For most of the 6th Army Group, the last days of the winter of 1945 were spent reorganizing and retraining, stocking supplies and equipment, improving local defensive positions, and planning for the future invasion and defeat of the Nazis.[1]

Unit commanders, including Phil as a Company Commander, conducted formal training programs for new recruits in basic weaponry, map reading and use of the compass, and squad- and platoon-level tactics, and worked new soldiers into their seasoned units.

Even veterans in rear areas performed range firing to resite weapons, while those on the front lines conducted periodic raids into German territory.

The logistical buildup was critical.

Food and, with the reduction in mobile operations, fuel supplies were adequate, but the general shortage in munitions forced General Devers to drastically curtail almost all expenditures of large-caliber weapons and urgently request supplemental supplies from SHAEF.

At the same time, to avoid a complete deterioration of the local French road network, the 6th Army Group had to place severe restrictions on vehicle speeds and loading, minimize the lateral movement of large units, and, whenever possible, rely more heavily on the French rail system.

As the Riviera-based armies grew ever larger and plunged ever deeper into the European heartland, logistics remained critical.

The Franco-American forces under Generals Devers, Patch, and de Lattre had come a long way since the relatively simple landings in the sunny south and the heady drive up the Rhone River valley.[1]

[1] Clarke, 559.

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[1] Prohme, 326.

[2] 3rd Division History.

[3] Prohme, 326.

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