Appendix F
 
SHIPMENT OF DIVISIONS-1942
 
There is a vast amount of detailed information on the shipment of divisions overseas in World War II, but a simple table with precise dates and brief explanatory notes for the main phases in the movement of divisions overseas in 1942 has not been found in Department of the -Army files. The sources of information on which this table and the accompanying notes were based are scattered in diverse Army files and publications. A compilation of the assembled detailed data from which the table and notes were drawn is contained in Strategic Plans Unit Study 4. Further detailed information can be secured by consulting official division records now located at the Field Records Division, Kansas City Records Center, Kansas City, Missouri.
 
The most useful sources consulted were: ,1 ) division headquarters history data cards of the Organization and Directory Section, Operations Branch, Adjutant General's Office; (2) "Combat Chronicle, An Outline History of U. S. Army Divisions," prepared by the Order of Battle Section, OCMH; (3) report, title: Summary of Historical Events and Statistics New York Port of Embarkation, 1942, OCT HB ;
4) Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation Historical Report 1, title: Description of the Port and its Operation through October 31, 1942, OCT HB HRPE; (5) combat operations reports of the divisions on file in Historical Records Section, Departmental Records Branch, Adjutant General's Office;
and (61 division histories published by division associations. It was necessary to rely heavily on the history data cards maintained by the Organization and Directory Section, Operations Branch, Adjutant General's Office. These history data cards were compiled during the war from whatever sources were available- -water transportation reports, strength reports, station lists, postal reports, and AG letters---and are therefore not entirely accurate. Discrepancies were also found in the combat operations reports for departure and arrival dates of divisions.
 
There are a number of explanations for these discrepancies. Scheduled departures might be changed or delayed; availability of shipping might send units of the division in different convoys; time of arrival of a ship might be reported as a different day from that of debarkation of troops; and ships arriving at one harbor might be diverted to another harbor for unloading. The time factor might also account for differences of one day, depending on the use of the Washington date or the local overseas date, or the hour-- before or after midnight.
 
The dates given in this table represent the closest possible adjustment of the conflicting data found in the records and are reliable within a very small margin of error.
 
In the study of the phases of movement of those divisions shipped overseas during 1942, it appeared that, unless the movement was made on a ship of the size of the Queen Mary or Queen Elizabeth, a division's movement would usually be divided into shipments of an advance detachment, followed
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at a later date by the division headquarters and the main body of troops, and frequently by a rear echelon movement of units held in port-of-embarkation backlog, depending on the availability of shipping. If the destination was in a combat area, a regimental combat team would often comprise the first echelon of a divisional movement. In the light of piecemeal movements of the elements of a division, it was found most useful in establishing dates to chart the movement of the division headquarters. Unless otherwise indicated, the dates used in the table for sailing, arrival, and reshipment refer to the division headquarters. These dates do not necessarily coincide with those for the movement of the advance echelon or the rest of the division.
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Shipment of Divisions---1942
 
Division 1 Date of Overseas Orders 2 Port of Embarkation 3 Date of Sailing Date of Arrival Overseas Destination Date Divisional Movement Completed 4 Date of Reshipment 5   Destination

Philippine6  

24th   7  

—   
—   
—   
—   
—   
—   
—   
—   

25th   8  

—   
—   
—   
—   
—   
—   
 10 Dec 42 9   Guadalcanal
January:

34th   

 31 Dec 4  New York  15 Jan 42 10   26 Jan 42 Northern Ireland 15 May 42  10 Dec 42 11  North Africa

Americal [Task Force 6814] 12  

 14 Jan 42  New York  22 Jan 42 12 Mar 42 New Caledonia 23 Apr 42 4 Dec 42 13  Guadalcanal
March:

27th   

 27 Dec 41  San Francisco  10 Mar 42 15 Mar 42 14  Hawaii 17 Apr 42
—   
—   

41st   

 16 Feb 42  San Francisco  19 Mar 42  7 Apr 42  Australia 15 May 42  23 Dec 42 15  New Guinea
April:

32d  

28 Mar 42 16  San Francisco  22 Apr 42  14 May 42  Australia 14 May 42  27 Sep 42 17 New Guinea   

5th   

 5 Mar 42 18    New York  30 Apr 42  11 May 42  Iceland 11 May 42
—   
—   
May:

1st Armored   

 25 Mar 42  New York  11 May 42  16 May 42 Northern Ireland 13 Jun 42  9 Dec 42 19 North Africa

37th  

 15 Mar 42 20  San Francisco  26 May 42  10 Jun 42  Fiji Islands 20 Sep 42
—   
—   
August:

1st  

 28 May 42  New York  2 Aug 42  7 Aug 42  England 7 Aug 42  26 Oct 42 North Africa

40th

 25 Jul 42  San Francisco  23 Aug 42  1 Sep 42  Hawaii 6 Oct 42
—   
—   
October:

43d   

 29 Aug 42  San Francisco  1 Oct 42  23 Oct 42  New Zealand 30 Oct 42 21  18 Nov 42 New Caledonia

29th   

 10 Sep 42  New York  5 Oct 42  11 Oct 42  England 11 Oct 42
—   
—   

3d 

 5 Sep 42 22    Hampton Roads   24 Oct 42  8 Nov 42  North Africa 27 Jan 43
—   
—   
December:

2d Armored   

 27 Oct 42 23  New York  12 Dec 42  25 Dec 42  North Africa 25 Dec 42
—   
—   

9th   

 6 Nov 42 24  New York  12 Dec 42  25 Dec 42  North Africa 27 Jan 43
—   
—   
 
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Page created 10 January 2002

Endnotes

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