Tom Donnelly explains what that chart on Army force structure in WW II tells us

By
Thomas Donnelly

Best
Defense office of historical force structure analysis, French and Indian War to
World War II division

Beyond
the official story, that Army chart tells you a couple of
things:

1.
Army was never as big as planned.

2.
It got heavier -- more tanks and more artillery.

3.
It got heavier in different ways than planned -- fewer tanks, a lot more
artillery.

4.
Didn't buy as many aircraft as planned.

5.
Needed many more higher-echelon support troops than planned.

Questions
why:

1.
Were the differences a result of policy, manpower constraints, industrial
constraints, tactical learning?

2.
For a war that's supposed to be about the rise of tactical aviation and close
air support, the increase in artillery and failure to meet aircraft goals is
interesting.

3.
Higher-echelon support troops: Like other wars, this was fought in coalition
and at great strategic distances from the United States and at great
operational distances within the theaters. Is "tail" actually
"tooth?"