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MILITARY
APPLICATIONS
OF G OLOGY
BY
MAJOR
JOSEPH
S C
SMITH
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Military Applications of
Geology
.
A paper
presented
to
the
Kansas Academy of Science Symposium held
a t Kansas
State
Teachers
College
Emporia; Kansas 1
May
1964.
by
JOSEPH
S. C.
SMITH
Major
Corps of Engineers
United States Army
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
1964
·
;
\
·,
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PREFACE
This
paper
was
prepa
r ed by Major Joseph S. C. Smi t
h
CE
author-
instructor
Department of
Division
Operat i ons
United
States Army
Command
and General Staff College for presentation
to the
Kansas Academy of Science Geology Symposium on 1 May 1964
a t Kansas State Teachers
College
Emporia Kansas . While pre
parea a t the direction of ·
the
Commandant
Command
and General
Staff College this
paper
does
not necessarily
refl
ect
t he views
of
the College;
or any other governmental agency .
The
writer
acknowledges
the services
rendered
by
the
Office
of the
Chief
of
Engineers
especially
MajorS. C.
McArthur and
Mr . .s.
Greenberg
in providing backgr0und and
source
m t e r ~ l s
for
the
preparation of
this
paper and Mr.
M.
P. Connaughton who
reviewed
the
paper before
final
typing. The Military Geology
Branch
of
the U. S. Geological Survey Department of Inter ior
is
also
acknowledged
for
i t s
generous
assistance. Two
members
of the staff of the Military Geology Branch must be mentioned
\
especially:
Mrs. E. A. Hol
m
who
provided
source material and \
background from personal
experience
for
the
writing of
the
paper;
and Mr. H. H. Hawkins
who
reviewed
i t before
f inal
typing
.
I
Major James L.
Trayers
Corps of
Engineers
Staff and Fac
ty Command and General
Staff
College. furnished valuable
assistance in
editi ng and proofing the manuscript.
i i
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TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE - - - - -
INTRODUOI ION-
1
HISTORY OF MILITARY
GIDLOGY BEFORE WORLD
WAR
2
Before
World
War
I -
2
During World
War
I
5
Military geology in the
Brit ish
Army
7
Military geology in the German Army
8
Military
geology
in
the
United
States
Army
9
Military
geology
in the
French
Army
-
10
Mi l i
tary
geology in other armies
11
\
I .
. ;
Summary
of applications of military
" -
\
uring
World
War
.
-
I
\2
e
t ween World
War
I and World
War
~ ~ i G ~ ~ Y
~ T ~ _ s : A : ~ ~ D ~ N ~ ~ 0 ~
Military Geology in Other
Countries
During J ~ l d
War
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Formation of the
Military Geology Unit
-
- -
_;..
17
Organizati on
of the
Military Geology Unit -
18
St affing the
Military
Geology Unit - -
21
Work
of the Military
Geology
Unit
23
Terrain
intelligence
folios
25
Trafficability
studies
- - - - -
4
C ~ n c l u s i o n s
- - - - - - -
35
i i i
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.
·
.
. .
.. . . . ·
.
MILITARY GIDLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY
AFTER
WORLD
WAR
I I TO THE PRESENT -
The
Challenge
-
UsefUl Aspects of Geology- - - - - -
Strate
gi c
terrain
intelligence- - - - - -
Tactical and combat terrain intelligence -
Water s u ~ y - .- -
General construction
- -
- - -
Special
problems - -
Post
host i l i ty
reconstruction
military
government - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Current
Organization
for Military Geology- -
Military Geology Branch -
Terraip detachment - - - - - - -
Military Geology
Training
- - - - -
CONCLUSION- ·- - -
LITERATURE CITED
ILLUSTRATIONS
1 .
Figure
1 - Organization of
the
Military Geology
Unit as
of
January 1945
.-
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
2 . Figure 2 -
Projection from a topographic
map
as
the f i r s t
stage
in
preparing
a
Terrain
Diagram. -
3.
Figure
3 -
Terrain
Diagram made from
projection
without
consulting
geologic
or
topographic maps• -
4.
Figure
4 - Completed
Terrain
Diagram
after study
of geologic and
topographic
maps. - - - - - - - -
Page
36
36
37
38
39
40
40
41
42
42
42
44
44
45
47
\
\
22
27
28
29
iv
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INTROOOCTION
During
peacetime the United
States
Army
has for
a long
time applied the science of geology
engineering
and con
struction
problems.
Geologists
are
emp oyed
both
in
the Office
of
the
Chief of
Engineers in Washington
D c. , and in the
Engi
neer Distr icts
throughout
the country and overseas. They provide
the
necessary
geologic
services with respect
to the
multi
-
million
dol la r
civi l
and
military construct
·
ion
programs carried
out by
the Army
each
year. The .
design of major construction
projects i s
not
star ted
without
this
geologic
service
.
On
the
other hand i t took two World Wars t .o realize
the
ful l value of applying ·
the
science of geology to military prob
lems
in the Theater of
Operations. In order
for an
army to be
victorious t must control the land; and, in order to control
the
land
i t must take
advantage of a l
l available information
concern
ing
the land . Geology provides military planners with information
concerning the properties
of the ground over which
the army must ·
move
,
shoot
and communicate.
The purpose of this paper
is
to discuss various direct
applications of
geol ogy to the solution
of
military
problems.
Greatest
emphasis
is
pl aced on
the
use of geology during World
War II for i t was in ·this
war
that t'he science .of geology gained
a
permanent
place as
a
useful
tool
in
military
operations
. A
brief history of military geology
is
included as background to
portray the evol ution . of military ~ o l o y to the
present
state
of- the -art .
l
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2
HISTORY OF MILITARY GEOLOGY
BEFORE WORLD W R
. Before Worid
War I
In
the
years preceding
World
War
I
there
are
scant
t
references
to the value
of applying geology
to m il i tary
problems.
This
was
because geology
was
s t i l l
a
relatively new science
and
was neither
fu
l
ly appreciated nor being extensively applied by
the engineering sciences.
Major
General J.
E.
Portluck of the
British
Royal Engineers ,
appears
to be
the
f i r s t professional
soldier to recognize
that a knowledge
of
geoiogy
wou
l d
be an
aid
1
in
war. General
Portluck
p ~ l i s h e d
a
rudimentary
t reat ise on
geology
in 1868, discussing
the
various
~ p p l i c t i o n s
of the
science
to military problems.
Major A.
Marga, a French
engineer
off icer ,
published
a
t reat ise in
1885
in which
he
recognized
the
influence
of ·
geology
in the matter of controlling troop
movements
by i t s determination
of
the physical
character of
.
soil . He recognized
that:
The
character
of
the
soil ,
which
is known
by
the geology,
greatly in
-
f l
uei_l.ces
the passability of a
region
and the.refore indicates
the
difficul t ies
which
armies
must overcome
in their marches.
2
Another French engineer off icer , Major
0 .
Barre,
an
eminent
geologist, e ~ b o r t e l y presented the physiographic phase of
the
military geography of France and of many other
European countries
lAlfred
H.
Brooks,
The Use
of
Geology
on
the Western
Front,
USGS
Professional
Paper 128
-D,
September
20, 1920),
p.
88 .
\
\
\
\
I
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3
in his lectures
between
1897 -19 8
at the school
of
Application
of
Artil lery and Engineers
at Fontainbleau.3
a r r ~
placed
a great
deal
of emphasis on geology
in
his physiographic
treatment
of
to
pography.
His
principal work
predicted with
a
remarkable
degree
of accuracy the
control exercised
by physiography
on
the military
operations of
World
War I .
During the decades prior to
World
War
I
the
French
clearly
established themselves as the leaders in the
fields
of military
topography, the relationships
between
topography
and
geology,
and
the
influence
of
topography
on
strategy
and
tact ics -
particular ly
in Central Europe.
Although
geology received l i t t l e recognition in military
textbooks
i t was
by
no means ignored in
the
t ra ining
of
officers.
Geology was
s t i
l l an embryonic
science
when i t was
introduced
into
the
curriculum at the
United
States
Milita
r y Academy in
1823,
the
Academy
being
one
of the
f i
rs t educationa
l
ins t i t
ut ions
in this
country to introduce
a formal
course of instruction in geology.
Unpublished
manuscr
ip t
Geology Applied
to
Military Intell igence
in
Time
of War
,
Charles
B.
Hunt,
January ,
1949, p. 150.
This
course
was
apparently given for the purpose of general culture,
with
.
l i t t l e or
no
re9ognition
of
i t s application
to war. Both
British
and
French officers received instruction in geology
i n
their
respective military schoo
l s . Between
1886 and 1898 ,
3Ibid, p. 9 .
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4 '
Lt Colonel Charles Cooper King
gave
a
course
in military geology
to
Brit ish officers
a t the
Camberly
Staff College.4 Another
course
was
offered at
the Chatham
Engineer School
.
Both of these
courses
were abandoned many
years
befors
Wor
l d
War
I .
Colonel
King
seems
to
be tpe
f i r s t professional soldier to recognize the
wide application
of
geology
in
military
problems
- except
in the
f i
eld of
military topography .
Lit t le
attention was
paid,
however,
.
to his
pioneer
work in the field .
The
f i r s t practical
use of
geology in direct connection with
military operations dates
from. the Russo-
Japanese Wa
r (1904-
1905 ,
in which
the Russian
Army
used a number of
geologists primari
l y
as
advisers
in
constructing
for t if ications.5 Duri ng this same
war
Japan made a geologic survey of Korea and i t
is believed
l ikely
that
some of
the
results
may
have been
~ u to
immediate use . 6
Another earl y application of geology to military
problems
was made by
the
French military geographers or
mi
l i tary topog
raphers.7
The
definite systematic
relationship
between the to
pography and
geologic
s t r u c t u r ~
of
France coupled
with
numerous
wars
throughout the
centuries,
provided the French military
stu
dents with many
examples
of the control of military
movement
by
the h i g h l n d s ~
scarps,
and water courses of
France.
These ex
amples
represented
a
trend toward
the
type of terra
i n
analys
i s
5Frartk C. Whitmore,
J r .
Military
Geology,
(The Military
Engineer,
Vol XLVI No 311, May-June 1954) , p 212.
~ o o k s
p. 91 .
7Whitmore, The Military
Engineer, p
212.
I
I
:;
1 \
i •
\
\
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5
presently
used in
planning
wars of
movement.
But
th is trend was
abruptly
al tered
by the
posit ion
or trench warfare of
World
ar
I .
Shortly before the outbreak of
World
ar I
Captain al
ther
•
Kranz of
t he Corps
of
Fort if icat ion Engineers
of the
German Army, .
call ed attention to the
use
of geology in war. Captain Kranz who
was himself a trained geol ogist br ief ly sketched
several
f ie lds
of usefulness of military geology in an art icle which
he
published
in Berlin
in
1913.B
Kranz advocated
that
military geology
be rec -
ognized
as
a
special profession and that
selected
officers
be
s p e c i l ~ y
trained
as
professional military
geology
officers.
Kranz ' s recommendations at t ract.ed l i t t l e attention until af ter
the
o u t b ~ e k
of World
ar
I. Then
such
c9ntrov
ers
i
es
arose as to
the
best
military
use
of geology that
public
discussion i n technical
journals and
the press
was stopped by
mi
l i ta r y censorship in 1916.
During
World ar I.
Although
geol ogy was
d e f i n i t ~ l y
recognized by the
principal
contending
armies during
World
ar I
i t s
ful l usefulness
was
by
\
no means realized.9 Relatively few officers in
the
hi gh
command
of the
armies t
hat
employed
geologists
appreciated their valu
able
services. Consequently they failed
to
seek
·
the
advice of the
geologist on problems
that
clearly lay within his f ield. Geology
S:srooks, p 91 .
, 9Ib.;d
86
p •
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6 .
was regarded by m ny as a
speculative
and abstract, rather than as
a
practical
and concrete science.10
In
the early
part
of the war
there
are
numerous examples of projects o r . o p e r ~ t i o n s involving
great
loss
of
time
.,
energy,
and l i fe whi ch could have been
avoided
by the application of a basic knowledge
of
geology.
During
the great Batt le
of Verdun,
an order was given
for
a
body of troops to
dig in
on the high plateau of the
Cotes
de
Meuse which ended
in disaster
and
needless
loss of l i fe . A casual
glance at the available geologic m p would have shown that the
plateau
was
underlain
by hard limestone
with
less
than
a
foot
of
soil cover. The
material
could
not be
excavated
with the l ight
tools furnished or
even
with
proper
equipment
in
the time
available. l l
Front l ine
dugouts and trenches, located without any con-
sideration
of the ground water conditions, were rendered useless
by
f i l l ing with
water. Numerous tunnels for attack
galleries
were
star ted
only to be abandoned after a great expenditure of time
and
labor when crossed by hard igneous rocks or hard
sandstone.
Road
metal
was transported from England
to
France in
ignorance
of the
fact that a geologist was
able
to designate
readily
accessible
sources in the Theater of Operations. The witch-hazel stick was
being used
to
locate
sources of
ground
water and hundreds of
wells
were driven that provided no water. Hospitals and a i r f i e l d ~ were
\
< ;
i
l L l .d
Ib P• •
I
\
. J
"
"
\
.
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7
located without any definite knowledge of
the
source of needed
12
water.
·
Many other
similar
mistakes could be
cited
that clear ly
emphasized the
need for basic
geologic i n t e l l i g ~ n c e on
or
near
the
front.
As the war progressed and stabil ized into s t t ic
trench
war -
fare greater
use was
made
of the
geologic information available
.
The
geologic staffs
of the
various
armies were
increased;
and in
certain
of
the a ~ i e s particular operations
were
not undertaken
without f i r s t
consulting
the s t f f geologist.
Military
geology
in
the
Brit ish
Army.
In
a y ~
1915
the
Brit ish called
into
service
W
B.
R.
King member of the Brit ish
Geological Survey with the rank of Captain. He was attached
to
the s t f f of the Chief Engineer to
determine
ground water re -
sources.
Captain King _so far as is known, was
thf
f i r s t
geo
lo -
gis t
to receive
a
military
assignment for
lo{ork
in bis
own profes
-
'
sion .
1
3 In May, 1916 other geologists were added to the head-
quarters of the Brit ish Expeditionary Force as
advisers on
under-
ground
mine warfare
to the Army
.engineers and
l ter a t
Gen
eral
Headquarters.
The
Brit ish geologic
s t f f
a t
no
time exceeded
five
officers;
but
this was not a
handicap
for among the mining compan-
ies many of
the
off icers were trained geologists. The success of
the
Brit ish in gaining
control
of the underground
si tuation
stemmed
12
.
Ibid.
l3Ibid p . 93.
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s·
from
the
i r
geologists
'
interpretations of geologic studies.
Brigadier General
R
N.
Harvey
who
commanded
the Bri
t
ish
·
mining
t r oops
offered this statement:
The
f i r s t
requisite
for success
in
mili tary
mining
.
is to
secure
the serVices of experienced
geo
l o-
gists .
I
wish
I
had
known
that at the
start . ul 4
, Military geology
in the
German
Army
.
Although the use
of
g e o l o g i ~ t s in
the German
Army had
been advocated
before
the
out
-
break of war
Germany
entered
World War I
with
no
geologic staff
or
any
definite
pol
icy for using
geologists
.
1
5 The
development
of
·'
military
geology
in that
army
began
in
the su
mmer
of
1915;
by
February the
staff had
increased to t w e ~ t y
e o l o g i s t s
The
Ger
-
man Army geologists
were organized as a
part of
the
department of
•
military
surveys
controlled by an off icer of the general sta
f
f .
At
each
army headquarters in
the f ield
there was a
survey staff
\
that
included
a
geologist who
was
in
charge of geologic invest i -
gations
and surveys. The
geologists
were
divided
into small
sections
and assigned
as needed.
In add
i
t ion to th
i s
organ
i -
zation
there
were
three geologic
intell igence
sections
or infer-
mation bureaus in base areas which furnished
the field
geologists
with geologic
information . The German
organization
of geologic
services
was
mu
ch more ~ v n c e d
than
that of
the
Allies
and
during
14
Ibid ,
p .
87.
1
f t id
P•
95·
16
Ibid.
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9
the course of World War I about 250 army geologists were assigned
to al l
fronts,
some with offices
just
behind the front
l ines.l7
One of
the
f i rs t
duties
of
the German
geologist detailed to
the St. Mihiel
sector
was to collect
data
on the results
achieved
by the witch
-
hazel st ick in
locating
sources of
ground
water
.
This was done
to
destroy
the
confidence of
the
authorities in
the
·
witch-hazel stick.l8
Military geology in the United States Army. The American
Expeditionary· Force was able to profi t by
the
experience of
the
Allies and organized geologic work from
the
star t .
1
9 The geologic
section was established as a part of the
Office
of the Chief
Engineer in
September,
1917.2° To supervise the
geologic
section,
the American
Expeditionary Force
was fortunate
in having
one of
the most broadly trained American geologists,
Alfred
H.
Brooks,
of the
U. S.
Geological
Survey. He was commissioned a
captain in
the Corps of Engineers and la ter promoted ~ o
l ieutenant
~ l o n e l 2
I .
\
.
I
1
7Whitmore, The Military Engineer,
p.
212.
\
18
Brooks, p. 87.
"
J
l9Ibid, p. 88 .
'
\
\
'
\
0
Ibid, p. 94 .
2lWhitman
Cross,
Geology
in
the World War and
After,
Bulletin
of
the Geological
Society
of America, Vol 30, pp. 165 -188, ~ r c h ·31,
1919), p. 170. .
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10
At
f i rs t
the
geologic
section was made a
part of the
division
of
f r o n t ~ i n engineering
and
l ter
the section was transferred
to
the
division
of
engineering
intelligence.
At s t i l l a l ter date
the
chief geologist
reported directly
to
the'Assistant Chief
Engineer
t General Headquarters GHQ)
_In July,
1918, plans
were approved
to provide
five
geologic
officers
for
each Army allowing
one for
each corps Provision
was
also
made
for two geologic
officers
in the l ine of communications
The chief geologist t HQ was given technical
supervision
over
l l
geologic
work
in
the
American
Expeditionary
Force and
the
Headquarters Section was called upon to serve both
the
engineers
and the
Intelligence Section of
the
General
Staff. A tota l
of
18 geologic officers had been
authorized;
but, at
the
time
of
the
signing of
the Armistice
there
were
only nine geologic
of-
ficers
assigned to the American Expeditionary Force, five t
GHQ,
two
with
First Army, one with Second Army, and one with
the
22
water supply
section.
Military
geology in the French
Army
The French did
not
organize a geologic staff , as such, during
the
war and gave but
l i t t l e definite recognition to
the
military applications of
the
science.
2
3
There was, on
the
other
hand,
probably a greater use
22
Brooks, p.
94
2
3Ibid, p. 92.
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11 .
of geologic maps by the
French officers
than by those offfcers of
any
other Allied
Army .
The geologic
map
of
France
had
been com
pleted many years before the war and French
engineers
had long
been
trained
to use t for
certain
k i n ~ of information . Also
since
the French
were
fighting
on their
own
land and were
thoroughly
familiar
·
with
i t s physical features the services of
geolpgists were
less
important to them than to their al l ies
Although
the
French gave no recognition to
the
use of professional
geologists
they
by
no means ignored
the
application of
geology
to
military
problems.
They were
the
f i rs t
to
issue
a
map
showing
the
passability of the country as governed by the
physical
charac
te r
of the surrounding
formations . "Tank Maps"
the forerunner
to
our
present
day
Cross -
Country
Movement Map - were
prepared
dur-
ing
the
summer
of
1918 which took
cognizance of
the physical con
ditions
imposed
by
surface conditions.24
Military geology in other
armies.
Less is known of the
military
applications of
geology
by t ~ e other belligerents during
the war. The Russian Army la te in the war organized a techni-
cal department using
consulting
geologists in
the
search for con
struction materials
and fuel and on
blasting problems.
Geolo
gists
were
attached
to the Austrian
Army
and
this
action probably
closely
paralleled
the organization of the
geologic
corps
in
the
German
Army
. The
Chief of
Engineers
of the
Belgian Army,
24
rb ;d
93
' p. •
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12 .
who was
also
secretary of the
Geologic
Society
of
Belgium,
ful l
use of his
intimate
knowledge of the g e o l o \
of
the
~ ~
2
5
Summary of applications of military geolog.y"
during
World _
I
War
I . s
pointed out earl ier there were n u r o u ~ examples where
\
the
failure
to consider the geology of an area resulted
in
the
failure
of
the task undertaken. s
the war
progressed, however,
the
value
of
geologic services became more apparent
in solving
certain
mili tary
problems.
The principal contributions of the
military
geologists
during the war were the provision
of
engineer
intelligence pertaining to water supply, military mining attack
galleries) ,
si t ing of field
fortifications,
and
locating sources
of construction
materials -
principally road metal. Although
the
employment of
geology
a t
the
time was
by
no means
developed
to
i t s
fullest
usefulness, i t s
contributions were
widely recognized.
After the war the Chiefs of Engineers of both the
British
and
American Armies suggested the advisability of a special develop
ment of this
l ine
of work in f uture
campaigns.
Between World War I and Wor
ld
War I I .
During the years between World
War
I and World
War II
the
Germans and Russians appear to have given
the
most thought to the
future employment and training of military geologists.26
2
5Ibid.
26
Ernest F.
Fox, The Use of Military Geologists
in the
Corps of
Enfineers, Preliminary
Study for the Chief of
Engineers,
June
19
9), p. 3·
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13
In
Germany i t was believed that
the lack
of
understanding of
geology
in m ili tary circles , and the lack of
understanding
of
military problems in
geologic circles,
had
limited the
use
of
g e o l ~ g y
in World War
I
I t was proposea that for the future there
should be a specially trained body of professional military geolo-
gists
who
would have
broad responsibilities
in many phases of
military operations . Plans for a comprehensive training program
were
developed
to make military
geology
a part or the regular
university training of a l l geology students. Those
students
specializtng in military geology
would receive military
training
in
the
Cotps of Engineers after which they would
be
commissioned.
Training in geology was also
to
be
included
in.
the
curricula of
a l l military c ~ d e m i e s and officer training schools . I t is be-
l ieved that this
plan
was implemented, a t least in part, prior
to
the
mobilization
of
the
new German rmy that entered World
War
I I
27
Between 1932 and 1939 many papers on
military
geology were \
written by
German scholars ,
but despite this
interest the govern -
ing
concept of
military
geology continued to be that of
sta t ic
warfare conceived
during
World War I .
2
8 This att i tude
prevailed
among military geologists until as la te
as
1941. Even
though
the
military
geologic
thinking
lacked
progressiveness,
the
German s
2
7Ibid .
2
8wbitmore, ·The
Military
Engineer,
p. 212.
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14
continued interest in
the
subject led
to the re -
establishment
, in
1935,
of
the
11
Wehrgeologie
11
or
German
Arm.y geologic organization.29
In
the
USSR, geologywas made a part of the regular education
of army
officers
. Functions of
military
geology were performed by
geologists organized into
11
hy
drotechnical
divisions,
operating
under
the
Army General
Staff
. These div
isions were
given respon
sibi l i ty
f?r
l l matters
pertaining to
water supply and sanitation,
and construction of maps showing geology, h y d r ~ l o g y
road
and
transport routes,
deposits of road metal and ball ast , and
the re
sults of seismic surveys . 3°
The application of geology to the military
arts
and science
did
not fare too well in the United
States during this period.
This should not be too disconcerting, however, for t
only
ref lects
the general att i tude
that
prevailed toward the mili tary profes
sion. Who could think about geology when
the
Army was conducting
maneuvers
as
la te
as
1939
with
wooden
r i f les
and mock
tanks? We
were extremely fortunate
in
another sense,
however,
for great
str ides were made in
the
practical applications of geology
to
l l
other branches of engineering, and geology came to be
widely recog-
nized
as
a
concrete
and practical science . 3
1
2
9Ibid, p . 213.
3°Fox, Preli minary
Study
for
the
Chief of Engineers, p. 3.
3
1
Ibid.
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15 .
I t should
be
speculated that
mi.
l i tary geology was considered
by
other
countries and in particular by Japan . For a long time
the Japanese were open- handed
with
geologic data on their
home
land
; but
in
1937,
they
stopped exchangirlg
this data with other
countries . Japan's
pride in i t s botanical
accomplishments, how
ever,
tended
to defeat th is censorship in geology. They invited
botanists from many countries to vis i t their islands to observe
the ir
botanical feats.
The
botanical information
thus
obtained
proved
important in geologic
warfare;
for
plants
can
be a
guide
to
ground
conditions.32
MILITARY GEOLOGY IN TRE UNITED STATES RMY
DURING
WORLD W R I I
Up to this point th is paper has covered a very general ,his
torical
evolution of military geology
,
not only
as
applied
to
U
S.
military operations
, but also ·to the
military operations of
other countries. The
remaining
sections
will apply principally
to
the
military
use
of
geology
by the
United
States
Army
during
and after World War
I I with only passing reference
to
the use of
geology by
other
major belligerents
during World
War I I .
Military
Geology
in Other Countries
During World
War I I
.
I t i s known that in World
War I I considerable use
was made
of geologically trained personnel
in
the Brit ish, Russian, and
32Martin Sonnners
(1945),
The Army's
Pet Prophets
,
Saturday
Evening
Post,
March 24,
p. 98.
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16
.
German Armies . Each of
these armies
not only
had
i t s own organic
military geology
units
but employed civilian geologists as well.
t may be
stated
that the
German
rmy excelled applying geology
t
to
their
military operations .
ur
own intel l igence reports
are
replete with examples ·of ski l l ful use of
terrain
by the Germans.
Captured German documents
clearly
reveal that German geologists
played .a major role in assembling
terrain and engineering in te l l i
gence data for al l levels of planning (Hunt,
unpublished
manu
script . Records
indicate that
the number of trained
mi
.l i tary
geologists
in
Germany
a t
any
one
time
in
World
War
reached
a
maximum
of
about 250 with an estimated 1600 assisting personri
el.33
From the
very
beginning of the war the R u s s i a n employed a,
great
body of
geology specialists
to
serve the
ront;
e ~ <
I \
intelligence sources
reported that over
15,000 \ ~ were \
employed
in
military
geology in the USSR
during
the
war
years.3
4
Most
of
the
Brit ish effort
in
military
geology
was\
entralized
\
in the Geological Section of t he
Inter
- Service o p o g r ~ p h i c a l
Department
in the United
Kingdom,
and in the Strategic ~ r ~ ~ c h of
',
the geological
survey
of India.
33Fox,
p.
4.
34Ibid.
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7
Formation
of
the
Military
Geology
Unit
.
Despite
the recommendations
of
the Chief
of Engineers based
on
our
World War I
experience
concerning the i ~ p o r t n c e of geology
o military
operations the United States
entered
World War
I I
with
no
provision
for
including military geologists as an organic
part
of an:y troop unit
or
staff
structure.
The awareness
among
the
armed
forces of
the
potential
military
use of
geology and
the geologist was
almost nonexistent. Shortly
after the
United
States
entered
the war
i t
became
apparent to
the Chief
of
Engi
neers
U.
s.
Army,
that
the
Army
was
not
equipped
to
fUrnish
the
geologic information necessary concerning prospective areas
of
military operations. World War
I I
had developed into a war of
movement in contrast to the position warfare of World
War
I .
Information
pertaining
to water supply sources landing
beaches
airf ie ld
si tes
t raff icabi l i ty
of soils and sources
of
con
struction
materials - just
to
name a few
of
the
geologic require
ments - was
drastically
needed. Although the Corps
of
Engineers
had
a
small staff of consulting geologists
for
civi l
and military
construction projects within the United
States
i t s organization
could
not
tackle the gigantic problem
of providing
the
required
geologic information
for the
theaters.
There was
not sufficient
time
available
for
the
Corps of Engineers to
build
a geologic
staff and
reference l ibrary of
the
requisite
size
to
conduct the
needed geologic investigations. The means by which this problem
was solve.d
exhibits
an
outstanding
example of cooperation between
two different
departments of our Federal
Government.
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18
In
late spring
1942, representatives
of t e Corps of Engineers
. '
called on the
Chief
Geologist
of
the United l ~ G e o l o g i c a l
Survey (USGS), Department
of
the
Interior, to sJ i c i t a s s i s t a n
.
in providing the geologic
information required b ,
the
Army . As
a matter of coincidence, certain factions within ~ h e USGS had
been attemPting
for
months to find a w ~ to get
t ~ e nations
s
35
. . t t • th
geo1 o g s
+
1n o ac 10n 1n
e war • There was
c o m m o n
under-
.
.
standing Qf the problem
involved
and an i m m e d i t ~
m e e t i n g
of
.
minds . The Military Geology Unit (MGU) of
the
usdp
which was
formally established by
means of
an agreement between
the Survey
and
the
Corps of Engineers in June of 1942, was c o m m i s s i o ~ e d to
36
make geologic studies of areas of
strategic military importance
.
Organization of the Military Geology Unit .
The
in i t i l
s t f f
of
10
geologists established
in
Washington,
D. C.
in
1942,
gradually increased
to
about
6 geologists and
soils scientists
in
1943
.
During
this
time
the
M U
prepared
reports
on
strategically significant European Countries and
North Africa. In
July
1943,
an urgent request was made
for
the
S o m m e r s
Saturday
Evening
Post,
p.
98
.
36
U. s .
Geological
Survey and Corps of Engineers U. s.
Army, The M l i t ry Geology
Unit,
(Geol . Soc . Am., Dec 1945),
p. 2, (hereafter
c i t e d ~
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19
.
M
GU
to
prepare
a report on
the
terrain and
water supply in Sicily
.
The MGU originated a new type
of
report which marked a turning
point
in
the
application of geology
to
u. S. military operations
.
This
folio
report
could
be used
for
tac t ica l
field
problems
as
well as problems of
broad
strategic planning. The practical
value of the Sicily report so
firmly
established the reputation
of the MGU in military circles
that
the unit
was
l l
but
over
37
whelmed
with new assigments. The s t f f of MGU was then rapid-
ly increased to include
88 geologists,
26 other specialists,
and
43 sub-professionals.
In the spring of 1944,
a new field was opened up
for the
MGU Teams from
MGU in
Washington were sent to the various war
theaters to work on
detailed
plans for operations and to provide
8
consulting services.3
The
f i rs t
field ·team went to the Southwest Pacific in
May
1944
in response
to a request
by
the
Chief
Engineer of the
Theater
and was
detailed to
the
Research
and
Reports
Sub
s
ec
t
. E
ng1neer
t
e
~ g e n c e
D ·
on,
I
n
·
lVlSlon
.
39
Th
e team
con-
sisted
of one soils scientis t and
four
geologists,
who
were
specialists
in
ground water, engineering geology,
beach
con
,..
ditions,
and land forms. In
June
1945, in preparation for
the invasion of
Japan,
the
Sub-
Section
was
in reased
\
37Ibid, p. 3.
\
38Ibid.
39Fox,
Preliminary
Study
for the
Chief of Engine9\ ,
:p
. 7.
'
-.
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20
to 22 military and civi l ian personnel and elevated to Branch
status . 40 The military personnel were drawn from qualified
officers and
enlisted
men who were on duty in the
theater
.
A second field team from
the ¥GU
was
sent
to the Central
Pacific Theater in November, 1944, at
the
request
of the Joint
Intelligence Center,
Pacific
Ocean Areas . This unit was desig
nated an Engineer and Terrain Intelligence Team ETIT) , and w
as
attached to
the
Intelligence Division of
the
Theater Engineer
where i t worked on
detailed
terrain
reports
unti l
the
end
of
hosti l i t ies
. 41 The ETIT
cooperated
closely
with
the
Engineer
Base Topographic Battalion. The strength of the
team
on V-J Day
was 16 and included 12 geologists, 2
soi ls
scient ists, a road
engineer, and a r iver and harbor specialist.
Other small teams were sent to
the
European Theater
of
Operations ETO)
during
the l s t year of the war and were
assigned
to
the
Inter
-
Service
Topographical
Department
in
the
United Kingdom
ISTD
-UK ,to the Combined Intelligence Objectives
Section
of
the Combined
Ch
iefs
of
Staff, and to
the
Engineer
Intelligence Division of the
Chief
Engineer, ET0 . 42
In addition to the work at
their
respective headquarters,
geologists from the teams were periodically
~ s s i g n e
to army
4oibid
.
4libid .
I
42
Ibid.
\
\
, ,
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21
and corps headquarters, and
detailed temporarily
to Engineer
Construction Battalions and
other
engineer
units
to provide
consulting services .
t
Figure
l
Hunt,
unpublished manuscript)
shows
the r g ~ n i
zation of the
Military
Geology Unit as of January 19
45.
Staffing the
Military
Geology
Unit.
;
"
s t h ~ program of
the
Military
Geology
Un
t expanded
i t
was
• I
no longer possible for
the
U. S.
Geological
S u ~ ~ to f i l l
the
\
staffing requirements.
A
nation
-wide
search
was made
for
, q u a l ~ ~
1
·
f ied
individuals;
workers
were
recruited
from maclr
sources with
colleges
and
universi t ies
leading the l i s t Besid\s geologists,
"
the
unit included
other professionals such as
soi ls
s i e ~ i s t s .
and, for par t of
the
time,
a
forester
and a
sanitary engineer.43
Other
governmental agencies,
notably the
Division of Soil Survey
in
the Department of Agr icul
ture,
cooperated
with
the
unit
by
lending
some
of
the i r
most
qualified
men.
Besides having
a
sound
geologic background,
the geologist was
required to have
wide f ie ld experience; for i t was
th is
combination that
consti-
tuted
the
foundation
of the entire research
program.
Other
requirements included
f ie ld experience
in
cr i t ical foreign
countries and an abi l i ty to read
two
foreign languages.
The
practice of encouraging
the geologist
or soils
scient ist
to be
43Cha
r les B Hunt, Military
Geology, Geo Soc
Am
Engineering
Geology Berkey) Volume
l950), p. 320.
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22
1 -
r
RESEARCH CHIEF EDITOR a
~ I W I N G
SUPERVISORS CHIEF ILLUSTRATOR
~
ICE
J
VERSEAS
TEAMS
-
'
\
\
I I
'
BIBLIOGRAPHERS - PHOTOGRAPHERS
SOUTHWEST \CIFIC
AREA
I
\
"
PHOTO
ILLUSTRATORS
CENTRAL PACIFIC " '-
PROCUREMENT
AREA
PROJECT TEAMS
-
EDITORS
EUROPEAN THEATER
OF OPERATIONS
TERRAIN
TYPISTS
INTERSERVICE TOPOGRAPHIC
SPECIALISTS
DEPARTMENT
-
-- - -
Figure 1. Organization of
the
M l i t ry
Geology
Unit as of
January 1945
(Maj. J . S. c. i
th
, U. S.
Army Command
and General
Staff
College
- T
ransactions,
K A.
S.)
I GEOLOGIST IN CHARGE
I
I
I
I
I
I
'
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3
able to study the
source
l i terature and maps mi nimized errors
and saved valuable time. Some of
the
studies prepared by the
M U could not
have
been completed in
the
time ~ v i l b l e i f
the
unit had been forced
to
depend on t ransiators·. 44 In addition
to
the
professional
staff ,
a s taff of assis tants which included
bibliographers, photographers,
i l lustrators ,
editors,
and
typists was organized, and
comprised
about 20
percent
of
the
to tal strength
of th
e unit .
Work of the
Military
Geology Unit .
The
primary
function
of
the
M U
in
Washington
during
the
war, was
the
preparation of studies
of
foreign areas for
broad
strategic
and operational planning . The studies were prepared
principally
for
the
Corps
of Engineer s, the Army
General
Staff,
the Army Air Forces,
the Quartermaster
Corps, and
the Office
of Strategic Services. The work covered
a l l aspects
of
terrain
intelligence. The following di
fferent
types and numbers of
strategic reports
were completed:45
Major
strategic
reports
completed :
44Ibid,
p.
4
5Ibid, p .
e r ~ a i n Intell igence Folios (for Military
Intell igence,
Corps
of
Engineers) - - -
140
Special
Intell igence reports
(for
Engineer
and
Air
Corps
Intell igence) -
4
Commodity
reports (for Air Forces and
Quar.termasters)
-
- -
Bomb Target
Reports
( for
Air Forces) -
TOTAL
- - -
323.
\
308 .
\
·I
·
I
\
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24
Minor strategic reports completed :
For various Army and Navy
Intell igence
Units -- 100
For Board
of
Economic Warfare- 31 .
TOTAL -
-
131
•
These reports contain approximately 3500 large maps, 1500 small
I
maps, 4000 photographs and figures 140 terrain diagrams '
ar
,d
\
2500 large tab les
of
text to accompany the rna s .
•;
tl
'
In addition to the s trategic reports
prep
in
Washington
I
a considerable volume
of
data was furnished to
tact ical \
planners in the theaters
by
the overseas teams
of
the MGU Th .j
\
primary
function
of
these
teams
was
essentia l ly
\
I
he
same
as
that of the unit
in Washington but thei r
studies 'were made .
in
'
the
f ield
for
Theater
Headquarters
and lower
echelons and thei r
"-.·
work was,
therefore of
a t act ical nature. The size
of
the '
areas studied by the f i ~ l teams covered tens
of
square
miles
compared to the thousands
of
square
miles covered
by the
stra
tegic folios
.
The considerable
contribution
of
the Mi l i tary Geology Unit
was
possible
largely
because i t s s taff
consisted
of
highly com
petent professional scientists who,
because
of
thei r
association
with the U. S. Geological Survey were familiar with the standard
operating
procedures
of
government agencies . Also th i s s taff
had
a t
i t s disposal a l l the
faci l i t ies of
the
U.
S.
Geological
Survey including
i t s
great
wealth of reference material and the
advice
and services
of
other
special is ts within
the Survey.
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25
Terrain Intell igence Folios .46
t is
difficul t to
say which
.
one
area of
work
accomplished by the
M U
was
the
most
important
to the war effort . The
Terrain
Intell igence
t
have
the
broadest
application; therefore
, a
contents seems appropriate .
of
their .
I
\
The scope of · the folios differed
considerably depending on
1
the
parameters of the planning level for which
t h
~ were intended
the
amount
of information
available
and the
time available
for
preparation.
At
the
beginning
of
each
folio
are
a summary
of
the
terrain
situation
a
l is t ing of the
principal
sources of information
a
statement
of ·the method
of
compilation
terrain
diagrams
and
the
rel iabi l i ty
of the
data.
The
rel iabi l i ty
rating
expressed
the degree of
confidence
the authors
had
in
their statements .
Terrain diagrams depict the topography in
some
form of
apparent
perspective
and
are
a marked
aid
in
map
interpretation
.
They convey
at
a glance a clearer idea of topography than maps
even after extensive
study.
Terrain
diagrams are
not a
map
substitute as
the effect of
perspective is obtained by distor
t ion
of the
map scale.
A good example
of their use i s
related
in the Allied bombing of the Romanian
oi l
center of Ploesti .
47
The
oi l
center had been so well
camouflaged
that the Allied
46rhid
pp.
310- 320
47
6
MGU p. ·
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26 .
bombers had
failed to find
i t
terrain diagram
showing
the
oi l f ields in relation to the neighboring
land
forms
which
of
course could not be camouflaged was
given to the ai r
forces .
•
On the second attempt the
bombers
located the target
and
de
stroyed
the Ploesti oi l
center .
Figures 2 through 4
depict the construction
of a terrain
diagram
. 48 Figure 2
is
a projection made mechanically with an
isometrograph from a topographic map
as the f i rs t stage
in
preparing
terrain
diagrams.
Figure 3
i s
a terrain
diagram
made by
fi l l ing
in
the
framework
of
the projection
without
consulting the
geologic
map of
the
area or
the
top9graphic map
from which
the
projection was made .
Figure
4 is the finished
· terrain
diagram
made
after
study of
the
geologic and topographic
maps and shows
the
improvement
in definition of the terrain
features
.
In
the
section
of
the
folio on
Terrain Appreciation
a
concise and
complete
picture
of the terrain
i s
presented
which
will assist
the commander to make a more
accurate estimate
of
the
tact ical situation . The approach. to
the
appraisal is
funda
- ·
mentally geologic ; but
soils
and vegetation are also
essential
.
Topographic
maps are
indispensable
to
the appraisal
and would
alone furnish
the
basis
for a
fair ly
good study. However, know
ing
the geology
makes
i t possible
to
interpolate details
of
~ n g i n e e r
In te l
ligence
Guide No . 33,
Preparation
of
Terrain
Diagrams, Army Map
Service
June 1960 ),
P•
3·
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4
I I
I
\
'
Figure
2 . Projection r o ~ a
topograph
ic map
as the i r s t
stage
in
preparing
a
Terrain Diagr am .
(Maj .
J .
S.
C
Smith, U. S.
Army
Command and General
Staff
College -
Transactions
K A. S. )
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28
Figure
3.
Terrain Diagram
made
from
projection
without consulting
geologic or
topo-
graphic
maps.
Maj.
J S.C . Smith, U. S. Army Command and General Staff
College
-
Transactions,
K. A S. )
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29
-·
'
Figure
4.
Completed Terrain Diagram after
study of
geologic
and topographic
maps.
(Maj. J S. c. Smith} U. S.
Army Command and General
Staff
College
- Transactions K. A. S.)
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30
re l ief
that
are
not
shown on topographic maps , to
estimate
con-
di
tions
on
stream
banks and bottoms and
to predict
ground con
ditions that will affect
movement and
excavation
. Charles B.
Hunt
in
his
t reat ise on
Military
Geology
in the
Berkey Volume
of
the Geological
Society of
America,
presents an
excellent
discussion
on
interpret in
g from geologic maps.·
The area on the
Terrain
pp
reciation map
i s
divided into
terrain units
and
an
accompanying
table describes
the
affect
the
topography
will
have on
the
movement,
cover
, and concealment
of
troops.
Climate and
vegetation are
described
in
general
terms
sufficient to emphasize only
those
elements significant
to
te r.
rain
p p r e i t i o n
Vegetation
i s important from the
standpoint
of
concealment
and
as
an
obstacle to
movement.
In
future wars vegetation will be
of
particular importance be
cause
of obstacles to
movement
that
may
be created
from
tree
blow- down
caused
by
nuclear
weapons . The
duration of the
seasons,
frequency of
freezes
or
of
very
wet
weather
and
seasonal
distribution
of
the
amount of annual rainfall are
the
principal climatic factors . Streams are treated on a
separate sheet
; a
general
summary of their fordabLlity and a
description of
the
valleys through which they flow are included
under terrain
appreciation
.
Details
about
uil t
- up areas
are
included
because of their effect on movement,
observation
cover
and
concealment
.
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3
A
separate
section
of
the
folio deals with
problems
o
water supply. This section summarizes -the
quantity
and ~ u a ~
of
the
water
in the area and
includes not o n ~ the existing . .
supplies but also the
potential
sourceS th
at
~ l d
be
d e v e l o ~ ~
by engineer
units
. Recommendations were i n l u ~ e ~ as
to
the \
method most feasible for
obtaining
dependable
supplies of
. t
\
I
potable
water . The water supply sheets prepared
by geologists
proved
so
useful
t hat the
office of
the Surgeon G ~ n e r a l
re
quested that
the Chief
of Engineer
s
authorize
the Military
Geology
Unit
to
extend
water-supply
studies
to
cover
problems
pertaining
to sanitary engineering. Later studies included
a
disc
ussion
of
municipal
water systems.
The problem
of finding water
for
drinking
and for con
struction
increased
greatly in magnitude during World
War I I
.
Water mi
ght have been
a
serious
problem in Sic i ly for in
stance i f geologic
assistance had
not been readily
available .
The
Sicily folio
was
the unit
s
f irs t big job
for
direct
use
in
the
field, and fortunately, there were sufficient data availa
ble
for an exhaustive study. Army personnel
who
were unfamiliar
with geologic
methods
reported with
amazement
that
the
Terrain
Intelligence Folio had unerringly
led them
to
good
water.
Another section
of
the
folio dealing with construction
considered
the
problems of road and a
i rf ie ld
-construction and
maintenance. In road construction such factors as t
he
necessity
for steep grades and
curves,
kind
of
hillside cut, fording or
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32
bridging requirements suitabil i ty of
natural formation for
subgrades susceptibility to frost
heaving
and drainage and
subdrainage
problems
were considered .
The selection of
possible
si tes for airf ields is a major
problem
in which
geology
has much to offer
in
the way of
solu
t ion. The
select
i on of actual
si tes
was
possible
where de
ta i led
and accurate geologic
topographic
and soils maps were
avail
able. Aerial
photographs materially assis ted in the
location and selection of
possible
airf ie ld
si tes.
In
select
ing
s i tes
the folio i
ncluded
a discussion of topographic
hazards
in
the
approach zone
grad
i
ng and grubbing
required
,
nature of the ground including i t s
stabi l i ty
the availab i
l i t y
of local construction materials and water and the
accessibi l i ty
of the possible s it es. P1'oblems affect ing runway
construction
were summarized i n much
the
same way as were
the
problems
re-
lated
to
road o n s t r u t o n
n
unexpected
use
was made of the map showing airf ie ld
49
Sl
t
· e
s·
·1
F 1 ·
In
s·
Cl
y , th ·
lness
ln
th
l Cl y lO• ·1 e
rw
1
erlcan 1·
were
being bombed
by planes
from a hidden German airf ie ld which
the Allied
planes
were
unable
to
find
. s a las t resort a i r
in te ll i
gence off icers turned to
the Terrain Intell igence Folio
prepared for
the invasion of Sicily which
had
the possible
airf ie ld
si tes neatly indicated. After checking
the
known
f ields
against possible
si tes the Luftwaffe
hide
- out was pin
pointed
and
destroyed.
49sommers, Saturday
Evening
Post ,
p.
19.
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33 -
Construction
material
maps were
included
in
the
folio with
a table
describing
each type of material and i t s suitabil i ty for
concrete, road metal, bal.l st or
other
construction purposes.
The
distribution
of the various
kinds
of'construction ma
teri ls
in
a
given area
can
be
shown by redrawing
the
geologic map so
as to combine rock
types
that have similar engineering prop-
erties.
A section on
geology
was included with the folio as a
professional guide to
the
civilian geologist accompanying
the
troops
to
the area
of
operations.
Other
special sheets
were
prepared
for
some areas
in
order to
t reat
specialized problems
l ike
t r ff ic bi l i ty
for
tank
units , suitabil i ty of
the
ground
for
use of magnetic mine detectors, suitabil i ty of terrain
for
cave
warfare
, or_
vulnerability of
railroad
tunnels.
A Terra
in
Intelligence Folio may include
the
following
maps: Terrain Diagram, Terrain Appreciation, Rivers, Pictor ial
Views, Routes of Movement Roads
and Railroads),
Water
Supply,
Airf ield Sites ,
Soils,
Construction Materials, F u e ~ s Vegetation,
Climate, and Geology.
Several references have been
ma
de previously to
the Terrain
Intelligence Folio on Eastern Sicily. The Unit was al.lot ted
only
lO
days to make
the
study and assemble t
in
form suitable
for printing.5° This report
covered
6000
square miles
and was
5 unt, Military Geology,
p.
308.
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assembled in 16
quadrangles
on a
scale of
1 : 100
,000
. t
included
data on most subjects normal ly reported on
in
terrain
intell igence
studies and included 57 maps 2 te r ra in diagrams 6 large
tables
of text ,
and
9 photographic
views.
This report proved
exceed
ingly
valuable both in
planning
and
executing mili tary
operations
in
spite
of
the
handicap of being
prepared
so hasti ly . Some of
the maps of
the
folio were reproduced by
f ie ld
units and
issued
to
troops . The
off ic ia l
critique on the
engineering phases
of
the operation states tha t these maps proved to
be
accurate and
complete,
were
a t
times
indispensable,
and
in
many
cases
pos-
sessed more information than the natives themselves. 5
1
Traff icabil i ty studies . As mechanized forces came to be
used in
increasing
numbers during
the war,
a
need
arose for
more exact,
advance
information on ·a l l features
f the
te r ra in
that would
affect
movement across country.5
2
To meet th is
need, one
phase
of
terrain
appreciation was expanded
into
·
t raff icabi l i ty
studies
which show
in
detai l the conditions
that affect the t ravel of tracked vehicles. These -studies
present in deta i l
the
effects of soil , slope, .
vegetation,
drain-
age,
weather,
and
natural
or man -made obstacles
on
movement .
These studies
offer an
outstanding
i l lustrat ion
of
the
val
ue
of cooperation between geologists and soil scientis ts .
5
1
rbid, p. 309.
5
2
MGU p. 13.
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35
The t raff icabi l i ty studies used
the
same sources of data
as terrain appreciation
.
Detailed information
on
soils
was
desired in
prepar
i ng
these studies
but
was
often lacking
.
This
difficul ty
was well met however by
the
soils
sc
ie
nt i s t
.
He could predict with
a
great
deal
of accuracy
the
soi l type
in
a given
area
from
the dat
a
supplied
by
the geologist
on
l i thology and topog
rap
hy
toget
h
er with information
on
climate
and
vegetation
.
Trafficability
studies
played
a
very
important
part
i n
the
f inal
push
into
Germany and were
the basis for
another
rush
job
by
the
Military Geology
Unit in
January 1945.
On
January 16 1945 the uni t
received
a
request ~ o
the Euro-
pean Theater of Operations asking for
l/100
000
t raff icabi l i ty
maps
covering
65
quadrangles in
Germany
with the f i r s t 18 to
be delivered in Paris
on
January
21 . Only
five days
were
available
to
make
the studies
prepare
the
copy
and
deliver
t
to the Theat
er. ga in
an almost
impossible
task was
performed by the unit and delivery
was
made
on
time.
Conclusions
.
During
World
War geology gained
a
permanent pos
i
t ion
as an important scientif ic
implement both
in
the
planning
and the conduct
of m il i tary operations by the United
States
rmy
.
This
advancement
of
geology in military science
was
due
to
the increased appreciation
on
the part
of our military
leaders and scient ists a l i
ke
as
to
the usefulness
of geology
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36
in the solution
of
a large variety of practical problems . Yne
civil ian
make
-up of
the
Military Geology
Unit
does not appear
to have been a great handicap to
the
successful completion of
i t s mission . H ~ w e v e r a basic
understanding of military
sci
ence and
military
engineering problems by the members of i t s
s taff would have
faci l i tated the
work of
the unit.
From our
wartime
experience evolved, however, a fundamental
requirement
for geologically trained
officers
in the Corps of Engineers
to
give military direction to
our
civil ian
military geology
organization.
Also
i t
was made
apparent
that
a
regular
Engineer Table of Organization
and Equipment Unit which
would
include
a military geologist should
be
organized within
the
Army structure to serve in the Theater of Operations to
provide
geologic
services .
:r ITLITARY GEOLOGY IN THE
UNITED
STATES RMY
AFTER
WORLD W R I I TO THE
PRESENT
The Challenge.
The
application of geology to
military
problems
was
not
forgotten after World War I I as i t was during the period fol
lowing World War I There have been major organizational
changes
in our military structure
but the
basic
mi
l i tary
functions
have remained
- including
the
function of
provid
ing
geologic information
for
planning
and
operations
.
In
fact
our
need for geologic services is more pronounced due
to
the
increas
ed
scope of our
overseas
deployments
since
World
War I I
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37
United States overseas commitments since World War I I have
included in addition to those land areas with
which
vr
were
already
familiar
new
and
relatively
unknown
areas
.
e are
•
faced
with an
aggressor
who
strikes
in unexpected places taking
advantage of
every
opportunity to subvert
and
convert
weak
or
faltering
nations into
the
communist sphere of influence. e
have been confronted
with
this enemy in Korea Viet Nam Laos
Cuba, Berlin
the
Congo,
Greece and Venezuela
-
just
to
mention
a few of the locales involved.
To
be able to counteract
the
communist
influence
we
must
study
countries
which
may
be
af
fected and among the knowledge which we must
possess
i s
the
geology of the
areas
. Another aspect of our commitments
is
that in
the
not too distant future our involvements
will
no
longer be earthbound.
As the
f i r s t stepping stone into outer
space the National Aeronautics and Space Administration i s
feverishly working toward
our f i r s t manned
space f l ight
to
the
moon. The
U.
S. Geological Survey has already prepared
a geologic map of the moon for the U. S.
Army
Corps of En
gineers who
are
planning
for
the construction of shelters
and for obtaining water
on the
moon for
our
space
men.
Useful Aspects
of
Geology.
In our experiences gained in both World War I and World
War I I we
have been
able to clearly
identify
those
aspects
of
geology which are most
useful
to
military
planning
and
operations and those military problems
which
can
best
be
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handled .by
geologists
. The mili tary
problems
involved fa l l
general
l y
into
five categories:
l) strategic te r ra in
in te l l i
gence,
2)
tact ical and combat terrain i n t e l l i g ~ n c e 3) water
supply,
4) general
construction, and )) special problems.53
The t i t l e ,
scope
and extent of the studies which include
geolog
ic tnformation
will
vary, depending on the
level
of
planning
and type of operations.
Geologic
information
is
in -
eluded in National Intell igence Surveys Strategic
Engineering
Studies, Area
Analyses, Cross
Country Movement Studies, Engineer
ing
Geology
Studies,
and
Intelligence
Estimates
-
just
to
men
t ion
a few of the
formats
.
Strategic te r ra in intell igence
. In the f ield
of strategic
in te l li gence, which i s a
basic requirement
for
policy planning
a t the
highest
leve l that par t of
the
broader
f ie ld
of geo
graphical
intell igence
i ch comes under terrain
intell igence,
has
been
provided almost exclusively by
geologist
and al l ied
earth science specialis ts . Subjects covered by strategic te r
tain in tell
igence
based on
exist ing
maps reports
photographs,
and other recorded
information
which are made
the topics of
broad general studies are
included in
the
following
outline :
1. Terrain
Appreciation
in
l ight of climate,
vegetation,
land use, e tc . ) .
a) Analysis and classif ication of topography.
53Fox Preliminary Study for the Chief of
Engineers,
10- 15 .
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39 .
b) Analysis
and
class if icat ion
of
surface
and
near
-
surface formations soils , cinders, rock, etc.
.
c) Study
of r ivers .
d) Study
of
coasts to determine su i tab i l i ty for
amphibious operations.
2 . Water
Supply Studies
.
3. Construction Possibil i t ies .
4.
Basic Data
wh
ich
includes
terrain diagrams, and special
maps on
Topography,
Geology
Soils, Trafficability, Transport
routes,
Vegetation,
and Others
.
Tactical
and combat
terrain intell igence.
Tactical and
combat
terrain intell igence
is a
basic requirement for planning
and operating i n
an
active
theater
. The subjects
covered
may
include any or
a l l
of the subjects ·
l i s ted
above under strategic
te rr ain
intell igence,
depending on
the nature
of the
theater
and
i t s l ines of
communication. The intell igence
provided will
contain
much greate r detai l
than
the
st rategic inte
l
ligence
re -
ports
and
cover
much smaller areas. Aerial photography and
ground reconnaissance play an
important part in
these studies.
Combat
intell igence further requires an estimate
of
the enemies
capabilities
and
methods for using terrain. I t
may be
expected
that enemy forces
will
consult mi
l i tary
geol
ogists
before
oc -
cupying positions
in
the f ield .
ome countries use
geologic
features
instinctively, l ike the Japanese who turned to caves
during
World War I I .
Prepared
enemy
positions will
be
influenced
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4
by
geologic
features requiring
geolo
g
ic counterintelligence to
determine his most
l ikely
dispositions .
Water supply. In both
world
wars one
of
the most important
services rendered by geologists was locating sources
of potable
water
for
our troops
in the
f ield
. Furnishing an
adequate
water supply is
always a major
responsibility of
the
Engineers
and
in
most
regions
the
water
supply provided for
civi l ian
consumption i s not sufficient for military needs . When
wa
t
er
cannot be obtained from
surface
sources
i t
is a primary
duty
.
·
of
the geologist
to
locate
sources
of
ground
water
from sub-
surface water bearing
s t rata
that
can
be obtained t feasible
depths from new wells and bore
holes
.
Our
military forces
presently deployed overseas have
won
much
favorable comment in
helping certain
emerging
nations
develop sources of
potable
water •
In
areas l ike
the Greenland ice .cap unique methods
have
been devised to
pro
vi
de
water
.
One of the
most
productive
methods is to dri l l many feet into the ice cap and use steam
to
melt
the
ice . The resultant water is then pumped to the
surface
for
subsequent use
. The
water obtained
is
reported to
be as
pure
as dist i l led water purchased from
the
corner drug
store .
General construction. Construction problems which
can
best be handled by military geologists
include
1. The selection
of favorable
sites for
airf ields
.
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4l -
2 . The
selection
of favorable routes
of
communication
(roads and r i l ways).
'
3·
The location
of
sheltered harbors and morrings •
4.
The inspection
of
mines and the
selection of other
favorable
si tes
for the construction
of subsurface
structures
for
hangers, munition dumps) storage, etc .
5.
The selection
of
favorable si tes for fort if icat ions ,
gun emplacements, and other heavy structures .
6. The
location and
rehabilitation
of
existing .
quarries,
and
the
location
and
development
of
accessible
new
deposits
of
building stone, gravel,
road
metal, and sand for
use in
general
construction work .
7. The study
of
drainage problems with a view to the con-
struction
of
dams, levees, and canals for the purpose
of
either
drainage
or
flooding to create obstacles.
8pecial
problems
.
Military
geologists
are
frequently
called in
as
consultants on a
variety of
engineering and scien-
t i f i c
problems
which affect
military operations.
ome of
these
special
problems include
the
following
:
1. Reports on the
dist r ibut ion
and
effect of magnetic
ironbearing
rocks on compasses and other direction finding
stations, radio propagation, mine d e ~ e c t i n g etc .
2. Selection
of key
mineral and fuel oi l production cen-
te rs in
enemy
te r r i tory
which
are vulnerable
to bombing.
3. Evaluation of mineral and oi l deposits
in
occupied
te r r i tory which may be
of
use to occupying forces.
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42
4.
The
pinpointing
of bombing targets
(tunnels,
deep
road
cuts, dams,
etc
. ) which make enemy l ines of communication vul
nerable to destruction by landslides
or floods.
5· Selection of analagous
areas '
for
pre
- invasion t rain
ing
and
tes t ing of equipment.
6. Reports on volcanic
and
earthquake dangers pertaining
to the location, construction
or
protection
of
bases.
7·
The study
of
permafrost, and
i t s bearing
on engineering
construction in polar regions.
Post
host i l i ty
reconstruction (Military
Government).
Mili
tary
geologists have contributed immeasura ::>ly
in
t he reconstruc
t ion .
of
defeated nations by making surveys for, acting
as
con
sultants in ,
and directing the development of new and the rehabil
i ta t ion
of
old mineral industries and construction programs .
They
have
also worked closely with indigenous
geologists
in
re-
habil i ta t ing
the i r professional
act iv i t ies .
Current Organization
for Military
Geology.
The civil ian
Military
Geology
Unit
which
provided
the
Army
with
geologic
services during World
Wa
r
i s
continuing to
provide
those
services. In
addition,
the recommendation
that
the
Army have organic units with
the
capabili ty of providing
geologic services i n the f ield
has resulted in
the organization
of
such a unit .
Mi
l i tary Geology Branch . The Military Geology
Unit
which
saw service
in
World
Har
has
continued
.to work in the post
war years on geologic
studies
for the
Army
.
Some
of
the
studies
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prepared by the unit
during
the war were hampered
by
shortcomings
in
geologic and so.i l s
data in
foreign
areas
especially some of
the
areas in
the
Pacific
.
Immediately
after the war the
overseas
teams
in occupied areas
conducted field sur.veys
to evaluate the
accuracy
of
the
studies
prepared by the
unit.
n
example of thiS type of work was the Report
of Recon-
naissance of Coronet Operation
Area,
1-2
March
1946.54
One
year
after
Operation Coronet,
11
the code
name
for
the
invasion
of
Japan, was to have taken
place,
a reconnaissance
of
the
proposed
landing
beaches
was made.
~ n s
reconnaissance
was
to
compare
the intell igence
upon
which
plans
for
the
landings
were
based with actual conditions vThich would
have
confron:ted
tb e
invasion
forces . t was found that the sand on one of the
beaches contained sufficient magnetite to destroy the
effec
tiveness of magnetic mine detectors . This characteristic had
not been mentioned
in
the
study
. I t was
further
found
that
on
another
of
the beaches the
gra
in size
and
moisture content
of
the sand would have made vehicular t raff ic from the water 's
·edg
e to the
f i r s t road
i
nland
difficul t or
impossible.
I n September 1948, as the result
of
a reorganization
within the
U
S. Geological Survey,_ the Military Geology Uni t
was
upgraded
to
section
status
and
a few months l a te r V as
ele
vated to branch level . The
official
name is now the Military
, Report of Reconnaissance of
Coronet
Operation
Area,
1-2 March 1946.
(Office
of the
Engineer, General
Headquarters
Far East Command . )
54
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44
Geology Branch. The current organization
of
the Military Geology
Branch
includes
g e o l o g ~ s t s and botanists and in
addition
soils
'
scientists and climatologists whose services obtained under
contractual arrangement
with the
e p a r t ~ e n t
of Agriculture . A
special
section
has been
established
for
studies
of terra i n
and
permafrost in Alaska . In addition consulting services for the
Army in the Pacific
area and in
Europe are
s t i l l
being provided.
Terrain detachment. The
Army has organized
a terrain
de
tachment
under Table
of
Organization 5-500 C which
includes
a
geologist
with
the rank
of
major.
Several
of
these
detachments
are presently
operating
in the
Far East and
in
Europe.
I t
is
intended
that
these
detachments
perform many
of
the servi ces
that were provided by the
overseas
teams from the Military
Geology Un t during World
War
I I
Military
Geology
Training .
Since
World War
I I
the
t rain
i
ng
of mili tary personnel
in
the applications
of
geology to m il i tary
problems
has been
increased
.
The U. S. Army Engineer School at
Fort
Belvoir Virgini a
provides a
course
in Military Geology as part
of
the program
of
ins tructi on
of
the Engineer Officers Advanced Course . The
bas
i s
of
this
instruction
i s
Army Technical Manual T 5-545,
Geology
and I t s
Military Applications which was prepared for
the Army by the Military Geology Branch of the U. S. Geological
Survey.
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As
previous
l y
mentioned
the
Un
i ted States Military Academy
was one
of our f i r s t
educational
ins t i
t
utions to provide
a
c
ourse
i n geology; but
that
course
wh
i ch was
discontinued in
1917,
was primarily
cultural
. From
then unt i l about 196 there
was very l i t t l e mention
of
geology
in
the
curr
i cu l um t the
Academy
except
for guest
lecturer
presentations . In 196 there
was a broad
curriculum re
- ev al
uation
t
the
Academy which re
sulted in
new
subjects such as
physical
geography world
geog
raphy
,
astronomy
and
astronautics being
added
to the curriculum
.
The Academy
now
has
a 30
hour course
in
physical
geogr
aphy
which
includes geology and related earth sciences . The applications
of these sciences to military probl ems is stressed.
Many Corps
of
Engineers officers pursue graduate
studies
t civi
l
ian col
l
eges
and un i vers i t ies
for the purpose
of
ob
taining advanced degrees
. Geology is among
the subjects studied
t s9me
of
these insti tutions
which
further increases the Army s
base of
geologic
know
l edge. Many more
office
r s have become
aware
of
how
the applicatio
n of geology
can
be a
valuable aid
in solving certain
of
our
mil
i tary
problems.
CONCIDSION
Geology
has
been firmly established
as
a
usefu
l
tool
in
providing superior i
nformation
concerning the
terrain
on which
military operations are conducted and
in
solvi ng numerous
pr
oblems
of
mili tary planners in wh
i ch a technical knowledge
of
the earth is required . Although the usefulness
of
geology
was made apparent i n
the
Fi r s t r ld War, i t was necessary to
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6
relearn the
lesson
during
World
War I I
The
reliance
on a
civil ian organization to provide the Army with the greatest
portion
of
the geologic information required has
not
been
any
great h
inderance in the provision
of
th is servi
ce but empha
sizes the feas ib i l i ty
of
cooperation between the various
governmental
agencies.
I t is
expected
that
th is type of
_
·cooperation wil l further increase with the
application
of
nu
cle
ar
power and weapons and
our
advancements
into space.
The requirement for the
Army
to have
organic uni ts
capable of
providing geologic
services
in
th
e
f ield
is
also
appare
nt
and
such units have been
organized
and are presently operating
in
the
f ield .
The
Army has also emphasized the
·
need for geologic t rain
-
in
g
of
i t s personnel
not
only in i t s own
mi l
i tary schools but
in
civil ian
ins t i tut ions as well.
A
course in Military
Geology,
offered as
a
part
of
the regular undergraduate instruction
open
to a l l
geo
logy
students
in our leading
universi t ies
would
further extend the
awa
reness in th is
important
f ield . A
greater
understanding on the part
of
geologists and military
men
alike will
go
fa
r
in
improving
future
applications of
g
eolo
gy to the
military
science . Only the
his to
ry
of
the
future
can re la te
the as yet unforeseen
applications
of
geol
ogy to the military
science.
'
\
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47
LITERATURE
CITED
Brooks, A.
H.,
The Use
of
Geology on t he Western Front , U.
s.
Geol. Survey
,
Prof. Paper
128-D, September 1920) .
Cross, Whitman, Geology In The World \.Jar and After, Geol. Soc .
m
. ,
Bull
. ,
Vol.
30, pp. 165-188, March 31, 1919).
Fox, Ernest F. , The Use of
Military
Geologists in the Corps
of
Engineers,
Preliminary
Study for the Chief of Engineers,
June 1949).
Hunt, C.
B.,
Military Geology, Geol . Soc. Am., Engr . Geo . ;
Berkey Vol . , 1950).
Sommers, Martin, The
Army
s Pet Prophets, Saturday Evening Post,
March 24,
1945).
Whitmore, F. C. , r . , M l i t a ry Geology, The Military Engineer,
Yol.
XLVI,
No . 3;Ll, May -
June
1954) .
The Military
Geology Unit,
U.
S. Geological Survey
and
Corps_of Engineers U. S. Army, In
formal
statement prepared
by members of the s taff of MGU for distribution a t the
Pittsburg meeting of
Geol.
Soc. Am., 1945).
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8
Preparation of Terrain Diagrams, (Engineer Intelligence
Guide No. 33, Army
Map
Service, June 1960) .
, Report of Reconnaissance of Coronet Operation Area
1-2 March 1946, (Office of the
Engineer, General Headquarters,
Far East Command).
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