page_title: Oregon Maneuver
section_title: Training exercise
hierarchical_section_title: Oregon Maneuver / Training exercise
caption_attribution_description: Lieutenant General Alexander Patch
context_page_description: The Oregon Maneuver was a large scale military training exercise held in Central Oregon in September though November 1943. The exercise was designed to test United States Army units prior to deployment in support of Allied combat operations in World War II. The maneuver included approximately 100,000 men. The major units involved in the exercise were all part of the army’s IV Corps, commanded by Major General Alexander Patch. The exercise headquarters was located at Camp Abbot, south of Bend, Oregon. The maneuver included five specific training problems that engaged troops from a defensive Red Force and an offensive Blue Force. Following the maneuver the three participating divisions, the 91st Infantry Division, the 96th Infantry Division, and the 104th Infantry Division were sent into combat in the European or the Pacific theatre.
context_section_description: Planning for the exercise began in the spring of 1943.  By July 1943, preparations for the maneuver were underway in central Oregon.  Before training could begin, army engineers had to complete a number of infrastructure projects including the construction of several airfields.  Supply depots were established at key locations and a Signal Corps battalion set up a communication network in the maneuver area.
  On 27 July 1943, General Patch and his senior staff arrived at Camp Abbot.  The main bodies of infantry arrived in the maneuver area in early August.  Most of the infantry units were initially bivouacked along U.S. Route 20 between Sisters and Bend.  As the divisions moved to the maneuver area from Camp White and Camp Adair, Oregon state officials warned civilians there would be heavy military traffic crossing the Cascade Mountains over the McKenzie and Santiam passes and on U.S. Route 97.  The public was also reminded to obey directions from military police when traveling anywhere in the maneuver area.
  The initial phase of the maneuver was conducted in the triangle between Sisters, Bend, and Redmond.  This phase lasted four weeks and focused on combat preparations including live-fire exercises.  Combat engineers  of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, many from the engineer training center at Camp Abbot, conducted bridging exercises along the Deschutes River.  They also built roads and did other construction work throughout the maneuver area.  Medical personnel participated in the maneuver as well, provided on-site medical care to injured and sick troops.  As the maneuver got underway, Army logistics troops began working around the clock to move combat supplies, food, water, gasoline, and equipment from a special railhead near Bend to the front lines.
  In mid-September, the Red Force deployed to positions 40 miles (64 km) east of Bend, establishing a north-south defensive line near Brothers, Oregon.  The Blue Force attacked the line, forcing the Red division to withdraw further east.  The Red Force’s new defensive position was approximately 65 miles (105 km) east of Bend, near Hampton Mountain.  Their defensive line stretched 20 miles (32 km) north to south.  Again, Blue units attacked the Red line.  After several days of stubborn resistance, the Red Force withdrew to the east toward Burns, fighting a delaying action as it pulled back.  The Red Force abandoned the town of Burns, withdrawing to positions 30 miles (48 km) southwest of the city. The final battle of the Oregon Maneuver was conducted east of Wagontire, Oregon, near Silver Creek in Harney County, near where a real battle was fought during the Bannock War in 1878.  The final battle lasted three days, with the Red Force occupying strong positions on high ground blocking U.S. Route 395.  The larger Blue Force used tanks to spearhead their final assault, knocking out one Red outpost after another until the defenders could no longer maintain their line.
  The final phase of the maneuver was observed by Lieutenant General Lesley McNair, chief of United States Army Ground Forces.  During an interview at a dirt airfield near Alkali Lake, south of the Wagontire battle area, General McNair pronounced the maneuver a success.  He also noted that the rugged High Desert terrain was an exceptionally good training environment for the troops participating in the maneuver.  On 13 October 1943, General Patch officially ended the maneuver, declaring that the Red and Blue forces had both accomplished their training missions.  The participating units began departing the maneuver area for their home stations in early November 1943.  On 9 November 1943, Army officials announced they would repair roads damaged by tanks and other heavy vehicles during the maneuver.
  The United States War Department report on the Oregon Maneuver said the high desert environment proved to be ideal for the prescribed training.  It noted that "the generally clear, cold weather facilitated long foot marches and permitted almost continuous operations of aircraft."  Commanders also found that temperatur
caption: General Patch  led the Oregon Maneuver
exif: {}