Report of the Military Board of Allied Supply Volume I Part Two

“The Allied Armies under Marshal Foch in the Franco-Belgian Theater of Operations” [Front Cover]

“The American Member believes that the literature and reports of the Military Board of Allied Supply from the time of the inception of the effort made to create it until its dissolution, including the discussions relating to its principles and the actual results obtained in the rear of the Allied Armies, will be for all time of importance to the students of military science and of governmental and international policy.” – Charles G. Dawes, American Member to the MBAS, 1924

This spectacular group of maps, charts, and diagrams was published by the Government Printing Office in 1924 to accompany the final report of the Military Board of Allied Supply (MBAS). Alternatively known as the Inter-Allied Committee on Supply, the agency was established in mid-1918 to build and oversee organizational framework around the problems of Allied supply and communication across the Western front of World War I.

Until that point, logistical support for troops was largely under the authority of individual nations, though military strategy shared combined objectives. This monumental shift in administrative policies was not without issue or pushback, though MBAS succeeded in implementing some key improvements prior to the end of the war.

The collection, still in its original housing, encapsulates the monumental undertaking of the MBAS. Scores (over 200 in total) of charts, organizational diagrams, indices, and maps provide a fascinating window into the operational details of World War I armies of every nationality. The available scans are just a representative fraction of the entire set.