Remembering the Louisiana Maneuvers

Louisiana Maneuvers The Louisiana Maneuvers were large-scale military training exercises beginning in 1939. The maneuvers included a mock ’war’ to prepare the United States’ young and inexperienced military force for possible U.S. entrance into the Second World War. The idea was for troops (and equipment, including newly designed tanks and aircraft) to be tested in actual primitive battle conditions. As General George Patton himself said, "If you could take these tanks through Louisiana, you could take them through hell." Some of the men, who came from around the country, concurred with Patton’s view of Louisiana’s wilds: “I had spent some of the worst days and nights of my existence chasing all around the boondocks of that state,” wrote Bob Bearden, a paratrooper from Dallas who participated in three Louisiana Maneuvers.

The 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers were the largest training exercises ever held in U.S. Army history. They were held with half a million men in a 30,000 square mile area in northwest and central Louisiana. “The Second Army,” commanded by General Ben Lear, was pitted against the “Third Army,” commanded by Lieut. General Walter Krueger. The troops tested new types of equipment, strategies, supply systems and the use of massive divisions and corps instead of customarily small units. The maneuvers also brought public attention and money to this area of Louisiana and resulted in the establishment of new training camps like Fort Polk and Camps Claiborne and Beauregard. The 1941 maneuvers ended with the “Battle of Shreveport” in September, 1941 then moved to the Carolinas, wrapping up only 9 days before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941. The United States entered the war the following day.

As critical as the Louisiana Maneuvers were, and despite the fact that some of their key participants went on to become household names, like General George S. Patton, General (later President) Dwight D. Eisenhower, and General George C. Marshall, they are not widely-known. However, there are still some Louisianans who were children at the time, or who heard stories from their parents, who keep alive memories of when, almost literally in their front or back yards, young men from across the United States were preparing to fight across the globe.

That is, in fact, exactly how I first learned of the Louisiana Maneuvers, through a personal story from my mother-in-law, Mary Young Carlisle, who grew up in tiny Avinger in Northeast Texas and lived almost all of her adult life in Coushatta, Louisiana. Even though the Louisiana Maneuvers were supposed to stay in Louisiana, Major General Patton, commanding the Blue Army’s 2nd Armored Division, decided to capture Shreveport using the element of surprise. Instead of coming from the south where they were stationed in central Louisiana, they’d approach Shreveport coming from the north, by going well up into northeast Texas, then coming south. This maneuver took them right past Mary’s house, where the teenager stood at the end of her driveway smiling and waving as the young men rolled past. The soldiers wrote down their contact info, crumpled the paper into a ball, and threw the papers to her. Mary struck up correspondence with these young men, sending morale-boosting letters when the men were stationed overseas. Return letters to Mary often included WWII insignia patches as souvenirs, a collection she cherished all her life.

History Center patron William David Caldwell, who grew up in Bienville Parish, cherishes a letter his father, Chapman Caldwell, received from William M. Kerr of Buncome, Illinois who had been sent to the woods of northwest Louisiana during the Maneuvers. William Kerr wrote on November 11, 1941, after he’d been stationed to Camp Forrest Tennessee, “Dear Mr. Caldwell. I often think of you and others who were so nice to us during Maneuvers. I appreciated every kind word. “

Another patron, W. E. Heins, wrote in an email, “I remember the Louisiana Maneuvers. The soldiers camped out on the old football field at what is now Bossier Elementary School. Our home was on Colquitt Street across the street from the school. My friends and I visited with the soldiers and were fascinated by the rifles and other military equipment. They used blank rifle ammunition. They even gave us some of their K-Rations. One day my grandmother invited two of the solders to have lunch with us. We enjoyed talking to them and hearing their stories about military life.”

These could have been some of the same soldiers that turned up at the nearby Bossier City branch of the Bossier Parish Library that shared space in the courtroom of the old City Hall of Bossier City on Barksdale Blvd. A photo in our collection depicts uniformed soldiers packing the small space, seated or standing among the handful of research tables. A newspaper clipping with the photograph is titled, “Soldiers Enjoy Use of Library:”

Remembering the Louisiana Maneuvers

“That soldiers on maneuver, lonely and far from home, find libraries a godsend is testified by the above photograph of soldiers making themselves at home in the Bossier City branch library. The library makes a standing offer of stationery and writing materials for any solder desiring to use them…Night after night soldiers appeared to seat themselves at the reading tables and write home. Others enjoyed the newspapers, current magazines and books provided by the library. All were pleased with the friendly hospitality shown them…[and] the library was pleased to be of service.”

Of course, we are still pleased to be of service. If WWII’s one of your pursuits, come join us at the History Center for World War (II) Tuesdays on the second Tuesday of each month at 10:30 AM for coffee and informal discussion. Participants can share stories like some of the ones above, which brings the war experience “home” in a way that you won’t find in any history text book. We’d love to hear your family’s stories or see your photos or clippings about the Louisiana Maneuvers, whether you attend the program, just drop by or give us a phone call or an email. The History Center is located at 2206 Beckett St, Bossier City, LA. We are open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org

For other fun facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, @bplhistorycenter on TikTok, and check out our blog http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/. 

Article by: Pam Carlisle