Interwar Years

Army in Interwar Years

• Continuing struggle in period over nature of army– Civilian or professional

• Budget cutting of 1920’s strips army of forces

• Air Service and Chemical warfare given equal status

Bonus Expeditionary Force(1932)

• Use of Army in a Civil Disturbance

• Chief of Staff Douglas McArthur– Sends out tanks, cavalry and infantry– Show military can go overboard

• Fear of revolution

Air Power 1920-1939

• Chief advocate of air power—Billy Mitchell– Expanded on lessons of World War I– Pushed for air development

• Budget cut following war

– Takes case to the public– Agitates for test to prove strength of airpower

• Says Battleships will be useless• Upsets Navy leadership• Navy gives into pressure

1st Provisional Air Brigade

• Attacks anchored German ships– Mitchell had to develop large bombs and

navigational techniques for the attack– Sinks ships– Navy rejects test-flaws in attack

• Continued public appeals about lack of air preparedness– Court-marshaled – Brought airpower into the public eye

Strategic Airpower

• Doctrine emerges before technology appears– Precision bombing of enemy industry

• US is long way from capable– Air Mail contract in 1930’s

• Can’t do long-distance flying in day or night

• Development of two planes signal change– B-10-all metal, two engine monoplane– B-17-four engine bomber

B-17

B-10

Navy in Interwar Years

• Washington Naval Conference of 1921– Naval Disarmament

• Restrictions of Battleships and cruisers

• No restrictions on Aircraft Carriers

• Sets ratios-makes US vulnerable in the Pacific

• Cutbacks through the era in 1920’s– Falls behind the Japanese and British in active

ships

Growth

• Aviation is one area that does grow– USS Langley-Converted Coaler– USS Saratoga and Lexington

• Vision still of scouting and observation

• In 1930’s, Navy starts to rebuild– Way of helping Depression– Vinson-Trammell Act(1933)– Helps in early stages of World War II

Marines

• Period of significant doctrinal shift• Still continue old mission

– Police force in Latin America and Far East

• Commandant John LeJeune feels new role needed– World War I use was not typical

– Pushes to develop amphibious capability

– Sees next war with Japan

– Earl Ellis--theorist

– Marines build prototype landing craft-Higgins Boat

• Landing Operations Manual-1934