The Louisiana Maneuvers were a series of Army exercises designed to prepare Army officials for large scale engagements during World Ward II. General George C. Marshall said “I want the mistakes made down in Louisiana, not over in Europe.”
At the time, the Louisiana Maneuvers were the largest ever conducted on American soil and involved nearly five hundred thousand men.
Among the Army officers who participated in these exercises were future President Dwight Eisenhower and future General George Patton.
The men were divided into two equal armies, red and blue, and the commanding officers were given directions during two separate phases of the exercise. In the first phase both red and blue were given offensive missions: to take control of the river separating the two armies. In the second phase the red army was tasked with defending Shreveport while the blue army was tasked with seizing the city. The blue Armored Division, led by Patton, made a wide sweep from the west and was able to flank the city and defeat the red army. This action led to the emergence of Patton as one of the Army’s rising stars.
