European Theater of Operations United States Army

European Theater of Operations United States Army
Active	1942-1945
Type	Theatre administrative command
Part of	United States Army
Garrison/HQ	London, UK
Engagements	World War II
Commanders
Notable commanders	Dwight D. Eisenhower

The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the Mediterranean coast, in the European Theatre of World War II. It was bordered to the south by the North African Theater of Operations, US Army (NATOUSA), which later became the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTOUSA).

The term "theater of operations" was defined in the U.S. Army field manuals as "the land and sea areas to be invaded or defended, including areas necessary for administrative activities incident to the military operations". In accordance with the experience of World War I, it was usually conceived of as a large land mass over which continuous operations would take place and was divided into two chief areas-the combat zone, or the area of active fighting, and the Communications Zone, or area required for administration of the theater. As the armies advanced, both these zones and the areas into which they were divided would shift forward to new geographic areas of control.

Key American military officials in Europe, 1945.

The "European Theater of Operations, United States Army," as a military command, should not be confused with the European Theatre of World War II which is often defined to include the years before the US entered the war, the Italian campaign, the European Strategic Bombing Campaign, the European Eastern Front, all of the European Western Front in 1944 and 1945, as well and other actions which did not involve the use of American forces.

History

The 133rd Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division was the first United States Army unit sent to Europe in World War II. The first battalion arrived in Belfast in late January 1942, followed by the rest of the regiment in February. These units were designated as U.S. Army Northern Ireland Forces, later incorporated within the European Theater of Operations. The 133rd and 168th Infantry Regiments trained in the peat bogs, and performed border guard patrols between British Northern Ireland and the neutral Irish Free State. Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee became Chief, Services of Supply, U.S. Army Forces British Isles, and later deputy theater commander, ETOUSA.

Five months later, the United States Department of War officially established ETOUSA, on June 8, 1942. Its mission was to conduct planning for the eventual retaking of Europe and to exercise administrative and operational control over U.S. forces. Headquartered in London, ETOUSA was first commanded by Major General James E. Chaney, an Army Air Corps officer.

From February 1944 the operational command was the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) which as an Allied command also had operational control of British and all other allied land forces and tactical airforces in the European theatre. Until SHAEF was operational ETOUSA liaised closely with the British in the planning and organising of Operation Overlord.

U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower had multiple command appointments; he replaced Chaney in late June 1942, but in November he also commanded the Allied forces in Operation Torch through AFHQ. He then relinquished command of ETOUSA to Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews in February 1943, who was killed in an air crash in May. In December 1943 it was announced that Eisenhower would be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. In January 1944 he resumed command of ETOUSA and the following month was officially designated as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. (Note that Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF) was the headquarters of the Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, whereas the AFHQ was the headquarters of only the Allied forces.) He served in a dual role until the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945. From February 1944, SHAEF was the operational command and ETOUSA administrative command.

Some units were transferred between operational commands and administrative commands at different times. For example the American 6th Army Group, which was set up under the Mediterranean Theater of Operations to oversee Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France between Toulon and Cannes, was passed to SHAEF (and into ETO) a month after the invasion which took place on August 15, 1944.

By the end of 1944, Eisenhower, through SHAEF, commanded three powerful Allied army groups. In the north British 21st Army Group commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery ("Monty"), in the middle the American 12th Army Group commanded by General Omar N. Bradley, and in the South the American 6th Army Group commanded by Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers. The British 21st Army Group and French elements of the 6th Army Group were not part of ETOUSA, but by that stage of the war most of the operational forces under the command of SHAEF were American.

The ETOUSA planning staff in London was usually referred to by its Army Post Office number, "APO 887". After the war in Europe ended, ETOUSA became briefly U.S. Armed Forces Europe, then U.S. Forces, European Theater (USFET), and then, eventually, United States Army Europe.

Commanders

• Maj. Gen. James E. Chaney 8 June 1942 – 20 June 1942
• Maj. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower 24 June 1942 – 3 February 1943
• Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews 4 February 1943 – 3 May 1943
• Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers 10 May 1943 – 8 January 1944
• Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower 15 January 1944 – 1 July 1944

Campaigns and operations

Chart 12.- Typical organization of a theater of operations as envisaged by War Department Doctrine, 1940.

For more details on this topic, see U.S. campaigns in WWII.

Operation Torch—the invasion of French North Africa—involving the 9th, 3rd Infantry and the 2nd Armored Divisions, initiated on November 8, 1942, was the first ground combat operations for the United States in World War II.

Albert Coady Wedemeyer was chief author of the Victory Program, published three months before the U.S. entered the war in 1941, which advocated the defeat of the German armies on the European continent. When the U.S. entered the war after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and the U.S. was at war with both Japan and Germany, a "Europe first" a modified version of his plan was adopted by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Under the German first policy, the plan was expanded to include the blue print for the Normandy landings.

• Normandy Campaign June 6, 1944 – July 24, 1944
• Northern France Campaign July 25, 1944 – September 14, 1944
• Southern France Campaign
• Rhineland Campaign
  • Lorraine Campaign (unofficial) September 1, 1944 – December 18, 1944
• Ardennes-Alsace Campaign December 16, 1944 – January 25, 1945 ("Battle of the Bulge")
• Central Europe Campaign March 22, 1945 – May 11, 1945

See also

• Llewellyn Morris Chilson
• China Burma India Theater of Operations
• Pacific Theater of Operations

Further reading

• ORDER OF BATTLE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY WORLD WAR II - EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS. Paris, France: Office of the Theater Historian Paris, France. December 1945. http://www.history.army.mil/documents/ETO-OB/ETOOB-TOC.htm. Retrieved June 9, 2010. 

References

• "The European Theater of Operations". history.army.mil. http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/11-9/ETO.htm. 

External links

• USAREUR celebrates sixty years of service