Desert Training Center
Encyclopedia
The Desert Training Center (DTC) was a World War II
training facility established in the Mojave Desert
; largely in Southern California
and Western Arizona
in 1942.
Its mission was to train United States Army and Army Air Corps units and personnel to live and fight in the desert, to test and develop suitable equipment, and to develop tactical doctrines, techniques and training methods.
It was a key training facility for units engaged in combat during the 1942-1943 North African campaign
. It stretched from the outskirts of Pomona, California
eastward to within 50 miles of Phoenix, Arizona
, southward to the suburbs of Yuma, Arizona
and northward into the southern tip of Nevada
.
Major General George S. Patton Jr. came to Camp Young as the first Commanding General of the DTC. As a native of southern California Patton knew the area well from his youth and from having participated in Army maneuvers in the Mojave Desert in the 1930s. His first orders were to select other areas within the desert that would be suitable for the large-scale maneuvers necessary to prepare American soldiers for combat against the German Afrika Korps
in the North African desert.
Patton and his advanced team designated various locations within the area where tent camps would be built. The camps were situated so that each unit could train individually without interfering with the other. Airfields, hospitals, supply depots and sites for other support services were selected as was a corps maneuvering area. The plan was that each division and or major unit would train in its own area, and near the end of its training period would participate in a corps (two divisions or more) exercise in the corps maneuvering area at Palen Pass. Upon completion of the corps exercise, the trained units would leave the DTC, and new units would arrive to begin their training and the process repeated.
By March 1943, the North African campaign was in its final stages and the primary mission of the DTC had changed. By the middle of 1943, the troops who originally came for desert training maneuvers, were now deployed worldwide. Therefore, to reflect that change in mission, the name of the Center was changed to the California-Arizona Maneuver Area (C-AMA or CAMA). The CAMA was to serve as a Theater of Operations to train combat troops, service units and staffs under conditions similar to those which might be encountered overseas. The CAMA was enlarged to include both a Communications Zone and Combat Zone, approximately 350 miles wide and 250 miles long.
Most of the sites can be visited, but some are difficult to reach. In most cases the only things that remain at the camp sites are streets, sidewalks, building foundations, patterns of hand-laid rocks for various purposes and trash dumps. Monuments have been erected at some of the camp sites and there are areas within CAMA that are fenced off with danger signs warning of unexploded ordnance.
The General George S. Patton Memorial Museum
is located near the former entrance of Camp Young.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
training facility established in the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
; largely in Southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Western Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
in 1942.
Its mission was to train United States Army and Army Air Corps units and personnel to live and fight in the desert, to test and develop suitable equipment, and to develop tactical doctrines, techniques and training methods.
It was a key training facility for units engaged in combat during the 1942-1943 North African campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
. It stretched from the outskirts of Pomona, California
Pomona, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Pomona had a population of 149,058, a slight decline from the 2000 census population. The population density was 6,491.2 people per square mile...
eastward to within 50 miles of Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, southward to the suburbs of Yuma, Arizona
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
and northward into the southern tip of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
Overview
This simulated theater of operation was the largest military training ground in the history of military maneuvers. A site near Shavers Summit (now known as Chiriaco Summit) between Indio and Desert Center, was selected as the headquarters of the DTC. The site, called Camp Young, was the world's largest Army post.Major General George S. Patton Jr. came to Camp Young as the first Commanding General of the DTC. As a native of southern California Patton knew the area well from his youth and from having participated in Army maneuvers in the Mojave Desert in the 1930s. His first orders were to select other areas within the desert that would be suitable for the large-scale maneuvers necessary to prepare American soldiers for combat against the German Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
in the North African desert.
Patton and his advanced team designated various locations within the area where tent camps would be built. The camps were situated so that each unit could train individually without interfering with the other. Airfields, hospitals, supply depots and sites for other support services were selected as was a corps maneuvering area. The plan was that each division and or major unit would train in its own area, and near the end of its training period would participate in a corps (two divisions or more) exercise in the corps maneuvering area at Palen Pass. Upon completion of the corps exercise, the trained units would leave the DTC, and new units would arrive to begin their training and the process repeated.
By March 1943, the North African campaign was in its final stages and the primary mission of the DTC had changed. By the middle of 1943, the troops who originally came for desert training maneuvers, were now deployed worldwide. Therefore, to reflect that change in mission, the name of the Center was changed to the California-Arizona Maneuver Area (C-AMA or CAMA). The CAMA was to serve as a Theater of Operations to train combat troops, service units and staffs under conditions similar to those which might be encountered overseas. The CAMA was enlarged to include both a Communications Zone and Combat Zone, approximately 350 miles wide and 250 miles long.
Most of the sites can be visited, but some are difficult to reach. In most cases the only things that remain at the camp sites are streets, sidewalks, building foundations, patterns of hand-laid rocks for various purposes and trash dumps. Monuments have been erected at some of the camp sites and there are areas within CAMA that are fenced off with danger signs warning of unexploded ordnance.
The General George S. Patton Memorial Museum
General George S. Patton Memorial Museum
The General George S. Patton Memorial Museum, in Chiriaco Summit, California, is a museum erected in tribute to General George S. Patton on the site of the entrance of Camp Young, part of the Desert Training Center of World War II....
is located near the former entrance of Camp Young.
Lineage
- Activated 1 April 1942
-
- Radio message Headquarters, War Department, Washington, D.C.
- Re-designated: California-Arizona Maneuver Area, 20 October 1943
- War Department Memo W210-27-43, dated 18 October 1943
- Closed 1 July 1944
- War Department Circular 207, 20 June 1944
Army Divisional Camps supporting the DTC/CAMA
- Camp Bouse (secret camp)
- Camp Coxcomb
- Camp Desert Center
- Camp Essex
- Camp Granite
- Camp Hyder
- Camp Ibis
- Camp Iron Mountain
- Camp Young
Army Airfields supporting the DTC/CAMA
- Major airfields
- Blythe Army Air BaseBlythe Airport-References:* Maurer, Maurer . Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4....
- Desert Center Army Airfield
- Thermal Army AirfieldJacqueline Cochran Regional AirportJacqueline Cochran Regional Airport is a public airport located in Thermal, California, 20 miles southeast of Palm Springs.Built during World War II and used by both the US Army and US Navy, Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport has had several name changes. As a civilian facility, it was called...
- Rice Army AirfieldRice Army AirfieldRice Army Airfield is an abandoned World War II airfield located east-southeast of Rice, California, United States...
- Minor airfields
- Camp Coxcomb Army Field (Freda, CA; Abandoned) 33°55′12"N 115°14′24"W
- Camp Essex Army Field (Essex, CA; Abandoned) 34°46′19"N 115°13′15"W
- Camp Goffs Army Field (Goffs, CA; Abandoned) 34°56′12"N 115°04′04"W
- Camp Ibis Army Field (Ibis, CA; Abandoned) 34°58′12"N 114°50′23"W
- Camp Iron Mountain Army Field (Desert Center, CA; Abandoned) 34°05′58"N 115°06′29"W