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Records of Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, United States Army (World War II)

Overview of Records Locations

Table of Contents

• 498.1 Administrative History
• 498.2 Records of headquarters organizations 1941-47
• 498.3 Records of Headquarters MIS-X (Military Intelligence Service, Escape and Evasion Section) Detachment 1943-47
• 498.4 Other records 1939-48

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498.1 Administrative History

Established: Headquarters European Theater of Operations U.S. Army (HQ ETOUSA) established in London by General Order 3, HQ ETOUSA, June 8, 1942, succeeding Headquarters U.S. Army in the British Isles (HQ USABI), established in London by General Order 1, HQ USABI, January 8, 1942. Until establishment of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; SEE RG 331), February 13, 1944, HQ ETOUSA participated in operational planning for Allied invasion of western Europe. Performed administrative and service functions for U.S. Army troops, equipment, and facilities in United Kingdom and Iceland, 1942-45; North Africa, November 1942-February 1943; and western Europe, June 6, 1944- July 1, 1945. Moved from London to Valognes, France, September 1, 1944; and to Paris, September 14, 1944. Redesignated HQ USFET, with main headquarters at Frankfurt, Germany, and rear headquarters at Paris, effective July 1, 1945, by General Order 130, HQ ETOUSA, June 20, 1945. HQ USFET redesignated Headquarters European Command (HQ EUCOM), effective March 15, 1947, by General Order 48, HQ USFET, March 10, 1947.

Related Records:
Records of Naval Operating Forces, RG 313.
Records of Allied Operational and Occupation Headquarters, World War II, RG 331.
Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter), RG 338.
Records of U.S. Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations, RG 342.
Records of U.S. Army Forces in the China-Burma-India Theaters of Operations, RG 493.

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498.2 Records of headquarters organizations
1941-47

Textual Records: Decimal correspondence, interrogation reports, personnel rosters, awards files, and other records, 1941-47, of the General Staff Secretary; the following general staff sections: G-1 (Personnel), G-2 (Intelligence), G-3 (Operations), and G-4 (Logistics); the following special staff sections for administrative matters: Adjutant General (including the Postal Division), Civil Affairs, Finance, Historical, Judge Advocate General, Provost Marshal, and Public Relations; the following special staff sections for technical matters: Engineer, Ordnance, Quartermaster, Signal, Surgeon General (Medical), and Transportation; the General Board; the General Purchasing Agency; Theater Service Forces European Theater; and Communications Zone ETOUSA. Administrative file of the Historical Division, ETOUSA/USFET, 1942-46, containing summary historical reports on ETOUSA/USFET headquarters organizations and subordinate commands. Subject file of the Office of the Chief Surgeon, HQ ETOUSA, 1942- 45. Subject file of the Office of the Chief of Transportation, HQ ETOUSA/USFET, 1942-46.

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498.3 Records of Headquarters MIS-X (Military Intelligence Service, Escape and Evasion Section) Detachment
1943-47

History: Headquarters 6801st MIS-X Detachment established at Le Vesinet, France, effective May 2, 1945, by General Order 36, Headquarters Military Intelligence Service (HQ MIS) ETOUSA, May 6, 1945. Responsible for compiling information, for reward purposes, on civilians in the formerly occupied areas of western Europe who had assisted downed Allied airmen in escaping and evading the enemy. Redesignated 7709th MIS-X Detachment, effective November 1, 1946, by letter of HQ USFET, October 17, 1946. Abolished, effective January 31, 1947, by HQ USFET radio message CM-IN 251, February 1, 1947.

Textual Records: Escape and evasion reports, 1943-45. Case files on French, Dutch, and Belgian civilians ("Helpers' Files"), 1945-47 (272 ft.), with index.

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498.4 Other records
1939-48

Textual Records: British Intelligence Objectives Subcommittee (BIOS) technical and intelligence reports, 1939-48.

Maps and Charts (847 items): Normandy landing beaches; and defenses (including the Maginot Line), transportation routes, topography, river crossings, military situations, and administrative boundaries, primarily in France, the Low Countries, and Germany, 1943-45.

Photographic Prints (2,900 images, previously in RG 332): Compiled by the American Graves Registration Command, European Theater (a USFET subordinate command), containing views of U.S. military cemeteries in the Azores, Belgium, England, Northern Ireland, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (including scenes of Gen. George S. Patton's interment at the U.S. military cemetery in Hamm, following his death on December 21, 1945), in albums, 1944- 45 (MC).

Ordering information

This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.

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