Desert Training Center
History |
In
early 1942, the U.S. Army established the Desert Training
Center to prepare soldiers for the harsh desert conditions
that would be faced when fighting the German Army in North
Africa. The War Department utilized over 18,000 square miles
of desolate land in southeastern California and western
Arizona where it trained over a half million soldiers on
desert warfare tactics and survival in extreme conditions.
For two years, 13 infantry divisions and 7 armored divisions
marched and drove over the vast desert landscape. This
massive training ground consisted of 13 divisional camps and
numerous railroad sidings, ammunition dumps, hospitals,
airfields and quartermaster depots. By May 1943, the German
Afrika Korps had been defeated and desert training was no
longer a necessity. However, training lasted for another
year until it was officially closed in April, 1944.
Although the tents, jeeps and tanks are
long gone, there are still many traces and reminders of the
soldiers who trained in the desert 70 years ago. Many of the
divisional camps still have the rock-lined walkways, roads, and
entryways leading to the tents. In areas where infantry and
tanks would go on maneuvers one can still see the wide tank
tracks in the ground, as well as the occasional machine gun
cartridges, old gasoline cans, rusted food cans and other debris
left behind by the troops.
The Desert Training Center is an
interesting and historical perspective into Arizona's and
California's ties to World War II.
|
Vehicles & Armor
used at DTC |
