ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the events that per suaded George C. Marshall of the importance of military preparedness, even during peacetime, and discusses the first large-scale war games to occur in Louisiana. In May 1940, the United States Army launched the first of a series of field exercises, or war games, to determine how its forces would function on the battlefield. The war games planned for May 1940 required much preparation, especially acquiring supplies and instructing the men assigned to participate. Three factors hindered completion of Marshall's maneuver plans: political pressure; the lack of vehicles needed for new triangular divisions; and the shortage of area able to accommodate the large-scale maneuvers slated for the spring. The Louisiana Maneuvers had long-term consequences, because the Army, after beginning to address issues raised by analyses of the war games, recognized the importance of exercises like the 1940 field maneuvers.
