2. Organization as of 1 July 1946.

In the second year of the occupation opened on 1 July 1946, OCT was one of the special staff sections of the Commanding General, USFET. Headed by a Chief and Deputy Chief of Transportation, the office included six divisions, concerned with control and planning, administration, supply, marine operations, movements, and motor transport.

3. Reorganization.

Plans for reorganizing OCT were put into effect soon after 1 July 1946. Chart above shows the pattern on which the revised organization was based. In this revised structure the Control and Planning Division was continued; rail, highway, water, and air responsibilities were placed within at Operations Division; and the Administrative Division was reorganised to comprise Administration, Fiscal, Troops and Training, and Supply Branches. Modified only by the addition of a EUCOM Transportation Corps Center, and the substitution of the name Office Services Branch for Administrative Branch, this form of organization was continued through 30 June 1947.

4. Relationship within Headquarters.

Subsequent to the transfer of railroad operating responsibilities to Military Government and civil agencies on 1 January 1946, most of the functions of the Chief of Transportation were in the field of planning, coordination, supervision, and advice. As a member of the commanding general's special staff, the Chief of Transportation was responsibile for preparing plans, policies, and procedures on all transportation matters and for advising him on the assignment of key personnel and on the use of funds. Acting for the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4, USFET, and subsequently for the Director of Supply, Services, and Procurement, EUCOM, the Chief of Transportation was responsible for preparing programs to move Army supplies and personnel by land, air, and water. The Office also worked closely with G-1. To correct a situation in which first-class passengers waited an indefinite time at Bremerhaven for return to the United States, OCT developed a procedure for notifying G-1 of the number of spaces to be available on a specific date. These were assigned by G-1 to major commands, and passengers were sent forward accordingly.

5. Lower Echelons and Subordinate Units.

During the year there were changes in the major commands within the Theater, and in addition there were readjustments in the relations between the Chief of Transportation and the agencies or units responsible for specific tasks within the transportation mission. At the beginning of the period the major commands consisted of West African District; Western Base Section; Continental Base Section; U.S. Forces, Austria; U.S. Air Forces in Enrope; Berlin District; Third Army; and Headquarters Command, USFT. By the end of June 1947, the major commands were First and Second Military Districts; Berlin Military Command; Bremerhaven Port of Embarkation; American Graves Registration Command; U.S. Air Forces in Europe; U.S. Forces, Austria; and Headquarters Command, EUCOM. The relations of the Chief of Transportation both with major commands and with lower echelons were different for each type of transportation -- air, water, rail, and highway. A different pattern of organization existed for each of these, especially in the matter of units assigned to particular operational or supervisory tanks.

a. Air Transportation.
The Chief of Transportation, through the Air Branch of Operations Division, was responsible for processing requests for and for providing special air transportation. In order to meet the requirements of VIP (Very Important People) passengers, dependents destined for out-of-the-way places, and other special applicants for air transport, small pools of aircraft were maintained at key points throughout the Theater to fly special passenger missions.

b. Rail Transportation.
With railway operating responsibility transferred to the German Reichsbahn, the task of the Chief of Transportation was one of arranging, rather than of providing, rail transportation for military movements. Throughout most of the year, District Transportation Offices and Rail Transportation Offices (RTO's) served as channels for requests to the Reichsbahn and for such technical supervision and control as was exercised by the Chief of Transportation. As of 15 March 1947, operation of freight RTO's was assumed by Reichsbahn personnel, passenger RTO's were taken over in the following weeks. Commanders of districts, posts, and service installations thereafter socured necessary rail transportation by direct arrangement between their transportation officers and local Reichsbahn personnel. The Chief of Transportation retained responsibility for negotiating with railroad agencies of other European countries to meet military requirements outside the occupied areaa. At the end of June, the only command authority of the Chief of Transportation was that exercised over fifty train commanders (known after 1 May as "supervisors" and subsequently as "inspectors") assigned to the EUCOM Transportation Corps Center.

c. Motor Transportation.
Until the discontinuance of Continental Base Section in May-June 1947, highway transportation was provided by truck companies and similar units assigned to Continental Base Section. Truck units were subseqnantly allocated to the First and Second Military Districts of the U.S. Zone. Only technical supervision was exercised over highway transportation by the Chief of Transportation.

d. Water Transportation.
The principal day-to-day activities of the Water Branch, Operations Division, concerned the operation of the Port of Bremerhaven. Inland waterways had small military significance, being useful only for the transport of cargoes of low value and so urgency, in situations where a complete haul could be accomplished without reloading. Although the ports in the United Kingdom and the liberated countries were no longer handling troops and military supplies, the Chief of Transportation supervised their use by the American Graves Registration Command.

6. The Field Organization.

In the reorganization of the European Theater as the European Command, it was provided that after 15 May the transportation field organization would consist of the Bremerhaven Port of Embarkation and of transportation sections and motor transport units assigned to major commands, military districts, technical service installations, and military posts. The EUCOM Transportation Corps Center, consisting of the 7795th Traffic Regulating Detachment, was established under the direct command of the Chief of Transportation to perform varied duties such as providing train supervisors, taking care of depots containing surplus property, and maintaining the British War Brides Office in London and an RTO in Poland.

7. Transportation Personnel.

a. Throughout the period 1 July 1946 to 20 June 1847, OCT retained the same officers in key positions, namely: Col. S. R. Browning, Chief of Transportation; Col. G. E. Wrockloff, Deputy Chief of Transportation; Col. R. C. Tripp, Chief of Operations Division; Col. H. H. Heumann, Chief of Control and Planning Division; Col. L. D. Bunting, Chief of Administration Division.

b. Until its close, Continental Base Section was the largest employer of transportation personnel in the Theater. As of 1 August 1946, the following units, with a total authorized strength of 647 officers, 16 warrant officers, 8,121 enlisted men, and 2,205 civilian truck company personnel, were assigned to Continental Base Section:

a. Part One of SOP 67 governed the personnel and supply movement program for Germany. Responsibility for screening military movement requirements was placed on the Chief of Transportation, who accordingly prepared monthly movement estimates for submission to OMGUS, the agency charged with direct responsibility for Reichsbahn operations. In practice, Military Government rail officials used these military estimates to ascertain the approximate number of freight cars that would be left over for civilian freight movements during the coming month.

9. Movement Program Estimates.

Estimates of rail movements were assembled for planning purposes in the monthly personnel and supply movement programs prepared by OCT. On the other hand, OCT did not receive detailed reports on actual mowements.

10. Transportation Release System.

SOP 67 also set up a procedure designed to cut down the time during which rail care were detained by Army shippers, so that more cars would be continually available for the civilian economy. All shipments of military supplies, were required to have a Transportation Corps Release (TOR) Number before being loaded or released to the railroads for movement. The chiefs of services of CBS, WBS, USFA, and USAFE were made responsible for limiting the dispatch of supplies to the terms of approved TCR's. At Theater level, the chiefs of services and the Assistant Chiefs of Staff, G-1 and G-3, were made responsible for coordinating the requirements of their corresponding staffs in the major commands.

The Chief of Transportation was directed to submit movement estimates to OMGUS, assign ships to ports as required by the movement program, operate a Movements Control Office, and issue the necessary technical instructions to supplement the release system. The outstanding purpose of the system was to require clearance of all military freight shipments through the Office of the Chief of Transportation, so that the quantity, rate, and time of every shipment would be subject to centralized control.

11. Issuance of Transportation Corps Releases.

The TOR system went into effect on 1 August 1946, and the following weeks witnessed a persistent drive by OCT to have it enforced, especially through the chiefs of services. From October to June, releases were issued for the movement of rail cars as follows:

a. Daily Passenger Averages.
From October 1946 to June 1947 the railroads carried daily averages of 1,381 passengers on military duty trains and 703 passengers on redeployment sets ("red sets"). Figured by the month, the daily averages were as follows:

d. Civil Relief Supplies.
During January 1947, twenty-nine vessels chartered by the Transportation Corps transported 195,000 long tons of grain and 66,000 long tons of flour to the U.S. Zone of Germany. Extremely cold weather variously interfered with cargo operations at Bremen and Bremerhaven during the winter months, while scarcity of labor and the shortage of rail cars added further handicaps. A total of 324,000 tons of civil relief supplies was programmed for shipment to Austria during the first six months of 1947.

e. Transportation of War Brides.
Transportation of European war brides to the United States continued to be an important activity of the Transportation Corps. By 21 September 1946, a total of 48,029 had been shipped to the United States, including 41,403 from England, 4,705 from France, and 1,581 from Belgium. At the end of September, more than 14,000 awaited shipment. The ports of La Havre and Southampton made their final shipments of war brides on 28 July and 18 October, respectively. The shipment of war brides through Bremerhaven began with the sailing of the President Tyler at the end of August. During the first quarter of 1947, 1,067 war brides were embarked for the United States. As of 15 March, a total of 55,529 brides had been shipped. During the second quarter of 1947, war-bride shipments reported to OCT totaled 235 children and 398 adults in April, 236 children and 644 adults in May, and 171 children and 471 adults in June.

f. Transportation of Dependents.
In the third quarter of 1946, 6,230 dependents arrived at Bremerhaven, three times the number arriving at the port in the preceding quarter. During the fourth quarter, 5,120 dependents arrived by ship. A peak number, 3,861, reached the European Theater in November, through all channels. Total arrivals by ship were 1,246 in the first quarter of 1947, and 2,761 in the second quarter.

14. Highway Transport.

The principal problems encountered in the operation of motor transport were the lack of adequate ordnance support and a shortage of trained personnel. In spite of these handicaps, motor tranportation played an impressive part in Operation SPUD and Operation SPLINTER, the Army programs for hauling German harvest crops and wood for German fuel.

a. Theater-Wide Figures.

As of 1 July 1946, motor transport units were allocated to base sections and other headquarters as follows:

a. Aircraft Pool System.
On 1 November 1946, aircraft previously assigned to offices or headquarters were withdrawn and a system of aircraft pools was established for the Theater. These pools established as shown below, began functioning in November.

(Source: Transportation. OCCUPATION FORCES IN EUROPE SERIES )

On Feb 6 1945, the two existing Military Railway Services (1st and 2nd), which had operated independently, were consolidated and a provisional headquarters was established in PARIS (GO#16, ComZ). A director general was appointed to control of all railway operating units. These functions were further defined and somewhat modified, insofar as the command responsibilities were concerned, on April 3 1945 (SOP#32, ETOUSA, subj: "Continental Railways"). The Dir Gen, MRS, was then made responsible for the maintenance of way and equipment and for the operation of railroads on the Continent.

The Military Railway Service became an exempted command, responsible to Chief of Transportation, except that the sections of the ComZ had admin authority over the MRS general courts martial, financial transactions, and the issue of ordinary supplies. All MRS units, together with some MP units to act as security guards, were assigned to GHQ, MRS, which in turn reassigned them to the 1st and 2nd Military Railway Service for operations.

One of the first acts of the new hqs was to divide the operating territory between the two rail organizations. Boundaries were established on April 6, but the fast pace of the last weeks of the campaign necessitated changes. The areas in effect on V-E Day were roughly north and east of PARIS for the 2nd MRS, and south and west of PARIS for the 1st MRS.

Shortly before the end of the campaign, the 2nd MRS Hqs at BRUSSELS established an advance echelon at BRAUNSCHWEIG.

Operating Units
The operating unit of the MRS was a Railway Grand Division, usually placed so that its jurisdiction coincided with that of a base section. Instead of having a fixed Table of Organization, these divisions were allocated troops on the basis of the track mileage they operated. With the usual assignment of
three Railway Operating Battalions (ROB)
one Railway Shop Battalion (RSB)
one Base Depot Co

A Grand Division was normally able to perform Phase I operations over 250 to 400 miles.

MRS after V-E Day
On May 19 1945, MRS was established as a separate service command under the CG, ComZ. Technical control remained with the Chief of Trans, ComZ, operation and admin control passed, with certain exceptions, to GHQ, MRS, ComZ (Prov), which had been previously organized. ( Cir 70, ComZ, 19 May 45)

Adv Sec, GHQ, MRS was established in FRANKFURT on June 4, 1945 ( GO#26, MRS (Prov), 4 Jun 45). The duties of the rear echelon were passed from the 1st MRS to the Paris Prov RGD, organized on June 1 1945 ( GO#24, MRS (Prov), 31 May 45).

When HQ ComZ was redes HQ TSFET on Aug 1, MRS, was renamed as U.S. Theater MRS, and was established as a tech comd under the CG, TSFET ( GO#179, HQ USFET, 2 Aug 45).

Hqs of 2nd MRS in BRUSSELS closed on Aug 11 and opened the next day in FRANKFURT. Effective Aug 15, a new territorial division was made between the 1st and 2nd MRS (1):

	1st MRS	AOR: France, Luxembourg
	Paris Prov MRS	Paris, France
	2nd MRS (2)	AOR: Germany, Austria, Italy
	707th RGD	Nürnberg, Bavaria
	708th RGD	Bremerhaven, Bremen Enclave
	Belgian District	AOR: Belgium, the Netherlands
	706th RGD

	2nd MRS (2)	Frankfurt, Germany
	707th RGD	Nürnberg, Germany
	712th ROB (3)	Mannheim, Germany	inact Dec 9, 1945
	750th ROB	Nuernberg, Germany	inact Feb 10, 1946
	746th ROB	Munich, Germany	inact Feb 10, 1946
	708th RGD	Bremerhaven, Germany
	741st ROB	Hannover, Germany	inact Feb 10, 1946
	734th ROB	Bebra, Germany	inact Feb 10, 1946
	766th RSB	Frankfurt, Germany

It was not until Oct that some admin responsibilities were turned over to the German Reichsbahn authorities. On Oct 24 45, GHQ, MRS was officially closed ( GO#59, HQ TSFET, 24 Oct 45). Shortly thereafter, 1st MRS was assigned supervisory responsibility for all US military railway matters and interests in the liberated areas. and 2nd MRS assumed supervisory control of German railway ops in the zone of occupation. Both services were closed when responsibility for railway supervision passed to the Trans Div of the US Military Gov't on Jan 1 1946.

Rail operations in Austria
Rail ops in Austria were in Phase III (rail operations turned over to Austrians) by Sep 1945. Control of Austrian transport was vested in the Trans Div, US Allied Commission for Austria.

The basic operating unit in the ETO was the Railway Operating Battalion consisting of four companies:
HHC in charge of administration, train dispatching, supply, communications, and signals;
Co A responsible for maintenance of way and strcutures;
Co B operated the engine house and made running repairs of motive power and rolling stock;
Co C was the actual operating unit, with 50 train and engine crews.

This basic operating unit was capable of operating 90 to 150 miles of track with not more than one terminal with classification yard facilities. The Bn consisted of 29 officers and 790 EMs.

The Railway Shop Battalion was responsible for maintaining and repairing rolling stock, and was equipped to serve from three to four ROBs.