach. Fought in the bocage, was at Cherbourg. Saw the breakout at St. Lo. Fought his way accross France. Medevaced from the Huertgen Forest with severe frostbite. Missed the Battle of the Bulge [4th ID was on the southern flank with the German 7th army]. Returned to his unit in early ‘45, crossed the rhine at Worms, finished the war in Bavaria. Fought alongside a lot of newbies who replaced KIAs, and seriously wounded troops who did not return to combat, throughout his service with the 4th.

[CRBDeuce]

The core ‘business’ of repo-depots (Replacement Battalions) was to ship personnel to and from the USA. As part of that Battalion, one of the Replacement Companies, depending on the theater, would handle in-country or in-theater transfers. As for morale...Sending people to the USA was the ‘best’ job in the Army! (the 3 big Army ‘power centers’... supply sgt, MARS, repo-depot...) On base entertainment (officers club, enlisted club) would often care for the morale of the transferrees as well. It is possible that being stuck in a repo-depot too long may have led to the ‘life of Riley’ connotation of army life!

[CRBDeuce]

"repple depple" or Replacement Depot or Repl Depot or just Replacement Battalion or company.