The Tennessee Maneuver Area was a training area in Middle Tennessee, comprising the following counties: Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Hickman, Humphreys, Jackson, Lawrence, Maury, Moore, Perry, Putnam, Rutherford, Smith, Sumner, Trousdale, Warren, Wayne, White, Williamson, and Wilson. The area was selected because the terrain resembled that of France, Belgium, and Germany.Sloan, Eugene, "With Second Army, Somewhere in Tennessee", 1995.

In June 1941, Major General George S. Patton conducted maneuvers with the 2nd Armored Division in the vicinity of Manchester, Tennessee, where he soundly defeated the opposing forces, using large-scale armored tactics based on Bedford Forrest’s cavalry doctrine. These maneuvers led to the creation of the Tennessee Maneuver Area.McMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee,

On 24 June 1942, Governor Prentice Cooper, announced that nine counties would be used as a maneuver area by the Second Army, and the area was eventually expanded to twenty-one counties by 1944. By 25 July 1942, the War Department selected Cumberland University, in Lebanon, Tennessee as the location of the Headquarters for the Army Ground Forces field problems, commonly known as the Tennessee Maneuvers.

Between 1942 and 1944, in seven large scale training exercises, more than 850,000 soldiers were trained in the Tennessee Maneuver Area.Sloan, Eugene, "With Second Army, Somewhere in Tennessee", 1995. Training activities in the Tennessee Maneuver Area were suspended in March 1944 because of the great acceleration of overseas shipment of units in advance of the D-Day landings and the resultant lack of combat and service units available to participate in the maneuvers and administer the maneuver area.

Units Trained in Tennessee Maneuver Area

UnitYearTraining Period XII Corps 1942 September - NovemberXII Corps: Spearhead of Patton's· Third Army 6th Infantry Division 1942 September - NovemberMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 8th Infantry Division 1942 September - NovemberMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 4th Armored Division 1942 October - NovemberMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, VII Corps 1943 April - JuneMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 79th Infantry Division 1943 April - JuneThe Cross of Lorraine, A Combat History of the 79th lnfantry Division, June 1942- December 1945McMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 81st Infantry Division 1943 April - JuneMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 5th Armored Division 1943 April - JunePaths of Armor; Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Alsace, Rhineland, and Central Europe.McMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, III Corps 1943 June - AugustMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 101st Airborne Division 1943 June - JulyRendezvous With Destiny. History Of The 101st Airborne DivisionMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 80th Infantry Division 1943 June - August80th "Blue Ridge" Infantry DivisionMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 83th Infantry Division 1943 June - AugustThunderbolt Across Europe: A History of the 83d Infantry Division 1942-1945, TheMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 10th Armored Division 1943 June - AugustMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, XX Corps* 1943 September - NovemberThe XX Corps Its History and Service in World War IIMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 30th Infantry Division 1943 September - NovemberMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 94th Infantry Division 1943 September - NovemberHistory of the 94th Infantry Division in World War IIMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 98th Infantry Division 1943 September - NovemberMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 12th Armored Division 1943 September - NovemberHellcats, 12th Armored Division.McMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, XI Corps 1943 November - January 1944McMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 35th Infantry Division 1943 November - January 1944The 35th Infantry Division in World War II 1941-1945McMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 87th Infantry Division 1943 December - January 1944A Historical and Pictorial Record of the 87th Infantry Division in World War II, 1942- 1945McMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 100th Infantry Division 1943 November - January 1944McMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 14th Armored Division 1943 November - January 1944The Fourteenth Armored DivisionMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, XII Corps 1944 January - MarchXII Corps: Spearhead of Patton's· Third Army XXII Corps 1944 January - MarchMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 17th Airborne Division 1944 February - MarchThunder from Heaven: Story of the 17th Airborne Division, 1943-1945McMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 26th Infantry Division 1944 January - March26th Infantry Division History World War IIMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 78th Infantry Division 1944 January - MarchLightning: The History of the 78th Infantry DivisionMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 106th Infantry Division 1944 January - MarchMcMillin, Woody, In the Presence of Soldiers, The 2nd Army Maneuvers & Other World War II Activity in Tennessee. Horton Heights Press, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, *Entered maneuver area as IV Armored Corps, re-designated XX Corps on 10 October 1943.

References

External links Second Army (Tennessee) Maneuvers