Replacement depot
A replacement depot or repple depple[1] is a military unit containing reserves or replacements for troops in front-line formations. The U.S. Army slang term "repple depple" came into vogue during World War II.[1]
These depots were used by the US Army in Europe in World War II, but were found to be ineffective as the men assigned from these large pools had poor esprit de corps and were unfamiliar with the fighting formations to which they were subsequently assigned.[2] The handling of the replacements in a bulk, impersonal way by permanent depot staff tended to cause psychological trauma so that they were weakened by the experience.[3] The Oxford English Dictionary notes, in a citation from The New York Times Magazine, 9 December 1945, that "repple depples, in short, are dreary places."[1]
Locations
January 1945
Location of replacement depots c. January 1945.[4]
| Depot | Location | Formation served |
|---|---|---|
| Training Center No. 1 | Shrivenham, England | ETO retraining limited assignment men for new duty |
| 2nd Replacement Depot | Thaon, France | US Seventh Army direct support |
| 3rd Replacement Depot | Verviers, Belgium | US First Army direct support |
| 9th Replacement Depot | Fontainebleau, France | ETO officer and OCS retraining center |
| 10th Replacement Depot | Lichfield, England | hospital returnees & casuals |
| 11th Replacement Depot | Givet, Belgium | US First Army and US Ninth Army intermediate pool |
| 12th Replacement Depot | Tidworth, England | ETO reception depot and enlisted retraining center |
| 14th Replacement Depot | Neufchâteau, France | US Third Army and US Seventh Army intermediate pool |
| 15th Replacement Depot | Le Havre, France | ETO reception depot |
| 16th Replacement Depot | Compiègne, France | ETO enlisted retraining center |
| 17th Replacement Depot | Angervilliers, France | US Third Army direct support |
| 18th Replacement Depot | Tonges, Belgium | US Ninth Army direct support |
| 19th Replacement Depot | Étampes, France | hospital returnees & casuals |
| 51st Replacement Battalion | Charleville, France | US Fifteenth Army direct support |
| 54th Replacement Battalion | Marseilles, France | ETO reception depot |
| 6900th Provisional Depot | Verviers, Belgium | unkn. |
| 6960th Provisional Depot | Coetquidon, France | ETO enlisted training center |
After World War II
Location of replacement depots after World War II and the Cold War.
| Depot | Location | Formation served |
|---|---|---|
| 8068th Replacement Depot | Beppu, Japan | |
| 8069th Replacement Depot | Sasebo, Japan |
References
- 1 2 3 "Repple depple". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2002.
- ↑ Karsten, Peter (2006). Encyclopedia of war and American society. Sage publications. pp. 727, 1115.
- ↑ Merton, Robert King (1957). Social theory and social structure. Free Press. pp. 272–75.
- ↑ Ruppenthal, Robert G. Logistical Support of the Armies: September 1944 - May 1945. Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 1959. Accessed July 9, 2014. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Logistics2/.