USAREUR Units - Medical Corps

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Medical Units in USFET & EUCOM 1940s
US Forces in the European Theater
Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me.

Chief Surgeon

Depots

Hospitals

Supply

Related Links

The 1940s

(Source: Medical Supply in World War II, Office of Medical History, US Army Medical Department website; accessed Oct 10, 2012)

Medical Supply Division, Theater Chief Surgeon's Office
Although the medical depot system in the U.S. Occupied Zone of Germany and Austria was under major subordinate commanders, it was technically supervised by the Supply Division, Theater Chief Surgeon's Office, TSFET (Theater Service Forces, European Theater). From the cessation of hostilities through 31 December 1945, there was a progressive transfer of responsibilities from the TSFET (REAR) office located in Versailles, France, to the TSFET (MAIN) office in Frankfurt, Germany.

As of 1 October 1945, Col. Robert L. Black, MSC, was chief of the Supply Division with station in Versailles, and Lt. Col. Louis F. Hubener, MC, Deputy Chief, Supply Division, was acting chief of the Supply Division in Frankfurt.

The move of the Supply Division from TSFET (REAR) in Versailles to TSFET (MAIN) in Frankfurt was completed by 7 November 1945.

During the last 3 months of 1945, the Supply Division efforts were directed toward the buildup of (1) a minimum 60-day maintenance level in all medical depots in Germany and (2) a reserve stockpile in Germany sufficient to maintain the occupation forces until 30 June 1949. To accomplish this objective, a comprehensive study was made first of issues in Germany, and then, replacement factors were revised upward on all items on which issues in Germany were higher per 1,000 men per month than the overall theater issues. Likewise, downward revisions were made where indicated. Based upon the revised replacement factors, 60-day maintenance levels and 30 June 1949 levels were computed by using the factors in combination with estimated troop strength for the periods involved.

To maintain a minimum 60-day supply of each item stocked in the theater, monthly maintenance requisitions were placed on the Zone of Interior. Requisitions were based on a 180-day reorder point to allow for a 120-day shipping time. Incoming shipments on such requisitions were received through the port of Bremerhaven by the Bremen Medical Depot, and from this depot, supplies were transferred as needed to other filler depots in Germany.

Each medical depot in Germany was authorized a proportionate part of the 60-day maintenance level, computed on the percentage of total troops served. Based upon information contained in the theater's consolidated stock status report, transfers among the various depots were effected to insure a minimum 60-day stock of each item, except key depot items, in each filler depot. Key depot items were books and blank forms, stocked only by the Fürth Medical Depot, and teeth, stocked only by the Weinheim Medical Depot.

The buildup of the 30 June 1949 level from stocks already in the theater was stressed during the last 3 months of 1945. Approximately 10,000 long tons of medical supplies from depots in liberated countries and the United Kingdom were moved into Germany. Arrangements were made also to bring to Germany the so-called luxury items for installation in the larger, permanent medical installations in Germany. Many of these items-for example, large fixed X-ray machines-had been brought to the Continent only in small numbers during combat operations because of the special handling required. The hospitals established on a semi-Zone-of-Interior standard to support occupation forces in Germany brought about a heavy demand for these items.

During the latter part of 1945, the International Business Machines Section of the Stock Control Branch was moved from Paris to Frankfurt. As a result of the damage incurred to the equipment in transit and the difficulties encountered in installing it at the new location, the first consolidated stock status report was not prepared until the middle of December 1945. Among the problems encountered was the understandable unwillingness of French personnel to move to occupied Germany. It was, therefore, necessary to recruit German nationals with electrical accounting machine experience to staff the new section in Frankfurt.

Medical Maintenance and Repair
With the reduction of medical maintenance and rebuild requirements in liberated areas, transfer was made of necessary equipment and repair parts to the Fürth and Weinheim Medical Depots in the. occupied zone. The large maintenance shop, located at Medical Depot M-407 in Paris, discontinued operations at the end of November and moved to Germany. At both Weinheim and Furth, the maintenance shops were staffed not only with U.S. military and civilian personnel, but also with German civilians and prisoners of war.

Optical Program
The Base Optical Shop in Paris, with small portable units operated at various medical depots, continued in operation during the entire period. Bifocal corrections were accomplished by French contract and proved very satisfactory. To accomplish optical requirements in the occupied zone, small units were established at the Fürth and Weinheim Medical Depots as well as a portable unit in Berlin to care for emergency cases.

Civil Affairs
In addition to the task of establishing a medical supply system to support the U.S. forces in occupied Germany, the Theater Chief Surgeon was faced with an equally difficult task of providing essential medical supplies to displaced persons camps, prisoner-of-war enclosures, and the German civilian economy. A Civil Affairs Section in the Supply Division had the mission of coordinating and supervising the execution of this mission.

Medical supplies for the U.S. Military Government mission in Germany came from two sources: (1) Civil Affairs stocks brought from the Zone of Interior and the United Kingdom, and (2) captured enemy medical materiel. In the beginning, all civil affairs stock was stored in Medical Depot M-412 at Reims. This stock included approximately 175 basic medical items, including British obstetric kits, British CAD (Civil Affairs Drug) units, and antityphus supplies. Military government authorities decided that 50 of the basic medical items should be transferred to the occupied zone and stocked in occupation depots for military government use in that area. These supplies were issued only upon approved request of military government authorities.

Over 30,000 tons of captured medical supplies and equipment were consolidated in the U.S. Occupied Zone of Germany into nine major supply dumps with locations at Heilbronn, Gauting, Ihringshausen, Neuhof, Straubing, Furth, Heidingsfeld, Treuen, and Bad Mergentheim. This number was reduced to the first six named locations to provide three dumps in each of the two military districts. A minimum of U.S. military personnel operated each dump, and former German civilian supply personnel were utilized as the main source of labor.

Col. Earle D. Quinnell, MC, Director, Medical Department Equipment Laboratory, Carlisle Barracks, Pa., made a special trip to France in early 1945 to inspect captured German field equipment and to arrange to have it sent back to the Zone of Interior for further study.

During this period, a medical supply catalog for captured materiel with a cross-reference in English was prepared, printed, and distributed by the Theater Chief Surgeon to facilitate supply operations. This catalog was compiled from nomenclatures received from a physical inventory of the dumps, from nomenclature manuals printed by German manufacturers, and from all commercial German medical supply catalogs that could be located. The medical supply catalog for captured materiel contained approximately 9,000 items, most of which were in supply at the beginning of the occupation period. This catalog received wide distribution to using agencies to include prisoner-of-war enclosures and hospitals, displaced persons camps, military government supply officers, and German civilian users.

Numerous requests were received through technical channels requesting emergency shipments of medical supplies to military government detachments, particularly in Berlin and Austria, for German civilian use. The breakdown of normal German trade channels had created critical shortages in these remote areas with the result that the Theater Chief Surgeon's Office found itself serving as a retail agent for German civilian demands. To assure best possible utilization of retail merchandise available in captured stocks to support the German economy, a recommendation was made for the transfer of the dumps and operating personnel, exclusive of military personnel, to the jurisdiction of U.S. military government authorities. This recommendation was ultimately approved and implemented.

Summary
The transition from a dynamic wartime medical supply system to a relatively static peacetime structure to support the occupation forces was accomplished rather expeditiously with minimum waste and confusion. Considering the vast quantities of medical materiel in liberated areas which had to be disposed of, either as excess for return to the Zone of Interior, surplus sale, or forwarded to Germany for retention purposes, the task was accomplished in a comparatively short time. The achievement is even more remarkable when one considers that the period witnessed not only the redeployment of numerous medical depot units, but also the wholesale return of key, experienced depot personnel to the United States. As may be expected, pilferage, stock imbalances, and shortages of sensitive items resulted from a lack of supervision in depth. Yet, the end of the year 1945 in occupied Germany saw the emergence of a reasonably efficient medical supply system, utilizing modern business machine methods and Zone of Interior station and depot supply and accounting procedures. The U.S. Army medical supply system and its personnel once again had met and effectively dealt with a challenging logistical situation.

Medical Depots

Fürth Medical Depot, c. 1946

Fürth Medical Depot

1946

(Source: Vol. IV, The Second Year, OCCUPATION FORCES SERIES, 1947)

The depots that were under the control of the Chief Surgeon in 1946 and their major duties are listed below:

Fürth Medical Depot
The depot was operated by the 33rd Medical Depot Company. This depot served as the central medical depot and was responsible for the receipt, storage, and issue of all medical supplies within the Theater to meet military requirments.

In addition, the 33rd Medical Depot Company was responsible for the operation of the Theater optical shop and the Base maintenance shop, and for the physical operation of a surplus property section.

Weinheim Medical Depot
The Weinheim Medical Depot, operated by the 30th Medical Depot Company, had originally served as an issue point for both military and civilian stocks. It was converted, however, on 1 September 1946 to serve as an issue point for civil affairs/military government stocks exclusively.

Original civil affairs/military government stocks for an established 60-day level were withdrawn from stocks excess to the military requirements and these continued to be the principal source of supply for the remainder of the period under review (July 1946 - June 1947).

(Source: Medical Supply in World War II, Office of Medical History, US Army Medical Department website; accessed Oct 10, 2012)

SUPPLY ACTIVITIES IN THE OCCUPATION

The Fürth Medical Depot, in operation as the key filler depot in the Eastern Military District of Germany, Third U.S. Army area, was established by the 33d Medical Depot Company on 26 April 1945 in the waning days of combat in what was a former German Medical Sanitats Parke (Medical Point).

Although the structure at this site was not particularly desirable from an issue viewpoint, it did afford adequate covered storage space for approximately 4,000 tons and an abundance of open storage space. The structure consisted of a four-story, triple-winged building with 10-foot ceilings which made forklift operations impracticable. Elevators available in the building made storage more accessible and easier to handle. Road and rail communications leading to this depot were excellent, and necessary docking and ramping facilities made shipping, unloading, and handling a minor problem.

As a consequence, the depot was established as a key depot for certain items of medical supply necessary in the maintenance of U.S. forces in the occupied zone.

By 31 December 1945, total stocks at the Fürth Medical Depot had reached a level of approximately 7,015 tons.

Ultimately, in 1946, the Fürth Medical Depot was to become the only medical depot supporting the U.S. occupation forces in Germany.

United States Forces in Austria (USFA) received their medical supply support from the 226th Medical Supply Detachment located in Glasenbach, Austria. This detachment, in turn, requisitioned its requirements from the Furth Medical Depot in the U.S. Occupied Zone of Germany.⁵

Was this the location of the former Weinheim Medical Depot? (Germany postcard, prob 1960s)

Weinheim Medical Depot

1945

(Source: Medical Supply in World War II, Office of Medical History, US Army Medical Department website; accessed Oct 10, 2012)

SUPPLY ACTIVITIES IN THE OCCUPATION

Depot in Germany (Advance of Armies into Germany)
A site at Weinheim, east of the Rhine River, was selected for Depot M-416T. Although rail service had been reestablished, the site was about 10 miles from the rail line. The 30th Medical Depot Company opened Depot M-416T on 1 May 1945.

As the depot was in process of being organized, units began to turn in equipment for redeployment, and the magnitude of receipts made it necessary to augment the depot with a detachment of the 30th Medical Depot Company, which had been assigned to Depot M-417 in Elbeuf (France) since early January 1945.

As the armies drove into Germany, the Medical Department was pressured to select a depot site on the extreme right flank of the Ruhr area. However, Col. Silas B. Hays, MC, Chief of Supply Division, Chief Surgeon's Office, believed that Depot M-409 at Liége was adequate since any relocation would be temporary because the British were scheduled to take over the area as soon as the Ruhr drive had been completed. A compromise site was selected by ADSEC at Duisdorf, close to Bonn, and on 9 April, the newly arrived 48th Medical Depot Company assumed operation of Depot M-415.

Depot Activities (After VE-Day)
At the end of the war in Europe, the medical depots supporting the combat armies were located deep in the heartland of Germany, some in areas soon to be occupied by the forces of other Allied Nations. This led to considerable confusion during May and June of 1945, with the transfer of medical depot sites to the French, British, and Russian forces and a concurrent relocation of United States forces into the area designated as the U.S. Occupied Zone of Germany.

During this period, U.S. Army medical depot companies performed commendably, transferring not only U.S. Army stocks, but also the bulk of critical captured medical materiel into dumps in the U.S. Zone (map 27). These captured supplies were destined to be invaluable in providing medical care to vast numbers of displaced persons and prisoners of war who were under U.S. control.

By 1 July 1945, transfers of area responsibilities were largely completed, and the medical supply structure to support the occupation was operational, consisting of a medical depot to support each of the separate major commands, which included Berlin, Bremen, the subdivisions of the U.S. Zone (Eastern and Western Military Districts of Germany) and U.S. forces in Austria.

The Weinheim Medical Depot was in operation as a key filler depot in the Western Military District of Germany, Seventh U.S. Army area.

Operated by the 30th Medical Depot Company, the depot had originally been established on 1 May 1945 as Medical Depot M-416T with a mission to supply the 6th Army Group and Continental Advance Section. However, 1 July 1945 found the company still in the process of getting established and faced with an enormous task of expansion.

After V-E Day, units redeploying for the Pacific theater and the United States were turning in their medical equipment and supplies. Again, after V-J Day, the speeding up of redeployment to the United States brought in an ever-increasing amount of excess equipment that had to be checked, repacked, and stored.

Designation of the 30th Medical Depot Company as a Category I occupation force unit meant that many additional problems of supply and storage would have to be met.

Other medical depots, not designated as occupational units, began the process of moving a great portion of their stocks to Weinheim. Thus, the entire activity of the Weinheim Medical Depot for the final 6 months of 1945 was one of constant expansion, always with the cry for space and more space.

The original warehousing facilities at the Weinheim Medical Depot were unsatisfactory and had to be reconstructed to accommodate the storage of 6,000 tons anticipated under the occupation. All construction required at the depot was accomplished by medical troops, German civilians, and prisoners of war, with supervisory personnel and heavy construction equipment furnished by other services.

Weinheim Telephone Directory (Weinheim Stadtarchiv)

1946

(Source: Stadtarchiv Weinheim (Bergstrasse), Germany)

The director (Leiterin) of the city archives in Weinheim has kindly provided some interesting details on the Weinheim Medical Depot that operated in their city after the end of WWII until it was discontinued as an Army depot in 1948 (see 1948 section of Weinheim Medcial Depot).

The medical depot was set up in May 1945 in Weinheim in the city's large, covered Obstgrossmarkt (a farmers market for the local - primarily fruit - farmers) on the Bergstrasse. The area requisitioned for use by the medical depot included a (large) section of the adjacent freight depot (Güterbahnhof) (see German postcard image above).

Looking for former military and German civilain personnel of the Weinheim Medical Depot to gather more information on the history and activities of the depot and maybe some photos.... (contact the webmaster)

(Source: Vol. IV, The Second Year, OCCUPATION FORCES SERIES, 1947)

The depots that were under the control of the Chief Surgeon in 1946 and their major duties are listed below:

1948

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, April 1, 1948)

The first installment in the scheduled transfer of more than $875 million worth of supplies to the bizonal economy, the huge Weinheim medical depot will be placed in German hands on April 2, 1948. The Weinheim depot is the first US Army depot to be transferred in the program.

The transfer is being made in accordance with an agreement reached in Frankfurt on January 23 between the Office of the Foreign Liquidation Commissioner (OFLC) and the Bizonal Economic Council, whereby US Army surplus supplies would be accepted at 21 per cent of the original cost on a deferred charge basis.

The transfer involves approximately 700,000 tons of supplies in 27 depots from the offices of the Medical, Quartermaster, Engineer, Signal, Ordnance, Chemical and Transportation Corps. The stocks will be in the custody of a special German non-profit public corporation (STEG).

The value of the Weinheim stocks is estimated at $2.7 million and includes drugs and chemicals, surgical dressings, surgical instruments, laboratory equipment and supply, X-Ray equipment and supply, hospital equipment and supplies, and miscellaneous stores.

Bremen Medical Depot

1945

(Source: Medical Supply in World War II, Office of Medical History, US Army Medical Department website; accessed Oct 10, 2012)

The Bremen Medical Depot, operated by the 70th Medical Base Depot Company at a site near the port of Bremerhaven, served not only as a filler depot for the Bremen Enclave but also as a base depot for inshipments from both the United Kingdom and the Zone of Interior.

Although the depot was small, the troop strength supported directly by it was also small. Moreover, access routes into the depot were excellent. It was decided that, by augmenting the depot's ramp facilities to expedite off and on loading, the depot could continue to serve as a base depot to handle the receiving and shipping functions in support of the occupation forces.

Berlin Medical Depot

1945

(Source: Medical Supply in World War II, Office of Medical History, US Army Medical Department website; accessed Oct 10, 2012)

The Berlin Medical Depot, operated by a detachment of the 15th Medical Depot Company, was established in the Berlin Enclave to initially support approximately 50,000 troops. Its site was near the grounds of the 279th Station Hospital located in a small enclosed tennis court.

Due to the reduced strength of the Enclave, the depot was shortly inactivated and became an issue point under the 279th Station Hospital.

Army Hospitals (General & Station Hospitals)

Army Hospital at Bayreuth, 1945 (US Army)

Distribution of US Army Hospitals in the occupied areas, late 1945 (US Army)

Related Links:

		Office of Medical History - a website provided by the US Army Medical Department that provides online reference materials, original and previously unpublished works and other military history related publications. Very well done!
		Medical Service in the European Theater of Operations - The US Army Center of Military History makes this history of the operational activities of the US Army Medical Department in the European Theater available online. A great history of the doctors, nurses, corpsmen, and medical units that served in Europe during World War II. Includes a chapter on the immediate post-war period in Germany.