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| Southern Defense Command | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941–1945 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | Army |
| Role | Home Defense & Training |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Sam Houston, Texas |
| Commanders | |
| Commanding General | Herbert Brees (March 1941-May 1941) |
| Commanding General | Walter Krueger (May 1941-Jan 1943) |
| Commanding General | Courtney H. Hodges (Jan 1943-Jan 1944) |
| Commanding General | Henry C. Pratt (Jan 1944-Jan 1945) |
Southern Defense Command (SDC) was established on 17 March 1941 as the command formation of the U.S. Army responsible for coordinating the defense of the Gulf of Mexico coastal region of the United States. A second major responsibility of SDC was the training of soldiers prior to their deployment overseas. The first Commanding General of SDC was Lieutenant General Herbert Brees, who simultaneously commanded the Third Army. General Brees retired due to age in May 1941, and was replaced by Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, who held both posts until January 1943. [1] SDC headquarters was co-located with the existing Third Army headquarters at Fort Sam Houston. SDC's operational region covered the states of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and the western half of the Florida Panhandle. [2]
The Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. The U.S. states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida border the Gulf on the north, which are often referred to as the "Third Coast", in comparison with the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
Walter Krueger was an American soldier and general officer in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his command of the Sixth United States Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. He rose from the rank of private to general in the United States Army.
Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Representative from Tennessee, Tennessee and Texas Governor, and first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston.
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At least one regimental combat team, a regiment detached from a division being "triangularized" (reducing from four infantry regiments to three), was available to the SDC for mobile defense from early 1942. This was the 166th Infantry Regiment. This lasted at least through September 1943. [3] [4]
A regimental combat team (RCT) is a provisional major infantry unit of the United States Marine Corps to the present day and of the United States Army during World War II and the Korean War. It is formed by augmenting a regular infantry regiment with smaller tank, artillery, combat engineer, mechanized, cavalry, reconnaissance, signal corps, air defense, quartermaster, military police, medical, and other support units to enable it to be a self-supporting organization in the combat field.
The 166th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. It was part of the Ohio National Guard. In 1992, the regiment was consolidated with the 148th Infantry Regiment.
Third U.S. Army was shipped to England in January 1944; once there Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr. took over command from General Hodges. Major General Henry C. Pratt assumed command of Southern Defense Command.
General Courtney Hicks Hodges was a decorated senior officer of the United States Army, most prominent for his role in World War II, in which he commanded the U.S. First Army in the Western Europe Campaign. In his career Hodges was a notable "mustang" officer, rising from private to general.
Henry Conger Pratt, professionally known as H. Conger Pratt, was a Major General in the United States Army. He was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, and received awards from Italy, Brazil, and England. He is the only person in American military history to command both an air force wing and an army division.
In January 1945 Southern Defense Command was merged into Eastern Defense Command. [5]
The Eastern Defense Command was first established as the Northeast Defense Command on 17 March 1941 as one of four U.S. Army continental defense commands to plan and prepare for and, if need be, execute defense against enemy attack in the months before America's entry into World War II. Its mission was defined as: "a territorial agency with appropriate staff designed to coordinate or prepare to initiate the execution of all plans for the employment of Army Forces and installations against enemy action in that portion of the United States lying within the command boundaries." This organization was charged with coordinating the defense of the Atlantic Coast, replacing the New England Defense Sector, an organization of the U.S. First Army. However, this did not initially occur, and the command was little more than a planning agency until 24 December 1941.
