Old 03-24-2013, 12:05   #1
Richard
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OSS - 1ST Guerrilla Group

I ran across this and thought it might be of interest/use to some.

FYI - LTC Garland Williams was a deputy for training charged with developing the COI*/OSS guerrilla units. The formation of guerrilla units was very controversial since Donovan's enemies within the War Department worried that these would become his private army. Nevertheless, Donovan successfully advocated for the creation of several battalions of guerrillas drawn from the various ethnic groups residing with the United States. These teams became known as the Operational Groups or OGs.


Attached pdf is the original proposed table of organization for the guerrillas drawn up by LTC Williams and the cover memo that Donovan submitted to the War Department outlining his concept of "linguistically capable" guerrilla battalions.

The proposal was for 10 battalions to be allocated as:


1st Bn - 4 Guerrilla Companies (1 Norwegian, 1 Danish, 1 Finnish, 1 German) for harrassing and destroying enemy forces in Finland, Denmark, Scandanaian Peninsula, and adjacent German territory.

2nd Bn - 4 Guerrilla Companies (1 Russian, 1 Latvian, 1 Lithuanian, 1 German) for harrassing and destroying enemy forces in the Leningrad and Baltic Sea region.

3rd Bn - 3 Guerrilla Companies (2 Polish, 1 German) for harrassing and destroying enemy forces in Poland and adjacent German territory.

4th Bn - 4 Guerrilla Companies (1 Hungarian, 1 Croatian, 1 Slavian, 1 Serbian) for harrassing and destroying enemy forces in Yugoslavia, Hungary, and adjacent German territory.

5th Bn - 4 Guerrilla Companies (2 Greek, 1 Albanian, 1 Italian) for harrassing and destroying enemy forces in Greece, Albania, and Italy.

6th Bn - 7 Guerrilla Companies (1 German, 1 Dutch, 1 Belgian, 2 French, 1 Spanish, 1 Portugese) for harrassing and destroying enemy forces in Holland, Belgium, France, and adjacent territories.

7th Bn - 6 Guerrilla Companies (5 Chinese, 1 Korean) for harrassing and destroying enemy forces in occupied China.

8th Bn - 5 Guerrilla Companies (1 Thai, 1 Burmese, 1 Malay, 1 Cantonese, 1 Indian) for harrassing and destroying enemy forces in India, Burma, and Singapore areas.

9th Bn - 5 Guerrilla Companies (1 Javanese, 1 Dutch, 1 Malay, 2 Maritime) for harrassing and destroying enemy forces in the East Indies.

10th Bn - 5 Guerrilla Companies (5 Filipino) for harrassing and destroying enemy forces in the Philippine Islands.

*Coordinator Of Information
Attached Files
File Type: pdf Williams On Import of Sabotage and Guerrilla Warfare.pdf (631.7 KB, 71 views)
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Old 03-24-2013, 12:34   #2
MK262MOD1
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Awesome find. A lot can be learned from these documents, methinks.
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Old 03-25-2013, 06:46   #3
Badger52
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Thank you Richard for sharing that find.
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Old 03-25-2013, 10:02   #4
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Some brave folks -- Those whom look into their activities further will find this is especially true since there were times when security checks for comms or lack there of were thought of as operator error, and not left out on purpose...

Nice find...
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Old 03-25-2013, 11:16   #5
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Great resource to add to my growing collection of material from the earliest days.

Thank you.
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