The Egypt–Libya Campaign is the name used by the United States military for the US contribution to the Allied Western Desert Campaign , during World War II . From 1942, U.S. forces assisted the British Empire in fighting Axis forces in Egypt and Libya . The U.S. Egypt–Libya Campaign was part of what the US military called the Mediterranean Theater of Operations .
23-879: In June 1942 the United States Army Forces in the Middle East (USAFIME) was created to replace both the North African Mission in Cairo and the Iranian Mission in the Persian Corridor . On June 16 the War Department named Army General Russell L. Maxwell as the first commander of USAFIME. An Army general, rather than an Army Air Corps general, was named because at the time it was still expected that there would be
46-864: A large U.S. Army land force contribution to the campaign. The next day the War Department informed Maxwell that the Halverson Detachment would remain in Egypt as a part of USAFIME. In anticipation of the arrival of the American air groups, the War Department sent Maj. Gen. Lewis H Brereton , commander of the U.S. Tenth Air Force in India, to Cairo for temporary duty to assist the Commonwealth forces. He arrived in Cairo on June 25, along with nine B-17 Flying Fortresses . On June 30, Brereton had directed
69-836: A military advisor to the National Security Council , the secretary of defense , and the president of the United States . The CSA is typically the highest-ranking officer on active duty in the U.S. Army unless the chairman or the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are Army officers. The chief of staff of the Army is an administrative position based in the Pentagon . While the CSA does not have operational command authority over Army forces proper (which
92-558: Is within the purview of the Combatant Commanders who report to the Secretary of Defense), the CSA does exercise supervision of army units and organizations as the designee of the Secretary of the Army. The current Chief of Staff of the Army is General Randy George , who was sworn in on 21 September 2023, having previously served as acting CSA from 4 August. The chief of staff of the Army is nominated for appointment by
115-882: The Chief of Staff of the United States Army , to oversee the Egypt-Libya campaign . The small USAFIME was headquartered in Cairo —which simplified liaison with its much larger British counterpart, Middle East Command . USAFIME had command over all United States Army forces in North Africa and the Middle East, except the Army Air Forces Ferrying Command. It was composed of: U.S. Army Forces in Liberia, established in June 1942 to build
138-682: The IX Bomber Command and the IX Fighter Command as the major subordinate headquarters. The 376th Bombardment Group, originally organized to support Soviet forces, became part of the IX Bomber Command and flew its first combat missions over the deserts of North Africa. The U.S. Army's Egypt–Libya Campaign ended on 12 February 1943, when the Allied forces finally succeeded in driving all Axis forces out of Libya. In
161-483: The 1st Provisional Group under Halverson's command) had been flying with the Commonwealth air forces for some time, and drawing on that experience, the 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy) which arrived in mid-August, was able to go directly into action. The 1st Provisional Group provided the nucleus of the 376th Bomb Group in October, 1942. When the 12th Bombardment Group (Medium) and the 57th Fighter Group arrived in
184-500: The Army consists of two civilians—the secretary of the Army (head of the department and subordinate to the secretary of defense) and the under secretary of the Army —and two military officers—the chief of staff of the Army and the vice chief of staff of the Army . The chief reports directly to the secretary of the Army for army matters and assists in the Secretary's external affairs functions, including presenting and enforcing army policies, plans, and projections. The chief also directs
207-557: The Army" under the newly appointed Commanding General, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant , thus serving in a different office and not as the senior officer in the army. Halleck was centered in the old brick War Department building adjacent west of the White House , along with the War Secretary, whereas Gen. Grant was out in the field. The first chief of staff moved his headquarters to Fort Myer in northern Virginia, near
230-534: The Army, such as G-1, Personnel . The chief's base pay is $ 21,147.30 per month and also received a Personal Money Allowance (Monthly Amount) of $ 333.33, a basic allowance for subsistence of $ 253.38, and a basic allowance for housing from $ 50.70 to $ 1,923.30. In the 19th century the American land military used the title of "General-in-Chief" beginning with Gen. James Wilkinson (1757-1825), and later for several decades of commanding Gen. Winfield Scott (1786-1866). Later Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), given
253-558: The B-17s which he had brought from India to move their operations to Palestine . The B-24s of the Halverson Detachment joined them at Lydda , Palestine. Both units flew day and night bombing missions against the Axis' increasingly inadequate supply lines, concentrating their efforts against the port of Tobruk . The heavy bombers of the Brereton and Halverson detachments (now combined into
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#1732772394492276-830: The Robertsfield Airfield and the Freeport of Monrovia , came under the control of U.S. Army Forces in the Middle East on 12 September 1943 but continued as a semi-autonomous command for the entire war. The first commander of the USAFIME was Maj. Gen. Russell L. Maxwell . He was replaced in November 1942 by Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), and in January 1943 by Maj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton . Maxwell
299-639: The US Army Middle East Air Force had established the IX Bomber Command and IX Fighter Command . In November, Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews assumed command of USAFIME, replacing Maxwell. Andrews was an experienced airman, and one of his first acts was to establish the Ninth Air Force to replace USAMEAF. Brereton assumed command of the new organization and established the IX Air Service Command , which joined
322-647: The United States Army The chief of staff of the Army ( CSA ) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army , the chief is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the secretary of the Army . In a separate capacity, the CSA is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( 10 U.S.C. § 151 ) and, thereby,
345-807: The Western Desert Campaign. This was reflected in Maxwell's replacement by Andrews. One of Andrew's first acts was to establish the Ninth Air Force to replace the United States Army Middle East Air Force (USAMEAF). The non-air force administrative functions of USAFIME were taken over by the North African Theater of Operations United States Army (NATOUSA) when the Egypt-Libya campaign ended on 12 February 1943. Chief of Staff of
368-473: The authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of the Army, or delegates those duties and responsibilities to other officers in his administration in his name. Like the other service counterparts, the chief has no operational command authority over army forces, dating back to the passage of the Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958. The chief is served by a number of Deputy Chiefs of Staff of
391-544: The final analysis, although the U.S. Army provided no ground combat troops to the Egypt-Libya Campaign, the close cooperation between American and British [Commonwealth] staffs set the tone for Anglo-American cooperation for the rest of the war in the Mediterranean and European Theaters of Operations. American leaders had agreed that the Middle East was a British responsibility but that American support
414-615: The inspector general of the Army to perform inspections and investigations as required. In addition, the chief presides over the Army Staff and represents Army capabilities, requirements, policy, plans, and programs in Joint forums. Under delegation of authority made by the secretary of the Army, the chief designates army personnel and army resources to the commanders of the unified combatant commands. The chief performs all other functions enumerated in 10 U.S.C. § 3033 under
437-465: The president, for a four-year term of office, and must be confirmed by the Senate . The chief can be reappointed to serve one additional term, but only during times of war or national emergency declared by Congress. By statute, the chief is a four-star general . The chief has an official residence, Quarters 1 at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall , Virginia. The senior leadership of the Department of
460-474: The theater of operations, they entered a highly cooperative type of air warfare in an unfamiliar desert environment. Initially, they were integrated into comparable RAF formations, allowing them to observe firsthand the complex techniques of air-ground coordination that the Commonwealth forces had developed during their years of fighting in the Western Desert. To co-ordinate the growing American presence
483-589: The title after being recalled to come east from the Western Theater of the Civil War in 1864. By 1903, the senior military officer in the army was the Commanding General of the United States Army , who reported to the U.S. Secretary of War . From 1864 to 1865, Major General Henry Halleck (1815-1872), who had previously been Commanding General earlier in the war, served as "Chief of Staff of
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#1732772394492506-616: Was an army general because at the time he was appointed it was expected that the Americans would contribute ground troops to assist in the Allied Western Desert campaign . Initially, the only US combat forces that were allocated to the Mediterranean Theatre of War were USAAF squadrons. As plans for Operation Torch began to take shape it became clear that the Americans would not contribute ground troops to
529-607: Was essential for it to remain in Allied hands. Both parties clearly understood and followed through on the necessity to work together to defeat a common foe in a theater critical to Allied worldwide goals. United States Army Forces in the Middle East United States Army Forces in the Middle East (USAFIME) was a unified United States Army command during World War II established in August, 1942 by order of General George C. Marshall ,
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