CHAPTER 8
An Interlude of Peace
It seems certain that atomic, and other new weapons, which we may expect a major ruthless opponent to use in the foreseeable future, will not alter the nature of warfare to such an extent that the immediate ground combat need for versatile, mobile, and hard-hitting divisions will be diminished or altered.
General Jacob L. Devers[1]
By the summer of 1946 the peacetime Army fielded sixteen active divisions, to be backed by an additional fifty-two in the reserve components. For the first time in its history the United States kept more than a token army in the aftermath of victory. This radical departure from tradition resulted from the international instability that characterized the postwar years and spawned the Cold War, an era of confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States. To counter the threat of Soviet expansion, successive administrations made extensive political and military commitments around the world that matured into a foreign policy known as "containment." Associated with containment were several collective defense treaties, most notably the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which required a significant degree of peacetime readiness on land and sea and in the air.
Shortly after establishing the postwar force, the Army leadership reorganized divisions based upon the lessons from World War II. Despite the Soviet military threat, various obstacles hindered the Army's effort to maintain readiness—the totality of the recent victory, an apathetic public, and an economy-minded Congress. One of the most critical, but widely ignored, issues facing the nation was the possible use of atomic weapons in future wars. That nuclear war did not receive extensive attention during the early postwar years was a consequence of the nation's short-lived monopoly of atomic weapons and the complexity of military decision making in a dangerous international environment.
Demobilization, Occupation, and the General Reserve
In late 1945 the Army began to retool for new missions, which included occupying former enemy territories and establishing a General Reserve, while demobilizing the bulk of the World War II forces. The point system developed earlier, which served as an interim demobilization measure until the defeat of
- ↑ Disposition Form (DF), AGF to CofS, USA, 22 Jul 46, sub: New Infantry and Armored Divisions, App II, AGF/AG 322 Divisions, case 100, RG 337, NARA.
