Louisiana Maneuvers - Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned

The U.S. Army fighting doctrine was based around two fundamentals: mass and mobility. The constabulary-type Army of the frontier days was based on a very high level of mobility. However, the Army that won the U.S. Civil War was based on mass. The Union Army successfully massed combat power where it was needed in a series of campaigns aimed at the heart of Confederate strength. These two legacies shaped U.S. doctrine in the period leading up to World War II, and were tested in the maneuvers.

The first U.S. Armored Division was tested in the maneuvers. Built around a nucleus from Chaffee's 7th Mechanized Cavalry, the armored division tested the ability of a very large combined-arms mechanized unit to move long distances, maintain troops and vehicles in combat conditions, and affect the outcome of tactical and operational-level problems. The armored division concept was considered sound and led to the formation of 16 U.S. Armored Divisions during World War II.

U.S. defensive doctrine was based on the perceived need to defeat German blitzkrieg tactics, and U.S. units expected to be faced with large numbers of German tanks attacking on relatively narrow fronts. The maneuvers tested the concept of the tank destroyer. This concept, originating with artillery officers, consisted of large numbers of highly mobile guns to be held in reserve. Upon an enemy tank attack, the towed or self-propelled tank destroyers would be rapidly deployed to the flanks of the penetration with the intent of taking a heavy toll of attacking tanks. Tank destroyers were supposed to employ aggressive, high-speed hit-and-run tactics against tanks. The use of these guns was distinct from the forward placement of towed antitank guns assigned as a normal part of the Infantry Regiment. The Louisiana Maneuvers' data showed that the Infantry's AT guns actually took a much higher toll of 'enemy' tanks than did the tank destroyer battalions' guns. However, the conclusion drawn was that a tank destroyer force of independent tank destroyer battalions should be raised.

In actual practice during World War II, such massed enemy tank attacks rarely happened; indeed, throughout the war only one TD battalion ever fought in an engagement quite like that which had originally been envisaged. The Tank destroyer command eventually numbered over 100,000 men and 80 battalions equipped with 36 tank destroyers or towed anti-tank guns each. Immediately after the war, the force was disbanded and the anti-tank role was formally taken over by the Infantry, Engineer and Armor branches.

This exercise also led to the creation of Fort Polk. It got its name from the Confederate General Leonidas Polk. Fort Polk remains a United States Army post to this day.