[Project Assignments and Troop Dispositions of the 335th Engineer Regiment during World War II]

A detailed record of an engineering unit’s efforts during World War II.

This incredible collection of handwritten charts reflect just a small portion of the millions of man hours expended on victory by the Allied forces during World War II. Part of the contents (nine sheets) outline the project assignments of members of the 335th Engineer Regiment during several months of operational activity across the European Theater (January – August, 1944). Each line represents a ‘mission’ – ranging in responsibilities that include construction, demolition, mine clearing, surveying, and more. Interesting examples of wartime work included creating telephone poles, furniture, and signs, painting sentry boxes, digging pipelines, logging, and quarrying. Leading officers, contributing units, dates, and number of man hours are recorded. Over 35,000 were spent installing gas tanks at Calvi!

The remaining six sheets provide information on the troop dispositions during approximately the same period. Location, enlisted strength, and unit details are written on each. The 335th Engineer Regiment saw significant action during World War II, landing at Oran in April 1943. After campaigning in North Africa, the unit embarked for Corsica, then participated in the invasion of southern France, arriving at St. Tropez in August 1944. These movements can be followed across the sheets, allowing the reader to intimately comprehend the ebb and flow of day to day operations in an American engineering regiment.